Went on a warm night where there were already several groups of black women there and was turned away. We were told because they don't accept Illinois State ID only Drivers License or military ID. We came from Crystal Lake, South Loop and Dolton to meet our friend who recently moved to Oak Park to get a drink we we're very disappointed.
The manager, hostess and other guest were pissed off and extremely disappointed  and after i reported it to company they said franchises can do that and they are aware of whats going on at this location.
Another reason I don't enjoy Oak Park
I did get a call from the manager today regarding my complaint that I made earlier in the week. I was very impressed with the professionalism and the manner in which the complaint was taken care of, and as a nurse I understand having a bad day or dealing with a rude crowd, but the importance is that it must not be taken out on everyone. Needless to say I will return and I am very impressed!
Review Source:Well today we went to bar Louie  in oak park and atmosphere was nice as you enter even with the seat your self sign , so as we sit waiting to order the waitress attending the customers in the booth next to us proceed to talk to them about how she can't stand certain customers and that why do they come out of there house if you have food allergies you should stay home an not come here and if you  are a vegan you shouldn't even bother or if you have question why leave your house I was so surprise to hear her talk this way and it changed our mood right away so the reason it bother me so much is because I have a food allergies should I live in a bubble because I ask you a question  I found it so wrong and that she would be this way with customers.the food was blah and other then that it was a awful evening  so if you have any if those issues think twice about bar Louie in oak park this place stinks
Review Source:Too bad, you can't select 1/2 stars in your review b/c this place is a solid 2.5. Â No real complaints, but honestly the 3 biggest reasons we continue to come back are because (1) it is close to our home, (2) the prices are reasonable, and (3) it has a nice balance of food that is 'good enough' for adults and plain enough for our kids.
If I had never been to a Bar Louie prior to their expansion all over the Chicagoland area, I might have given them a higher score - but having been a regular at their original hole-in-the-location on Chicago Ave. more than 15 yrs ago, I can tell you that both the quality of their food and the overall vibe has suffered greatly, even though market share and profits may (or may not) be up.
I love the atmosphere here, and the round booths are awesome! Â The service is always welcoming and friendly. Â I love the buffalo calamari (although today's version was a tad soggy), and I usually like the sliders (although today's version had a different bun than usual!). Â I guess you can tell that today was not the best visit here for me after ten or so trips...However, my husband had a delicious turkey sandwich-warm, loaded with meat, and on toasted bread. Â Yummm! Â
Fun place to check out in OP!
I went to Bar Louie's in Oak Park on Veterans Day to have a free dinner compliments of Bar Louie's for my service to our country.
I must say that I was impressed with my meal which was the "Blue Louie", a blue cheese, bacon, fresh spinach, and buffalo sauce burger with fries. It was excellent.
I had a free lunch else where and I was not at all impressed because it was a small pizza that they were ringing up at $13. Of course I didn't pay anything but I felt like they were using this opportunity to give away the minimum to get the maximum in possibly a write off at the end of the year.
Just my opinion.
I know from past experience that service at Bar Louie is very spotty. Â On a Saturday evening, I took five children there for dinner after a movie. Â I called ahead to reserve a table because I knew that they would be extremely hungry and wanted to cut down on the wait time. Â Little did I know that although we did not have to wait for a table that we would have to wait nearly an hour to eat. Â Try entertaining five children ages 3-9 for over an hour... Not fun! Once the food arrived, two dishes were still missing. Â Silly me for believing that they would be quickly following the other meals. Â It took another 10 mins. Â I have gone there on Tuesdays for the $1 burgers which is a pretty busy time and have never waited that long. Â Management should really take a look at their kitchen process because that was totally unacceptable.
Review Source:Worse service ever!!!! Waitresses are a joke. One waitress came over with our silverware for us (party of 5) and had them all bunched in one napkin and actually told us "sorry, I was too lazy to wrap each one" and lightly laughed while she put them in the middle of the table. Â Are you fucking kidding me! That's jut one incident of many. I gave this place too many chances, because I live in Oak Park and love Bar Louie's food but the service here is CONSISTENTLY horrible. Waitresses take forever and the hostess is usually MIA.
