Chapman’s Restaurant & Bar

My family has come here every year for over a decade for the Thanksgiving buffet. It’s steadily gone downhill the last few years, which has been kind of sad. Last year was ok, not necessarily great but not terrible. 25 $ a person, reasonable selection of meats — turkey, prime rib, pork, fish etc. Lots of sides — potatoes, yams, green bean casserole, y, greens, rolls, etc. Lots of desserts — pies, cakes, etc. Service has always been consistently lacking, where drinks take FOREVER to be filled if they get filled at all. And last year they didn’t write in the reservation.
This year was a complete let down… again no reservation written in, not that it was needed since half the place was empty… 3pm «reservation», and they were out of PRIME RIB, CRANBERRY SAUCE ANS STUFFING, The prime rib is a big reason we were going there, since I’m not a big turkey fan… And CRANBERRY SAUCE AND STUFFING are a staple of thanksgiving! Add in their soda machine wasn’t working and they charged us $ 2.00 for a can of Coke… Oh and our «waitress» was snarky… Yeah, not happy.
There’s other places that offer buffets in Bloomington plus reataurants that will do the cooking for you and you bring it home, so we won’t be back.

Paid $ 35 each for dry pork roast, lumpy mashed potatoes, no dressing (on Thanksgiving) and freshly thawed pie. Won’t be back

Thanksgiving buffet not ready when we arrived on time for reservations. 10 min. Later salad was fair with choices of 3 unmarked but unbottled dressings. Low quality canned corn and green beans (bacon addd). Pork dryandtough. First slice of Turkey not well done Second slice better. Chef would only give one slice per trip. Rolls seeed stale and cold sweetpotatos cold and over cooked. Pies were good both choices. Very much worse than last year and 25% more dollars. $ 35.00 way too much for such poor food and atmosphEre. Not very accessible for folks with mobility issues. So bad wife wants to go to Bob Evans Friday for proper Turkey dinner.

My evaluation is halfway between 3 and 4 stars, somewhat undecided. I have been a patron at Chapman’s for decades, lunch, dinner and occasionally Sunday brunch. It was a good restaurant many years ago, then went into a significant decline. The food was mediocre, the service often worse. Remodeling occurred, new chefs and new menus came and went. Now there is yet another new chef and new menu. There is hope. The chef is very pleasant, comes to the table and introduces himself and asks how things are with the food. The food is better than for some time, the service is also better. But there is still a way to go. My halibut dinner was overcooked and the asparagus was tough. Not bad but not where it should be. We were a party of eight: all had mixed evaluations. I want to like Chapman’s. I like the atmosphere. I like the music on weekends. Please keep working at it. This should be one of Bloomington’s best restaurants. I will be back!

I think an angel came across me today while at Chapman’s. I enjoyed my buffet lunch, including the big chunk of Brie, delicately cooked fish, perfectly seasoned zucchini and yellow squash, and warm tomato bisque. I adored the visit from the chef and the personable service from the angel. Absolutely recommended and find it an ideal place to go with family.

Where to begin. I can’t begin to express my disappointment with Chapmans. Growing up in the Bloomington area, we as a family would visit Chapmans on special occasions. I remember Sunday brunches when family would come into town and Chapmans is where we would start our day. Chapmans is the place where I learned what a proper brunch was.
Recently I was invited to a wedding at Chapmans, I was immediately excited it had been several year since I had dinned there. There was a rehearsal and a dinner to follow that is where it went off the rails. Reservations had been made months in advance. It was no surprise that approximately 30 people would be attending this dinner.
First Service would have been faster with a tortious serving beverages on its back. Second there was a predetermined menu for the evening that had been agreed to months earlier. None of the options that had been discussed with the couple were present. Last we sat and sat and guess what we sat some more, for a grand total of close to three hours before our dinner arrived. We were in good company however everyone was getting restless.
When we finally started eating I did not realize that you could serve chicken raw and bleeding. Minor CPR and a band aid could have revived this chicken. I could not attempt to finish the tar they called a pork chop that was served to me. The salmon that was served to the person next to me looked terrible which was confirmed by a quick spit into a napkin.
To say I was shocked is an understatement. The absolute lack of any attention to detail was appalling. I don’t know how the cooking staff could call that food. It wasn’t safe and people could have gotten sick. These are cooking fundamentals taught one the first day of culinary school. Which I am assuming was missed by the incompetent chef.
The cooking staff was approached and it was apparent at that time they were intoxicated. This is not a meal or evening I will be forgetting anytime soon. Chapmans you dropped the ball and upset my friends!!!

