Bar Louie

Meh. I’ve experienced better, indeed.
Table was sticky, service was not all all good, the food was ok for bar food, I guess. My veggie wrap was strange (hummus and goat cheese together don’t do it for me), and my dining companions had a «meh» reaction to their burgers. (However, it was $ 1 burger night — so even with all the fixin’s — burgers were cheap.)
The breaking point for us was the service. We were seated across from the bar. 12 of us, sure — but across bar. No one else was in that part of the room. Yet, it took a long time to get served. On top of the slow and distracted service, a dining companion had ordered a margarita. Instead she got a mojito. She would have sent it back if it not had been spilled (we’ll give a pass to the server — we all have bad days and clumsy moments). The replacement drink was again a mojito. Third time was a charm — 20 minutes later.
Meh. I’ve experienced better. Next time I’m in the area — I’ll try somewhere different.

A place to go when all the other breakfast places closed. Friends and I tried to go to Yolk, Wishbone, or Le Peep… but we missed them and ended up here. I had a cup of the gumbo and it was pretty good. Actually, better than the Tuna Avocado Flatbread (which had a martini symbol noted as a favorite or special). Maybe it’s because I’m not a mayo person, the server did warn us but I wanted to give it a shot anyways – I love avocado! It was good but a little too much mayo for me. It was a good portion size for the price. This is probably a place I’d go just to hang out with friends at the bar.
.I’d actually give thsi a 2.5

What is there to say about you, Bar Louie? You are the only not-​super-​expensive place to sit outside on Randolph on a nice day. I overdosed on the goat cheese in the veggie wrap, and you refilled my iced tea.
It is what it is. Lots of things to choose from; bar-​quality food.

Bar Louie is not a gastropub, it’s Bennigan’s-esque food at inflated prices.
I used to come to this location on Tuesday nights for $ 1 burgers and the beer of the month deal. Then the health department shut them down. I haven’t been back. I really don’t care that much about rat droppings; it’s just a pretty crap place.

Bar Louie makes possibly the worst mojito I have ever had in my life. I know, I know. I asked for it by ordering a mojito at Bar Louie. The service was also really bad and really slow. Boo, Bar Louie! Boo!

Bar Louie is where the legend of «Hot Shit Chicago» began. Brian and I orderd up a double batch of Enfuego wings and the rest was history.
At the time we thought they were pretty spicy, Brian could only eat about six before he threw in the towel. I tackeld the rest of the 24 wings. Thus began the competition.
Other than the hot wings this is actually a pretty cool chill bar. There isn’t anything really memorable about it, but you can actually carry on a converstaion without shouting. I like that. They have pretty good food, the Blue Louie burger is darn good. That’s why it get’s four stars.

This place is good
Whats not good?
They wrap ur burger in tin foil to take home
There dollar burgers arent dollar burgers when everything cost extra
But over all good

I’ve only been here once and it was right before they got shut down by the city. our food was good and our waitress was nice but maybe those chunks weren’t chocolate chips after all… I kid, I kid! Anyratinfestation, i like bar louie as a chain but I don’t know about the one… i’ll have to see if they get their act together.

I’ll admit it, I enjoy a nice juicy burger from Bar Louie from time to time. It’s just one of those things, and the second star is for the burger, but this was the worst Bar Louie experience I’ve ever had.
Before heading from one boozy art event to another, a group of us stopped in for some drinks and some snackin’. A friend and I ordered white Russians and when we got our drinks they were just tall glasses of milk with vodka. It was the kind of drink you make when you’re an alcoholic and had nothing left. What the fuck? I don’t want a giant glass of milk with vodka in it, and when I asked the bartender about it, she claimed that only black Russians have Kaluha, but at least she gave it to us. I shouldn’t have to pay $ 7 to tell you how to make a very easy common drink.
Another girl ordered a mojito, and as we chatted, the bartender walked up to her and asked if the drink tasted like olive juice (???). She took one sip and her horrified face said that yes it was an olive-​jito. Apparently the labels «got mixed up» and the olive juice was marked as simple syrup. Obviously the chick knew it was messed up if she asked specifically «does it taste like olive juice» Disgusting. She was really just out of control with incompetence and very slow as well.
Good burger as always but this experience was a complete mindfuck.

