Chow Bar

The worst restaurant in town. The food is so so, nothing special or outstanding. But the service is terrible. Even when you want to tip a waiter or waitress (mostly part-​time staff), the tip NEVER goes to them. The owner, a mean and selfish woman, takes all the tips. If you want Asian cuisine, any Asian restaurants in town can’t be worse than Chow Bar.

Seriously impressive selection of authentic Asian meats and cooking styles. This place is a safe bet if ever you wanted to try out something unfamiliar.
Update: Had their lunch buffet on Sunday? SO good! It runs from noon-2:30 or so, but it had roast duck, porkbelly, clams/​crawfish, and a spread of authentic Chinese cold dishes for $ 11 a head. Just more reasons to love Chow Bar. This place would’ve made a fortune off me if I attended IU.

I’ve ordered from how Bar a few times. They have the largest menu I think I’ve ever seen and it keeps changing. This is also the best place in Bloomington for boba/​bubble tea, it’s made with actual tea. I don’t recommend ordering from the Americanized Chinese menu, it was just like a bad Panda Express. Go for the real thing. I’ve ordered phở, ho fun, and taiwanese sausage and it’s all been good.

I tried Jjajangmein, jjampong, and tangsuyuk which are originally Korean food. I didn’t like my food very much since it tasted somehow salty with strong spice flavor. However, I want to try their Chinese food next time since I heard that their Chinese food are better!

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Bloomington! It’s near and had great taste. I almost go there once a week! Love it!

Yummy juice bubble tea that keeps you refreshed on a hot day. I’ve found that the ginseng one helps especially if you’re feeling sick (although it’s got quite a strong taste so be warned). The honey citron one is also good if you’re looking for a sick pick me up.
Food wise, the flavors are very strong. It’s not necessarily an «authentic» tasting Chinese place because for my fried noodles, I could tell they used store bought (pre-​made) paste/​spices to flavor it. It did taste pretty good for American style Chinese food though!
Service was friendly and although it’s not the prettiest restaurant on the inside, the food, service and bubble tea make up for it.
Be warned though everything is pretty greasy.

Chow Bar is one of my favorites restaurants in Bloomington. I can’t speak if it’s Authentic Chinese, but I absolutely love every dish I have ordered. I have tried a variety of Tofu related dishes (I prefer vegetarian), and I have never been disappointed. They have a lot of choices, i mean a LOT, so I’m pretty sure you can find something that you like.

The food is not bad, but it’s also not clean. Two weeks ago, I found a worm dead in the fish soup when I was having lunch in Chow Bar. That was ridiculous and then I thought I am not gonna be there anymore…

The boring name is a good fit for this little Chinese place. We decided the food was «okay,» a slim notch above «not bad.» Looking for positive things to say we found that it is convenient for the Law School corner of campus and the prices are good. I love pot stickers. Theirs were wondrously boring. But you can try a small range of their food at the lunch buffet.
This is NOT a place to take a first date if you want a second date. There is absolutely nothing fancy or attractive here. On the other hand, when you have been dating for a year and want to eat together without impressing or busting the wallet, this may be a decent choice. But with so much to choose from in the area I would only return for variety.
Perhaps if I loved bubbles in my tea I would have become a fan.

Ok food, some foods are delicious, some foods are so so, I love their hot pot fish, and bubble tea, others things like rice bowls are so so

I really like Chow Bar because I like their selection of bubble tea and the neat cups they are poured into and sealed. However, I don’t love what they serve. Lots of bubble tea, though!

Went to there several times for lunch buffet during school days, and the food was so so.
I also visited this place 3 years ago for dinner, and I remembered that their spicy fish was good.
The bubble tea is a little bit sweet, not my type.

