The River Kitchen and Bar — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Never have I ever been so disgusted and appalled at customer service. 0 stars don't even justify the catastrophic scenario on Sunday, June 23 for the 2 pm drag show.

I made a reservation for 30 people at the beginning of March for my 25th birthday. I knew how high the demand is for a table, not to mention the fact it was pride week. The manager Jon replied to my reservation. Over the next couple of months, I spoke to another employee in regards to a wrist band deal they were advertising through Instagram. I reached out because I thought it would be best for my party to just stay in one area. The night before, Saturday, June 22 I spoke with an employee over the phone. I called in regard to my niece not being 21 and made sure it would be okay with her attending, in addition to confirming my reservation. She stated since she will not be drinking it would be okay to attend and everything was good to go for Sunday.

I know how crowded things can get. I told all my guests to arrive at 130 PM to avoid any issues. I myself arrived at 105pm. Where I was checked in by a Male at the front door who instructed me to stand in line and wait to be seated.

People are being seated and already eating before me I was the first one there. in line, my reservation is not found. By 240 PM I was informed that my reservation is "lost". It took over half an hour for the manager Abigail to waddle to us to only chuckle and laugh in our face that nothing could be done. Even after showing her the numerous emails and messages that have been going back and forth over the last THREE MONTHS. Was told there was no solution since she had no emails on her end. Manager Jon would not even come up and face our group. Just hid.

I was told I could wait until everyone is seated to then see if there are any available seats remaining. Why wasn't I told upon check in my reservation isn't on the paper? Only 2.5 hours after standing around was I told. I have never dealt with a manager with such despicable customer service and disregard for peoples time. Blatant disrespect. Utterly appalled with the lack of organization, respect, and consideration.

Wait to top it off and add insult to injury. The River Instagram account was watching my Instagram stories... I tried one last time to message them in regards to my reservation. READ and no response. Get it together.

Mad river didn't last... neither will "the river" with this asinine behavior. You should be ashamed of your management.

Its okay the day was saved. The Kit Kat lounge was able to accommodate a table within 30 minutes IN THE MIDDLE...

DISRESPECTFUL AND BAD MANAGER! I had a great time with the friends I was with. After about an hour or so, it started getting crowded. We adjusted and were pushed closer which was understandable. It's a fun bar, lots of people. Due to how crowded it was, it started getting hot. I took off my coat and set it down at a nearby table. A bit later, I looked around and realized that the tables and realized that not only was my coat missing, but same with my entire party's stuff. I approached the bartender and asked what happened to the tables, specifically my coat. She told me "talk to a bouncer in a blue polo" to find out what happened. The bar has a lot of people in it at this time and it will be extremely difficult to find an employee in a blue polo at this moment. I ask for the manager and he tells me its not his responsibility and that I should have been keeping an eye on my coat. I walk around for about 15 minutes and find someone who looks like they are a bouncer and ask what happened to the tables. They point discover that there are about 15 or 20 coats in pitch black. I had to pull my phone out to use as a flashlight because it was so dark there. I find my coat and approach the manager to let him know that I did indeed find my coat and the way that he responded was very inappropriate. Specifically, I said "hey man, your employees took my coat and moved it to the corner of the bar. Thank you for letting me know they moved everything!! (sarcastically)" He again repeated to me that it was my responsibility and not his. I returned and said "its not my responsibility if your employees move everyone's coats and they all go missing". He looked at me at me, raised his hand and made a puppet motion and moved his fingers like a talking puppet. I got very angry and told him how disrespected I felt and how he shouldn't treat customers like this. He called the bouncers over to throw me out. I left respectfully and no one had to throw me out. No manager should EVER treat customers like this. I am giving this a bad rating because of the disrespect I felt from the manager and strongly recommend people not to go to the restaurant because of the immaturity that...

This place needs to get its act together. To celebrate Pride weekend in Chicago, my husband and I wanted to attend the 'Drag Brunch' on Sunday, June 23rd at 11am. I called the restaurant on Monday, June 17th at 5:36pm. The gentlemen who answered the phone told me that the manager who "blocks" seating for these events was unavailable, but that he'd take my information and someone would call me back with a confirmation "shortly." By Wednesday, I hadn't yet received confirmation, and assumed that 48 hours had surpassed "shortly." I called again that evening (at 5:37pm) and asked to speak with someone who could help me out with the reservation. The same gentleman in fact answered the phone and told me that he "just saw his manager put my information in for the event and I was good to go." I confirmed that this was for the Drag Brunch on Sunday, June 23rd and 11am. (They also host an afternoon event.) He again confirmed that I was all set. Great. We arrived just before 11am on Sunday, excited to kick off our Pride Sunday with brunch and a show. There was a folding table with computers set up in the entry, and the woman working the table looked for our information. Not finding it, she informed us that the restaurant was actually running a private event (for United Airlines) that morning and it was not open to normal Drag Brunch reservations. This was the first I'd heard of this private event...it was never mentioned during my two calls to the restaurant earlier that week. (Not her fault, she worked for the company putting on the event.) I asked to speak with someone who actually worked at the restaurant, and she tried to find someone, but after waiting around (and hungry) we left. Apparently it wasn't important enough for a a manager from The River to come out and speak with us about the mix-up. This joint needs to understand that people plan their day around reservations made days in advance. With so many options for dining and entertainment in Chicago, there's no way I'll give this poorly-managed spot a second chance to earn...