Farm Bar Lakeview — Restaurant in Lake View Township

04/28/2023 Returned to Farm Bar Friday, early afternoon and before the dinner rush, 3:10PM. When we arrived (party of three) it was low key, only one other table occupied and two seated at the bar. It was apparent that the (chubby/heavyset) bartender with the extra short pastel pink hair was in a mood(?) but serving us was definitely not on the to-do list for the day. We obviously disrupted the conversation being had with the two friends being had at the bar and helping us was not on his job description for the day. *note: he did this to an older couple that walked in 20 mins after we did. This bartender appeared bothered that we were there to have a meal.

The server we had was accomodating and amazing. She jumped right in, to help cover the bartenders behavior right away.

Food wise: The Amish Chicken was splendid, the Fried Chicken Sandwich and the WI Cheese Curds brought out by the chef himself were spectacular!

I requested a spicy mezcal margarita that was not in the menu but our server said the bartender would not mind making it, so she put the order in. The margarita was very good and I wanted to let the bartender know and ask what spirit brand mezcal was used for the spicy cocktail. (Our table was located directly in front of the bar/corner bench by the window/entrance and he was less than 4ft from where we were sitting). I tried to grab his attention to compliment him on the cocktail and he deliberately ignored me and would not even look in our direction to acknowledge me. Rather the other bartender (shorter/black real nice guy) walked over to engage with me. (It was not loud nor busy, so not sure what his problem was).

I just feel that small businesses are struggling to stay afloat and face a lot of competition in this industry, especially here in Chicago. So to have a bum like this working for an establishment that one of our investor friends is vested in really pisses me off! I can't say that I would recommend this place to any of my friends or family because I would not want them treated this poorly. Dining out is all about setting a mood, a unique vibe and giving people memorable experiences... this is not an experience I'd want for them or anyone walking through your doors. Nix the douchebag bartender.

UPDATE

Amazing food! Kevin is probably the FIRST ever, #1 customer service ABOVE AND BEYOND, go-to server I have EVER come across in Chicago. Main reason why we keep coming back here! Not to mention the WI Cheese Curds, House Kale Salad, House Cider Beers (made from the owners backyard) and theHOMEMADE PICKLES !! Bow down... You've stolen my heart, Farm Bar! 5+*'s!!!! (PS: Dino S'Mores... I die. My new dark Stout go-to!) Who needs coffee when you have...

I have been meaning to write this review of my terrible experience at Fart Bar Lakeview in November 2024, but didn’t get a chance until now: Two hours before going to the restaurant for dinner, I called to ask if the butter buns in their Classic Burger could be replaced with vegan bread, and the person on the phone told me that the burger could be fully veganized and that they had several vegan bread options. Once we got to the restaurant, it was very crowded so we had to sit in their outdoor heated area which was actually very cold and not that well-insulated. After some back-and-forth with the waitress over the course of about 45 minutes, we were told that they actually did not have any vegan bread options for the Classic Burger and that neither the sauce inside the burger nor the fries with the burger are vegan for some reason (I’m guessing they both contained eggs). They offered to replace the fries with a salad, but we refused because not even the salad they were offering was vegan by default (it contained honey). They then had the audacity to offer adding a side of sautéed mushrooms for an uncharge of $6 even though we were omitting most of the ingredients from the meal, and this was on top of the $3 upcharge for the Impossible Patty on the Classic Burger which already had an expensive base price of $19. In other words, Fart Bar made us sit for almost an hour outside in the freezing cold at night just for them to tell us they were charging $19 + $3 + $6 = $28 for a patty with a few veggies and soggy mushrooms but no buns/bread, no cheese, no sauce, and no fries, and the worse part about it all is that I had called them just two hours prior to avoid this exact fiasco and was completely misled by the person on the phone. At this point we just gave up and walked (in the cold) to a different restaurant because there were no other entrees that could be made vegan. The only remotely redeeming part is that their pumpkin seed hummus appetizer was pretty decent; however, this is now irrelevant as I no longer see this option on their menu online. This was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had, and if I could give Fart Bar zero...

First I want to start with what went well. We arrived about 10 minutes before our reservation and were seated at our table. Our server, Veronica was fantastic, we started with cocktails and she provided recommendations and really knew the menu. We ordered starters, had salads, and our mains, the food was all very good. The ambiance and decor were exactly what we were looking for and we were having a fantastic night. As we were drinking a bottle of wine we had just ordered, a busser came to the table and told us the next reservation was up and we could move to the bar if we wanted to stay. This was an hour and 20 minutes from our reservation time, we did not have the check, no one asked if we would like anything else after we finished our mains, and we all had glasses of wine in hand - we had discussed with our server having dessert at the start of our meal. We were very confused, and asked if there was a time limit? Nothing on the website, or open table, or communicated to us prior to this. The busser said yes, 1 hour 45 min (which we were not at). We asked to speak to the manager. A few minutes later, the busser came back and said it was ok, we could stay 'if we wanted to'. We asked again to speak to the manager, to share feedback. For the next few minutes, we were getting glares from the bar. The GM (Diego) came to the table (we asked our server his name as he did not share it). He started by saying he heard we had an issue, he said he had taken care of it and we could stay ‘if we wanted’. As a customer, I expect to be treated with courtesy, not left feeling they are doing us a favor by allowing our group to stay and spend more money. Our bill was over $350 for 4 people, at this price point I do not expect to be rushed out, treated like it's more important to turn over the table than to have raving fans. When we left at 7.45 (asking twice for the bill), there were 4 empty tables, no one waiting to be seated, and plenty of seating at the bar. Really left a bad taste at the end of an otherwise...