J9 Wine Bar — Restaurant in Chicago

(would actually be 2.5 stars if i could)

walking back along Halsted we were looking for a quick small bite and a drink before heading back home and then to dinner. debated on this spot given the one option of food but decided to give it a try since we had not been before.

the service was nice enough and speedy.

the vibe of this place is just all wrong. weird mix of furniture decor (felt like a mash between World Market and Pottery Barn) and poorly converted space (feels like this may have been an old art gallery? and felt just as un-cozy). the TV playing Men in Black was mystifying. though it’s a personal issue i have with non-sports bars—i dislike TVs in bars like this.

and lastly, the drinks were fine, though typical overpriced cocktails but that is par for the course in Chicago (my bf makes a better Aviation, and i prefer them with cherries vs lemon peel 🤷🏽‍♂️).

the one food option, a very sparsely put together charcuterie board was severely lacking. like a half teaspoon of fig spread to share between two people, a few almonds, another half teaspoon of mustard, some shredded pieces of serrano and tiny slices of baguette for $20 bucks? no thanks. also geez those knives that have like cut-outs of the word “cheese” along the blade 😖 (these are not weird and kitschy but they also make spread the cheeses and things more difficult)

it seemed pretty popular, so it’s likely this style of place will suit a lot of people in the area, but this was a miss for me unfortunately. seems to be a pattern with wine bars in Chicago having recently had another weird and terrible experience at another on Broadway...

I moved to LP a few years ago and come in once a week to have a glass of wine after the work week. It’s always empty. I can’t think of a time it’s more than me and 2-3 other guests in the whole place. This Friday at 3ish there was one table occupied. My husband, SLEEPING infant, and I popped onto the patio for a wine. The server came out and said the owner has a firm policy for anyone under 21….even a sleeping infant. Not accurate I’ve seen kids on the patio before. He then went on to say she just doesn’t want babies in her establishment. The only other table overheard & commented they didn’t mind. The street is super loud anyway, not like we were inside the empty business, so who cares and the baby was sleeping. They still kicked us out. Screw them. I recently recommended J9 for a 50 person private event. Now that I know how the owner feels towards young families in her community I won’t be back, and I won’t recommend to...

First and DEFINITELY LAST TIME COMING HERE! My friend and I wanted some wine after our light dinner and we came here to J9 Wine Bar…never again….. Upon coming in, the bartender was very friendly and inviting HOWEVER, This staff person (as shown in the picture below) was extremely rude. My friend and I (Two BLACK women) was seated and when he approached our table I spoke to him to be friendly and he ignored us and just placed our water down in a rude way. Then 3 minutes later, a WHITE women came into the bar and he practically run up to her to ask how he could help her and she responded with “I am waiting on someone to come” and then her friend came and she just left. He did this to 4 WHITE people that came in. He was way more nicer to them then us!!!

Will never come back! Not feeling the racist vibes...