Great drinks and super friendly bartenders/staff. I'd recommend the Korean Ribs if your're looking for a good appetizer.
Stopped in for lunch today with a friend. I like the ambiance of the place, especially for the area. Not too stuffy and has a loft type of feel with open ceilings and cook in front of you grills.
I ordered the thai fried chicken as a side and the sliders as my main course. The chicken was great; very flavorful and tasty! The sliders were quite large and delicious. I didn't realize that fries came with the sliders, but they had a very good seasoning with three separate dipping options to enhance the flavor profiles as you please.
In all I enjoyed the meal and left feeling very full for about $25 (with tip). I would love to come back for dinner to see the table grills in use and try some of their other options.
Went here as a more upscale date, so looking for some good food and a great atmosphere. Â It's definitely a destination, not something that you'd just pop by - not too much public transit, and took a few minutes to get a cab afterwards (none empty or full drove by).
Service was attentive, and quite knowledgeable about the menu. Â It's always great to have information on the dishes that may not be spelled out in the menu.
The food was good, but not great. Â Some of the sauces had fantastic flavor, but overall things just weren't standout. Â You won't get a terrible meal there, based on what we had, it will be just average. Â It seems as though this is a small plate restaurant, just charging more and calling it an entree. Â I'd prefer 3/4 of the size, and cut the price in half to create a true small plate experience.
In addition, we seemed to be quite cramped, kind of shoved up against a pole and another table. Â The first couple that was next to us didn't seem to be getting along - but I don't want to know that, a little more privacy would be welcome - and also so that the servers don't have to server over my head because they can't fit anywhere near the side of the table.
I'd maybe try it again, but probably for an appetizer or drink, not for a full meal.
We were there for restaurant week so naturally we did not have as high expectations as we would have on a "normal" night. However we were delighted when the food proved to be of absolute top class quality. We had reservation for 4 people but 1 more  friend joined us with very late notice. Even though the place was packed the waiter managed to fit us at a table for 4. I know that this is extremely annoying when guests don't respect their reservation bit the staff handled it excellently. Food, drinks, ambiance were all top class. Do visit!!!
Review Source:wow, what a night and day difference between the first time we went to BellyQ and the latest visit last Saturday night. Â the staff at BellyQ noticed my initial poor experience at their restaurant and contacted me immediately to rectify the situation. Â props to them for their immediate attention to this.
so the night started off much better than our original visit. Â 7pm reservation and we were sat immediately. Â it took our server, Patrick a bit long to get to us, but once he did he was very informative and attentive. Â he went through the entire menu with us and pointed out things we should try and that were amazing. Â he had mentioned the thai style fried chicken and the bellyq beef, but we definitely wanted to stay away from that this time around. Â what he did mention was that these dishes were perfect for family style. Â awesome idea! Â I'm not used to fancier restaurants being family style but it worked out well for us with a group of 5.
so what did we have? Â this time we ordered:
-chef's kimchi
-spinach with chinese sausage
-goat milk feta cheese pancake
-double smoked bacon and kimchi hot pot (F'ing awesome, probably the best thing we had that night)
-lamb shank (since I wasn't able to get it the first time around)
-korean short ribs
-baby back pork ribs
this time around, nothing fell short at all and everything was delicious. Â out of everything we tried, the bacon and kimchi hotpot is something I'd highly recommend along with the korean short ribs.
oh! Â and we also tried out a couple of desserts, steering clear of the vietnamese donut this time, but I kind of wanted to try it out with the soft serve. Â so we ordered the huckleberry ice and the passion fruit ice. Â absolutely amazing. Â I'm sure if we had the soft serve with the vietnamese donut the first time it would have made a world of difference. Â their soft serve is really good.
Thanks to Alex, the GM for inviting us back again and making up for the first visit! Â after the first visit we definitely were not ever planning on coming back again. Â I'm not sure why the quality of food was not up to par that first night. Â maybe it was because of restaurant week and it was busier than normal, but this last visit was not quite as busy and everything tasted MUCH better. Â after this return visit we will definitely be coming back again.