I mostly went to Chow Bar with friends when we missed having Chinese food the first few months being in the US. I had the buffet most of the time because I felt that it was the most worth it then, being able to try a variety of soups, meat, and vegetables, rather than just one dish (and it wasn’t too expensive). The portion is pretty big if you just order one dish, and the prices are reasonable. I would say the food is pretty authentic but there are definitely better Chinese restaurants in Bloomington. I ordered the Honeydew bubble tea once and I think it tasted kind of powdery, so I guess I wouldn’t recommend having that. Also, I wanted to order delivery recently but was appalled to find out that the menu pretty much has no vegan options.

The buffet was just so-​so and lacking in diversity. If you like exotic meats then this place is your cup of Bubble Tea ;-). Bubble tea was pretty good, but overall the buffet is overpriced ($ 10.99) for the selection and quality.

Reminds me of those small restaurants in Hong Kong… A good choice if you love Canton food. And an option for a rush hour on campus.

Oh, Chow Bar. I know not everyone loves you, but you hold a special place in my heart.
But really, it’s worth coming for the bubble tea alone. The boba are big and soft and aways lovely. Best in town.
They do have a pretty daunting menu; with familiar, Americanized dishes juxtaposed with those more traditional. Don’t be afraid to try something unfamiliar! A couple of my favorites are the green curry green beans and the ho fun. The phở is decent as well.
Although there can be a bit of a language barrier with the staff, my service has never been anything but attentive and friendly.
I am clearly a bit biased. I love this place to death and visit at least every couple of weeks. If your looking for comforting and satisfying Asian food, I say give it a go!

Spicy Szechwan wontons are mandatory; please don’t pass them over. Chow Bar is the most authentic Chinese restaurant in Bloomington, in addition to being my most favorite. Americanized dishes like General Tso’s and beef & broccoli are listed along specialities such as pig’s ear, squid, intestines, duck, etc. I regret not ever being able to visit the special Sunday buffet while a Bloomington resident.
When I was feeling more veggie-​friendly, I ordered the Family Style bean curd with veggies, eggplant in garlic sauce, or black mushroom & bok choy stir fry. Meat-​wise, I liked exploring the more oddly-​titled offerings and authentic fare, like the Bum Bum chicken, served piping hot over a small butane burner. I also enjoyed the chicken in ginger & scallion sauce and salt & pepper shrimp. One frequent dining mate particularly loved the orange chicken bowl, as it tasted like real orange, not a blobby syrupy mess. Pick up a bubble tea on the way out, for a nice after-​dinner dessert.
PS. Don’t let the suggestive title of the «Hot & Spicy Lover» dish sway you too strongly, or you’ll end up with a large plate of intestines and other unmentionables drizzled with chili oil.

I’ve eaten at Chow Bar a number of times and have gained somewhat of an understanding of what they’re doing. Along with Lucky Express, they’re providing authentic «student food,» sort of a no-​frills homestyle meal for the throng of Chinese students at IU. The difference is that Lucky Express’ interior looks like it could be in China. Chow Bar isn’t exactly a date place, but it at least has room to move around in without worrying about elbowing someone. And I’ve definitely surmised this about them and their absurdly large menu: some items suck, some items are passable, some items are very good. I haven’t even started to crack the menu because honestly, when you find something that is in the «very good» category, you have to stick with it because trying something else often leaves you disappointed.
On my first visit, the thing that stuck out was beef rendang. Beef rendang is an Indonesian dish that you very rarely see anywhere. I love this dish and, when done well, it’s wonderful. It is not done well here. In fact, don’t get it here, because you’ll probably say «Meh, it’s not that great. That guy on Unilocal is full of crap» and that just helps no one. And this is sort of how it is with that ridiculous menu: they have Japanese, Vietnamese and a couple of Korean items. But is any of it good? At a Chinese place, I would normally say no, and, knowing Chow Bar, I would say absolutely not, but I haven’t tried any of them. We typically get something more traditionally Chinese. The Sichuan items tend to be some of the worst, as they come out extremely oily and lacking on the meat. Conversely, the vegetable items seem to be much better, with the water spinach being a favorite of ours.
What Chow Bar is missing, I think, are lunch specials. Instead, we get the weekday lunch buffet, which is a popular thing in town for «Chinese food.» I put that in quotes, because most of the Chinese places in Bloomington are horrendous and are not serving real Chinese food, let alone any sort of American-​Chinese version of it. It’s just fried garbage. Chow Bar’s buffet is not a lot better. They typically have about 10 items, two of which are fried, two of which are slop, and at least one other that I would put in a «gross» category. They also put out soups. At $ 8 though, it’s not a good deal. If you drive two miles east to Mr. Hibachi, you get something like 100 items for $ 7.50 during the week + Saturday. Even Noodle Town has some very reasonable lunch specials on weekdays. But, if you don’t have a car, then this may be a better option.
The Sunday lunch buffet they do here is more expensive and features mostly seafood, including mussels and crawfish. Without going too far into it, I can’t stand the seafood here, so I’ve never had it. But, if you’re like me, and you’re used to good, fresh seafood, then you’ll want to avoid this place on Sunday, because the smell will make you sick.
Oh, and I should also mention the bobas. They have an impressive flavor selection but, overall, they’re not very good.
If you want real Chinese food in Bloomington though, then there’s not much choice. We come back for those few «very good» items and, every once in a while, try to locate another one among the big list of suck. Be careful when ordering here.