Do NOT recommend. not surprized they are rated so low already!
Try Lake st bar+grill down the block, WAY better service and great food!
I decided to have dinner here on Saturday night after debating on the street with my friend about where to eat. I don't eat gluten or dairy so I have to be picky about where I eat these days. I figured a chain like this would be pretty accommodating to my special requests so we headed to Bar Louie.
We debated on sitting outside and as soon as we walked in to the freezing, mostly empty bar area, we decided to sit outside. The bartender was carrying some plates & told us to sit anywhere. Oh um, uh okay. As we headed outside the server gave us a look like "where are you going?" so I confirmed with her that we were going to sit outside. It took a good 5 minutes for a server to come over & greet us. He looked confused when we ordered water to drink & then disappeared again for about 8 minutes before returning with our water.
When it came time to order, I started off saying "I'm going to be complicated, I don't eat dairy or gluten" (I try to make a joke out of it- I work in the industry, I know that people can be jerks about the eating preferences but I'm pretty easy going about mine). I asked him if I would be safe if I got one of the burgers w/o a  bun & he said "oh um, i think" so I further asked "they don't put any breadcrumbs or anything like that in the burger?". He said "oh, um, no, um, I don't think so". Can anyone guess what the correct answer would have been? Anyone? If you guessed "Let me check with the chef", give yourself a gold star. Anyways, I then asked if the tacos were made with corn tortillas. He said "oh yeah, I think so. I mean, um yeah, they are.". Ugh, I was getting nervous. I ended up ordering one of their speciality burgers with bacon, egg, & cheese (but no cheese for me, of course). I asked for it with a turkey burger instead & b/c the server wasn't writing it down, he was very confused. I repeated the order again & he said he had it.
The food took forever. Seriously, it was one of the longest waits for food I have experienced. We were starved by the time the food came out! My friend ordered a salad w/shrimp & the runner dropped one of the shrimp skewers on the ground as he was putting the plate in front of her. He said he'd get her a new one. Okay, fine. My bunless burger gets put down in front of me & it's missing the bacon & the egg. I started munching on the small pile of fries on the plate until the server returned about 8 minutes later. I pointed out the mistake & he took the plate away. Again, about 8 minutes later, my correct food arrived. He didn't check on us while we were eating & at one point glanced over at us & seemed to scurry back inside.
We asked for the check & when it arrived I was shocked to see that there was no discount for the food error. I'm usually a big tipper (I leave 20% for just okay service) but the service was horrible & I ended up leaving less than 15%. It was such a poor experience, I doubt I'll be back to this location or any location for that matter.
really, 2.5 stars, but closer to 2 than 3...I've been here a few times for trivia, which is really fun.
The beer selection is terrible. Â This is especially annoying since I've been to other Bar Louie locaitons that have a terrific craft beer selection. Â Service is friendly, but usually pretty slow, and the last time I went she mixed up everyone's beer orders. Â There are so many other places in OP to grab a beer, that I wouldn't recommend this. Â But, if you're nearby and need a place to eat or drink, you'll have an average experience.
Such nice, purposeful ambience and decor. Lots of TVs around the bar with quieter dining room and outdoor seating. Seems like a great place to grab drinks, eat, and watch the game.
Everything went wrong. Seat ourselves? After 20 minutes, no drinks (it's a bar right?). Fish and chips: 10% fish, 90% batter. Servers standing around talking and eating at the registers or with with the (slow-moving) bartender. Four tables had to ask the servers, bartender, and bar staff to turn to the game (Playoffs!?)---and after 20 minutes, that happened.
Perfect candidate for reality-tv intervention.
My wife and I came in on a Saturday evening around 6. Â When we walked in we waited by the hostess stand, along with 3 other groups for almost 5 minutes. Â Someone finally came and told us to sit wherever we wish. Â This was not starting off well.