The food was tasty and plenty.  For two of us we had 2 appetizers, one hot pot and the salmon entrée.  It was very flavorful and good portion size.  Loved the eggplant!
My issue is with the service. Â We took some time to order because my friend and I hadn't seen each other in several months and we told the waiter that. Â When he came back after we had looked at the menu, Â we said we would order some appetizers since we knew what we wanted and then would decide on entrees. Â He said that their process is to take the full order and the chef would space it out since that "helped the kitchen". Â That sounded fine to us. Â However, they brought the 2 appetizers at once, and within about 5 minutes tried to service the entree. Â We told them to take it back, as we had specifically said this was not how we wanted our meal served. Â
To their credit they did take it back then asked us if we were ready before serving it again. Â The funny thing was a manager came to check on us and apologize but our waiter never said a thing about it.
I really want to give it a one star...but I'll refrain...because the slaw tasted really good. Â Anyways, I ordered for delivery from BellyQ - through DiningIn (they suck as well, by the way and will get my wrath!). Â I ordered (for 2) Korean Short Rib, Crispy Tofu, Asian Coleslaw (really tasty), Steamed Chinese Buns and Chinese Eggplant. Â So here it goes:
Korean Short Rib: came to us cold (may be DiningIn driver's fault since he was running late) - had a good flavor but immediately after consuming it, both of us felt really sick - like heavy gross sick. Â I wonder if there is any MSG in there...Anyways, next - Crispy Tofu - it was ok, also came cold - but at that point I wasn't sure if this was supposed to be a cold dish or a hot dish. Â Asian Coleslaw - no complaints - the slaw was AWESOME! Â Steamed Chinese Buns - came with nothing but some sauce, I definitely thought there'd be some beef, or bbq pork, or duck or something...I guess whenever I read Chinese Buns I think of the ones filled with meat, but anyways, so basically it was BREAD that they charged me $6 for...which other restaurants offer for free. Ripoff, ya think?!? Â OK. Â Chinese eggplant - it was literally DROWSED in oil - I mean how oily can you make a dish, chef?!? Â And a veggie dish at that!!!!!! Â I had to dab it with a napkin literally before I ate it. Â That's not how you're supposed to enjoy a meal. Â I know I ordered for delivery but the presentation of the food was terrible as well. Â :(
I'm writing this the next day, and I am still feeling sick. Â Actually both of us are feeling sick, bloated - eeeeh I'll spare you the details, but it ain't pretty. Â
I was really looking forward to trying BellyQ - it has been in my Yelp bookmarks for like 6 months! Â I am sad to say that I will not recommend this place to anyone and I will not be going there myself...oh and I will not be writing about you in my blog! Â :(
BellyQ gave me, my wife, and her friend FOOD POISONING, two days before New Year's Eve 2012. Â I've waited these last few months before posting a review while BellyQ's "independent" review of the food that night was pending. Â Their insurance company sent me a letter recently saying they don't take any responsibility and that it was an "isolated" incident.
It sure wasn't an "isolated" incident at our table though...for those keeping score at home, a perfect 100% of our party got sick.
And it was the first time in over a month that we had seen my wife's friend, and all of our flu tests came back negative when our debilitated/dehydrated bodies were tested in urgent care on NYE day. Â So there were no transmission possibilities or other coincidental illnesses for which we all shared the same exact symptoms...only very tainted food.
I hate to rant on Yelp, and I don't like reading it when others do...but I figured the general public needed to know. Â There are too many great restaurants in Chicago to take a risk on this shoddy establishment.
The food going down was pretty mediocre, and when it was coming back up and out both ends, it was even worse. Â Thanks BellyQ. Â You suck. Â See you never.
I don't know why this place has such a mediocre star average. Â I guess people weren't smart like me and did not scope out the yelp reviews prior to going there!
