Bungalow by Middle Brow — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Let me start by saying, we're big fans of Middlebrow. They took care of us throughout the pandemic, with their sincere hospitality and accommodating, fire-warmed patio. Add to that delicious beers and world-class pizza, a true representative of the type of food culture we're lucky enough to enjoy here in Chicago.

Our last outing, however, left something to be desired. Sitting outside with with our 7mo old infant, we promptly met our server with our drinks and pizza order (one margherita). Whether or not it's true, we've always assumed getting your order going quickly not only helps the server but the kitchen as well, as they can just go ahead and fire something versus having to add yet one more thing to the cadence of already spaced out orders. Just looking around, we were mindful that the restaurant seemed pretty busy, so we were happy to cut the team a break since getting backed up sucks for everyone, and we can definitely empathize. We were having a nice time enjoying the weather and hanging with our little girl, so no rush. However, as time ticked on, and no beers yet, we started to get a little antsy. After about maybe 15mins, the beers showed, up. Delicious. But time kept ticking. Finally, after about another 40mins did our one simple pie come out - only after observing table after table around us get pizzas dropped well before ours. Pizza shows up, dropped by someone other than our original server, beer glasses both empty. Not wanting to throw an order at someone who might not be able to take one, and assuming our original server would be back soon, we held off. We were thinking we'd want another pie anyway, so why not wait for her. That was a mistake. Our original server never checked back. We watched her check-in on every other table in our section, still no visit. So much so, my wife felt it necessary to flag her down, letting her know we'd be taking the check. Needless to say, we were pretty disappointed.

As I mentioned earlier, we love Middlebrow, and hold a soft space in our hearts for how great they managed the pandemic, and the experiences we were able to have there even throughout all the uncertainty of the past two pandemic winters. But this experience was really disappointing. We've been so happy and eager to patronize Middlebrow whenever we can. It just really sucks how hard they made it for us to do...

I’ll start with the good stuff. I love this place. I’ve been at least 4 times in the last few years when I have been in town. The food was really good. The sardines and bread were really yummy and the olives with the raisins were really a nice added sweetness. The pizza crust was really chewy and done very well.

2nd, I will say there was a little confusion on our part about a gluten free crust. We thought we called and did not, so when we asked about a gluten free crust the response from the server was not one of regret that they did not have one, it was a condescending response. Yes there’s flour everywhere, it’s sour dough so that’s good, but there’s gluten everywhere.

Ok, our bad we messed up.

Drinks, ordered 2 rose’ and a Zinfandel…It comes and it’s a white wine? What? No one has a white zin anymore? A Zin is a red wine. It’s not 1987! We drank it. They kinda offered to replace it but they didn’t make us feel like it wasn’t our fault? Weird. I drank it. Wasn’t great.

So The response to the no gluten free crust was, there’s a big salad that you can have for dinner. Ok. Let’s share a salad between the 4 of us and the gluten free person will have their own salad. Great. Out comes 3- $18 salads and put on the table. Oh! We ordered 2 salads. The server responds…(after they are in the table) well, I can take one off the table and you will be charged for 2 salads or I can leave it and you will get charged for 3. What would you like me to do? (what? Ok just leave it.) They were huge. There’s no way to eat 3 of these huge salads. We did our best. Still got charged for 3 $18 salads. Should have told her to take it, again made us feel that it was our fault.

Pizzas were good.

My last issue, 21% automatic gratuity. You know what would have helped tonight? The server having to be nice and not condescending and working for a gratuity. I waited tables. If you don’t have to be a good server for a tip, there’s no reason to be a GOOD SERVER!!!

Super disappointing evening. Vibe was way...

I really wanted to enjoy our visit to Middle Brow, I've heard good things and the space itself has a great vibe. Unfortunately, our experience left quite a bit to be desired, mostly due to the service. From the moment we sat down, things started on the wrong foot. Our table hadn’t been cleaned properly, and the water glass I was handed was dirty, which immediately put us off. Our server, Zoe S., seemed disengaged and disinterested from the beginning. There was no warmth, no check-ins about how the food was, and no effort to accommodate even a simple menu adjustment.

We asked to modify the Soppressata and hot honey pizza by substituting pepperoni, but it was made clear that no changes could be made, not even a discussion about it. It felt like our preferences weren’t welcome. Zoe didn’t ask how the food was at any point, except to ask if I wanted more wine,no acknowledgment of my wife or her experience at all, which felt dismissive and odd. The ordering process was oddly rushed, yet our pizza took quite a while to come out. And if you're not into Coke, good luck finding a soda option, there was hardly anything else caffeine-free available.

On the bright side, the adult cheese pizza was excellent. That was easily the highlight of our meal. But unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to redeem the overall experience. Another frustration: when we paid, the point-of-sale system, which usually at other restaurants asks for feedback, skipped that step entirely. That was disappointing, especially given that a set tip amount is required regardless of the service received. If feedback isn’t being collected, I find it hard to believe there’s any intention to make things right.

We’d really like to give Middle Brow another chance, but based on this visit, I’d suggest others consider eating elsewhere until the service side catches up to the kitchen. I hope management takes this as constructive feedback, there’s potential here, but hospitality has to be part of...