Bonton Wine Bar

I don’t know what’s going on here but it’s not good.
My original review said, «I love this place and come here way too often!» Yea, well…
At some point late last summer there was some sort of staff shake-​up. Our server had told us of staffing losses in the kitchen. There were bumps in the food quality. Then suddenly, gone were all of our favorite servers. Gone also was the chill flow of the place. The owner said they could no longer staff servers who were only available a night or two a week. I dunno… I’m not in the restaurant business but if that works why not? Well, something’s definitely not working now and I suspect it’s management.
We took a break after our last visit of the patio season. On that day they were short staffed and despite it being a Thursday, the night of their very popular $ 5 Martini special, by 8 pm new arrivals were being shooed away by a frantic server saying, «We can’t seat you!» Um…
Last night, also a Thursday, we were back. Aside from the bar stools, most of the chairs were gone so that people were seated either at the bar or at tables in a line along one bench wall. It was explained that the chairs were out for repair. What? Given the popularity of Thursdays what business owner wouldn’t rent replacements rather than turn away customers? We found a table way in the back by the kitchen so we could best enjoy the kitchen door repeatedly being kicked open by their lone frazzled server. She was very nice, btw, but was understandably overwhelmed.
The food has suffered. They’ve changed their salads a bit and those in my party who had them were unimpressed. Not the same quality and the presentation was definitely lacking. My Steak Frites was good but again, presentation. I don’t like having to work through a mound of potatoes to get to my steak. One of our party had the bread pudding and in her words, «Eh…»
At one point, when we were observing the level of frustration in the place, the owner mentioned how difficult it is to find good servers. Uh… and again, I’m not a restaurateur, but the continuing drama here indicates a MANAGEMENT problem. Just as an example, a nearby restaurant in Glen Ellyn, «Fire & Wine» (totally recommend) is rocking every night and the staff there is ON IT. Sit at the bar and watch a contented, well-​trained, happy staff in motion. That’s management.
I don’t know what’s going on at Bonton /​Praga but I hope they fix it fast. It has long been a gem in the heart of Lombard and it would be a shame to see any part of it fail. I miss it and wish its speedy return.

I love this place! The owner is super cool, great at making martinis, and serves excellent food. Thursday is the day to go for $ 5.00 martinis. I wish they’d bring back their ‘seasonal’ selection in addition to their standards. I loved experimenting with the drinks!

Place sucks, owner sucks, staff sucks, service sucks, drinks suck & watered down, food never changes & sucks… Waste of space and hopefully dies out to some thing better!

My boyfriend and I had been wanting to try this place out for a while but the mixed reviews made us hesitate a bit. We decided to give them a try on a Friday night after dinner. We pulled up and the outdoor seating area was pretty busy, good sign. We walked in and it was pretty empty inside, we opted to sit inside and sit at a cozy little booth and watch the baseball game that was on tv. Their martini menu is nice and we also saw the dinner menu from the restaurant next door which sounds like it may be good.
While we waited for our drinks the server brought us waters and a popcorn, pretzel mix thing, nice touch. I ordered two different martinis and my boyfriend ordered a few different ones and they were all fantastic!!! I wish I remembered the names of what I tried but I don’t, I know one had passion fruit and it was delish!!!
Cozy, romantic place with great martinis and our server was nice. We will be back. $ 5.00 martini Thursdays!

The boyfriend and I were in search of finding a nice, cozy Martini Bar. Alas, we came across Bonton. Although the inside was very cozy and peaceful, we sat outside during Cruise Night (because it was the perfect temperature) and waited what seemed like 5 seconds to be sat. We each ordered our main drink, had a few small plates, dessert AND a dessert martini. Everything was great and the prices were very reasonable. Service was pretty good as well seeing as they were very busy. Pretty sure this will be our new hang out spot. :)

Loves this place drinks were great and food was amazing! Get the bread pudding!!! I will be back for sure!!! I would love to try try everything on the menu they must have a great chef because they are right on!!!

Came in on a Sunday night with friends around 8PM. It was apparent from the start that the bartender/​server did not want to be there. There was four of us, another couple and a guy in the bar. Our drinks came ungarnished (rum and coke and gin and tonic without limes). The server never came back to our table once after the first round. When we questioned the manager, we were told that if no one is in the restaurant next door at Praga, the bar usually closes early. I guess it doesn’t matter if there are paying customers in the bar! He said he was waiting for us to leave so he could close. Stating on your website that your open until 1AM means nothing. It does explain the crappy service and attitude from our server though. NO TIP FOR YOU!!! My first and last time for that place. Awful experience.