First off, the ambiance of BellyQ is great. That alone is worth a visit back. Â Our server, Villa, was awesome....super nice, genuinely enthusiastic about the menu. He helped us out w/ what we should order.
We had every intention of ordering the Thai Fried Chicken but decided against it when we found out Monday night was ramen night. Apparently the ramen changes every week. Â Last night's ramen was deliciously busy, featuring thinly sliced beef, bacon, pickled cabbage, crimini mushrooms, jalapeno slices and chili sauce. Â There was also a strong undertone of fish sauce.
We also shared an order of short ribs....cooked by the chef (as opposed to on our own in-table grill). Â The ribs had an amazing grilled flavor. Â A bit tendon-y but good nonetheless.
The Vietnamese donuts were just as everyone has reported: SOOO GOOD!!! Â The housemade soft serve was also very light and refreshing. This dessert is a must-order.
Excited to go back to BellyQ to try some of their award-winning cocktails!
We went to Belly Q for a company party and had a very nice private room - really more like a private suite, with it's own bathrooms and karaoke (which we were too chicken to try). Â The quality of the food was very good, though the appetizers could have used a kick of flavor. Â My favorite was the tofu. Â We basically tried everything on the menu by ordering at least once of each and sharing family style. Â The entrees were all very good. Â The seafood pancake and tea-smoked duck breast were my favorites. Â Alcohol was very pricey, but since I wasn't paying, I didn't mind :) Â The prices are too high for me to afford for anything beyond a super-splurge, but when I splurge for myself (not very often) it's usually lobster, so I doubt I'll be back. Â If I could afford it, I would go back again as a nice place to take a date.
Review Source:On my first visit I tried a few cocktails...very good, and pretty different. I had the chilled soba noodle salad followed by the red Thai curry lamb shank. Way too much food for one person, but delicious. I'm ashamed to say I finished it all. On another visit we did the table grilling. I've pretty much tried everything on the menu in my three visits. The one thing they have that is absolutely to die for is the jelly doughnut dessert. Out of this world! It's worth going there just for that. I came here looking for something a bit different and I got it, and everything is good. Definitely a place to try.
Review Source:Stopped in for Restaurant Week and had a phenomenal time. The space is really unique and from the beginning, all of the staff was warm and welcoming. We only waited a few minutes for our table of four and our waitress came over right away. I have to say that I didn't really enjoy the cocktail I had. The Crescent with smoked agave and pear bourbon wasn't what I was expecting, tasted kind of syrupy, super sweet. My boyfriend didn't love his whiskey-based drink either, so maybe their unique cocktail program just wasn't for us. We went with wine next and that was a much better choice.
Our waitress recommended that for the best value, only two of us order off the RW menu. This was a great move and it was so thoughtful of her to suggest it! We started with the Thai Fried Chicken which was fantastic. Spicy, crunchy, we all loved this dish. I also had some of the Kimchee and Bacon Pancake, delicious. For dinner, we shared the Belly Q Beef and the Korean Short Rib. Neither of us were crazy about the Belly Q Beef, I'd skip this item. The short rib was tender and very tasty. I tried one of our friend's Baby Back Pork Ribs. Winner. Fall off the bone, amazing sauce, this dish came out of nowhere and it the best, by far. Both the hot and BBQ sauces on the table were flavorful and unique, go ahead and try both if you're not too afraid of spicy things...
The dessert was cinnamon donuts with caramel and their homemade soft serve. I was literally boxing out and fighting spoons with my boyfriend for bites. Oh, yum. Overall, great service, large portions, excellent Restaurant Week value. I could definitely see myself coming back here to share a few things and drink wine with friends.
