Bin 36

07/23/08

Great hang-out spot

by Lombardo22 at Citysearch

My friends and I have been frequenting this place for the past 5 years, it's one of our favorite spots. We always have a great time, plenty of wine, plenty of cheese....need I say more?? I love choices and that's part of what keeps me coming back, I always get to try something new. Service is usually good - a friendly, cool environment, lots of fun, not too pricey either.

07/23/08

Best Cheese Menu in the City

by rightfielder at Citysearch

My coworkers and I come here at least once a week to nosh on cheese and drink wine after work . We always have great service, (or trust me, we wouldn't be back), I brought my wife here for our anniversary last year and we ate in the more formal dining room and it was a perfect evening. We made the reservation online through open table and wrote in that it was our anniversary, well they sent over 2 glasses of sparkling wine (it was great too, not cheapo) to start our evening, completely unexpected, but what a nice touch. The food is always good, the wine is great, the service is great and the cheese menu is fantastic.

• Pros: Cheese & Service

07/20/08

I can't believe anyone would recommend this restaurant.

by Ricksrule at Citysearch

Really, what are people thinking. I was so offended. The service was horrible, the food really, gosh, I can't even describe how much I was disappointed with the food. The flavor just wasn't there! The service was far below par, and I just can't imagine that place has been open for 9 years. There are far better ways to waste your money, DON"T GO TO BIN 36!!!

07/19/08

WINE LOVERS DELIGHT + GREAT FOOD

by eatzout at Citysearch

I love wine and when great food is added to that equation it's even better. I went to BIN 36 last week with a couple of friends and will definitely be returning. I honestly can't believe I've never been there, it's been open for 9 years! The restaurant is a big loft space and may seem a bit overwhelming and not too cozy but don't let that stop you. We were seated after a bit of a wait (we didn't have a reservation) While we waited the hostess served us a sip of their featured wine (cool huh?) The server arrived promptly and launched into quite a description of the menus, of which there are a lot, a cheese, dinner, chef's tasting menu and 50 wines by the glass! The server was great at helping us navigate through all of this and we ordered 4 flights of wine. I had the Express Yourself Flight, I couldn't resist and was glad I didn't, it was great, my friends were equally impressed with their choices. We ordered the BIN 36 Cheese Flight, 6 cheese you can't live w/o is how they describe it and it's true, they were yummy, wine & cheese duh! We then ordered a few appetizers Rhubarb Chix Wings, (the only disappointment, just not very good) Peeky Toe Crab Salad and House Smoked Fish Sampler (both delish) We were getting a bit full and decided to split entrees, I've been to many places that frown on this but our server was so cool about it. We had the Seared Ahi Tuna and the Hanger Steak, our server paired a glass of wine for each of us for these choices and we had a great time trying each others with the food. Did I mention we were full? Well we couldn't resist dessert, we had the Lemon Cake and the Chocolate and Banana Pudding thing, To wrap it all up - We had a great time and will be back! Come for the wine, stay for the food, don't miss the cheese!

• Pros: Wine, Cheese, Service
• Cons: It was chilly bring a sweater

06/04/08

Terrible service, medicore food

by foodie_5881 at Citysearch

My family was visiting from out of town for the weekend, so we went here on a Saturday evening before a show in the Theater distric.

Our reservations were for 6:45, so the restaurant wasn't very busy, yet we managed to get TERRIBLE service. Our waiter was extremely rude, and even asked "Is something wrong?" after one member of our party declined to order wine.

The food was overpriced, undersized and average at best. With so many wonderful restaurants to experience in Chicago, I know for certain that I won't be returning to Bin 36.

• Pros: good selection of wines
• Cons: rude waitstaff, overpriced

04/26/08

Not our day.

by foust77 at Citysearch

Bin 36 has a definite reputation. I'll be the first to tell you I can't argue with that. All i want to say and share is that at 7pm, on Saturday, April 26th, things weren't meant to be. On Saturday, April 19th, or maybe even Saturday, May 3rd, one could enter the restaurant doors without stumbling on two cement blocks and a 10lb dumb-bell, creatively used as a door stop. People might also receive the appetizer they ordered rather than a dramatically long wait for their main course. It was hard to muster the 20% tip when we saw our waiter three times during the duration of our two-and-a-half hour meal. Thankfully, another waitress was on hand to bring us steak knives in replacement of our butter knives to cut through our overpriced rubber roast. We can't tell you how good the dessert was, because we were well on our way to Quartino. Despite our battle scars, the atmosphere was lively enough was to entice us to return for an aperitif at the bar. But sit-down? Never again.

• Pros: lively atmosphere
• Cons: overpriced + bad service

02/22/08

Worst breakfast I ever had

by Jovnka1 at Citysearch

My husband and I stopped in for breakfast. We waited 5 minutes for a host to seat us. It took literally 45 minutes for our order to come up. we asked the waiter several times what the issue was and he just kept telling us a few more minutes. My husband ordered egg beaters and they were hardly cooked. The woman next to us had the same problem and sent her food back. Another couple had burnt french toast and yet another received the wrong order. All of us sitting next to each other were upset, and talking amoungst ourselves how awful the service and food was. In addition, it was very expensive and we refused to pay and left.

• Pros: Location if you are staying in the hotel
• Cons: Horrible service and expensive

09/24/07

Delicious Wine & Cheese, Disappointing Dinner

by smschicago at Citysearch

Overall my recent dining experience at Bin 36 was pleasant enough. Our server was very friendly and was attentive without being overbearing or rushing our dinner. I would highly recommend trying one of the wine flights. I sampled the Bubbles which were all enjoyable and my boyfriend had the Italian/Spanish white flight, off of which we ended up ordering an excellent bottle to accompany dinner. I started with the beet salad which would have been delicious however it was drenched in dressing. My boyfriend complained that his ceasar salad was too oily, it did not look appetizing to me either. For dinner I had the scallops which were amazing and perfectly cooked, however the broccolirab on the side was extremely bitter and inedible and the fingerling potatoes were undercooked. Dessert was the biggest disappointment to me, we ordered the chocolate ganache and it was very bitter and tasted almost of cherries. I would have expected the ganache to be more on the sweet side, but that is just my interpretation. The wine is very reasonably priced, however I felt the food was overpriced for the value/taste. I would return for wine and cheese but probably not dinner.

09/10/07

Everything is great!

by violetaria at Citysearch

I have been to Bin 36 twice now and each time has been fantastic. I suggest starting with a cheese plate (even if dining alone), the plates are affordable and a pretty good sized portion for the price. I would also check out the wine flights. They are a great way to try different wines without getting the whole glass and deciding you don't like it. The duck was excellent and I would definitly have it again. The lamb was cooked perfectly!! Though it is a stronger dish and you should pick wines that can stand up to it. I can't wait to go back!

• Pros: wine bar, cheese bar, food, service
• Cons: none

05/20/07

Great Bar food and regular menu

by sugarywitch at Citysearch

The bar menu is great, some of the best burgers in Chicago The cheese plates are also very nice. The regular menu is more pricey but the food is very good. The best part is the wine flights which are nicely priced and tend to include wonderful choices. Don't forget to visit the shop on your way out, lots of wonderful finds.

• Pros: Great bar menu and wine flights
• Cons: Can get noisy