Figo Wine Bar — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Will not be going back. Went for a rare night out with a friend for dinner and a show. Got to the restaurant at 5:30 with the goal of having a nice meal then leaving around 6:45 or 7:00 for the show. The restaurant is adorable. Beautiful windows, exposed brick, hardwood floors - lovely ambiance.

The waiter came and we ordered drinks and an appetizer. He asked what else we wanted and I told him we were going to wait until after we had our appetizer to order our entrees. He said he had to get the entree order now so that the kitchen would move smoothly. I said that was fine as long as he waited until we were done with our appetizers to bring the entrees. He assured us that they "course the meal" and that it would be fine. Well, our arancini came out and soon after we took our first bite guess who shows up with our entrees. I very nicely said "this is exactly why I didn't want to order our entree ahead of time" - his response was "well we can't put it under the heat lamp" - so essentially too bad so sad for us. And of course our entrees were cold by the time we got to them. We started chatting with the guy sitting next to us and while we were talking, they brought his food. He was served his appetizer and his entree at the EXACT same time. He was not happy. This is a really poor way to run a kitchen.

As for the food, they brought out some bread and olive oil that was great. The arancini were super yummy and came with a parmesan pepper sauce that was amazing. We were there during happy hour and on ordering the arancini - we were told they come 3 to an order and waiter suggested adding a 4th so we could each have 2. We agreed. An order of 3 were $10 at happy hour pricing and we were charged $6 for the 4th one. Total ripoff. For an entree I ordered the $30 salmon. The piece of salmon was max 2-3oz. And it was set on top of 2 pieces of bok choy and swimming in a weird bowl of some sort of squash soup-like sauce. Literally they served it with a spoon (which the waiter proceeded to knock into my soup and I had to fish it out). The description on the menu states "Salmon - Kabocha Squash, Baby Bok Choy, Charred Squash" It says nothing about soup or sauce. My bad for not asking. The salmon was overcooked and the soup under it was weird. The bok choy was so soaked with the soup that it was inedible. My friend got the tagliatelle that she said was fine, but would have been better if it was still warm.

All in all it was a super disappointing experience. The ambiance is lovely, so if you just want a drink it would be fine. The food was average and the prices were too high for the quantity and quality. There are plenty of better places...

We came here during the winter when they had the outdoor seating. The food was good but the service and general atmosphere was unbelievably weird and seemed just kind of downright rude. We were sat and immediately poured water from a bottle. After the water was opened and poured our server informed us that the water cost $6 and it was a required fee, and that if we wanted any more water we had to buy it by the bottle. He continued to talk and explain that there was heating in our tent and how nice and generous it was of the restaurant to provide us with heating… it was February in Chicago. Every single restaurant provides people with heating or else people don’t eat there? But that was the justification for why we were being charged for water. I understand that restaurants might need to charge for outdoor tents during the pandemic- I went to a lot that did, but every other restaurant was upfront about it and told you before you came in. This all felt very underhanded and sneaky to trick people into paying a minimum fee.

He also went on a lot of speeches about how we only had the table for a limited period of time and so like under no circumstances could we stay longer…. And then he only came to our table like twice so it was really hard for us to order things.

The final, very weird, piece of the puzzle was when he gave a whole speech about how the chef was insisting that all orders be placed at once so that the food could come out together, etc… which fine I guess. But then when we (2 people) ordered our food he stopped us, dead serious and asked “is this your entire order? Is this everything you want? Because once I submit this order you cannot order anything else. The chef is INSISTING”.

Everything about it came off as very tacky to be honest, which was strange because it looked like such a nice place and it is a little bit on the...

This place is a beautiful gem! I want to give a big thank you to Figo for their exceptional service . We recently reserved the bar area for about 20 people for my husbands birthday. Not only was it easy to make a reservation, I was amazed that they offered to reserve a complete section of the bar which we wanted. Upon arrival everything was ready and set for our gathering. We have been here mutliple times only to experience great service and last night was no exception. From start to finish the level of service was professional, warm and inviting. Ari & the entire staff are extremely passionate and knowlegable about their extensive variety of wines. They seem interested should you ask questions about wine varietals or cocktail combinations and really take the time to explain options. They were patient in letting us select and often offered a variety of tastes before commiting. Their dinner menu is thoughtful and elevated. Since I am vegan, my options are a bit limited but in the end there are options which is wonderful! The ambiance reminds me of a classy manhattan bar - something Lakeview desperately needs. It is an elevated and chic setting without the pertentious attitude that often follows. Thank you Figo,...