CheSa’s Bistro & Bar 3235 West Addison Street, Chicago, IL 60618

"Came here tonight for restaurant week. Server was kind, but they seem short staffed and overwhelmed. We were the first in the restaurant but received our food after a few other tables who placed their order well after us. Apps came out cold, and we aren’t convinced the oxtail on the risotto was actual oxtail. Looking at other reviews, it seems they had similar issues a year ago at the last restaurant week and took no effort to resolve complains that I now see were very valid. We came in with high hopes to try what sounded like a great gluten free restaurant, but left two long hours later very disappointed. The 20% service charge for groups of 2 or more, which isn’t well advertised, seems like their way of getting away with poor service and very long wait times. This review is a reflection of the restaurant and not the server, he was very kind and I felt kind of bad for him dealing with the mess. just to clarify this is a never return experience. Our total was near $200 and this was no where near a $200 experience. 20% service charge for such small groups was the least of this restaurants problems."

"I wish I could have loved it but my experience and the food lacked flavor appeal and creativity the pineapple petite cocktail was very good reminded me of a day at the beach somewhere Caribbean! The shrimp tacos needed more flavor they were covered in grape tomatoes... every plate that came out was covered in those tomatoes I also had had the lamb meatballs very underwhelming and rare which really bothered me I've never seen a rare meatball... the crawfish corn bread was very sweet with nothing to tie the two ingredients together I was disappointed once again the server was nice but very slow and didn't seem to have any knowledge about the menu.... I won't be back"

"I hate to give a poor review, but my friends and I left this restaurant on Saturday (1/20/2024) evening with much disappointment. There were a total of four of us and we picked different options to share. I’ll start with the highs that we experienced. The fried catfish and jambalaya were excellent. The fish was fried to perfection and the jambalaya was tasty. Generous portions, of chicken, sausage and shrimp in the jambalaya. I was able to share shrimp with my three friends and still had enough for me to pleasantly enjoy. A friend tried the oxtail and risotto option from the restaurant week menu and we all enjoyed it. Tasty, oxtails were tender and the risotto was great. I will move on to what we experienced that were good, but needed work. We ordered the cornbread and hush puppies as appetizers. They both were very tasty, but were served at less than room temperature. They would have tasted so much better if served hot. The crawfish and sauce over the cornbread were tasty, however the cornbread was a bit dry. The sauce gave the cornbread the moistness it needed. We ordered the chicken and waffles. The chicken was good, but the waffles were a disappointment. They were spongy and lacked in flavor. The waffle led to disappointment in the peach cobbler dessert option as they make it with the same waffle. Lastly, we ordered the red snapper with red beans and rice from the restaurant week menu. This was a huge disappointment which led to a let down in service. I am sad that we don’t have a photo because it would really help to understand the disappointment in this dish. The red snapper wasn’t bad, but it was drowned in the red beans and rice that were terrible. So much so, that we all felt the red beans and rice should not even be an option on the menu. I will say that when I looked at photos from other reviews, what we were served looked nothing like those photos. Respectfully, we collectively felt that the red beans and rice at Popeye’s would be a better option, and I personally don’t even like their red beans and rice. We let the server know of our dismay. The look on her face was surprised. She proceeded to take the plate away from my friend, mind you it was still a whole plate of food. We thought maybe she was coming back with a fresh plate, nothing. She didn’t even apologize for the inconvenience. She took the whole plate of food from us and did nothing. We thought someone would come to our table to try to accommodate the dissatisfaction or offer for the meal to be replaced, nothing. We thought maybe we would see a portion of the of the bill comped. Maybe a complimentary appetizer in lieu of the failed meal, nothing. I pleasantly brought this to the attention of the server and explained how we were excited to try the restaurant, but disappointed in the lack of accountability. She said because it was ordered from the restaurant week menu, there was a disclaimer posted saying the restaurant would not accommodate any forfeits or refunds on the order. Mind you, we did not know this restaurant participated in restaurant week and ordered several items from the normal menu. The lack of accountability and for the server to take a whole plate of food and not offer an alternate option was mind blowing. As much as we collectively loved the catfish and jambalaya, we would not recommend the restaurant. The service that started off fresh ended up in complete let down. We experienced some highs, but the mids and lows dominated the experience and the lack of accountability left us in dissatisfaction and disappointment. I hope this helps with the food that is being served and how service is provided going forward."

"My only issue was that I was in a party of only two, but was automatically charged 20% gratuity on the meal. Although I don't have a problem with tipping for actual table service, I prefer to tip cash as that gives my server the option to declare the money that I already paid taxes on. Because I wanted to show & encourage my server to continue to provide great service, I tipped him an additional 20% in cash before departing. What if my service was bad & I felt 20% wasn't a fair amount? That option was taken away from me. I felt that it was in bad taste. In the Bistro's defense, I'm not from the area & their clientele experience may require this. The service was excellent! The food was presented well & tasted accordingly. The drinks recommended by our server were good as well . I definitely recommend CheSa's Bistro & Bar & plan to return."

"The food was unmatched. Everything I had was savory and delicious I celebrated my birthday here and had 15 or more people to join me. Upon arrival the staff were very attentive, friendly and professional. The entire ambiance was phenomenal! Lastly, the Drinks was Fye!!! Cheers to the bartender who didn't measure the alcohol, I guess, I was nicely toasted. Definitely going back"