Our waitress Angelina was the best part of the place. Â She helped us right away and offered to get us more beers before they were even finished.
I had the Stockyard burger which should have had blue cheese on it. Â Instead it seemed like some sort of blue cheese spread that was a little too much. Â Burger was tough and overcooked (asked for medium)
My wife had the pulled pork with she liked. Â The fries were great on both!
The Bar Louie in Ann Arbor has a large craft beer selection which was one of the reasons we came here. Â Oak Park Bar Louie does not have this selection. Â Mostly domestic, run of the mill light lagers.
Also, Bacon Wrapped tatter tots?! Â Genius!!! Â Best ever. Â This along with Angelina brought the review from 1 to 2 stars.
Bar Louie, I'm embarrassed for you. Oak Park is such a great little city. I can't believe you have such a prime spot in their downtown area. You define the word, "Average". Depending on how the wind is blowing, you usually fall "below average".
Food is average, service is below average, and Server competency is below average. However, I do give them high marks for the atmosphere. However, the current staff deserves no credit for that.
While our server today was nice enough, I really don't think she had any desire to be there. I understand not everyone enjoys their work, but if you're in the service industry, please pretend for the customer's benefit. I can go into detail about how every aspect of our meal had issues, but I'm exhausted with this place. It's such a failure. If you don't believe me, peek your head in on a weekend afternoon. Staff out numbers the customers 2:1.
I was once there on a Wednesday night. Domestic bottles are a buck! Heck year, I'll have 3. Apparently, Miller Lite is now made overseas. I had to pay the regular price of $4 a bottle. Why? I don't know. Again, arguing with this place is like trying to communicate with a cockroach. (To my knowledge, Bar Louie does not have cockroaches. However, I did not tour the kitchen.)
I'm tired of giving details on why restaurants are so awful. Please just take my word and steer clear. There are so many other nice places in the neighborhood.
This review has been a long time coming. Â After many attempts for redemption, this joint just plain fails. Â It is nearly impossible to get anyone's attention for service and when you do it never seems to be the right person.
When the waiter does decide to appear, the service is less than mediocre. Â The last time i went to Bar Louie with a friend of mine we both ordered iced tea. Â I received a full glass and she received a quarter of a glass, with the explanation that they would have to brew more and it would take 30 minutes. Â Her drink never came. Â
The food was irrelevant, forgettable and overshadowed by the blatantly incompetent staff.
I've always liked Bar Louie, but alas the husband does not. Â He thinks the service leaves a lot to be desired and actually on our last few visits, I'm inclined to agree.
But I have to rave on the talapia fish tacos, they're awesome, very memorable with a mango pico de gallo that is incredibly paired with this meal.
But be prepared, the waitresses can disappear on you. Â The bartenders seem to feel a little self-important instead of service-oriented. Â Other than that this can be a fun place to meet friends for drinks and take in a sporting event.
Any place that refills my margarita gets five stars! Servers are super nice. I spilled my drink with a few sips left and was given a whole new refill. I am not sure if it is because I am a lite drinker but my drink was not watered down in the least. The food is hot and Tastey. I had the Blackend Talapia and rice.The rice was fluffy and well cooked and the fish was blacken just enough wiothut being burnted. My husband had a burger and fries and we spilt a mac and cheese appitizer and a chicken ques. My only complaint its that the food is super fattening but hey...its a bar. They do have turkey burgers and salads. Â Again, the servers are, as always super friendly and that will keep us coming back.
The only con is the outside service. When it is warm outside, I would skip it because it can take a little longer.
Killing time between Frank Lloyd tours, I decided to check out Bar Louie. Â The restaurant was rather quiet - very few guests in the restaurant.
The server, Chris, was very pleasant and attentive.  The restaurant has a great $7.99 lunch menu.  I had ordered the Caesar Salad w/ chicken.  The salad was very well portioned.  The garlic bread was also  very tasty. Â
I would go back to Bar Louie - when in Oak Park.
