The Bluebird : User Reviews

The evening started well enough - we were seated right away on a Friday night, the ambiance was great and we were excited to try a new place. I was even more excited that they had Pimms on the drinks menu - a rarity in the US. It all started to go downhill when three out of our four entrees arrived. The others had ordered burgers, while I ordered Fish. Our waiter came over and said my fish would be right out when he saw that I was still waiting for it. 5 minutes later, still no sign of my fish (which takes less time to cook than burgers). I flagged down the waited and this time asked him to actually check on it to see where it was. I was appalled by his response "our kitchen is small - not everything comes out at the same time" in a very condescending tone. Finally it arrived, by which time everyone else's entree was cold. The burgers were mediocre, the fish was tasty. When the bill arrived, my husband was shocked to see that his 3 beers had cost him $15 each! He had ordered a beer he wasn't familiar with since his typical beers were not on the menu. On the wine department, I was also dissappointed to see that they didn't have my typical favourites - Pinot Grigio or Sauvignon Blanc.

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... until the host basically told us to go somewhere else! At first he told us we'd be seated right away if it weren't for the private party in the back, then he told us to hold on for about 20 minutes. No problem, had a glass of wine at the bar. An hour later when other tables were sat in the back room and we were stil left waiting, we asked the host what was going on. He apologized, said it was his fault, that they didn't have a chair for our 5th friend, etc. Then I asked him how much longer? 30 minutes at least, he says! I explained it was our first time trying to eat there; they made no conessions to keep us around. When I asked if we should go somewhere else, the host pretty much told us yes. Wondering why I should even bother trying again with that attitude!

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This is one of my favorite hangouts recently. Bluebird has a good vibe -- not too sports bar-y like most Chicago bars, and it's down-to-earth and cozy. They have great wines by the glass and the bartenders are friendly and personable.

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Tried to plan a party here. Called day and night for 5 days and never got a single call back from Tom the owner or anyone else. Wanted to bring 40 people in there for a birthday party and was totally left hanging. Their poor service extends to not wanting thousands of dollars of business in private parties as well!

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Imagine my surprise when I log onto Metromix to write my first ever review, driven to do so by the unbelievably rude serivce experienced last night at Bluebird, and find that Mr. Tall Blonde Rude Bartender is apparently doing a great job according to the owners, as we had exact same experience described by the the previous two reviewers, their experience having been in November. We did get to experience his expanded repretoire, as in addition to everything written below he reached over, took our money off the bar and walked away! When we asked him about it he came back, said "it was only 4 dollars, do you want it back?" and then walked away without waiting for the response! Here's my favorite part - HE WASN'T THE ONE WHO SERVED US IN THE FIRST PLACE, yet felt that he had done such a good job the money must be for him. We recommend people to Bucktown places all the time, and this one I will actively tell people to stay away from. Maybe the bartender is the owner???

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It's unfortunate because the space is actually cozy and well laid out for a nice neighborhood restaurant, but the service is a joke and easily the worst aspect of this place. It starts with a "no reservation" policy and gets worse from there because they lack any centralized person responsible for seating, so it's a total free for all. We got there at 7:30, told the only person that seemed responsible for seating we needed a 4-top and at 9:30 finally got a table when we were all walking out the door to go next door for Hot Chocolate (a very well run and great place we all wished we had ended at instead)...It was comical, the person trying to manage the seating literally scratched 3 names of the list and wrote us in ahead, then seated us (not sure what those 3 erased name thought of that, but never found out). The food is very mediocre for the money. The pork chop tasted like a spam chop, the scallops tasted rancid, and the beet salad was an odd combination of mis-matched flavors.

The server staff is also completely ineffective, untrained and really unprofessional. They ran out of hot tea and Chardonnay wine while we were there. The food took 25 minutes to arrive and came one dish at a time minutes apart.

This place is living off the over flow from Hot Chocolate right now and barring significant improvements is not worthy of your time or money, it's way over priced for the quality of food and service in this area. The entire place is run the way you’d expect 3 pals with no experience to run a full service bar/restaurant. The chef actually has some creative ideas, but they are poorly executed, seemed to use low quality ingredients such as the scallops and pork chop, and lost between the kitchen and the complete break down in service and experience.

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This place seemingly boasts much class but actually has none. The arrogant bar and wait staff is such a turn-off. You will not even get to the food menu because you will be heading out the door. Saying that, I did give the place several chances. The ambiance, wine/beer selection and great location will not make up for this rude ensemble. As a life-long Chicagoan, this is my first negative review - only taking the time so you don't waste yours. Highly recommend NOT going to The Bluebird.

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My husband and I went to the Blue Bird this past Saturday night. I was excited to try the place as I've never seen it before. We walked in, put our names on the list for a table and walked up to the bar for a glass of wine. The bar was packed so we had to stand behind people sitting at the bar. No problem. The bartender would not even acknowledge people standing. After about 10 minutes I threw myself in between 2 people for a wine list. After another 10-15 minutes, I started to wave to the bartender so we could order. He would look at me, and walk away!!! After being there for almost 30 minutes, I was really wanted wine! The bartender finally gave me a snotty look and said...I will be with you in a minute. We waited another 5 minutes and walked out. I HAVE never encountered such RUDE service! We barely even saw him getting drinks, he was just figuring out bills. In fact, I never saw him get anyone who was standing any drinks at all. Such a shame, the bartender should find a new job if he hates his so much and management should know that people are WALKING OUT THE DOOR. Never got to try the food or wine, so can't even review those. Such a shame and we will never try this place again. We went down to the Tasting Room and received really great service and a glass of wine within 2 minutes.

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As two people who enjoy 'exotic' beers, my fiance and I were pleased with the beer selection. Although the restaurant was pretty busy when we arrived, we only had to wait about 5 minutes for a table. Our waiter was awkward and left a bit to be desired as far as service and friendliness, but he made up for it by getting our food to us quickly. The food was good - nice simple combinations of flavors. Several groups of people near us were a little loud and obnoxious, but not to the extent that it ruined our experience. Overall I would recommend this place.

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By far my favorite local hangout. The decor is thoughtfully designed to evoke naturalness, relaxation, and a bit of that *special occasion* flair. No comment on the food - I only go for the wine; which is divine. The bartenders are totally cool. An unassuming soundtrack is always rocking in the background...Bluebird hits the right note every time.

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