The Bongo Room: User Reviews
The Bongo Room
1470 N. Milwaukee Ave. - Chicago773-489-0690
My hubby and I went there today and it was great. I had one White Chocolate Pretzel pancake and one Lemon ricotta one. They were both delicious, I probably preferred the pretzel, but its very sweet so it was nice to have a break with the lemon ricotta. Very creative, I'll definitely be back.
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I went to this place with my Brother Josh and Sister in law Irene and we had a nice time. The food was great!!! I was visiting from St. Louis. Very nice waitress! Thank you, Wil.
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Just got back from the Bongo Room and it is still the best. I have never waited for a table, the service is always attentive and friendly and the food is phenomenal. Had french toast w/strawberries, bananas and creme fraiche, very delish. Also recommed tarte tatin pancakes and chocolate french toast tower. The coffee is the best and they keep it coming. Really I can say nothing bad about the Bongo Room. It rocks!
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This may have been the worst breakfast I've had. My poached eggs were solid yolk inside and my supposed soft bacon was crispy. The waitress stopped by to ask how everything was, I said "to be honest, I'm disappointed considering how much hype this place gets - I was expecting GREAT food". Her response, and I kid you not: "Well, you didn't get anything special, you only got plain pancakes with eggs and bacon". I pointed out my well done bacon and non-poached eggs and she said, "well everyone likes their poached eggs differently - let me know if you want me to get you another batch". I just looked at her like "duh, of course I want a new 'batch' of eggs and bacon. The pancakes were very heavy and dense, probably the worst pancakes I've tasted. Pancakes should be light and fluffy, not heavy like bricks. I'm still scratching my head at all the good reviews of this place, because poor cooking aside, the meal was not good in any way.
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Don't go there with kids - I REPEAT DON'T GO THERE WITH KIDS
By chris_vi from Bucktown, December 21, 2008
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I have been eating at the bongo room since it opened in its original location on Damen, long before I was married and had kids. I recently went back there and well to say the least I was disappointed. The service was horrible and at times down-right rude. At first we were joking that they must do little things to people who bring kids in to "persuade" them not to come back, but by the end of the meal that was the only thing we could think of to cause such terrible service. Additionally the quality of the food has deteriorated over the years and it is no longer the stand-out place it once was. Go to Cafe deLucca instead.
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Being new to the city from KS my husband and I have been searching for a great breakfast/brunch joint. We found the bongo room and thank goodness, it was DELICIOUS! For just two of us the wait was only about 25 minutes and SO worth it. We got coffee which wasn't TOO strong like most breakfast joints and then a single pancake for an appetizer (so cool!) and still had room for my breakfast croissant - the bacon was plentiful and good quality... my husband had the BLT Benedict - which was amazing as well. Service was great, back waiters kept our table clean and drinks full. Will for sure be back!
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Bongo room seems to have taken a beating on these pages recently. But my brunch experiences there continue to be unparalleled. They have the MOST interesting and diverse weekend brunch menu in the city. And all the items that I have tried have ALL been outstanding. And the hollondaise sauce (used for the many 'benedict' dishes) is the best I've ever tasted. Yes, the wait can be long, so go window shopping along Milwaukee Ave. for awhile!!!! The only complaint is the service can be a bit inconsistent. And I don't appreciate the host rudely referring to me by last name only, as though we were high school basketball teammates!!!! (But it still doesn't deter me).
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I've been going to the restaurant from time to time since I live in the neighborhood. The food is good but the service is getting worse every time. We had to wait for the table for 45 minutes but when I were enjoying our meal the staff was very pushing us to finish our meal & leave. After checking the time & we were just eating there for only 15 minutes. The wait is understanding but the manner of the staff make to total experience horrible.
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My family of 8 went to Bongo Room this past Mother's Day because of the rave reviews we read about the great food. Although we got seated within a few minutes (we arrived 10 minutes before they opened and waited out in the rain), it took them a long time to take our order. Finally the server showed up, asked what we wanted to drink, and left in a hurry without even asking if we were ready to order. Obviously we had plenty of time to decide and put our menus down. So finally all the drinks came (the coffee was terrible and the small orange juice was the size of a shot glass) and we still waited for someone to come by and take our order. My juice was almost all gone by the time I did order. When I got my food I had no juice left. They never asked if we needed syrup, and my side of chicken sausage didn't come until we were all done eating even though we reminded the server twice. The only thing they did come by to check on was if we wanted more bad-tasting coffee (like a dozen times throughout our meal).
The croissant sandwich was greasy and the bacon was hard, not crispy. The hash browns were not hash browns but spuds. They didn't taste bad, but were dry. And the food was over-priced of course. Guess they have to pay their rent somehow. $3 for a glass of milk? I'll just buy a gallon...
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Review Summary
The following scores represent the average rating submitted by 82 users:
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