Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

This is my review of the Chili's Too in Terminal 3 at Chicago O'Hare and also the tale of Harold the Texorcist.

We were a family of four (2 adults with 18 and 15 year old sons) on our way home from an awesome vacation visiting family across the country. Our connecting flight in Dallas went horribly wrong. After a 19 hour delay, many mistakes made by our airline, a stay in a creepy ancient hotel with bugs crawling all over our room, standing at our gate for over 6 hours straight on my fractured foot, very little food and only 3 hours of sleep, we decided we officially hate Texas (no offense, Texans).

So we finally made it to O'Hare, with a massive layover until our final flight home. After hours of sitting in our boredom, we were famished. We looked to our left as holy light shone and angels sang, and there was Chili's. So in true White Castle fashion, we joyously skipped across the hallway to the promised land of food. We needed real food inside us and desperately needed the morale boost.

We sat down and a waiter (we didn't get his name so we're just going to call him Harold) approached us quickly and took our drink orders. He asked us about our day and we talked about how boned we were by the airline in Texas. He listened and told us a little about the struggle the Chili's had been having, being severely understaffed. We all did some much needed venting and he showed us the first real kindness we'd seen since we left.

So Harold took our order and I kid you not, he brought it out like 5 minutes later. It was so fast! And it. Was. Delicious. It was the first actual meal we'd had in a couple of days. And this meal HEALED US. It expunged the Texas from our veins and lifted our spirits. It was a Texorcism. And Harold was our Texorcist. He saved the day with amazing food and kindness. A tear rolled down my cheek as I thanked Harold on our way out. I wish I could have hugged him.

Chili's Too is a healing place. 13/10...

My group (3 of us) had a long, frustrating day due to a flight delay that forced us to stay overnight unexpectedly. We were already dealing with a stressful situation, having to miss work and delay returning home — the last thing we needed was to be treated poorly while simply trying to get a meal.

Unfortunately, our experience at the Chili’s To-Go counter at O’Hare was made worse by Darlene, whose attitude from the moment she approached the counter was dismissive and unwelcoming. She immediately noticed we had meal vouchers and made a point to repeatedly emphasize that they were “only worth $12,” in a tone that came across as condescending — almost as if she was insinuating that we couldn't afford to pay the difference.

Her demeanor throughout the interaction was rude and completely lacking in empathy. At one point, when another person from our group approached, she muttered “another one” under her breath — further showcasing her clear disdain for having to serve us. It was beyond unprofessional.

Darlene, if you’re reading this: You don’t know what kind of day someone is having. Your job involves dealing with people who may be going through a hard time — the least you can do is treat them with basic courtesy and respect. If you’re unhappy working in a customer-facing role, it may be time to reconsider your career path. It was obvious you did not want to be there, and your attitude reflected that.

Chili’s management: please provide Darlene with a much-needed refresher on customer service and professionalism. No one deserves to be treated the way we were, especially when they’re already having a rough...

UPDATE: Adding more stars - Corporate emailed AND mailed me a letter of apology. Thx!

I had the WORST experience with the location in O'hare airport! I walked 1/2 mile from my gate to get there. The guy working the bar was clearly overwhelmed. No one was helping him, so he didn't help ME. I stood waiting to even ask for a menu. He eventually threw it at me. I had to ask a nearby waitress how to order. She tells me to stay where I am, the bartender will take my order. She begins yelling at him (in Spanish) to prioritize food orders over drinks because the kitchen is about to close. They argue.

Yo miro y entiendo. Ellos no notan. (It's not the Spanish, it's the lack of professionalism.)

Another waitress comes over & announces to the pair that the manager Sal said last call. Then Sal comes through & yells at the bartender himself. I feel embarrased for the man. He takes a guy's food order. When it's FINALLY my turn, I'm told TO GO orders are placed at the kiosk several feet away. I waited FOR NOTHING! I hustle over to the kiosk for that lady to tell me, "Sorry, kitchen's closed." I explain how I waited 7-10 minutes...that I was directed to her. So she calls Sal over. He GLARES at me! "Kitchen's closed!" He skulks away. I'm FLABBERGASTED. The entire staff saw me waiting! One really sweet waitress saw my distress and came to over to apologize....