C3 Bar — Restaurant in Bloomington

The 3 dishes I ordered were interesting such that each had well balanced and layered flavors pleasingly unique to the talent at C3, an appetizing presentation, and were all appropriately portioned. There were excellent menu options, from common to uncommon. I noticed 4-7 good vegan options worth trying, but nothing about C3 is advertised as vegan. I like how the chefs have enough skill that they did not rely purely on the savory quality of our furry critter friends to make the dishes tasty. Seating, service (perfect), art, atmosphere, sound, lighting were all far above average: such class that I didn't fit in with my sweatpant shorts but was treated well anyways. Having arrived for only food around 8pm, it's surprising that C3 bar runs dinner service until 10pm. Unlike the tacos, the other four dishes I tried were all easily 5/5 flawless and over the top flavors that were skillfully incorporated into each dish. I make no other reservations about recommending someone to eat at C3.

Neutral: I don't drink so I didn't look at the huge collection of wines, mixed drinks, etc. If you drink, I'm sure they'll have something you like available. We happened to walk in without reservations, but you may need one.

Con: The only reason C3 bar got 4/5 and not 5/5 is because we actually laughed at the table about the taco that made it onto the menu. It tasted and looked like a sad Hawaiian pizza; sad pizza because it's missing the sauce and cheese. It's also missing too many taco components to be a taco: a variety of vegetables to add texture, flavor, and nutrition, salsa, and maybe a grain or carb. It could have worked, but in this situation the pork seemed a little dry and the pineapple made the tortilla unpleasantly wet and cold. The presentation and proportion made them seem so empty that I wonder if a mistake was made in the kitchen. Any flavors that were supposed to be there were overpowered by the pineapple. Each ingredient on its own was fine and could have been worked into a great taco with the pineapple going into a salsa. It was the 5th dish I tried and it wasn't at all what I was expecting on my palate at the end of a great meal. Needless to say, neither one of us ate the 2nd taco. The taco is a regular menu item, and not an appetizer or chefs special: this says something.

It's tempting to give fewer stars, because this makes me wonder if the experiments have been kept in check for the rest of the menu.

Edit: I have been back several times and I have really enjoyed C3 time and time again, but my peers seem to keep finding reasons to complain..? I don't know why. Hopefully C3 stays around. The tacos seem to have been kept and unchanged. I do think their location tucked away from traffic makes advertising hard for them. I hadn't discovered C3 gor nearly a year, despite passing their restaurant nearly 1000 times. If C3 fails, it will probably be due...

I traveled to Bloomington from Charleston, SC to visit my brother and sister-in-law. They took me to C3 for my birthday. The atmosphere is lovely and, while it has a modern decor, it's quite cozy! The temperature was also very comfortable for me. (I usually get cold in restaurants. However, I didn't need to use the sweater I brought in with me.) The staff was great! Everyone we encountered was very attentive, very sweet, and extremely prompt. We never had to wait for anything, even though the restaurant was packed! We started with cocktails. I got one of the specialties that was super yummy before switching to a local beer that I wish I could find in SC! I was surprised to find they have deviled eggs as a "special of the day" appetizer, but it didn't disappoint! Who knew you could make enough variations so it could be a special of the night? What a clever and delicious way to stand out! (I can't remember everything that was in the recipe of that day, but it was a plate full of deliciousness!) The 1 thing in the whole experience that was slightly off was the crab cake appetizer. It was good, but not great. It has veggies in it, which threw us off. I appreciated the fact that it was not so much "cake", but for those of us who can get crab cakes with mostly crab and not so much cake, it's not the best. That being said, I live in one of the culinary capitals of the world, and I can throw a raw piece of chicken in the water and pull up crabs. AND I realize IN is landlocked! ! It was very good, but it took us all a minute to realize what was different. So, I want to praise the valiant effort of the chef! Bravo for not having mostly breading! I don't remember what everyone else ordered for dinner, but I got the pork medallions. This is one of those dishes that fills you up before you're done, but you don't want to stop eating it because it's just so very good! Haha! I was not going to order dessert, so I ate the whole thing! Yum yum yum! Here's where my decision on the pork hurt me: I don't like to make a big deal about my birthday, but I didn't know that they knew ahead of time that we had a birthday at the table. So, they wanted to wish me a happy day. That's wonderful, but OOF! So, I looked around the table and made it known that they are my family, so they were going to have to eat some! The Blackberry Quatro Leches Cake is what I decided would be my "birthday cake". It is extremely moist, yet light. The sweet staff brought it out with a candle so I could make a wish! Happy birthday to me indeed! Overall, this is one of the best places I have been to (not just in the US, btw)! Kudos and a very heartfelt thanks to the wonderful people at C3! I'm adding on! The deviled eggs are not your Mama's or Nana's deviled eggs! They're a culinary experience! If I lived there, I'd probably stop by every day just for the...

I have been to this establishment several times now. My first impressions were that I would be provided exceptional service. The food was excellent, this, is incontestable. However, when ordering and presumably, enjoying my cocktails my experience was stunted. I have only been seated in the care of two different bar tenders. The two have different styles (which is usually a sign of a good bar tender) and though they were generally well mannered there were pronounced problems in both. For the gentleman bartender, there was a clear lack of both appropriate manor (He called me "brother" for the duration of my stay. Though endearing to some, I found it unfortunately unprofessional.) and a sloppiness in his cocktailing. I understand cocktails and know that the design of the cocktails I had, was well thought out. Though the cocktails I had from this gentleman were undesirable and I found myself having to force myself to drink them for the sake of not wasting money. For the lady, I must say that I have only had one of her cocktails. I enjoyed the cocktail however, it was a simple cocktail and typically, a relatively quick one. However, it took nearly ten minutes to make this cocktail and half of the cocktails dilution was from the liquors being left to sit in the ice. This is disdainfully wrong when it comes to craft cocktailing and, though the drink was enjoyable I value the show of bartending and this was severely lacking.

I URGE c3 to find bartenders that are passionate about their craft. Those, are the only people who can contend with the palates of people who fuel the cocktail culture that...