TERRIBLE SERVICE… I liked the convenience of this place for meeting friends for drinks the past 5 years or so, but I will not be coming back. Came in tonight at 8pm with friends for some birthday cocktails. At 9pm we wanted to order more drinks from our unfriendly server. My friend went to the bar to order and the manager made it clear that they were waiting for us to leave so that they could close. THEIR WEBSITE SAYS THEY ARE OPEN UNTIL 1AM! He said they close when the restaurant side (Praga) is empty. Apparently, this place doesn’t want paying customers!

I am in love with this place and wish I could visit more often. My first time there the place was dead but the owner was very friendly and you could tell how much he loved his place, I don’t blame him! I’ve only visited about 3 times but will definitely start making more frequent visits. The service is always great and the pomegranate martini is out of this world! Keep up the great work!

My fiancé and I came here for $ 5 martinis on a Thursday. Martinis were good, service was so-​so. We decided to plan a double date to come back and have martinis the next week. When we went into the bar there were a couple tables filled. We went to find a table and the lady working said «hold on let me see if we are still open.» It was only 945pm and they close at 1am. She came back and said «we are closed.» When we asked her why when their website says they are open until 1am she said that it is because it’s what the manager wants. I don’t know how you run a business like this. Martinis are good but if you want a good experience or good service I would pass.

I kinda like this place…
Not very upscale, but nice lighting, pretty cozy décor, I mean in the suburb it is not easy to find when many other places are either sports bar or just the full bar inside a restaurant. Usually order small plates and martinis and have chat with friends here. Music is loud but not too loud, so it’s good.
In summertime they have tables in the outdoor patio, which is great hangout place to enjoy a nice dinner or drinks with friends on a Friday or Saturday night.
Owner is very friendly, he always come to greet us every time we come in. In terms of service, its true that sometimes it can be quite slow when they are busy, but I’m ok with that.
We had short ribs, ravioli, and duck tonight. All tasted pretty well. I especially liked the soup they make here. We ordered both the asparagus and mushroom tonight, both were creamy and delicious. Dessert was just so-​so we had the chocolate torte to share. Their salad is good too but I haven’t ordered tonight. ***The waitress who served us this time was so attentive, extremely helpful and she has a very pretty face as well, I should have asked her name and give her credit here****.
I’m not sure what other people were complaining about. But to me I’d give them four stars cause it doesnt allow me to give a 3.5

Apparently wayyyy understaffed to accommodate the Thursday night crowd, or female bartender had issues? We were served our martinis promptly, but she never acknowledged us when we wanted to place food orders and get another drink.
We’ve never had problems here in the past.

This out of the way martini bar has an amazing drink list and great service. The food is delicious as well, and even though they have city prices for a suburban spot, it’s worth a visit. Our neighborhood friend’s say week nights can get packed with dance and soccer moms, but we went on a Thursday and had a great experience.

I’m here practically every Thursday night with some of my coworkers. Their martinis are worth the trip from the Midway area.
The things on their bar menu aren’t as overpriced as one might think. The wings and the calamari here are pretty awesome.

The drinks are good, but the service here is just awful. I felt bad for the young bartender, he was trying to be friendly, but it was just too busy for him to provide good service to everyone there.
The last time I was there it was stifling hot inside. It was about 85 outside, and I don’t think they were running the A/​C. Rather than help the overworked and sweating bartender, the owner of the place was just standing around in the glass-​walled, temperature controlled wine cellar, gazing at all the bottles and staying cool.