Stopped in today for lunch with a friend of mine because I heard they had a new chef and I wanted to see the new lunch menu. I was very happy I stopped because I thought the food was terrific. The chef came out to check on us during the meal as well which I always enjoy. I enjoyed the roasted beat salad with goat cheese and candied pecans on a bed I mixed greens and had the vinegar and oil dressing. It was a perfect lunch size! My friend enjoyed a bowl of house made vegetable beef soup and also said it was very tasty! My wife and I are planning on heading there Sunday morning for brunch because I have heard lots of good things. Folks, take a look at this place. Chef Will Roll is doing good things! The bar is beautiful, the restaurant is very clean and the décor is warm and welcoming.

We were very disappointed with this place. many of the items shown on the menu were not available, the excuse being given — we are in transition from one menu to another one.
My wife had as chicken dish and said it was like rubber. Was supposed to be on angel hair pasta and it was on very tough egg noodles. Was supposed to have mushrooms — never saw one.
I had a filet and asked for it to be medium well and even told them they could butterfly it. They didn’t and it came out medium rare.
I won’t even mention how bad the dessert was.
All this for almost $ 100 (tip included)
Stay away from this place.

I have been a Chapman’s promoter for some time. Tonight was probably my last visit. We went for half price wine night. The wine we planned on enjoying, a long with many others, was not available. We waited over thirty minutes for a cup of soup (which arrived cold), a salad, and a sandwich. When the bill arrived (almost impossible to read due to ink quality) prices on the bill differed from menu prices. Such a lovely space-​such a disappointing dining experience.

I would rate 0 stars if I could. Server dropped the food on the floor, most of the meat came back uncooked, salad was kept under a heat lamp, and all around horrible. Listed as a restaurant but actually more of a banquet hall. Save your money and do not go here

This place is progressively getting worse. We used to go for brunch on Sundays. We noticed that the items on the brunch were consistently getting more and more odd — like leftovers and crusty looking dishes that have been exposed to the air for too long. This last visit will be our last.
We walked into the entry where there should normally be a greeter… We waited there for a few minutes unsure of why we weren’t being greeted while a woman stood behind the bar playing with a remote and talking about how the internet was down. Eventually a greeter approached us, as did the woman from behind the counter simultaneously. An awkward duo of mumbling and overexcited «welcome to Chapmans» came from the pair. Neither one asked us how many in our group or began to seat us… so I had to say «two please»…and then this awkward pause as if we weren’t in a restaurant. We were asked to wait while she prepared a table for us– there were scads of empty tables all around so it’s a bit mysterious what had to be done to prepare it for us.
We sat at the table and our greeter said she would «send someone for us.» We waited for ten minutes without seeing another person and left. If you’re actually a fan of this place you should go now… it appears to be taking its last breath.

This place couldn’t be more overrated. Do yourself a favor and go to Scholars Inn, Michael’s Uptown or The Tudor Room. The only reason I gave it a 2 is because our actual waitress was great, the rest of the staff were completely incompetent.
We went for Easter Brunch and were sat at a tiny 4 top for 4 adults and a highchair. When we asked for a larger table so we could use the highchair (which was missing a leg), they refused even though there were several larger tables open the entire time we were eating. We also had to talk to 4 – 5 staff members ending with the manager before someone gave us an answer about switching tables. All while we stood in the middle of the restaurant, baby car seat in hand, hovering over other diners.
The food was beyond mediorce. They advertised a pancake station and omlete station, neither of which existed. There were pre-​made pancakes sitting on the table with some toppings and none of us ever saw an omlete. Food was just an average buffet.
Finally when I needed to change my daughters diaper I realized there was no baby changing station on either the restaurant or event side (How is that even code anyway?!). I had to change her on a couch in the foyer.
This place was a total disappointment. Very unhelpful service, medicore food and not at all family friendly.