Before they took over the Blue Point Oyster Bar [and that deplorable «Italian» restaurant that took over at one point], Bar Louie was a half bar /​half rarely-​used restaurant space adjacent to said restaurant and not much to squawk about.
Things have changed though and the organization that owns Bar Louie [with locations around the country] apparently realized where they were in relation to restaurant row and what an opportunity they had. They took the entire half block and expanded into a pretty space that serves an improved version of their bar food [small and large plates] and serve it all with the same bevy of beverage choices and hit-​or-​miss service they had when they occupied just the smaller space.
The theme is decidedly casual, but the new space offers up more luxurious and spacious plush booths along with high-​top bar tables. The urban bend here is punctuated by the mosaic tiling, wood paneled walls and retro light fixtures. The place does feel more «bar» than restaurant with the addition of the disturbing trend of putting plasma TVs in restaurants. I’m not a fan, but I understand the draw, especially in a casual dining place that has an extensive bar.
As they are dotted around town, I’ve been to almost every Bar Louie at some point and thusly, I’ve ordered or tried just about everything on the menu. It’s hard to go wrong with classic bar food, but you’ll find better-​prepared food and more reasonable prices around town.
Their burgers, made with 100% Angus beef, can be wonderful as long as they are seasoned properly and cooked to order, which has been a challenge in the past. The seasoned French fries sometimes get too much seasoning while the burgers go without. There has to be a happy medium.
I’ve had and make a better spinach & artichoke dip, but as it is a Chicago classic I suppose everyone had to offer it to some degree. My favorite chicken wings in town are at Jak’s Tap, so save the beer for Bar Louie’s Szechwan Rib Bites.
A few of their Sliders stand out, particularly the Turkey Melt and the Pot Roast; another «sandwich» favorite includes the cheese quesadilla, though extra fillings aren’t always generous enough to warrant the price.
I like their Fish Tacos too because they grill the fish instead of batter and deep fry. Ask for extra chipotle mayo and/​or mango salsa as both are quite tasty. It’s hard to recommend pizza at Bar Louie when you live in one of the pizza capitals of the world. They try with not-​so-​typical toppings [hot wing sauce anyone?], but like a sandwich is all about the bread, pizza is all about the crust and I’ve had better.
The increased space has confused the waitstaff more than ever. You can stand at the entrance for a while waiting for someone to even acknowledge you. Too, I know it doesn’t take long to prepare bar food, so I’m often amiss as to why it takes so long to serve it.

The food? Just dandy for an extended happy hour session. 20-​ounce Shock Top beers for $ 3 on a Friday evening! Our server was quick with the beers and super cute to boot. I don’t remember her name, but she’s in a few of our photos from our evening here. And thanks, Bar Louis, for turning a blind eye to our silly antics and crazy pool table poses ;)

Reviewing this one better than the Bucktown location because it’s larger, prettier, and has a cool lounge. Even moreso, I’m giving it the nod because the folks they sent to the Randolph Street Festival were the shiz.
When given a request for «a buffalo chicken sandwich, but a really awesome one», they rose to the occasion by stuffing it with double the chicken, blue cheese, and toppings and gave us free drink coupons at their bar to boot. This led directly to me consuming the best French martini of my life.
Street fests are brilliant for drumming up business and this one is no exception. The Randolph Street Bar Louie’s attendence at the festival caused it to become my favorite Bar Louie location.

Even Paige’s big brown eyes can’t make this place cool. You’d think a place with a big open stylish modern interior would be a place right up my alley. If only that wasn’t the only great thing I could say about it…
When I lived in Oak Park the Bar Louie there was about the only late night bar-​type establishment that was tolerable. This one shared the same strange mix of bad music (not even entertaining bad, just think Nickleback — Toby Keith — Master P sort of in that order). Same ultra mediocre food (MEDIUM does not mean WELL DONE people! don’t bother asking me if you’re going to serve me crunchy leather in a bun).
The beer that my wife used to order at the Oak Park location is $ 3 more here! What the hell? The waitress was nice, but had way too many tables to be efficient. When we wanted to order and get our check she was nowhere to be found.
And finally, today it was 85 plus degrees and ultra humid outside. Inside it was about the same. Get some air conditioning Bar Louie! It’s going to be a long summer otherwise!

Holy crud this place is bad.
I had what can only be described as the worst margarita ever. Not only was it watered down on alcohol, but also on taste. I drank it because I was thirsty and the waitress had still not brought our water (after two requests). The place wasn’t crowded (on a Saturday night), and we were in a big group. Two people’s entrees came out first… and then nothing for 15 minutes. I kid you not. No one else’s food came out for a while. The food was ok, but not stellar.