This was my third time eating here and this last time I went for lunch on a Thursday at 1 p.m. My experiences here have always been average – both in the food quality and in the service. As a vegetarian, there are not a lot of interesting things on the menu aside from the standard stir fried tofu and vegetables. I had heard that the lunch buffet was a good deal, but when I went to look at it, I only saw one vegetarian dish (again some kind of tofu and vegetable stir fry) and vegetarian egg rolls. Not impressed with the vegetarian options offered in the lunch buffet, I decided to order off the regular menu. I ended up getting a vegetarian version of Ma Po Tofu and it was a little too pricey and tasted average. Still was edible though, and the portion size was large enough that I wanted to take the rest of it home. Our server never came by to check on us though, so I was not able to ask him for a to-​go box. Since you pay at the counter, I thought I would just ask for it up there, but when I am up there paying, I look back and the server is clearing our table off! Bye bye mediocre expensive leftovers.
Not recommended if good vegetarian food and decent service are important to you.

In my opinion, Chow Bar is one of the better Chinese restaurants in Bloomington. Of the seven different Chinese restaurants I’ve been to in B-​town, Chow Bar has the best mix of good food, quality service, and pleasant atmosphere. Bloomington has a diverse population, with many international students from China and surrounding areas. Many of these students frequent the local Chinese restaurants, and I have heard several students speak highly of Chow Bar. To this extent, I think Chow Bar can be recommended as a restaurant that is more authentic, and appeals to both Americans and non-​Americans alike.
During my last visit to Chow Bar, I went with two of my future roommates and another good friend of ours. We ordered four dishes to share amongst the four of us. The dishes included a plate of green beans, a plate of chicken and peppers, a beef stew with mushrooms and kale, and a plate of duck with onions and peppers. I don’t ordinarily eat «communal» dishes for dinner, but I’ve been told by my good friend from Hong Kong that it is part of the Chinese culture. After trying it out a few times, I think it’s a nice change of pace from a traditional American dinner and it’s something I think should become more a part of American culture.
There are many parts of the world I’ve never been to (China included), but when I go to Chow Bar, I feel like I can get a small taste of Chinese culture. You can hear Mandarin being spoken, you can enjoy great Chinese food, and you can eat the way Chinese people eat (both by sharing dishes and by using chopsticks). I’m not so naïve to believe that this experience is just like a meal in China, but I do believe it is as close as you can get in Bloomington, IN! I would recommend Chow Bar to anyone who likes Chinese food or anyone looking to try something new (if you are not a regular at Chinese restaurants). One thing I neglected to mention is that Chow Bar also has a great selection of bubble teas. Try one with your meal next time you find yourself at Chow Bar!