Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Bloomington

Chili's has much improved over the years.

The last time I had Chili's was about 5 years ago and I can recall being very unhappy with it as I found it to be far too expensive, not very good, and both the wait and the service in the middle of the day wasn't up to industry standard at all.

this time I found the service to be very good, quick and while I found the food to be a little lacking it's more than made up for with the price.

I got the three for me, with a lemonade, side salad, and a burger. for $13 this is an extraordinary deal and could certainly rival most fast food chains these days while beating out pretty much all of Chili's competitors. I found the fries to be cooked very well but they were over seasoned to the point of almost not being edible and the burger to be very generous and very well made. I think the efficiency changes to the kitchen are really shown in the speed and quality of the burger. the change to a smashburger style is also welcome for a sit down casual dining experience like Chili's.

the side salad was nice but it came in this very small and deep full that's certainly would fill me up but I found that I was making a mess every time I went to take a bite as there was nowhere for the food to fall except for on the table around the bowl. this is probably an efficiency change and I can respect that but I don't like making messes when I can help it so it became frustrating.

being able to pay at the table is still a great thing and the less I have to bother the server who probably has many other things to worry about, the better. on the subject of the server, I found her to be very helpful and punctual, and she spared me the typical small talk without being unfriendly or too over professional. I didn't even have to ask for a refill on the dragon fruit lemonade which I might add was very good.

I think the seating arrangement is still not my favorite in the world and I find it to be a bit cluttered and a bit more like a maze and I would prefer, and I could clearly hear the conversations happening a few tables away from me but that is to be expected with a quicker, More casual sit-down concept like Chili's has been known to provide. I'm sure that if I would have asked for a seat in the corner that would have not been a problem.

All in all I'm actually impressed with what Chili's has created in the last couple years and I know they've been working hard to revitalize the brand. at one point it was easily the best sit-down chain in America and it fell by the wayside towards the pandemic. Glad to see they are back but I really wish they'd bring back those Shiner Bock ribs!!! I think about those...

After coming here with a party of 10 and a high chair on a Saturday night, I would not come back.

My family and I have been to chilis for decades at this point. I called twice before we arrived (2 & 5 pm) since we could not get on the waitlist online. The first staff member I talked to was chuckling under his breath and being rude. The second said we could only get on the list if we were there. We had family from an hour away all meeting at this location.

I arrived w one other member of the party at 6pm and we were told 30-40 min wait and I gave my number for texts when the table is ready. The hostess asked if we would be okay splitting up our group and I said no, we would like to all sit together. I got a text our time to sit was from 6:33-48.

Around 6:30 more of the group came to wait inside the restaurant (this is the time we all planned to meet) it’s freezing and crowded when customers enter and exit the restaurant since the waiting area is where it is. A staff member came up and asked again if we would be willing to split up (around 6:50) I said no again, why would a group of people, a family w small children want to split up their table? I said through every interaction both on the phone and in person we want to be together. At 7:15 … we were finally sat. An hour and 15 after I checked in after being quoted 30-40 min.

Our waitress was attentive… but her facial expressions and demeanor was poor. You don’t roll your eyes when someone is talking to you, it’s not frustrating to facilitate a family enjoying a meal together.

All this to say - we will be going to local businesses for our family gatherings. Chain businesses lack that personal feeling people should have when spending their money and time.

Thanks Bloomington Chilis, we won’t...

My husband and I had a terrible experience at the Chili’s in Normal, IL tonight. We had made an order online for the 2 for $25 dinner and including an 18% tip, we paid about $32 online for our order (so not a complicated order) — But received nothing! It was indicated online that our order would be ready in 30 minutes so after 30 minutes we got to the restaurant and parked in one of the curbside pickup parking spots. The sign at the parking spot actually says to kick back and wait, then our order would be brought to us. After 15 minutes of waiting with no one saying anything to us, my husband went inside to check. He was told that our order was coming so he came back to the car. We waited another 15 minutes and watched as other cars that were there before and after us got their food. We’d been waiting for a half-hour at that point. Then my husband went inside again. After 20 minutes he finally came out with NOTHING. He was told they LOST OUR ORDER. Instead of apologizing with sincerity and offering to make our order next, he was told it would be another 45 minutes. He then wanted a refund and it took a great while for one of the managers to come and process a refund but she didn’t give him a receipt and said it would take FIVE DAYS! Not only did we not get the food we paid for but the restaurant can’t give us our money back immediately? This is not only rude, careless and incompetent service, but I think it’s suspicious for this restaurant to not only lose our order; fail to provide our food, an explanation or a sincere apology; but not be able to give an immediate refund too. We paid for absolutely nothing and we feel cheated. I do not recommend this...