Hopped Up wrote:The downstairs is awesome. The semicircle round booths are cozy and easily seat 3 and maybe 4 if you know each other pretty well. I really liked the atmosphere down there and it wasn't too loud.

This shows how very subjective the whole notion of seating area can be--perhaps even more subjective than food itself!--since I felt the downstairs merited that term known to all restaurant-goers, Siberia.

This was especially so since the way to the downstairs involves walking through the main floor all the way to the back. So one has an opportunity to marvel at the truly wonderful decor and amazing energy happening all around one on the main floor, only to discover that where one is headed has none of that going on. My perception may also be colored by the fact that Siberia was relatively unpopulated at the early-ish (7ish) hour we were there. Perhaps when it fills up (it if fills up) the feeling is different. But the aloof and not-very-attentive service we received from our waiter reinforced the Siberian impression. He might as well have carried a subtitle around with him that said, "Oh, this is where we put the losers."

Now, all that said, I knew when I made the reservation (because the young lady told me) that we'd be sitting downstairs. I just didn't know--never having been to the restaurant before--how Siberian the downstairs would be. She made it sound kind of cool on the phone. (If I had known better, I would have asked to sit on the main floor or not at all, and I will certainly do that if I return. But the bad taste of Siberia in my mouth may make it a while before that happens.)

I must also add--switching from bad taste to its opposite--that the bone-in ribeye that I shared was one of the best steaks I've had in my life. Better, IMO, than steaks I've had at David Burke's. It hardly needs saying that this counts for a lot. And for those who care about food and food alone, it would have been enough. But those for whom a restaurant experience is about the food and more will understand my reluctance to return to Bavette's.

Had another great meal here last weekend -- just about flawless. Seafood Tower, Salads, Steaks, Sides, Drinks and service were all top of the scale. We did encounter a couple of bummers, though. While there are plenty of potato options offered (fries, mashed, twice-baked, etc.), hash browns are no longer among them. I really like their version and will miss being able to order them. The other change -- a more significant one, IMO -- is that the fried chicken is longer whole pieces but instead, boneless, skinless breaded cutlets. And they were kind of mealy, too. I wish we'd read the menu more carefully and ordered something else. But it was pretty dark and we had no reason to believe this dish had changed since the last time we'd ordered it. Oh well. I'd happily go back to Bavette's but fried chicken is no longer a viable option there.

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t the fried chicken is longer whole pieces but instead, boneless, skinless breaded cutlets -- and they were kind of mealy, too. I wish we'd read the menu more carefully and ordered something else. But it was pretty dark and we had no reason to believe this dish had changed since the last time we'd ordered. Oh well. I'd happily go back to Bavette's but fried chicken is no longer a viable option there.

too bad, I'd heard theirs was one of the better in town.... I am headed to Nashville on Sunday to eat some Hot Chicken!!

rubbbqco wrote:

t the fried chicken is longer whole pieces but instead, boneless, skinless breaded cutlets -- and they were kind of mealy, too. I wish we'd read the menu more carefully and ordered something else. But it was pretty dark and we had no reason to believe this dish had changed since the last time we'd ordered. Oh well. I'd happily go back to Bavette's but fried chicken is no longer a viable option there.

too bad, I'd heard theirs was one of the better in town.... I am headed to Nashville on Sunday to eat some Hot Chicken!!

Yeah, the fried chicken at Bavette's was pretty special. Usually I enjoy it when restaurants mix up the menu, but in this particular situation I really hope Bavette's brings back the previous version. I am actually in Nashville this weekend too! Am happy to be staying just down the road from Hattie B's.

My wife and I had a thoroughly enjoyable meat at Bavette's recently. We started with a pepper duck and goat cheese terrine and the shrimp dejong. A wedge salad bridged the appetizers and steak. I would order this every time. We had the 22oz bone-in rib eye with a variety of sides: fries, creamed spinach, and wild mushrooms. Everything was excellent. I especially loved the steak, which had a nice minerality to it. We also enjoyed the roomy both in the basement lounge. (It was enough food for four and provided great leftovers for a few days.)

My best friend's birthday is coming up. He always wants steak on his birthday but hasn't been to Bavette's, so I booked a reservation months out. Has anyone been recently? Also considering Swift & Sons and Boeufhaus. Thanks!

Love Bavette's. It's our go-to special occasion restaurant (including my birthday, our engagement dinner, and our anniversary). We were there at the end of December and it was as fantastic as ever. I took the Mister to Swift & Sons for his birthday, and we both felt as if it didn't hold a candle to Bavette's. Sadly, I haven't been to Boeufhaus since it opened -- need to get back! -- so I can't speak to the food comparisons but it's a very different vibe.