Late night Saturday, due to finding parking out front (parking is terribly hard to find in this area), decided to stop in for a few cocktails before heading elsewhere.
Blueberry Stoli on the rocks with a dash of (flat) Sprite and a sliver of lime. $ 6.50 each. My signature drink. Three of those and I was stellar. My friend stopped after one, that awesome bartender just over-​poured the alcohol. Big location, two rooms and two bars. The inner room hosted a live band. Scattered groups of people, many more groupings of women 21+ and thirty — forty somethings. Ample n’ wide beer selections and drink specials posted throughout.
FYI they are planning on hosting a tater eating contest later this month.
The only bother was the Men’s room. It freakin’ stunk! They had fans on high, still the smell was putrid. Someone must’ve ripped their ass apart in there. At that point, someone needs to be paying attention. Bring in the fire brigade!

Don’t go on saturday night.
Other than that — great. reliable, reasonable bar food, friendly service, pool table, huge beers. $ 1 burger night was a nice surprise. Not your typical chain bar — interesting space with bizarre mirror placement. Look for it.

Finally made it to Bar Louie, although I always wanted to check out Extra Virgin since I moved to the hood. The bar is quite large and has 2 sections, not sure why, but there are tons of tables and seating areas. I came in for the second half of the game on Sunday and the place was DEAD. I was pretty surprised too since every other bar in the area is packed and this place is fairly new, or should I say it is a fairly new repeat since they once occupied this space a few years ago.
I started out with the chicken nachos which were great, nice huge cuts of chicken that was real tasty. My fiancée was a little disappointed in the lack of TVs to entertain him compared to other spots in the area. Then I move onto Grilled Chicken Tenders which is usually a nice treat but they were extremely dry. The chipotle mayo and Cesar sauce that came with them was good, but it definitely wasn’t worth the $ 8.00 I believe it cost me. He got the chicken sandwich and also was really dry. I think the might have been short staffed that night, or they are still learning as the table next to them had to repeat their order to the waiter several times.
I would come back for one of their many deal nights, and the atmosphere is clean and fresh, but stay away from the chicken entrees.
Forgot to mention… Ladies watch out for the bathroom, once you open the door the stairs are literally right there! I missed 2 stairs and luckily caught myself on the railing, it is definitely dangerous if you have a few cocktails!

I like this place. I’d give it 4 stars if the food wasn’t so expensive. I actually haven’t been there to drink only to eat. The food is good but really expensive for bar food. I do go on Tuesday nights for $ 1 burgers. The burgers are good, but it’s only $ 1 for the meat and the bun. If you want cheese, veggies or anytime of condiment other than ketchup or mustard, it’s between $.25 and $.50. Not that it’s expensive, but want you to know before you get there in case you only have $ 1 in your pocket. The other thing is sometimes they make you order a drink, soda or a cocktail and sometimes they don’t. It really just depends on your waitress.
I’ll be back every Tuesday for the $ 1 burgers but I don’t know about the other food. And hopefully one day I’ll actually get a drink there.

I am so glad that Bar Louie has joined the neighborhood! With all the fine dining on Randolph, we really needed a more casual place.
So most people have been to Bar Louie — the food is the same here as it is at all the others. In my opinion, they have a pretty great menu for bar food… LOVE the fish tacos!
This particular Bar Louie is a little fancier than the others, as they kept a lot of the décor from Extra Virgin. I really like it… it feels like an upscale sports bar. Service has been great every time I’ve been and it’s HUGE! I think it’s the biggest Louie in the city and they have plenty of TVs for game days. Looking forward to frequenting this place much more.

This place changes names about once a year so we will see if it remains a Bar Louie for long (it’s most recent incarnation was Extra Virgin). But I have to admit during a recent visit to grab a drink with friends– Bar Louie did okay at this location. (Yeah, I know, it’s a chain)
They poured a good drink, the staff was affable and efficient and by the end of my visit, the bartender actually bought us one on the house! Not bad for my first visit to a place. We didn’t try any of the food– but the menu is the same one that they have at all of their locations– think sandwiches and appetizers.
If you go– there are two bar areas– one immediately ahead as you walk in which was my favorite. Big old bar– with just the right touch of ambiance. On the other side– while the plus is that you can eat outside over there– there just seemed to be way too much down lighting on that side for me to ever feel comfortable. Who wants to sit in the spotlight?
Oh and ladies– watch the first step down to the restroom. It’s tricky! Something about opening a door– stepping down a stair in heels and grabbing for a rail that seems to be on the wrong side– almost sent me sailing down the stairs.
Or maybe it was just that free drink that put me over the edge!