Blackbird

09/04/09

Yes I like it

by Jenny M at Citysearch

Just a fun, elegant place to have a dinner .. pamper yourself. Enjoy the food, the deserts, and wine

• Pros: nice place
• Cons: a little on the pricey side

02/20/09

Trendy

by cmroma at Citysearch

I have been going here since they opened and liked it better then. Now, it seems like the servers have bad attitudes. The tables are so close together that it is hard talk privately. The wine list is way overpriced. I had a glass of wine that was not good and when I sent it back they treated me like I was crazy. The food is usually still pretty good but the attitudes need to change!

• Pros: Trendy & good chef
• Cons: Not so great service

02/03/09

Avoid this restaurant

by Lakeviewresident1 at Citysearch

Some of my friends recommended this restaurant but is was not a good experience. The service was poor and the food was terrible with the exception of the endive salad. As a main course I tried the "Black Bird" sandwich which consisted of a tiny piece of white fish on a soggy piece of toast served with some chips. The fish tasted like it had been marinated in spice mustard for 2 days. The worst part of the meal was the dessert. I ordered the chocolate fritters which were 3 marble sized deep fried chocolates with a crusty coating and a little sorbet. They must have fried fish or shrimp in the same oil since that is what it tasted like. It was awful. This place is extremely overrated and I would not recommend it to anyone.

• Pros: Nice looking restaurant
• Cons: terrible service and food

11/09/08

Forgettable

by hayekkiio at Citysearch

Wow. And no, not in a good way. The food was not cooked poorly but prepared poorly; under-seasoned,bland, tasteless. The crowd; as bland as the food. The space; excellent if you are a minimalist. The service however was outstanding. In short, worth every penny if it were free (and one had never eaten here before).

• Pros: Service
• Cons: Everything but the service

10/17/08

Modern Paul Kahan spot on Restaurant Row gathers foodies for swank, seasonal bites.

by Contributor at Citysearch

Space age in feel, this narrow, minimalist West Loop restaurant showcases highly seasonal fare its uber-hip following is all too happy to lap up, in close proximity, from their mod bucket-style chairs. On-point servers scuttle from sleek the white bar to the bank of tables lining the left wall, delivering thought-provoking wines that make sauerkraut bisque with house-made squab prosciutto sing. Finales live up to the hype, with choices like kalamata olive cake with honeycrisp apples, toffee and buttermilk ice cream.

• Pros: consistently excellenthip
• Cons: starktoo trendy

07/22/08

Dress Appropriately, Good Food, Very Pretentious Scene

by nolachitown at Citysearch

My date and I had originally planned to dine at the wonderful Avec next door and were dressed appropriately for the scene there (very casual, nice jeans and a jacket). Unfortunately, we arrived too late and they were only seating one group before closing time. The hostess at Avec told us we'd have no problem getting a table at Blackbird's and having a nice meal there. Well - we walked in and were immediately out of sorts when we noticed that almost every guy was a spitting image of an Andy Warhol with their black Wayfarer's and black dinner jackets. It was an awkward situation . We didn't have any problem being seated, but I can tell that our "apparel" didn't please the snooty waitress assigned to our table (who btw, had a black eye and looking at her nearly put off my appetite) and when we had a few questions about the menu she would answer in a very sarcastic way. The positive: our food was great - small - but great with a beautiful presentation. When our waitress forgot our espresso order (mind you that we were 1 of 3 tables left) I asked for the manager and he immediately came over and comped our espressos and even brought dessert wines. I guess you have to bring it to their attention that the customer is always right. I hope future patrons have a better experience or that they have better trained their staff.

06/19/08

Not that great

by albarlow at Citysearch

Came here for my b-day and was surprised that it's been rated so well. The food was ok...very small portions as expected, but high-priced for 'just ok.' The scene was nothing to write home about either. The tables were practically staked on top of each other...about 2 inches apart. Tiny space with nothing on the walls, nothing romantic about this place. Our waiter was pleasant and brought me a shawl for our outdoor dinning when the sun went down. Overall, wouldn't go back and it's not even worth saying that we've been there. Oh well.

• Pros: Not a lot
• Cons: Price, ambiance, portion, cocktails

04/08/08

excellent service

by wendygirl611 at Citysearch

after reading some of the earlier reviews i was a little worried our anniversary dinner wouldn't be so great. BUT we were surprised. Our server, I think his name was David, was very attentive yet did was not over bearing. He asked us questions about what kind of wine we like, he listened and brought us a bottle we absolutely loved. Service was superb, right down to the plate presentation. My husband works in the industry and I am a veteren, so we know when we get good service and this was a definite. Food was delicious. Interesting flavor combinations. Some of the reviews said this place was pretentious, absolutely not. Would go back and recommend to others.

• Pros: sturgeon was tasty

11/16/07

Completely Overrated, Rude Staff!

by casaccav at Citysearch

I have heard mixed reviews about Blackbird for some time now. I figured it had to be pretty good since it has been around for a while. I have been to many restaurants in Chicago, it is very rare for me to want to leave as bad as I did last night. When we asked if there were any specials for the night our waitress replied ?what you see is what you get? We proceeded to order and the waitress came back and said they were out of two main dishes and one appetizer. The atmosphere is cold and the room is extremely noisy. The food wasn?t bad by any means, however for what we paid, there are so many better restaurants around Chicago that treat you like a customer should be treated

• Pros: Halibut
• Cons: Bacon flavored ice cream they through on a desert, absolutely repulsive!

06/19/07

Casual elegance

by TeamSplashiPortland at Citysearch

Today Team Splashi experienced true casual/classic dinning at Blackbird located on:

619 W Randolph St

Chicago, IL 60661

(312) 715-0708 .

This place is so fare the closest you will get to the European dining with out leaving ?second city?.

Team Splashi had ?braised octopus with fresh hummus , charred ramps,sesame brittle and chickpeas.

This is appetizer and it is really small portion of food, so we had to get us ?seared white fish sandwich, with lemon and great homemade potato salad. This one was teasty.

Team Splashi had great experience at this elegant yet casual restaurant , which btw has big wine list to choose from, we hope that you too will have time to experience this great place.

Bon appetite.

teamsplashi.blogspot

• Pros: ambiance,food
• Cons: none