GEMINI — Restaurant in Chicago

This is actually my first time ever leaving a negative review, so it truly takes a lot for me to be writing this. My wife and I had high hopes for our Friday night out, with reservations at 8:30pm. Unfortunately, the evening didn't go as planned.

Despite arriving on time, we weren't seated until 9pm after being told our table would be ready in 5-10 minutes. While our waiter was genuinely friendly and attentive, and the restaurant did have a nice neighborhood favorite atmosphere, the service issues overshadowed these positives.

We ordered quickly, hoping to make up for lost time since we were both getting hungry. However, our starter rolls didn't arrive until a full half-hour later, with our apologetic waiter explaining kitchen delays. By nearly 10pm, with my salad still nowhere in sight and both of us getting tired, I did something I never thought I'd ever do. I asked to cancel part of my order, sacrificing the salad as I was losing my appetite with the late hour.

When our main courses finally arrived, I was underwhelmed by my steak frites and grilled sweet corn side. Ironically, I had noticed these same dishes being served earlier while we waited for our table, and they looked far more appetizing then. The food was acceptable but nothing special. My wife did enjoy her Ricotta Dumplings and espresso martini, which were bright spots.

To their credit, the manager talked to us and comped the canceled salad, offering dessert on the house to make up for our troubles. While we appreciated the gesture, we were exhausted by then and concerned about facing another long wait. She did comp the rolls since we didn't take her offer for dessert. We felt better that they had noticed our frustration and ultimately did the right thing.

As Chicagoans, we're spoiled by an incredible restaurant scene with endless amazing options. When you finally carve out a rare night away from the kids and the general stresses of life, you expect to be wowed. Unfortunately, this experience felt like a major missed opportunity. With so many outstanding restaurants in our city, we'll definitely be looking elsewhere for our...

We were looking for a nice place to eat after our original restauraunt was booked. We searched around and saw this place and it looked nice. Good menu options and good reviews.

We walked in and asked how long was the wait for a table for 2. They said 25 minutes. No problem at all. We agreed that is a reasonable wait time. We put our name down and headed to the bar to get a cocktail while we wait for our table.

When we get to the bar, the bartender takes a second or two to get us menus and asks us what we would like. I say that we need a few minutes to look over the menu. We then take the next 5 minutes to look over the menu.

After those few minutes, we were ready, but then we waited another 15 minutes for the bartender to come back around and nothing. We see other people arriving and getting served before us too. It appeared as though he forgot about us. I try a few times to flag him down to let him know that we are still here and we want a drink but he kept passing by us to serve others.

We finally get his attention and get our drink orders in after sitting at the bar for about 25 minutes. He asks if we want to put in food too, but we say we have a table coming.

Then as we sip our drinks, we notice that it should be around the time for our table to become available. At 30 minutes, nothing but not concerning since things happen, tables can run longer than usual. At 40 minutes, nothing, but not totally concerning. At 50 minutes, we are getting curious since a table should have opened up by now. Finally, at an hour wait time we closed our check at the bar and left. We didn't even order a second drink since I didn't want to give them more of our money.

The service at the bar coupled with the inaccurate wait time for a table was some of the worst service I have experienced at a restaurant in Chicago. We did not feel welcome and felt as though we were in the way. I understand restaurants can get busy and things don't go as expected at times, but there were too many things that went wrong with...

Disappointed and Disheartened Experience at Gemini

I don’t typically leave bad reviews, but my recent experience at Gemini in Lincoln Park deserves to be shared — especially for those considering it for a special occasion.

While the atmosphere and music were definitely a vibe, the experience took a sharp turn when the birthday girl’s fruit bowl came out with mold in it. That’s not just off-putting — it's alarming. To the restaurant’s credit, the manager did come over immediately to apologize and seemed genuinely sincere. He also told us to let him know if we needed anything else, and it was implied (based on how he phrased things) that our meals would be comped due to the clear health issue and overall embarrassment.

Taking that to heart, our table ordered a few additional items — still trying to enjoy the birthday celebration and not cause further spectacle. We also chose not to nitpick the fact that our meals weren’t hot, or that the replacement fruit bowl wasn’t particularly fresh. We extended grace, assuming the restaurant was doing the same.

But when the bill came, only the birthday girl’s meal was covered. The rest of us were charged in full, and the manager backtracked, saying there was a “miscommunication.” Instead of covering our meals — after serving moldy fruit — he offered us champagne as a gesture. Honestly, by that point, they could’ve just deducted the cost of the drinks. It felt more like damage control than genuine hospitality.

It’s not just about the money — it’s about standards and accountability. Mold in food is a serious health concern, and it naturally raises questions about the cleanliness and kitchen practices. One comped meal wasn’t enough. The entire table was affected — we were all disgusted and had our brunch tainted.

Lesson learned: always clarify any promises made by management and advocate for yourselves — especially when something as serious as food safety...