I'm kind of surprised that BellyQ has such a mediocre overall rating. Â My wife and I have been there a few times and we are always very pleased with the quality of the food and the service we receive. Â We went there last Saturday night for an early dinner (thanks to the baby) and we couldn't have been happier with our experience. Â My wife ordered a cocktail and got pretty tipsy (BONUS), and I had 2 of their draft beers. Â We ordered the Thai fried chicken, the seafood pancake and the short ribs and shared everything. Â The portion sizes aren't huge but they're adequate. Â My wife really liked the seafood pancake - the raw fish was a pleasant surprise. Â My highlight was the dessert. Â We ordered the Vietnamese donuts with soft serve vanilla ice cream. Â Based on other people's reviews, it might be best to check out BellyQ before their dinner rush.
Review Source:We had 12 people in our reservation, and I'm the one coordinating so I'm always a bit worried that I'm going have a night from hell trying to make sure everyone else doesn't.
That wasn't even a worry here. From the person who to my reservation, to our waiter Eric we were well taken care of. A nearby table was very loud and we were only the second table there so their loudness carried. Our waiter took care of that too. He was very nice, and the other table brought it down a notch. Â (quiet nod to the other table for the consideration)
I had some of my suburban family with me as I'm trying to show them more than Chili's . And, I knew that it would be a bit of a challenge. Eric was a rockstar with balancing out the needs of the table. He was attentive to two of our party's gluten issues, and he made my brother feel like a king on his 21st birthday.
Half our table ate family style, and Eric helped us coordinate the right amount of food, drinks, apps, and an awesome desert for the table.
The food is great. It's the right price for what they serve. The portions are solid, the meat cooked perfectly, lots of flavor, and the specialty cocktails were actually interesting and tasty. I usually drink scotch so I'm a bit critical of half assed crafty drinks, but again was pleasantly surprised.
All in all, it was a great evening. Great service. Great food. Everyone was happy, and I will surely return. And, would considering BellyQ at the top of my list for a larger party.
Was here during restaurant week, but decided to go a-la-carte. The cocktails, especially the Crescent was fantastic as well as the fried chicken and shrimp appetizers. I could have done without the double bacon kim chi pancake - it was dense and I (maybe unfairly) expected more of a Vietnamese banh xeo type of dish. The kim chi was disappointing (both in the pancake and as a side), my friend was hoping for the kind of kim chi that is strongly fermented, the in-your face style kim chi. We also got the duck and short ribs entrees which were great shared. Otherwise, it's just too much of the same food for one person to keep it interesting. Lastly, we got the passionfruit ice dessert which was basically vanilla ice cream with a sprinkle of delicious passionfruit ice. I would have paid extra to get more passionfruit!
If you like wine with your meal, then this place is not for you. Their wine selection is lacking... with maybe 3 bottles to choose in addition to their "wines on tap". After looking over the wine options, my friend and I decided on beer when we saw they had options from 3 Floyds.
I prefer Embeya or Sawtooth for Asian food, but Belly Q is slightly more affordable and am willing to give them another try.
We will be back here often I hope. The food was amazingly deep & rich in flavor, portions were quite decent for the money and waitstaff (our server was Johnathan) was very well trained, extremely knowledgeable about the food & drinks and very friendly. We came for Restaurant Week and augmented the dinner with small bites and more.
For appetizers we had the Thai Fried Chicken which was crispy, red, sticky & only slightly spicy - with 3 (or was it 4?) good sized pieces of chicken. Ordered steamed buns to mop up the sauce it was that good. Soba noodles w/shrimp - great dressing, perfectly cooked shrimp. Cold eggplant is a must side - with a light sweet and garlicky soy dressing. The Double Bacon and Kimchi pancake was good but hard to share as the bacon was in large pieces and there were 6 of us but they cut it into 4 pieces. A spinach and crispy rice cake salad had a delicious balsamic vinaigrette and a few black beans and cherry tomatoes strewn about along with thin avocado slices. Very refreshing.
For entrees the salmon in banana leaf was tender and moist, BBQ ribs also. Tea smoked pork chop - good flavor but pretty tough - actually too tough probably because it was so lean. The Belly Q beef was a generous portion of very tender boneless beef in a bulgogi like sauce.
