Zella

Penny Pinchers. Being from the area, I have been to this place many times and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Their outdoor patio always provides for a tremendous ambiance. I was there yesterday with some people, and we had a good time. A lot of the items were half price and out of the four of us we ended up spending 80 each. We split our bills, so we each got a bill of about 20. I though the server was great and left her a 25% tip. As we were leaving, the manager approaches up and says is everything okay? We said that everything was amazing. He said the server was kind of upset that you did not tip her well. We said we gave a 25% tip. He said she just just started working and it was her second stint. The manager literally told us to tip more as he said that out bill should have been like $150 if it wasn't for the special. Last time I checked, I wasn't suppose to tip to the price of the stuff that was the original price. I will repeat that he said that if you don't mind could you give more money. I ended up complying with his request very begrudgingly. At the end of the day I tipped $10 on a $19 bill.…

Dangerous and Rude. DO NOT GO THERE! I attended a New Years Eve party there and the party itself was alright, mostly due to the people I was there with. The deal was $100 for heavy appetizers, top shelf drinks and a midnight champagne toast. The bartenders made weak drinks, as commented on by all in our group. There was no champagne available for our group at any point in the night, and the 'heavy appetizers' sat out all night getting stale and cold. Also, the promotion that was supposed to go until 1:30 ended at 1:00, turning to a cash bar. Then they kicked everyone out into the zero degree weather to find their own cabs as none came by instead of calling a few companies to alert them to the large amount of people leaving around 2.

Worst of all is that when I called to speak to a manager and explain that after spending 45 minutes trying to find a cab, after an hour of being back at our hotel I still could not feel my toes, I WAS HUNG UP ON! TWICE!!!! That was the poorest and most inappropriate service I have ever experienced from any establishment.…

RATS...SICK...and RUDE. I went there the other night and was sitting on the patio with a bunch of people when a R@T ran under our table and over 3 of our feet (all were wearing sandals). It was disgusting. That was followed by two smaller (probably babies) r@ts. We all almost threw up. We promptly told our waitress and how we wanted our check cause we were leaving and she gave us a hard time saying "oh, its only a r@t, quit being babies...its not the last r@t you'll see out here." And it wasn't the first I have seen on the Zella patio either. Needless to say, we left a tip, but not as generous as we could have left...and I, nor any of the people we were there with will NEVER go back. DISGUSTING and not friendly!…

Fabulous, all-encompassing bar/restaurant experience! The BEST!!!. I visit Chicago regularly with my guy. On this particular evening, he was attending a formal work event so I decided to brave Chicago on my own before meeting up with him later for some clubbing. Least to say, I was innapropriately dressed! Funky and fabulous tiny dress! I came running in from the downpour and promptly found a seat a bar, the most desired location for a single gal, since the conversation is built in. The female bartender was prompt and sweet despite the crowds. I was a little self conscious about over dressing in this casual bar but no one seemed to mind. In fact guys and girls alike were friendly and conversational the entire evening. I ordered the crab cakes appetizer which was great and plated well. The cocktails were mixed to perfection. It was nice that the back patio was open to smokers, who were huddled around the big tree in back. A wonderful summer evening at an exceptionally friendly bar. Can't wait to go back and bring my guy to meet more Chicago friends!…