LaurenL wrote:My best friend's birthday is coming up. He always wants steak on his birthday but hasn't been to Bavette's, so I booked a reservation months out. Has anyone been recently? Also considering Swift & Sons and Boeufhaus. Thanks!

Lauren-

There was some recent chatter about steak places on thread.

Thanks for pointing me to that thread - very helpful! And thank you, chgoeditor, for your thoughts on Bavette's. Sounds like we can't really go wrong with Bavette's or Boeufhaus, though the other thread has thrown David Burke's into the mix.

While I love Boeufhaus (and luckily live right around the corner from it), Bavette's is also our 'special occasion' steakhouse. I've celebrated my last 4 birthdays there and feel it fits the bill better than Boeufhaus or DB's (where I spent a previous bday or 2).

Bavette's is really an impressive operation. It's been open for more than seven years, getting a table remains incredibly difficult, and the food is still top-notch. Made my first visit in a couple years for a special occasion last night and it was even better than I remembered. The menu doesn't change much at all, but given how infrequently I go, that's perfectly fine.

Bavette's isn't breaking any new ground - I don't think there's anything on the menu that can't get at dozens of other steakhouses. But what they do, they do very, very well, with steaks about as good as anywhere I've been and several sides that are best in class. We put a solid dent in the menu and with the exception of the pork chop, which was too dry (although the delicious herb jus helped with that quite a bit), we had hit after hit. Steaks, lamb chops, crab legs, shrimp scampi, creamed spinach, and beef tartare were all top notch; the pies (chocolate cream and lemon meringue) are probably the best in Chicago outside of Hoosier Mama; and remarkably, as has been the case on each of my visits, the wedge salad was my highlight of the meal.

I don't know if concierges are taking a decent chunk of the prime reservations, if the restaurant doesn't actually make all the tables publicly available, or if there is still that much buzz about the place, but it remains a challenge to get a table at a good day and time. We needed a Saturday night. That required getting online 30 days before at 12:00 AM. 45 minutes later, there was nothing left between 6:00 and 8:00 and by 8:30 that morning a month ago, the night was sold out.

We went earlier this year and, as much as I had been looking forward to a great steak, I was drawn to the short rib stroganoff. It was a game changer and very glad I tried it; so rich and satisfying. Love the atmosphere and the service was excellent. Also a fan of sister establishment The Library (downstairs from Gilt Bar).

Great dinner here last night, packed at 5pm and barely grabbed bar seats (we were walk ins). Wedge salad, brussel sprouts very tasty. My wife had the fried chicken (thinking it was bone in, it wasn't but still good) that came with mashed potatoes, peas and gravy. I had the French Dip, which was the best I remember having and had leftovers. Frites that came with it were very good. Great wines too, we had a glass of French Sancere and some Rose. Good service and can't wait to go back with another couple to sit in the dining area and try the steak.

I was glad earlier this morning that circumstances prevented me from compromising my principles. Logged into resy to grab some reservations. They become available 21 days in advance at 9 am and they book up rapidly. Grabbed my slot and went to finalize it.

Was surprised to learn, at that point in the process, that Bavette's charges for reservations. I'd read about this new 'trend' but had never encountered it personally. The fine print makes it clear that while refundable up to 24 hours in advance, it is not a deposit that gets applied to your eventual bill. It's just a charge for the privilege of booking a table with them.

That was monstrously off-putting but I was doing this for my sister and BIL, who'd expressed interest in trying the place, so I forged ahead. However, by the time I'd quickly read the T&C and entered a valid credit card, pretty much every time slot between 4:30 and 9:30 had disappeared. Oh, well. I doubt Bavette's and I will miss each other much after our default divorce.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:Was surprised to learn, at that point in the process, that Bavette's charges for reservations. I'd read about this new 'trend' but had never encountered it personally. The fine print makes it clear that while refundable up to 24 hours in advance, it is not a deposit that gets applied to your eventual bill. It's just a charge for the privilege of booking a table with them.

Inquiring minds want to know: what was the fee to reserve a table?

Regards,
Cathy2

Coincidentally, today’s online Trib has a few photos but no article about restaurants charging fees for reservations. They refer to https://www.tablz.com/ as the vendor.

Similar to the recent news that AMC is charging extra for preferred seats at the movies. Sigh.

