LUXBAR — Restaurant in Chicago

I had an incredibly disappointing and frankly disturbing experience at LuxBar in Chicago this week.

Our server abruptly left in the middle of serving our table. A manager stepped in but provided extremely inadequate service—no drink refills, dirty dishes left sitting for a long time, and no explanation.

When we finally asked why our server had stopped serving us, the manager said the server felt “uncomfortable” for an unspecified reason and wouldn’t say more.

At the end of the meal, after waiting a long time with no one clearing our table or offering more drinks, I saw our server nearby and gently tapped him on the arm while saying “excuse me.” He responded, without stopping, by saying “Don’t f*king touch me,” and kept walking.

I was stunned and upset. I went to the host stand and asked if someone could please help us, and also shared that the situation felt uncomfortable and possibly homophobic. I never said the server was homophobic—I only said his language and energy felt that way to me.

Instead of receiving an apology or even acknowledgment of how I felt, the manager came to our table and asked us to leave—saying we had made the server feel uncomfortable. Apparently, it’s policy at LuxBar to remove guests who make staff uncomfortable, but not the reverse.

At no point did anyone from LuxBar apologize for how I was treated. I left feeling disrespected, judged, and dismissed—for calmly expressing concern about what felt like biased treatment.

I’m sharing this because I believe all guests deserve to feel safe and respected—especially in a city like Chicago where diversity should be a strength, not a reason for discomfort.

I invite @humanrightscampaign, @adl_national, @opentable, and @google to consider how businesses like @LuxBarChicago respond to situations involving LGBTQ+ guests and basic respect in hospitality.

#LGBTQ #CustomerExperience #ChicagoRestaurants #ServiceMatters #OpenTable #HumanRightsCampaign #LuxBar #ADL...

I'd like to think that tonight went haywire because it was St. Patrick's Day, but it just felt like one thing after another got missed. I had family members visiting from out of town and felt embarrassed for taking us here.

First, they scrunched 5 of us into a corner booth that probably should've only held 4 people. Then drinks took roughly 10-15 minutes to come out. The server in general was incredibly slow and often looked lost -- anytime we asked questions, he had to go find the answer for us (I sincerely hope this was his first week or something).

We ordered one appetizer, the soft pretzels, which took ~15 minutes. We were there for 40 minutes before the server even tried to take our entrée order. Of the 5 entrées, only 4 came out, which our server blamed on the kitchen only AFTER we had pointed out that we were missing one -- this makes me think he just forgot to ring it in. When it came out -- the BBQ burger -- it was soggy, with no BBQ sauce???, and the onions were stringy. Overall it seemed like the server forgot to ring it in then asked the kitchen to make one on the fly (the manager comped it for us without us even saying anything, which was very kind and generous of him).

We sat with dirty plates in front of us for over 25 minutes waiting for our server to clear them, offer the check, offer dessert menus, ANYTHING. The server had even asked if we needed anything else, to which we said no were all set, just the check. We didn't get a check for another 15 minutes after that.

We were there for my father's birthday, and they offered us a free dessert when we arrived, but didn't bother to bring it until after we had paid and as we were literally putting our coats on to leave...

Overall, something was messed up with every course -- from drink times, to appetizer times, to missing entrées, to forgotten dessert. It was a horrific experience and ruined my...

Par excellence! I should have taken pictures but I’m there all the time which is why I hadn’t written a review—I just go and enjoy it—and I’m not selfish but the more this place is talked about—the more crowded it will be (smile). It’s already always to capacity! My top favorites—and this surprised me—I just decided one day—ehh why not try the French onion soup—I’ve never been interested in fos—but for some reason I was like I’ll try it and wow—like literally w-o-w—I never thought French onion could be great. I’d had it a few places but this place—it’s great. Next, very impossible to beat them on this item—the fried chicken. Seriously. You can’t get it better at any restaurant. You just can’t. And, the sandwich of the month—when it’s the Rachel—I’m there as many times in the month as I can be (I’m trying to avoid carbs but) that sandwich is not to be missed. Lastly, the level of Gibsons standards is met, even though this is the fast paced bistro end of it. My family owned franchise restaurants so I know and watch how staff interacts with guests. And, Augusta, Natalie, and GM Ryan will know what I mean when I say—they are not only on the floor—they are VIP-ing every table with table touches—multiple times. They are impressive—the entire staff—the entire operation. One of my favorite places in the neighborhood. The Gibsons brand itself—it’s just that place that...