Bar Sótano — Restaurant in Chicago

It was a friend's birthday and I went there... Made a reservation and were seated outside. It is in a city alley, which makes it very New York style, and that is all I will say about that. The social distancing is adecuate, we ordered some of there drinks, 2 of which were served in little bags tied with straws, like in Mexico, street style, which is cute, but the thrill wears off, as for the drink menu, it is Mezcal, Mezcal and more Mezcal, their flights and shots are like sample of drinks, I like me a full shot glass... So if not a fan, beware. The beer menu is VERY limited, down to 4 options, one of which they were out... frustrating, because I wanted to keep drinking but was limited to what I could drink...The service was not top notch, server kept forgetting placed requests, literally stopped our table conversation in order to go over our order twice, therefore making sure he got it right and he didn't explain everything alot... maybe new? Maybe overwhelmed? The food menu felt like it was trying too hard, I have had alot of gourmet tacos, being from Mexico City, I like the higher end of the taco spectrum, tacos are served cold (when they should be hot), which I hate, oysters were ok, a bit on the smaller side, the ceviche as well, small and flavorless, but a bright red. The mussels turned out to be a bit too pungent for my taste, as the sauce has chorizo, and the winner that night was the paella, it came out on the burned side, when I asked about it, they said it was caramelized that way, oh well, I tried it and could NOT stop eating it, but that is because I like crispy, and the rice only stuck around edge. I liked it, but it is not made with saffron, like traditional paella. We also caught a glimpse of Mr. Bayless, and the only thing that I can say is, this is your restaurant Mr. Bayless the least you can do is nod and acknowledge, when someone says hi to you in excitement, and not wisk by, as if "just too busy for you"... Lastly, what was unclear was the 20% add on, the waiter mumbled something about it being there to help the workers, but it was unclear if it was the tip or not... we tipped additionally anyway,...

This place is all flash and no substance. I'm suspicious of the great reviews this place has gotten, because I know good food and this place does not deliver it. I came here a couple of weeks ago when I had family in town, and it was one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had in Chicago. First, we had reservations for 7:30 on a Thursday. We arrived at 7:15 and did not get seated until 8:40 - over an hour after our initial reservation. Apparently, the people at our table were just sitting there, and it's against their policy to politely inform them that the 7:30 reservation has arrived. Well, change your policy because it is unacceptable to be seated over an hour after the reservation time. There certainly is a polite way of informing the table that they need to leave because of the next reservation. We should not have had to wait longer than 20 minutes for our table and 20 minutes is pushing it. Second, the food was terrible. This place is pretentious and trying too hard. I love experimenting with flavors when it is done well. This was in no way done well. Did anybody taste the dishes before serving it to people? There were so many contradictory flavors in each dish - nothing complemented each other. The mussels were some of the fishiest tasting and chewiest mussels I have ever had. We were a party of 6, and the only things we liked were the plancha-charred broccoli and donas con chocolate. On the plus side, everyone enjoyed the drinks and our server was very nice and attentive. But I will most definitely never go back here. Do...

Food was phenomenal! However I came here on Saturday night because I heard how they have plenty of mezcal drinks and it’s hard to find a spot that specializes in mezcal cocktails. Nevertheless, we get sat, order food, and order a round and food so far so good. I order a second round and 5 minutes later a party of 8 walks in, server takes their drink order and they get their drinks right away. It took me 20 minutes to get my drink, mind you I had ordered before the party arrived and I had an empty drink for awhile before ordering my second round. The server walked by a lot but never checked to see if we needed anything. I think the host might have stopped by us as much as the server. Don’t think they were short handed as someone different always ran out the different plates we ordered. Only towards the end when we were ready to go. I go out once a week and always order 5-7 drinks and my girlfriend orders 2-3. Unfortunately we were only able to get 2 each that day. To put the icing on the cake they charge 20% gratuity for 10% service. I am always generous with the tip as I am in the industry myself but this is the first time I feel compelled to write a review. I was very underwhelmed with this place. I spent 160 here with the 20% included. I had to go get my cocktail fix somewhere else where I spent another 190 and tipped 30% cash. I don’t ever write reviews, this is my very first one, but I just wanted to write this so they can take it constructively and maybe give them one more shot. I really wanted to...