I remember going to Chapman’s frequently 15 years ago for nice dinners with family and friends while I was a student here. Maybe I didn’t have as good of an idea about the other food options present in Bloomington, or the standards have decreased since I was in college. The service was 1 stars at best. My wife and I sat down, and no less than 20 times we were passed by a server without anyone checking in on us or filling up our water glasses. This went on for 15 minutes before my wife went and asked the hostess to make sure that we had a server assigned to us. No explanation was really given to us for the delay, but the restaurant was not exceptionally busy at 6 PM on a Friday night. Food was okay, but certainly there are better options for the price you pay at other local restaurants in Bloomington. Nothing spectacular. Wine list did have a wide variety of tastes and prices, so that was helpful. Overall though, would rather spend my money and my time at another establishment.

I went to Chapman’s with a few friends for Sunday brunch. I didn’t know that the only option you could get was the brunch buffet. So, my friends and I were seated in the bar area and were told about how you could get your omelets and pancakes made-​to-​order.
As someone who is lactose intolerant, there were not many options for me. I ended up going with some potatoes with peppers and onions, some fresh fruit, and an omelet made to order. My potatoes were cold and soggy. The fruit salad: pineapple, cantaloup, and red grapes was lackluster. My omelet was made from eggs in a carton and had absolutely no flavor to it.
The bill for the buffet was $ 16. No coffee, no juice, no toast. $ 16 for crap. I’m glad my company was far superior to the food.

We had a large group and had called ahead to reserve a room to use for lunch. They were ready for us and the server was quite nice. The menu had a wide variety of options without having a large number of items. Our group had a variety of items from fish tacos to club sandwiches for hot items. We also had at least four different types of salads. Everyone felt the food was good. The only negative I noticed was they do not have a lot of help so the food arrived in shifts rather than all at once. If we had waited for everyone to be served some people would have had cold food. There were not many other people there so would not be a real need for more servers for their walk in guests. I go to a restaurant for the food and the food was good.

Easter brunch was unsatisfactory… when I contacted the manager the following day his excuse was «it was like feeding a herd of cattle»…need I say more ??

Had dinner there recently with my family who all live out of town in metropolis areas. Had absolutely perfect service and every one of us loved our meal. We will be back often !! We have meat eaters and vegans and all were quite satisfied with the available options. The tomato Gouda soup is fabulous!

Great food, great service. Don’t miss the brunch. Nice seasonally changing menu, but thankfully tomato-​gouda soup always on menu. Excellent place for banquets, business lunch or nice dinner out.

We are fans of Chapman’s– but only when we’re not in a hurry… My food has always been consistently delicious (pork tenderloin with yummy sides), but man oh man, quick service is not their specialty. I’ve been there with 4 people and I’ve been there with 14 people– and I think it took the same amount of time both times to get our food. –but I’d do it again if I was with the right crew and was in the mood for a long, relaxing dinner with good company.

Holy cow! Do not judge this place by the few bad reviews on here. Chapman’s has been around for a long time and it has a reputation for being good. I somehow think that no one bothers to go online and say so because they don’t think it needs to be reviewed.
In my opinion, I had a great, upscale meal at Chapman’s. I still cannot get over the fact that I lived in Bloomington for three years, drove by this place a million times, and never took the time to try it out until about a week before I moved. I am sad it took me so long to try it but I am happy for the delicious meal I had. I think we even went during all the graduation madness, and they still were willing to fit us in and provided excellent customer service and food. My boyfriend and I both had the filet mignon, and it was mouth-​wateringly good. They also had an excellent selection of beers and wines to choose from. Do not be fooled by its rather bland exterior. This place is great.