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Was surprised to learn, at that point in the process, that Bavette's charges for reservations. I'd read about this new 'trend' but had never encountered it personally. The fine print makes it clear that while refundable up to 24 hours in advance, it is not a deposit that gets applied to your eventual bill. It's just a charge for the privilege of booking a table with them.

Inquiring minds want to know: what was the fee to reserve a table?

Regards,
Cathy2

It was around $10 + sales tax for a 4-top. It would have been 10 of the most annoying dollars I ever spent. Relieved they saved me from myself. Hell, even the nefarious ticketmaster leaves the items in your cart for 5 minutes before they go poof.

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ronnie_suburban wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Was surprised to learn, at that point in the process, that Bavette's charges for reservations. I'd read about this new 'trend' but had never encountered it personally. The fine print makes it clear that while refundable up to 24 hours in advance, it is not a deposit that gets applied to your eventual bill. It's just a charge for the privilege of booking a table with them.

Inquiring minds want to know: what was the fee to reserve a table?

Regards,
Cathy2

It was around $10 + sales tax for a 4-top. It would have been 10 of the most annoying dollars I ever spent. Relieved they saved me from myself. Hell, even the nefarious ticketmaster leaves the items in your cart for 5 minutes before they go poof.

=R=

I wouldn't care if it was $1, that would still be an absolute deal breaker on me ever going to that restaurant again. Thanks for the heads up, will cross this place off the list of places i want to try.

shakes wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Was surprised to learn, at that point in the process, that Bavette's charges for reservations. I'd read about this new 'trend' but had never encountered it personally. The fine print makes it clear that while refundable up to 24 hours in advance, it is not a deposit that gets applied to your eventual bill. It's just a charge for the privilege of booking a table with them.

Inquiring minds want to know: what was the fee to reserve a table?

Regards,
Cathy2

It was around $10 + sales tax for a 4-top. It would have been 10 of the most annoying dollars I ever spent. Relieved they saved me from myself. Hell, even the nefarious ticketmaster leaves the items in your cart for 5 minutes before they go poof.

=R=

I wouldn't care if it was $1, that would still be an absolute deal breaker on me ever going to that restaurant again. Thanks for the heads up, will cross this place off the list of places i want to try.

Yeah, I was not proud of myself for initially looking the other way and was actually relieved when the table I wanted was no longer available. My sis and BIL will have to go on their own if they ever want to try it. I agree with you. It's the principle that's the deal-breaker, not the price.

=R=

Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

WhyBeeSea wrote:Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

The baller tax is upon us.

boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

The baller tax is upon us.

I hate it but I also get it. I can't imagine how much restaurants lose from cancelations and no shows. I'm sure the leaders at hogsalt are doing just fine, but also don't consider this a crazy money grab from our corporate ovelords

Dave148 wrote:Coincidentally, today’s online Trib has a few photos but no article about restaurants charging fees for reservations. They refer to https://www.tablz.com/ as the vendor.

Similar to the recent news that AMC is charging extra for preferred seats at the movies. Sigh.

When Frank Sinatra sang in Chicago, he’d often dine afterward at Gene & Georgetti, a white-tablecloth steakhouse in River North. Sinatra would come to dinner after hours in search of privacy, said managing partner Michelle Durpetti, whose family has operated the restaurant since 1941. Though no plaque at the oxblood leather booth commemorates Sinatra’s years holding court there, the table is in demand from those in the know, Durpetti said. So is the booth next to it, which has hosted many famous diners, including Sting, Nat King Cole and members of Fleetwood Mac.

Now, Gene & Georgetti has found a way to capitalize on those starry legacies. Diners eager to guarantee a meal at either booth can pay to reserve their spot on a booking platform called Tablz, a Toronto-based startup that allows restaurants to charge fees for desirable tables.

The platform, which went live in spring 2021 and entered the Chicago market last summer, hosts about 80 to 85 restaurants in Canada and the U.S. Tablz is betting diners will be willing to pay a premium to guarantee the best spots for their meal. Unlike booking deposits made on some other reservation platforms, the reservation fees on Tablz are not applied to diners’ final bills.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

WhyBeeSea wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

The baller tax is upon us.

I hate it but I also get it. I can't imagine how much restaurants lose from cancelations and no shows. I'm sure the leaders at hogsalt are doing just fine, but also don't consider this a crazy money grab from our corporate ovelords

Paying if you don’t show or paying for a special table aren’t an issue. It’s paying to book a table --period—so the customer paying for the restaurant to use an online res system, that is a NFW for me.

boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

The baller tax is upon us.

