Bandera Restaurant
Chicago, IL 60611-3814
Phone: (312) 644-3524
- Price:
- $$
- Cross Street:
- Grand Avenue
- Directions:
- El: Red Line to Grand
- Best of Citysearch:
- Comfort Food 2007
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 11:30am-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-11pm, Sun 12pm-10pm
Editorial Review for Bandera Restaurant – by Citysearch Staff
The Scene
Bandera is a chain restaurant that doesn't act like one. Lighting is dark; black vinyl booths with dark wood tables line the walls; barstools are made of cowhide; and a huge rotisserie oven roasts several dozen chickens at a time. The restaurant is usually jam-packed with locals.
The Food
Bandera's menu of comfort food is small, but portions are big--and boy, just about everything's good. Delicious cornbread is steamed with butter, laced with just a hint of jalapeno and served up in a cast-iron skillet (or get a big piece for just $1). Slow-roasted chicken is simple and wonderful: The meat falls off the bone, and the dish comes with about a pound of chive-studded mashed potatoes. Burgers are big and fat and juicy, while "macho" salad is a feast of greens loaded with dates, nuts, goat cheese and shreds of chicken still warm from the spit. You won't have room, but the Oreo ice cream sandwich is a great way to finish.
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Insider Tips
When to GoFor lunch, call ahead and arrive before noon to avoid long waits. The wait at dinner is less of a hassle, as there's plenty of room at the bar.
The ExtrasBandera features a jazz trio nightly 6pm-10pm (weekends 7pm-10pm).
Where to SitWindow tables have a great view of the Mag Mile below; for a more intimate ambience, request a booth.
ParkingThe restaurant validates for parking at the nearby garage at Rush and Wabash.
User Reviews for Bandera Restaurant
05/01/2008 Posted by welss5257
To eater 32323, you should have given 5 stars to this restaurant instead of 1. The fact that the management is not afraid to stand up for its staff is not just honorable, it is good business. If 10% tips were all the the staff in this restaurant received, then the quality of staff would go down as they would leave to go to other restaurants where they are taken care in a customary and appropriate manner. Then the service as a whole would suffer, and eventually business would decline. Anyone who is in business, especially international business, should understand that it is very important to follow the etiquette and customs of whichever nation they are doing business in. The fact that your colleague only tipped 10% means 1 of 2 things. Either he/she is not professional enough to learn the etiquette rules of this country or they are simply cheap. Either way, you may want to consider not associating with this type of individual.
02/20/2008 Posted by eater32323
I was on a business lunch. I was with a foreign gentleman who invited me to lunch. He insisted on paying. He did. The manager comes to us as we're leaving and starts talking to us like she's about to give us a customer survey or something. Then she goes, "On the flipside, we like to make sure that our guests take care of our staff. " (For a brief second, thoughts of waitress in the back sobbing after a groping incident went through my head.) "Typically, we receive 15 to 20%, and you left only 10. Can I ask, was this a mistake?" The gentleman asks to take a look and she's like, "oh see, that's an 8 and a 6, and oh go ahead, just change it right on there." This is the most absurd behavior I have ever seen. First of all, you're on Michigan Avenue! If you don't expect tourists who do not know our customs to tip less, get off of Michigan Avenue! We were discussing a contract worth several tens of thousands of dollars, and she wants to chime in for a measly 5 extra bucks. (not to mention her talking to me as if I was guilty of this horrific crime as well.) I am sickened by this incident and wish that nobody would ever go there again. After this we both were like, "Okay, well, I gotta go." And the meeting was over. Our meeting was over because the *#^*!(! staff at this place embarrassed the hell out of everyone so bad that we just had to leave.
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