Rumba: User Reviews

A great night out.
By nan01 from Hickory Hills, July 20, 2008

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Great experience at Rumba! We ate good food, took dancing lessons and danced to good music. Drinks are a little pricey. Our waiter Alfredo was attentive and made us feel welcomed. If you are looking for good food and a good place to Salsa, Rumba is the place.

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A+ Dining Experience
By jacobholder from chicago, January 28, 2008

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Great music, a bit loud, but as the night goes on and people make their way to the dance floor it all makes sense. The food was incredible, very taste. The tres leches, rum soaked cake and bananut nut bread was too much, they could have rolled me out of there. The management was extremely corteous and paid close attention to detail. A definite must for the salsa music, carribean fusion food loving individual!

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this place sucks
By neal01 from loop, January 21, 2008

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I have never been to such a horrible restaurant the wait staff was unattentavie the place was over crowded the host was rude and unprofessional. a couple of friends and I were there to celebrate a birthday we had reservations for 8:00 we were seated at 9:30 when our food came it cold and the waiter got our orders wrong. When it came to ordering drinks the waiters were so slow that the whole night we only had one drink. and dont get a table on the floor because the tables are broke down to create the dance floor whicih leaves you with standing room only. I don't recommend this place to anyone!

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Was nervous before I ate there
By Bellavita from Uptown, January 20, 2008

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I was in charge of planning a birthday event for my mother in law, she loves Salsa dancing so where else could I get excellent ambiance and live entertainment than RUMBA.

During the week when making reservations it was extremely difficult, was not able to recieve a dinner menu to peruse, was told that I would be contacted once the music was scheduled for our Sat. evening reservation. I called on the Friday before the evening we were to dine and they still didn't know who would be performing for the following day.

We were seated far from the stage, and I had requested being close, since it was a birthday, service was SUPER slow from the get go. We ordered a decent bottle of champagne and the server had it chilling next to our table, since he said it wasn't cold enough to open, WHAT on a SATURDAY NIGHT this isn't done in advance, the bottle stayed un-open next to our table for 30 minutes, then my husband finally grabbed it to open it! The waiter noticed and came right away. We were not very impressed that he didn't check back or atleast offer us a house glass of champagne while we were stuck waiting for it to chill. The service continued on to be slow, once we put our dinner order in, it was as if we didn't exist anymore, when we ordered cocktails we had to hail a busboy to get them for us. However, when it came time to put the check down, and collect it that was the fastest we saw our server move the entire evening.

The food came and was decent, we were pleased with that. The music was very nice too. The service was not up to par at all for the price. Our bill for four adults was about $400, and for the money don't do it if you like SERVICE, because that was non-existent.

Next time if we go, it will be for dancing, and one of their bar packages at a booth. Not for the expensive dinner that does not display service.

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One of the worst dining experiences...ever.
By MM from lakeview, January 4, 2008

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I am almost never compelled to write a review on this site, but my dining experience at the restaurant was beyond horrible. My friends and I went to the restaurant on NYE with dinner starting at 8:30. We were told that vegetarians would be accomodated for, since they were serving a fixed price menu. When you pay for a 5 course meal, you hope to get a 5 course meal; however, vegetarians received a 4 course meal. Our waiter was good about getting our first round of drinks, but it was pretty much downhill from there. We were told rudely, "Yeah, if you give me your drink orders, I'll put them in" . He didn't bother to ask anyone what they wanted, and only took orders from those who asked. There were people who didn't receive their main entree until after midnight , and when we did get the meals , they were cold. We barely received our champaign by midnight for the midnight toast. We complained to our party coordinator about our service, and she gave us a discount on our bill. However the discount was not enough to make up for the restaurant, our waiter, and the service. Rumba has left a bad taste in our mouth and I am confident we will never step foot in Rumba again.

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Nice, but slow
By Bill from Rogers Park, December 28, 2007

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I visited on a Thursday night during Christmas week. The bar and restaurant were pleasantly un-crowded. It took a while for the two bartenders to notice me sitting at the bar, but they were friendly and helpful once they did. The wine selection is nice.
There was latin music and then later a good band. The restaurant also had a latin dance instructor but, unfortunately, there was no one interested in dance lessons.
I ordered a dessert from the bar and it took more than thirty minutes to get it, even though neither the restaurant nor the bar were at all busy. I suspect it was made quickly and it just wasn't delivered from the kitchen to the table.
This is a nice restaurant, with a comfortable atmosphere. The menu reads well and the food I tried was tasty. Relative to the service I received, the food and wine are overpriced.

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Worst dinning experience
By MM from South Loop, October 28, 2007

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My husband and I went to Rumba on a Saturday night with a 7:30pm reservation. It was very crowded but we were seated promptly. It was down hill from there. Our server became less and less of a presence throughout the meal. Everything took longer than expected. But we liked the atmosphere and were enjoying the latin music. That was until we realized that our dinner orders were never going to arrive. And then the dance lessons began. Picture 100 people smushed onto a dance floor with the teacher calling out the steps. We literally could not find our server to inquire about our food. Finally we waived him down and he was very apologetic. He offered us a free round but it was 10pm and we just wanted to eat and go home. Our food arrived and was good. By this time it was 10:30pm. The dance lessons had been happening for about an hour during which our table was getting bumped by the crowd. Finally after no appearance from the waiter we estimated our bill and handed it to another server. I have never before (or since) left a restaurant in that manner. It was beyond chaotic. I would rather have stayed home with a bottle of wine and ordered a pizza.

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It is a great space...
By EC from Chicago, IL, August 26, 2007

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It is a great space and fun atmosphere but I think the prices are too high for the entrees and our service was horrible. EVERY time we needed the waitress - for drinks, ordering food, bill, etc we had to flag her down. She completely avoided our table and we would literally be waving to her across the room. But great music - a little loud during dinner but a fun vibe.

Went to Rumba last Saturday...
By Karla from Chicago, IL, August 17, 2007

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Went to Rumba last Saturday night for drinks and dancing. Nice, stiff drinks and quick service at the bar and good music for dancing, but one request: TURN UP THE AIR CONDITIONING. Everyone and their mother was dripping with sweat.