Virtue Restaurant — Restaurant in Hyde Park Township

I was sitting at the bar with a very good friend and colleague from work tonight. We both had two drinks and dinner. Then another colleague texted and asked to join us... we were both excited to see her and couldn't wait for her to arrive. When our 3rd friend arrived, the front desk told her that she could sit at the bar so she came over to join us. I asked to order another drink because I was going to stay and chat with my friend who just arrived...the bartender who had been pretty responsive didn't respond...Then he returned with a manager who said that I couldn’t order another drink and in fact my friend and I had to get up and leave. We couldn’t stay, we couldn’t order more drinks and chat with our 3rd friend who just arrived. Apparently they have a 90 minute time limit that no one knew about except the people who worked there. I looked at the website, my friends looked at the website, and I even called a friend who had initially introduced me to the restaurant and she looked at the website…we couldn’t find the rule anywhere. We asked several customers already sitting at the bar…they said they were frequent customers and were never told that nor had they ever heard about that. All of us asked the hostesses at the front door and both ladies said yes, your 90 minutes is up and not only that, our third friend who just arrived was told by the ladies that she only had 40 minutes left and she hadn’t even ordered dinner yet! I have been to Virtue multiple times, and I’ve told numerous people about Virtue…it’s a black owned restaurant which I think is important to support, it’s on my way home from work and the food is decent. Also at my last visit, I spent over $400 because I paid for my friends’ meal….but I was told to leave this night. My boyfriend and I visited previously and he spent over $200.

The most important factor I think that affects the quality of the restaurant is how you’re treated once you’re there. That’s at the top of my list and will make or break an establishment in my book. I would rather dine at a restaurant where I can spend quality time with friends without being put on a timer. The bartender, after telling me to leave, even recommended a different restaurant apparently with the same owner that I could visit…Why would I go to a different restaurant when my friend was at Virtue? Why would I go to any restaurant owned, operated by the same people after the stressful experience I had at Virtue? Well, I plan to let my other friends know about this & post my review on all of my social media sites and other restaurant review sites. I’m also going to just mention in case people didn’t know…this restaurant doesn’t allow you to just order food to take out and there is an additional charge on your bill to pay for the staff’s health insurance. I have been to many, many beautiful restaurants in my day and I have never been charged for the staff’s insurance…unless it’s hidden in the bill and I just don’t know about…but never have I seen a charge that requires customers to take on part of the responsibility that should solely belong to the owner.

To the manager: No, I wasn't aware that there was a 90 minute time limit and if I had known, I would not have visited your establishment that night. I'm not that tech savvy so please excuse me for not using your QR codes. The times that I did come in prior to this...as previously stated in my review, was because the food was decent and your restaurant is close to home. My last experience at Virtue made me feel extremely uncomfortable and reading your passive aggressive response has just solidified the fact that you don't truly care about losing a customer but are more concerned about trying to "be correct" and drive home your point. Thanks for the...