It was my first time going to Bön Ton, I have lived in the neighborhood for 4 years now and always wanted to stop in, but never had the time/​reason.
Made reservations for New Year’s Eve, I think there might be some communication issues in regards to the reservation process bc I was clearly told it was a 3 course meal with an open wine bar for $ 65 per person (I even repeated that to the person on the phone) but upon arriving at the restaurant for the meal, was advised it was a 4 course meal with beverages separate. My friends and I decided to stay even though this would lead to quite the difference in what we had budgeted for the meal. This miscommunication is the only thing keeping me from giving them 5 stars.
I am very happy we stayed though! The meal was elegant, delicious, and well prepared. I am not familiar with their daily menu, but if it is ANYTHING like the New Years fare, I am going back very soon. I had scallops on a cauliflower risotto, a cream of mushroom soup, duck medallions and scallops with a root veggie purée and brussel sprouts, finished by a raspberry crème brûlée.
My friends sampled their goat fromage tart, crab cake, lobster bisque, rack of lamb, steak and prawns, a strawberry profiterole and a trio of tropical sorbets.
We sampled several of their martinis, all of them were well crafted and tasty. The wine list is VERY extensive and offers a variety of price options and vintages, I also appreciated the the option of bottle vs glass on some. They also helped our party find a wine that would pair well with all of our main entrees.
They do allow you to BYOB but do charge a corking fee. Honestly though, I am not sure that I would ever bring my own considering that it is a wine/​martini bar.
Service was very attentive and they seemed to have booked additional staff to help with the holiday.
The crowd does seem to be 30+ in age range, which I found enjoyable since it was a more mellow/​quite evening where I could easily converse with my friends and not have to shout over background noise/​music to be heard.
I am looking forward to visiting again soon and through out the spring /​summer as their outdoor patio space looks quite nice also.

I’ve been living out in the SW burbs for a little over three years now and NEVER heard of this place. A friend of mine from High School lives in Lombard and suggested it because they have $ 5 martinis on Thursday nights. There was no saying «no» to that. Located near downtown Lombard but not quite IN downtown is this great find… Bön Ton.
This is a very nice place, and being $ 5 drink night it wasn’t packed. At 7pm there was plenty of room to sit at the bar, inside, or outside out front. The $ 5 drink/​martini list was extensive as well. I had two drinks, can’t remember the name of it but it had rum chata in it… once I saw that, I was sold.
Yes, this is a great find, and Yes, I shall return.

Ended up here one Friday night with some co-​workers. Had heard they had good wine and martinis so we checked it out. It was a great night outside but we got there too late to get a good seat outside. We sat at a nice table right inside the doors.
It took a while to get service, and when the server did come he apologized profusely and stated he was the only server for the whole place. We did not fault him for this but wondered what kind of establishment would only have one server on a Friday night.
The appetizers were okay (I actually recommend the chicken wings). I had two martinis– one watermelon which wasn’t impressive and one key lime, which was much better. Like one previous review states, I like my martinis better without pre-​mixed stuff and the key lime martini tasted way more fresh.
All in all a decent time, and we will be back.

We went for Thursday evening $ 5 Martinis, what a great deal!
Lots of martini choices which are normally priced at $ 8(still a good deal).
They were delish, well made martinis.
My friend and I tipped back our share and then decided to nibble on the bar food offerings.
The pizzas were OK, kind of a sweet sauce, we tried 2 of them, after 2 martinis so maybe I am not the best to judge… the chicken wings were very crispy and tasty.
It was quite busy.
The service is very European in nature, detail oriented not super quick or overly chatty.
I’ll be back, it was a great deal our whole bill was only $ 53.00!
That included another round of martinis which I wasn’t going to mention.

This place is awful. I really try to not to judge a place too quickly, but when the owner is a douche bag, it’s really hard to not associate his business with him.
When Bonton opened I thought, hey, a cool martini bar in Lombard?! Ya. not so much.
My best friend decided to throw her birthday party here and it was a DISASTER! She sat down with the owner a week or so before and had a bite to eat as they hacked out the details of the party… how many people. what she wanted as far as drinks. and the price of wrist bands. etc.
First things first, the place is much smaller than it looks from outside and there’s not that many places to sit. Any other bar, this wouldn’t really bother me, but at martini bars, you plan on sitting and socializing, right? This was one of the many problems that made my friend’s birthday one to remember… all for the wrong reasons.
The owner told her they would have a person at the door selling $ 25 wristbands for the party. not only was there NO ONE at the door but NO ONE had any clue about a party taking place there at all. The owner apparently didn’t communicate anything to his staff. Not only did the staff have no idea, they were complete a-​holes about it, gave my friend and everyone else attitude.
The party was a complete disaster and ruined my best friend’s birthday. I couldn’t believe the owner screwed up one of it’s first potential parties and did not leave a good taste in anyone’s mouth.
The food is OK at best. Seems like they’re advertising fancy french food and only delivering mediocre. The martini’s are not badly priced. but they weren’t that great either. On top of that, it takes the bartenders 30 minutes to even see you at the bar in order to take your order. even when the place is empty.
I would never step place back in this ‘martini bar.’ It really just SUCKS!