Kingston Mines — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Food was 3 out of 5 and music was 6 or even 7 out of 5 if one can do so lol. I don't think it's appropriate to rate this establishment based on its food because it was designed to be a Blues club, and what I heard last night was absolutely amazing! Both Omar Coleman's band and Nicholas Alexander (Lil Hoochie) were outstanding at delivering both traditional Blues music and a purely sensational instrumental performance! In terms of entertainment, this establishment had outdone itself in allowing the crowd to feel some true Blues music and dance if they want to.

Food prices were reasonable so we ordered quite a few soul food items ranging from beignets to fried okra to fried catfish, and all of them were good in quality with no highlights to offer. The fried okra, comparatively, was fried well because the outer layer wasn't too overpowering in flavor or texture. The okra softness was successfully maintained. On the opposite end were the fries, which were way too small and crunchy, and as a result became the worst dish among everything else. Oh, the cornbread also had the right amount of butter, which was also a plus.

If anyone asks me a club with good Blues music to recommend, I would, without a doubt, mention this establishment as the first choice! I must also mention that everyone in the club, ranging from the servers to the bartenders to the security guards to the kitchen workers in the back taking orders, has been extremely courteous and considerate, so from a service perspective that's also...

Kingston Mines is just about the perfect concert venue. Got there on a Sat night at 11:00 PM, minimal line and no ticket - paid 20 bucks and I was good to go. The live music rivals the quality of what I've seen in Nashville.

The music the performers play is Blues - it's incredible. You think Blues is all sad songs or whatever? Nope! It's lively, fun, and never ever boring. You can stand ~20 feet from phenomenal singers/guitar players/drummers if you stand in the pit. Crazy! Seating is plentiful but can be hard to come by around prime time (like 11 pm-ish I think). There are at least 4-5 regulars (I assume) that I saw and I fully understand why.

Now let's talk food. Ordered shrimp po'boy special and 10 jerk wings at 1:00 AM. Food took 20 mins, so reasonable for that hour, and not too pricey ($32 with a good tip I think). Sandwich was 4/5, yum but needed more sauce. Wings were 5/5, the best I've had in Chicago to date and honestly maybe in my life (!). Head chef is a super friendly dude who likely has proper culinary school training.

While I was there, security had to deal with an unruly patron. They were courteous, but firm, and dealt with the situation quickly and appropriately. Honestly was so impressed that it improved (? crazy, i know) my experience.

This place is a GEM. A gem. An institution. Iconic. You must go. Don't think. Buy a ticket. Send it. It's 20 dollars. You will not regret it if you like live music and/or want a bite of good Southern-style cooking....

It’s always cool out there... especially, the last time with Vance Kelly! Service definitely could benefit from improvement but the music was great!

Update to reply to the response from the owner (as Google doesn't offer direct reply): First, the waitress was busy and not available most of the time and we had to buy and bring our drinks from the bar. Second, she spilled something on my husband's shirt as she was removing dirty dishes/glasses from another table - she offered him another beer as an apology. He pointed to me and told her that I could benefit from that. I didn't know what was going on because I was sitting on the opposite side of our big table and it was noisy right in front of the stage, so when the waitress came to me and asked me what I would like to drink, I was surprised but - ok, I ordered something and she asked me for payment and I gave her my credit card. When she returned with my drink, my husband asked her why she charged me as it was supposed to be free, so she offered to bring him another beer. Just today, I saw on my card statement that she charged me for all those drinks (I assume she also added a tip as it totaled over $24!!!) and stained my...