As a realtor I can appreciate the importance of curb appeal when showing a property to a client. It sets the stage for what to expect once you're inside the property. Similarly, how you're welcomed when entering a restaurant gives a clue as to what type of dining experience to expect. I'd have to give my experience at Virtue yesterday mixed reviews. The good part is that the food and service represented the restaurant quite well. My party was there to celebrate my mother's 95th birthday. We had been eagerly looking forward to what was to be a very special occasion with what initially was to be a party of six guests and reservations were made on the Open Table link accordingly. The bad part: Subsequently, two additional guests wanted to join us. When I attempted to increase the party size from six to seven. and then eight my stress was triggered. The website direction was to call the restaurant direct for parties of more than six people. I called the restaurant hoping to leave a message but after several rings was asked for a remote code which, of course I didn't have. I thought that was odd but scoured the website and found a site to leave a message which I did even though my group was not necessarily a "private party," nor was I a member of the press. No response. At this point I'm getting a bit nervous because I did not want my additional two guests to arrive and not be able to be seated. Early afternoon on yesterday, Tuesday, I get a message stating my party of seven would be fine. I immediately tried to call the restaurant about my party of eight and again got the remote code request. I thought if they can accommodate seven, eight should not be a problem. We all, including my 95 year old cane-using mother, arrive for our 5:30 pm reservation. Then the "fun" begins. I tell the hostess (Brittany, I think) that we are the Horton party. She responds saying our table for seven was ready. I say we are a party of eight and that I had stated that in my last message which had not been answered. At this point I am deeply annoyed, embarrassed, and concerned. Concerned because my Mom looked like she was about to slide down the wall she had been leaning against during my 10-15 minute exchange with the hostess. I asked if she could get a seat for my Mom and she said we could be seated at our reserved table which the hostess disapprovingly said had been set for seven people. We got to the table and our 5-star server Rog or one of the other staff members said they would add a smaller table at the end to better hold the food we ordered. I firmly believe this issue could have been pleasantly resolved had someone bothered to respond to my messages earlier. To say this back and forth put a damper on the start of our dining experience would be an understatement. Fortunately, my Mom, the star of our party was pleased with the food, the service, and the opportunity to break bread with family and friends. I hope the ownership will take whatever steps deemed necessary to change procedures so that guest inquiries are responded to more timely and more hospitably. In all my personal visits and referral of others to Virtue has anything but a great time been had by all. I regret that my Mom's birthday celebration was the exception. I do not believe that expecting a friendlier and more helpful attitude and response from from hostess was asking for too much. Curb...

Where do I start... We arrived in Chicago for the "Taste of Chicago" but we knew we wanted to see and taste more of Chicago.

My sister called her in-law and she RAVED about VIRTUE, told us the place had a wonderful vibe, the food was amazing, the drinks were delicious and then...they're always booked. But call anyway.

My sister called and spoke with a lovely young lady (Taylor) who explained that they were in fact booked for that evening. It was our last night in Chicago and we really wanted to experience Virtue.

Taylor explained that there were seats at the bar and if we showed up when thr doors opened at 4pm; they would try to accommodate us.

We were ecstatic to say the least!

We arrived at 3:30, stood outside taking pictures and taking in the scenery. Doors opened and a very kind gentleman held the door.

We finally met Taylor, she was just as charming, bubbly and excited to see us as we were to see her.

The manager Camryn (hope I spelled it correctly) came over, Taylor explained we were the group from South Florida...Camryn started looking at the seating chart, he and Taylor were chatting we were waiting...and then it happened!!!

We were ushered not to the bar, but to a table...We all smiled like little girls, giggling and thanking Taylor as we walked to our table.

The ambience was warm, beautiful, cozy and inviting. One server came by to say hello to us, she brought water and said "you ladies are visiting from Miami?" Smiling we said "Yes".

Our waiter Alex, came over to the table and introduced himself, he was smooth, calm, professional and knowledgeable about all things VIRTUE. Alex took our drink orders and begin telling us how the flow of the service is...Not rushed ,everything would be timed so we would enjoy everything from small rations to large rations to extra rations.

Some of the ladies had looked at website to get ideas of ordering, some items were not available this evening. But they quickly recovered and ordered from the evening's menu.

To ensure we all enjoyed, everyone chose their own large portions and we shared small rations and extra rations.

Camryn (manager) was waking and being the ultimate host, Checking on all the guest. He made his way to us and asked if everything was OK? OK, Sir...everything was wonderful, I had to give him a hug!! Thanking him as I hugged him.

To say we enjoyed our food would be an understatemen!! Kisses to the Chef and his staff EVERYTHING was A-MA-ZING!!!

Kudos to the bartender those cocktails were perfect. So good we had two rounds.

We departed VIRTUE feeling full (not stuffed) blessed, contently chill from the last round and chatting about our experience.

We hugged Taylor and Camryn on our way out, it was a train of hugs!!!

Thank you both for ensuring our last evening meal in Chicago was memorable.

Next trip we're making reservations in advance...