The Up Room — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

You'll find just about the most amazing view of the city at the Up Room at the Robey. If you're coming here, that's what you're looking for. If you're looking for good cocktails, go elsewhere. My wife and I used to be regulars here when we lived close by. They had amazing cocktails - one of my wife all time favorites, a matcha martini with egg whites. It was sooo good. We came back here a couple of weeks ago, after about a 2 year hiatus (pandemics and whatnot), and on a weeknight, there was still a short 10-15 minute wait for a table, which was fine. We got a table outside to gaze at the twinkling skyline and enjoy the beautiful summer night breeze. The waitstaff was very nice, but you can tell that they were running a skeleton staffed shift. I only saw 2 servers for the entire bar. My wife ordered the Bae on the Beach cocktail and I went with my usual Old Fashioned (theirs was called The Robey Old Fashioned). It didn't take too long for our cocktails to arrive, and both of us on our first sips both gagged. We are not your bougie types, and if the cocktail is good enough, we'll power through. We both agreed that these two drinks were the worst ones we've had in Chicago. And they were $17 and $19, respectively. Obviously, you're paying for the view. But The Robey's cocktail service has taken a huge dive. When we entertain out of town guests, we often find ourselves at the Hancock Signature Lounge, where drinks are also quite expensive, around $15-20/each. But at least they are solid cocktails and drinkable. This was a huge disappointment. We tried to flag our waitress down to mention it, but it was obvious that she was spread thin so we just let it slide, did not finish our drinks, and cashed out. The Robey gets 3 stars because the location, view, and friendly staff are noteworthy. They lose 2 stars for the awful cocktails, which I feel is reasonable and not...

My friend and I experienced overt racism while attempting to get seated at this bar. I have provided 90 reviews in my history of google reviews (feel free to check them out, they are 100% all positive) and this is the first negative review I am giving on google because I experienced overt racism here. My friend and I (a Black person and a brown person) walked up to the host’s stand asking for a walk in. We were immediately told “it’s raining so the rooftop is closed and we have limited space- there are no walk in’s right now.” We were both understanding and respond, “that’s unfortunate, but it’s okay!” My friend needs to use the bathroom so we sit there until the bathroom stall right in front of the host stand opens up. Two minutes pass (while waiting for the bathroom) and an older white couple enters and they say the exact same thing we had said- “we are a walk in.” Now they say, “if there are spots open at the bar you are welcome to sit there.” I look at them and say “excuse me? Two minutes ago it was a no and now it is “feel free to take a look at bar” because it is an older white couple, not two people of color in their 30s.” This was disgusting. We wouldn’t have known it even happened if we weren’t waiting to use the bathroom. They realized what they did was messed up and attempted to get us in. I hope you recognize the way discrimination is impacting who you let in to the bar and who you don’t during times of limited seating and check yourself. People of color, beware of where you are spending your money. We spent $80 in the bar below it on the second floor which did not exhibit any signs of elitism / racism, the staff were kind...

I went on a Friday night with a friend. We both left shaking our heads, and have shared with many people never to come here.

The staff was arrogant and extremely inexperienced. The waitress for the patio would walk out the side door by the bar, be bombarded by people placing an order for her, then she go back inside, so most of the patio never got service.

Naturally people came inside to get the service they weren't getting outside, and were told by the bar they needed to wait outside.

We found an inside table. When no one came after 20 minutes, I went to the bar again, and was told I had to order from a ta le server.

The same bar guy had a tray of about eight glasses of water, so I asked two of those for us, while we waited for someone to take our order.

He said no, the waters were some people who had just arrived (no joke). Then he walked around the room and plqcing the water for people who had just arrived, and never asked for the water! For the final glass, he asked one person at a table if they were waiting for someone, they said yes, and he gave them the last glass. So he proactively passed around a tray of water to people who just arrived, and left one for someone who wasn't even there yet, while refusing to give two of those glasses to people he knew had been waiting over 20 minutes. That is ridiculous and rude. It is the most arrogant and poorly serviced venue I have been in ever.

Finally, the drinks are about $20 - $25. Beers are also exorbitant. It is to be avoided. It doesn't matter that it has a roof, go someplace else, and save yourself money headache avoid an arrogant under...