Bloomington ChopHouse — Restaurant in Bloomington

Terrible all around! Avoid at all costs! Zero stars!

I was staying at the Hilton and decided to dine at the Chop House because my client recommended it and it was 8 degrees outside. Since Ciao Bella that they also recommended was excellent the night before, I figured this would be a good bet. Oh how wrong was I! The restaurant was not busy when I arrived at 5:45, but I was seated near the kitchen, more on that later. The fun started when I ordered a Bell’s Two Hearted Ale. They were out, so I tried a local IPA instead. Not bad. Next I ordered the French onion soup because the one I had two nights prior at Hazelwood was exceptional. Not here! It lacked any flavor and the hunk of bread floating in the crock was stale. The bread service also arrived. “Ciabatta” with butter and olive oil with garlic and herbs for dipping. Also stale and no amount of oil or butter made it edible. At this point I should have gone elsewhere, but I thought I’d try their Walleye because the description sounded good and the one I had at Ciao Bella the night before was amazing. Wrong again! Here the fish was dense not flaky and the cracker coating was dry and it was swimming in a pool of “compound butter” or oil. I had to squeeze a bunch of fresh lemon wedges on it just to swallow it. The wild rice had zero flavor, not even salt, and the cherry tomatoes were just meh, but I polished most of it off. I looked at the desert menu, but none of the “house made” deserts sounded good, so I paid the $67 bill and left. Even though the restaurant was at 20% capacity, the service was slow. Oh, and the kitchen doors stayed partially open almost the whole time shining out bright light and I could hear all the banging and clanking instead of enjoying a dim and quiet space. ...

Excellent dinner at Bloomington Chophouse, located in the Hilton hotel. Went in for Restaurant Week and added a couple extra starters. Service was exceptional — two waiters regularly checked in on us, ensuring our meal was pleasant and had everything we needed. Had a great conversation with both about food and drink recommendations.

Here’s the meal breakdown (Restaurant Week + more):

NA Red Wine Blend — flavorful like a rosé. First time trying a non-alcoholic red wine and definitely would recommend. Buffalo chicken soup — good flavor, very creamy and rich. Crab cake — delicious! Loved it the most with the harissa vinaigrette and a squeeze of lemon. Really enjoyed that it didn’t rely on breading to keep it formed which allowed the crab flavor to shine. Hush puppies & Sausage — both excellent! Best hush puppies I’ve had in a restaurant in the twin cities! Great flavor (slightly spicy) and had a nice crunchy coating. The sausage was delicious, juicy, and flavorful. In my opinion, both were excellent on their own and the sauce was not needed. Brisket — nice fat cap on top. Pulled apart easily with my fork. Paired nicely with the pickles and mustard. Ribs — Delicious spice rub (sweet and smoky) and very tender meat! Stellar! Baked beans — If chili and traditional baked beans had a baby, this would be it! Sweet, savory, and smoky with 3 types of beans and bacon. Wowzer! Knocked it out of the park! Strawberry Shortcake — where to start? The biscuit was baked to perfection and loved the sugar granules on the top half. The strawberry rhubarb sauce was perfectly balanced — not too sweet and not too tart. The whipped cream tasted homemade. Fabulous dessert! Overall great dinner! Will definitely come back and...

The service was not rushed. The best part of the meal was the Salad, I got a 10 oz Filet. First thing is I can tell by the lack of firmness that this is not free range beef. There was no muscle tone to the meat at all. Normally indicating that these are feed lot beef. The second issue was the stake was not cooked well. With something this think it should have been dry boiled prior to attempting to grill it. I ordered it medium since this would be a thicker cut of meat and normally it is expected to be under cooked enough that you get medium rare. What I got, the outside was carboned, and the inside was rare. I did not finish my steak. The sauteed onions and mushrooms were a bit on the mushy and cool side, like they may have been prepared well in advance.

I paid my full bill of over $60 and left a good tip for the waitress as it was not her fault. I spoke with the host and explained that I felt the person that did the grilling may need a bit more training.

I give an extra start (now 2) because the staff did imediatly attempt to take it off my bill. I explained that I did not want to say anything until after I paid, because I did not want anyone thinking I was just looking for a discount. It annoys me when I see others complaining just to get a free meal.

Your mileage may very. I do believe that they will attempt to improve on the grilling of the meat. I do hope that they work with their vendor to get a bit better quality of meat, because what they are advertising and what is being served is not the same. If I was to guess, I would say it is not the restaurant's fault for the meat quality but more likely the supplier is cutting corners.

Staff...