Every time I come here I instantly regret it. The food is lousy, the drinks are weak and super expensive and the service is terrible.
If you are looking for somewhere in the area that won't be a TOTAL waste of your time and money I suggest TGI Fridays, it's right across the street and they actually have a parking lot.
Why oh whyyyyyy oh why did I ever give this place another chance? Â I knew better. Â So, this is my own fault.
Boyfriend woke up wanting a bloody mary on a Sunday. Â So we headed for Bar Louie. He ordered a BM and I ordered the margarita special. Â Waitress brings two giant BMs. Â Then disappears forever. Â I got so tired of waiting for her to come back so I could get the proper drink that I settled and drank 1/2 the BM. Â No prices listed on the drink menu. Â We get the bill.
$26 for two BMs!!!!
Are. You. Freakin, Kiddin. Me?
We paid and left feeling IMMENSELY guilty. Â Biggest waste of money ever.
I will never return to Bar Louie. Â This was the last straw. Â And there have been quite a few short straws before this one...
I moved to Oak Park two years ago, and we would go to Bar Louie due to a lack of affordable, casual sit-down restaurants in the area. Since then, several other casual restaurants have opened up in the area, offering great options and saving me from eating at Bar Louie.
The food was never that great- just standard bar food. Since Bar Louie was located on a high-traffic stretch of Lake Street in downtown Oak Park, it was never hurting for dining guests.
Service was always terrible. On one particular night, my husband and I walked in, were seated by a hostess, and were not greeted by a waiter or waitress for 20 minutes, not even to take a drink order. We walked out and haven't been back since.
Good things about this place:
- Half price appetizers 4 - 7pm on weekdays
- Decent beer specials
- The Bloody Louie Blood Mary: made with Absolut Peppar and garnished with pickle, olive, provolone cheese, jalapeno, lil' smokie, lemon, and lime. I think it costs 11 bucks, though.
- Free donuts and house bloody marys during Sunday brunch
- The tall, bald server with a deep voice and goatee. I always forget his name (Mike?) but he is so awesome: laid-back but still prompt with drinks, friendly without making it seem like everything he says is to ensure a bigger tip, and patient with little kids.
- Trivia Nights on Mondays and Wednesdays. The emcee is really funny and the winners of each round get 30% off their bill
Things they should fix:
- Having 1 bartender make all the drinks AND serve all of the high-top tables = waiting with empty glasses for a long time
- Martinis are small, too sweet and cost $10
- The paper towel dispensers in the bathroom never work and I hate drying my hands on toilet paper
I've never really had an issue with the service here, as others have, but I do agree that it can be slow at times. Overall, this place is very friendly and has a lot of regulars. It's a good place to watch sporting events but I suggest taking advantage of whatever specials they have because, otherwise, you'll be shocked that your bill is $40 for some calamari and a few beers.
If I could give Bar Louie 0 stars I totally would...I went there today for a work outing......this place is a glorified Applebee's Restaurant.  I ordered a BLTT and it was disgusting!!!  SO greasy, no taste, and I looked around at the plates of my other 6 co-workers  and there is nothing I would have wanted to eat from the looks of their plates. Â
The waitress we had was ok and the restaurant was clean...but bar chain Applebee feel has guaranteed that I will never be back, not even if the work outing is mandatory.
If i could give them a -5, i would! Let me tell you about this zoo, run by A RUDE staff, with no people skills, or lack of regard for customers.
First we waited at the bar for a booth for 20 mins, then when the booth became available they gave it away to people who just walked through the door. I told the server what had just occurred and he just looked at me like a frickin deer caught in headlights.
We get a table and it just goes downhill from there. To be honest, this place isn't worth anymore of my time or yours. Just don't go.
Too bad the service sucks, cause the food is not bad.
Live, Love, Eat......just not at bar louie.
JLR
I have gone in here a couple times so this a collective review.