I hate it but I also get it. I can't imagine how much restaurants lose from cancelations and no shows. I'm sure the leaders at hogsalt are doing just fine, but also don't consider this a crazy money grab from our corporate ovelords

Paying if you don’t show or paying for a special table aren’t an issue. It’s paying to book a table --period—so the customer paying for the restaurant to use an online res system, that is a NFW for me.

That pretty much sums it up for me, too. I have no problem with places taking a card to reserve and charging no-shows. But charging for the privilege of making a reservation crosses a line for me. I find it unfortunate that customers are willing to accept being treated this way. As long as they are, restaurants will continue -- and expand upon -- the practice.

As I posted upthread, because I was making a reservation with my sister and BIL in mind and didn't want to disappoint them, I was willing to look the other way. And while I updated my payment info at resy, the table I thought I had secured went to someone else. When I told my sister the whole story, she was also pissed off by Hogsalt's practice and was relieved that I didn't get the table (as were my wife and BIL). So, in the end, that's 4 people (plus a few on this thread) that'll probably never set food in a Hogsalt restaurant ever again. Yet, considering how fast those tables booked up at Bavette's, I doubt they care at all. They've got more business than they can handle -- so much that not even their blatantly unfriendly practices can prevent the place from being full.

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Dave148 wrote:Coincidentally, today’s online Trib has a few photos but no article about restaurants charging fees for reservations. They refer to https://www.tablz.com/ as the vendor.

Similar to the recent news that AMC is charging extra for preferred seats at the movies. Sigh.

Just to be clear, the article in the Tribune - as subsequently quoted above, again by Dave - is about restaurants charging fees FOR SPECIFIC TABLES at restaurants. Whereas I assume from Ronnie's post that Bavette's is charging a fee for ANY RESERVATION at the restaurant.

nsxtasy wrote:

Dave148 wrote:Coincidentally, today’s online Trib has a few photos but no article about restaurants charging fees for reservations. They refer to https://www.tablz.com/ as the vendor.

Similar to the recent news that AMC is charging extra for preferred seats at the movies. Sigh.

Just to be clear, the article in the Tribune - as subsequently quoted above, again by Dave - is about restaurants charging fees FOR SPECIFIC TABLES at restaurants. Whereas I assume from Ronnie's post that Bavette's is charging a fee for ANY RESERVATION at the restaurant.

That's correct.

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boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:

boudreaulicious wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:Ahh I see hogsalt has adopted this fee elsewhere too. The happy hour at gilt bar was a fantastic deal (5 dollar old fashioneds, martinis, etc) as we started going back to the office more.

Word must've gotten out as the bar area was always crowded so we started paying the 2.50 tax. It's really annoying but honestly it beat the alternative of standing.

The baller tax is upon us.

I hate it but I also get it. I can't imagine how much restaurants lose from cancelations and no shows. I'm sure the leaders at hogsalt are doing just fine, but also don't consider this a crazy money grab from our corporate ovelords

Paying if you don’t show or paying for a special table aren’t an issue. It’s paying to book a table --period—so the customer paying for the restaurant to use an online res system, that is a NFW for me.

But I'm assuming that anyone who provides any upfront $, whether it's a deposit or to book a table, leads to far higher percentage of reservations showing up. And I know restaurants can charge for no shows, but it's gotta be a huge pain dealing w those customers. Can't imagine the fake sob stories that they hear. And then the subsequent feedback backlash on review sites.

I hope yall know that I hate this practice too! But at the same time, I understand it. We live in a world where consumers (including my idiot self) are willing to pay a small fee for convenience or a premium benefit. I think back to the days when airlines started charging for exit row seats or preferred check in.

WhyBeeSea wrote:We live in a world where consumers (including my idiot self) are willing to pay a small fee for convenience or a premium benefit. I think back to the days when airlines started charging for exit row seats or preferred check in.

Except that those are optional fees for extra convenience or benefit. You can still take the flight without paying those fees. That's not true with Bavette's. If you want to eat there, you have to pay extra just to get in the door.

nsxtasy wrote:

WhyBeeSea wrote:We live in a world where consumers (including my idiot self) are willing to pay a small fee for convenience or a premium benefit. I think back to the days when airlines started charging for exit row seats or preferred check in.

Except that those are optional fees for extra convenience or benefit. You can still take the flight without paying those fees. That's not true with Bavette's. If you want to eat there, you have to pay extra just to get in the door.

As far as I know, you can still walk in and not pay an additional fee (other than the time you'll probably spend waiting).

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