TARY — Restaurant in Chicago

Will not go back again. First time was a bad experience. We just gave them a second chance and it was equally as disappointing.

TL/DR: Food is good, but overpriced and not worth the wait. Service is extremely poor and disorganized. Sadly, the team here has no idea how to run a restaurant, it’s a frustrating experience for diners.

FIRST VISIT: When entering the restaurant, no one makes eye contact or acknowledges you. Being our first time there, we were unsure if we were supposed to be seated, seat ourselves, order at the counter, etc. It was very confusing and no one offered to help. We eventually made our way to the counter to place our order and sat ourselves. After waiting a long time for our food (can’t recall exact time but know it was an extended wait), they brought half our order. We continued to wait for the other half, thinking it was coming shortly. When it never came, we asked one of the food runners about it. He spoke very little English, but we gathered that they forgot to make the rest of our order. He told us he would bring the rest of our food to us. After waiting another 15-20 minutes, we inquired again. After no one came back to our table, we got tired of waiting and left.

SECOND VISIT: Decided to give them another chance a few months later. Again no one acknowledged us when we entered the restaurant. No central A/C - they have floor units that put out a little cool air but not enough to comfortably cool the space. Placed our order at the counter. The man working at the register was highly inattentive. He asked to take our order and then immediately walked away. After a minute, a food runner walked up and hastily took our order. After 30 minutes one of our meals arrived. After 45 minutes, we inquired about the other meal. The food runner (who said she was the owner) said they forgot to make the rest of our food. (Same experience as last time!!) As we were sitting there, we observed several other tables reporting issues with their...

This was my second visit to this restaurant, and it will definitely be my last. The restaurant requires customers to order and pay at the front before seating. We left an 18% tip upfront, but the service that followed was the worst dining experience I’ve ever had in the US.

Although the food is delicious, the service from one female server was appalling. When we arrived, the only available table was pointed out to us by the server, who instructed us to order first before sitting down. After placing our order, we found that customers who arrived after us were seated at the table that was supposed to be ours. The server did not reserve the table for us, and we were forced to sit at the bar table near the entrance.

Our drinks and first dish were served, but we didn’t receive any utensils. It took seven or eight attempts to get the server’s attention before she finally came over. When we asked for utensils, she glanced at us and walked away with a very bad attitude. She eventually brought the utensils, but rolled her eyes at us, as if our request was unreasonable. Throughout our meal, she continued to roll her eyes at us multiple times, making us feel extremely unwelcome and discriminated against.

The female server seemed to be preoccupied with her phone most of the time and failed to greet new customers promptly as they entered. Her behavior suggested a severe case of racial discrimination, which is utterly unacceptable.

Management needs to address these service issues urgently and ensure that all staff members are trained in proper customer service and basic hospitality. Until significant improvements are made, I cannot recommend this...

Tary is a Kazakh café that brings the authentic flavors of Kazakhstan to its patrons. The café was moderately busy, but we were seated within 30 minutes. The staff was very polite and well-mannered.

Here’s what we ordered:

Tary Tea: Essentially an English breakfast tea with Tary (Golden Millet) added to it. Cappuccino: A fairly good cappuccino. Qattama: Similar to Indian parantha and served with a side of yogurt, reminiscent of Indian cuisine. The bread was well-prepared with a light touch of salt, which complemented the yogurt perfectly. Tary Porridge (Photo 1): As the name suggests, it is porridge served with butter and raspberry jam. According to our server, you can add butter for a salty flavor or raspberry jam for a sweet touch. However, the porridge was already quite salty, and adding jam did not significantly alter the taste. I am unsure if it is customary in Kazakhstan to add salt to porridge, or if the cook overdid it, but it did not appeal to my taste buds. I would like to go back and try the “Rice Porridge” to see if it has a similar salt problem. Salmon Benedict (Photo 2): This dish was very good and well-balanced in terms of flavor. The egg was very well-cooked. Parking: Parking is relatively hard to find.

Portion Sizes: Each dish is a sufficient portion for one person. We were two people, and our order was ample for us.

Ambience: The food was very well presented. The café is authentically decorated and successfully brings a taste of Kazakhstan to Chicago, as the owner intends.

Overall: 8/10 IG:...