Brown Bag Seafood Co. — Restaurant in Chicago

Starting from the top....

Food: I got the Mega-protein powerbox. The Salmon was grilled to the point it was dry inside. The outside texture was crispy, but it was so dry, and ends were borderline burnt I couldn't eat it without it ripping my mouth and gums apart. The flavor of the salmon wasn't great. They must've burned the seasoning off or something. The shrimp was seasoned decently. This was probably the best part of the dish. The quinoa, spinach, brown rice, and wheatberry tasted about what you would expect of it. I also got the Tot sampler. This was decent.

Service: Terrible. We walked in and they just stared us down without greeting us. They were literally eyeing us and walking away from the counter. We approached and told them we had an order to pick up. They handed us the order and we told them to have a good day and that was the only time they talked to us. Imagine being in the food SERVICE industry and the customer has to initiate the conversation for you to get your job done. That's crazy to me. I have worked in food service for 5 years myself in my younger days and I can't even imagine acting the way these people did. I'm from out of town and I've been from West to East Coasts and this is the first time I've seen people look at me like I was some kind of freak of nature. I can only chalk it up to this being a Chicago thing.

Atmosphere: We ordered for pickup, but the place generally looked like a decent place to dine in at. One of the doors were already locked up like they were already closing up shop. They still had an hour to an hour and half before closing time. The place looked like it would have been a decent place to eat at, but I cannot recommend this...

My wife and I decided to stop in tonight for dinner. We had never been to any Brown Bag Seafood Co restaurants. I read online about grabbing a laminated menu and marking your order to hand to the person at the register. So we grabbed a menu to look at it and make our decision. I love a simple menu with a handful of options that can be combined in many ways. I got the grilled shrimp. My wife got the salmon. The food was great. Portions are exactly what I would expect. Everything tasted very fresh. Just as great as the food was the staff. They were very helpful and friendly. I asked about the punch card and the man behind register helped me understand how it works. The lady that brought us the food made sure to explain to us where things were that we might need with our meal like utensils sauces and napkins. It seemed like the whole team really enjoyed what they were doing. They were having fun with each other and at the same time were professional and attentive to guests and their needs. They had contagious energy which made the dining experience enjoyable. We are already making plans to head back and get more punches...

Friendly and helpful staff who walked me through the experience as a first-timer. I really appreciated that. I also loved the concept of a daily catch and seasonal plate. It’s like a premium quick service restaurant. Do temper expectations that this is Chicago and far from the coasts.

Unfortunately, my dinner plate was not good. I ordered salmon with ancient grain blend, veggie blend, and garlic bread. An attractive menu offering given the fast-casual style.

But top to bottom, the meal was just off. Garlic bread was soggy and both the grains and veggies were overly doused with lemon. The salmon tasted like chicken, as if it was grilled and seasoned next to chicken (which they do offer!). There was also a half-piece of soaked parchment paper, that I suspect was intended to separate the pieces of salmon? A close call for me nearly biting into that.

I don’t think I could recommend ordering any non-fried options here. However, another patron dining in had the fish and chips, and it looked far, far better. If I try this again I will go with one of the fried food offerings which is probably a more appropriate...