Bar Forza

I went to Bar Forza on a Sunday evening for dinner with a friend.  The bartender doubled as the waiter since it was not too busy.  He came over and sat us and was a bit odd - he spent about 3 minutes walking us through the drink menus and we were not even sure whether we were going to have one.  We had a total of 3 menus to cover food, wine and cocktails/beer which was way overkill and confusing.  However, after perusing the beer menu I ended up getting a Gumballhead.  I ordered the fusilli with sausage and ricotta - as a whole it was good, not great, but the ricotta cheese on top was delicious.  My friend got the pizza margherita which was again good but not great.

Overall, I would say the drink list is above average for a Lincoln/Depaul-ish bar, food is average, and I think we just got a strange waiter as he was a bit awkward.  I had been there awhile ago on a Friday night and the service was fine then.

I came here recently for drinks and dinner before a show at the Apollo Theater. As others have stated, I think this place is definitely suffering from an identity crisis. When we arrived around 5 pm on a Saturday, the place was basically empty and seemed like a high-end sports bar given the multiple flat-screen TVs showing a variety of sports.

By the time we sat down to eat around 6, the place was a little more crowded. The menu seemed to indicate that this was not a sports bar, but rather a bar trying to double as an Italian restaurant. I ordered the penne a la vodka. Others in our group ordered the truffle mac and cheese, truffle fries, polenta, and pizzas. The food took quite a while to arrive and when it did, it didn't arrive at the same time. There was probably a good 10-15 minute lag time between some entrees and others. I always find this annoying and unprofessional. That said, the food was good, and everyone seemed to enjoy what they had ordered. There was some confusion on drinks, however. Some people never got the first drink they ordered; I never got the second one I ordered. When it came time to leave, we had to ask for the check twice. Then there was a huge delay when we were paying. Someone in our group had to actually go find the server in the back and explain (for the second time) that we had to go to a show and we really needed the credit card to be run. That was a bit absurd.

We went to our show and then came back to the bar a second time because it was close. We were surprised by the fact that within the hour and a half since we had last been there, the bar had suddenly morphed into a totally different scene complete with a DJ blasting dance music and random trixies attempting to start a dance floor. The sports on TV had been replaced by fashion runway shows (huh?). The whole thing was a bit weird. We stayed for one quick drink and then left to head somewhere else.

While the food was good here, I think Bar Forza is trying to be everything to everyone, which is resulting in a confusing atmosphere.

It's a great bar.  Alex, the manager, and Ryan, the bartender, will take care of you.  They were suggesting items and checking up on us all night.  Oh, and great pizza!