I came in with a friend after a class to hang out because I like Oak Park and I didn't want mexican, italian, or breakfast food. Just some cheap bar food, and just what I got. The only pissing thingabout this visit is that we were at one of the stool tables and didn't get looked at for over 10 mins!!! They weren't even busy!
The other times I had stepped inside and sat at the table/booths along the side the service was pleasant but average.
I well probably end there again just because on the Lake St. strech and it's enjoyable hang out on a Sunday or Monday.
I just wanted to add a little FUNNY:
As I was walking and waiting for my friend outside .... the collection of stores is a bit hilarious. There is Chipotle, Bar Louise, Fitness Formula Club, and then Layne Bryant ?!?!
Empty bar, empty seats.
For a good reason, too.
This place is wick-wick-WACK.
Not in a horrific way that deteriorates your soul and makes you want to stab out your eyeballs. No, just in a 'How did I end up here...again?" kind of way.
The underwhelming dining fare - the best of which include the fish tacos - let you know this isn't a restaurant so much as a place that serves food. If you keep it cheap, you're less likely to be disappointed.
Stopped in here for lunch on a Saturday afternoon and it was EMPTY. Â
Ok, fine. Â There was no host/hostess at the front so the bartender yelled from behind the bar, "Sit wherever you want!" Â As I walked past the booths on the side, every booth had dirty dishes on them and each table wasn't cleared.
As my girlfriend and I were about to sit down, one of the servers came over and said, "Let me clean this off for you". Â We ordered a beer and as we were looking to see what was on the TV's above the bar, we noticed that there were about 30 dirty glasses just sitting on the bar. Â It was obvious these were from the night before and they were cleaned. Â
At one point during our visit, a male server came over and grabbed a place setting from our table without even asking.
Needless to say, we had one drink and then left. Â This was the second time I'd been there and experienced HORRIBLE service. Â
I won't go back and it's a shame that inattentive people and a dirty restaurant is in Oak Park.
Stay away!!!!
It's do-or-die for Cubs on NLDS tonight. Friends and I decided to watch the game over a couple of beer and some greasy food, and Bar Louie was right around the corner. So, perfect.
We were seated immediately as it was pretty empty. And it's a Saturday night. Whatever. It was 9:12 pm, five minutes past first pitch, and the row of flat-screens had MIL-vs-PHI, ABC news, and Titanic on.
Titanic?!?
Lucky for us, Cubs was soon on tv, our Guinness arrived, and it's time to order some finger food.
I was craving for nacho cheese. You know, those yellow goodness oozing out of a dispenser and you dip your chips in it. The closest thing they had on the menu was this "chicken nacho" that cost $9.99. So I asked the waitress if we could work something out, and to my delight she said yes.
That's when things took a downward spiral.
Bottom of first, Cubs down 0-2. I had a headache.
Food arrived. My nacho? It was semi-soggy 'cos the cheese was drizzled on the chips, not on the side where I could dip. Okay, I'm hungry. Just eat fast and watch the game.
Fast forward to middle of the sixth. Cubs down 0-3. Chips now 100% soggy. My headache just got worse.
We decided to get the check and get the hell out. Check came, and the nacho cheese: $9.99. It was as if they took the chicken out of that "chicken nacho" and charged me the same price for it.
Here's the best part. The waitress explained, "Oh, we don't a button for your nacho cheese on our computer, so we just have to ring it up as chicken nacho."
At this point, my friends were like ants on a hot pan. I was simply too tired to argue. I needed Advil, fast.
Get the hell out we did, and I never looked back.
Cubs lost. So did Bar Louie.
I was bummed I couldn't catch the Cubbies game, so my cousin and I had to settle for the next best thing... I don't think you could be more relaxed in a bar setting.. The service was good and the food was as good as expected . Try the Italian Beef that it is famous for... We told the server that our fries were cold as she replaced them at once.. They have a large selection of draft beer that I thought was a bit overpriced... But I didn't pay anyway. Thanks cuz! LOL! I would add this to my Wrigley-bar-hopping itinerary...
