CheSa’s Bistro & Bar Chicago — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

I hate to give a poor review, but my friends and I left this restaurant on Saturday (1/20/2024) evening with much disappointment. There were a total of four of us and we picked different options to share. I’ll start with the highs that we experienced. The fried catfish and jambalaya were excellent. The fish was fried to perfection and the jambalaya was tasty. Generous portions, of chicken, sausage and shrimp in the jambalaya. I was able to share shrimp with my three friends and still had enough for me to pleasantly enjoy. A friend tried the oxtail and risotto option from the restaurant week menu and we all enjoyed it. Tasty, oxtails were tender and the risotto was great. I will move on to what we experienced that were good, but needed work. We ordered the cornbread and hush puppies as appetizers. They both were very tasty, but were served at less than room temperature. They would have tasted so much better if served hot. The crawfish and sauce over the cornbread were tasty, however the cornbread was a bit dry. The sauce gave the cornbread the moistness it needed. We ordered the chicken and waffles. The chicken was good, but the waffles were a disappointment. They were spongy and lacked in flavor. The waffle led to disappointment in the peach cobbler dessert option as they make it with the same waffle. Lastly, we ordered the red snapper with red beans and rice from the restaurant week menu. This was a huge disappointment which led to a let down in service. I am sad that we don’t have a photo because it would really help to understand the disappointment in this dish. The red snapper wasn’t bad, but it was drowned in the red beans and rice that were terrible. So much so, that we all felt the red beans and rice should not even be an option on the menu. I will say that when I looked at photos from other reviews, what we were served looked nothing like those photos. Respectfully, we collectively felt that the red beans and rice at Popeye’s would be a better option, and I personally don’t even like their red beans and rice. We let the server know of our dismay. The look on her face was surprised. She proceeded to take the plate away from my friend, mind you it was still a whole plate of food. We thought maybe she was coming back with a fresh plate, nothing. She didn’t even apologize for the inconvenience. She took the whole plate of food from us and did nothing. We thought someone would come to our table to try to accommodate the dissatisfaction or offer for the meal to be replaced, nothing. We thought maybe we would see a portion of the of the bill comped. Maybe a complimentary appetizer in lieu of the failed meal, nothing. I pleasantly brought this to the attention of the server and explained how we were excited to try the restaurant, but disappointed in the lack of accountability. She said because it was ordered from the restaurant week menu, there was a disclaimer posted saying the restaurant would not accommodate any forfeits or refunds on the order. Mind you, we did not know this restaurant participated in restaurant week and ordered several items from the normal menu. The lack of accountability and for the server to take a whole plate of food and not offer an alternate option was mind blowing. As much as we collectively loved the catfish and jambalaya, we would not recommend the restaurant. The service that started off fresh ended up in complete let down. We experienced some highs, but the mids and lows dominated the experience and the lack of accountability left us in dissatisfaction and disappointment. I hope this helps with the food that is being served and how service is provided...

First time dining here last night with two friends. I had been wanting to try it for a while now and finally had the opportunity to yesterday. We ordered the hush puppies, crawfish cornbread, and the crabcakes to start. Everything was delicious but that cornbread made me close my eyes and and say wow. It melted in your mouth. Both my girlfriends said the same thing. It was beyond delicious. I would go back just for the cornbread. We shared two entrees- jambalaya and the short rib mac and cheese. The jambalaya was like eating back in New Orleans.

The owner/chef Chesa, came out and was talking to customers and asking how everything was. She was delightful. She shared how she started her journey. She sent us some hot water corn bread with mango chutney on the house to try. It was delicious. We really were having such a great night out. We were one of the last two tables left and Chesa waved bye to us as she headed out for the night. Thats when it just got weird.

The server, Will, handed us our check. Two of us had cash, so we put our money down and one of my girlfriends put the rest on her card. On the bill it said 20% service charge was gratuity. I knew this also from their website and it seems to be the standard nowadays, and no bother to us at all. However, Will comes up to us once he runs the card and proceeds to tell us and the other other table, that although it says 20% tip, he doesnt get any of that. That the owner gives it to everyone else but him so to tip him separately. He then pulls out the credit card receipts from the night to show us the auto service charge amount in the different bills and how all his tables left him additional tips. It was just in very bad form. So on top of the $28 that was an auto grat, we gave him another $30. We all left with a bad taste in our mouths. I am all about supporting women owned businesses and my impression of Chesa is that she is hardworking and sweet. She should know that her server is bad mouthing her. The bartender also seemed to be in on it as they were whispering at the bar. One of my girlfriends had been there already for brunch and she said the server never told her anything about the tips. And we noticed that he didn't say anything to the other tables while Chesa was there. It was at the moment she left he took it as an opportunity to con us and the other table out of additional tips.

Like I told my girlfriends, its not about the money. Its the fact that he bad mouthed the owner. Very unprofessional. I am small business owner myself, in the food industry, and this was very upsetting to me.

Chesa, you are doing a phenomenal job, and your food is delicious. I hope you let go of staff that are greedy and who are making you and your business look bad. I will be back and will recommend it despite...

I intentionally selected this establishment because it’s Black-owned and had vegan options. I did my due diligence by contacting them to confirm the vegan options and communicated via Instagram that I’d be making a reservation for Sunday (June 23rd, my birthday). I used the website to secure the reservation and even called to make adjustments to the size of the party. When we arrived there were menus on the table and we waited quite awhile and finally our waitress arrived and began taking our order.

As we placed the order we were informed that we were given the wrong menus and on Sundays only the brunch menu was available; which did not have the vegan options that were confirmed via IG message. The waitress was adamant and rather rude regarding their inability and/or willingness to make accommodations for my vegan guest. Only offering the excuse “we have several people who handle social media” after showing them the messages from IG. Unfortunately we had driven all the way from the far Southside of Chicago so we decided to stay and try to salvage my birthday celebration. This was a decision I would come to regret. There were several instances of short, snippy responses that deterred my guests from ordering additional items and drinks.

The food took about an hour to come out. After it was out then the owner came to address the table. I began speaking and she said “who’s the vegan” and walked away to offer my guest the salad that was initially declined and another option. Although we later saw guest with items not on the brunch menu. This exchange should have happened immediately when the issue arose not 1.5 hours later.

At this point everyone has their food, so was my guest supposed to wait another hour or so for food? Unacceptable! She said she’d come back out at the end of the meal…crickets…this never happened. On the ride home (around 2:15pm) I receive a call from “Monica” asking if I intended to keep the 12pm reservation. I said we’d just left the restaurant and questioned why someone would call hours after the reservation to confirm. I wished them a good day.

The place seemed to have a steady flow of guests. The food was good. However, the horrible customer service and communication will stop me from revisiting or recommending this establishment to others. I’m writing because I was terribly disappointed and I really want US to do better!

I hope you spend time training your staff and hire hospitable people. I wish you...