Cheers!!
Bar Louie, you suck! I had never been in one before and I will never again.
Here is why.....
Hubby and I were bopping around Oak Park, as we sometimes do. We wanted something different and saw the menu in the window. It looked very promising and fish tacos and some nice apps sounded just great.
When we entered, there was a sign posted saying they were serving a limited menu that day.Okay...just how limited are we talking?? It was a single piece of paper with  very few items printed on it. We were hungry and did not want to go any further, so fine, we stayed.It was a Saturday afternoon and they were not at all busy,maybe 4 or 5 other tables total in the whole place,including the outdoor area.
All I can say is that if you are only going to offer a few items, you had best make them great, or at least decent. My husband got  what was supposed to be a gourmet sandwich. Could have done better at Jewel Deli myself. There were supposed to be fries-it was potato chips that were so obviously from a bag. I had a sandwich as well, I cannot even remember exactly what it was, but it was not any better than what my husband ordered. Drinks took forever and our server was more interested in gossiping with his coworkers than seeing if we needed refills or if we needed anything else.
So, suffice to say, we won't be back. Sorry, Louie, you lost us!
NOOOOOOOOOO!
The last thing that yuppified Oak Park needed was a Bar Louie. Â Typical frou-frou food that takes forever to get to your table and cluless servers who couldn't care less about your needs.
Meanwhile, you are surrounded by the parents who think it is ok to take their kids in here and let them be loud and obnoxious. Â People, "BAR" is in the title - go down the block to Ben and Jerry's or Lucky Dog and give us a break.
Look, I live in Oak Park, and I'm constantly searching for good food/drink specials within walking distance of my place (near Scoville Park). Â Hence, on certain nights, when I can't figure out what I want for dinner but I know I want to go out, I find myself at Bar Louie. Â
Yes, it's a chain. Â However, I used to live in Naperville, and the Bar Louie over there is completely different from the one in O.P., so it appears as though there exists some variation in this chain... I digress.
Let's get to the point here: on Wednesday nights this place has $5 buckets of Bud and Bud Light. Â I know, not great beers. Â But there's no denying that deal. Â IF you're looking to go out and grab some drinks on the cheap in the middle of the week (maybe to forget about your mind-numbingly-boring job), then this might be the place for you. Â
Do's:
-Sit at the bar. Â You'll get better service and you'll be able to chat with the bartenders, who appear to be just as bored as you are.
-Order the wedge salad. Â It's good... they mix blue cheese and a vinaigrette and it ends up tasting awesome. Â
-Pay $5 for 5 bud lights and drink them in rapid succession. Â
Don'ts:
-Expect there to be ANY kind of real atmosphere here. Â It's got a real faux-swank feel inside, but overall it's just sorta' boring. Â
Oh, and it appears that they have tables outside now that the weathers nice, so that may be an idea on a Wednesday as well...
Not really a fan of Bar Louie's in general as they always have that "bar chain" feel to them, Â but I agree that it's an upgrade for Oak Park. Â I live about 2 blocks from here, so I can literally stumble home in a drunken state--not that I've done it before.
Foodwise, I suppose it's okay. Â I had a pretezel and cheeseburger. Â It was a pretzel and cheeseburger. Â
I think my main gripe with this place is that I grew up around here and whenever I come in, I see someone from the neighborhood. Â But that's my beef, not yours.
A good addition to the Oak Park scene (sadly lacking in a place to meet friends for a few drinks) but not an especially memorable dining experience.
That said, the look and feel of the place is quite nice and upscale. Service was good, food was decent. Not for foodies, but certainly worth the trip for locals. I'd say it's a bit over-priced for what is fairly typical bar fare (two burgers, two cokes and a soft pretzel: $30+) but it's a nice place to meet friends and you're likely paying a bit to park your butt, if you know what I mean.
ETA: I've since had the nachos--very tasty!
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