The seafood hot pot was my least favorite dish and what I had ordered as an entree. It lacked some depth of flavor (compared to the soups at Urban Belly) so I added some of the pancake dipping sauce and a little of the Fire hot sauce on the table - that did the trick. It had some rice cake slices so if they tell you no noodles it is technically correct but not actually true as most people consider a slice of a rice (raw dough) cake cooked in broth to be a "noodle" even though it is not long. It also had pillows of tofu, nice shrimp and I think scallops.
For dessert the ice cream so smooth and silky - order it alone with no toppings to appreciate the flavor better. The Vietnamese donuts everyone raved about - I saved myself for more savory food. The El Presidente our favorite drink - crystal clear and strong with a more intense flavor than a regular mojito.
We sat by the kitchen and watched Bill Kim bark out the orders as he expedited what came through the tape. It was like choreography in motion. Very fun.
My only complaint is that it is a bit, just a bit, too dark to read the menus without any tea lights or candles at the table. Other than that we loved the roominess of the dining room and plan to ask for a grilling table next time.
BellyQ is pretty darn good. Â I went during restaurant week and I definitely got a good deal. Â I tried the Thai style fried chicken, which was alright. Â The breading was nice and crispy, but not as spicy as I hoped. Â The banana leaf wrapped salmon was absolutely delicious. Â We also ordered the kimchi which was delicious and spicy. Â it wasn't like kimchi that you traditionally have, and and combined onion, garlic, cabbage and zucchini. Â For dessert, we had the donuts which were perfect and wonderful.
The service was good, and slightly slower than the average restaurant in that area, but I have to say that I enjoyed it. Â A little time between courses gives you time to enjoy the food, and not gorge yourself :) Â The one negative thing about the service was that we had a reservation and still had to wait about 20 minutes for our table. Â I think that it could have been because it was restaurant week. The decor and the ambiance was fantastic. Â I really would like to go back and sit in one of the private rooms and try some of the other entrees.
This place gets 3 stars for value during restaurant week. At full prices this would have been 2 stars.
There are a lot of great reviews for the Thai style fried chicken. I didn't find the dish very exciting. The taste was average and there was a noticeable lack of crispiness that I was expecting a fried chicken dish to have. Not sure what the hype is about.
BellyQ beef was my main dish. Some reviews here say "extremely tender" which set me up for disappointment. I've had extremely tender beef before, and this was not it. The beef was a little tough but the seasoning is decent. I'm not sure I would get this again if I went back.
The donuts at the end were tasty. Freshly fried with brown sugar on top. I liked these but who doesn't like freshly fried dough?
If I were to sum up the experience in a word: meh
Maybe my expectations were too high going in. There are some fabulous restaurants in west loop on Randolph and my experience thus far with BellyQ doesn't match up. Will probably try it again sometime and order different things.
Good things: ambiance, decor, the drinks were strong, and the waitress was hot.
Awful experience! I would give it zero stars if I could. Three friends and I went to BellyQ on a Saturday night for Restaurant Week. Our reservations were at 9:15 and we weren't seated until 10:00. Every time we would ask how long they would say "5-10 minutes." The hostess said this every 10 minutes for 45 minutes. Then they made up some excuse that had to do with open table.
The food was below average. My BellyQ beef was so firm I couldn't even chew it. I don't know how they expected us to cut the meat with a butter knife when it was so tough. When we asked for a steak knife, we were told they didn't have any. Then the waiter came out with ONE sharp knife when two of us needed it so we had to share. The salmon my friends had was raw in the center. Â
Our dessert was mediocre. They only brought out two ice cream dishes when there was four of us. They charged us for the ice cream when it was included on the restaurant week menu.
I don't recommend this restaurant and won't be going back. Ever.
Had a great time here with my coworkers for lunch on Friday during restaurant week. I ordered the salmon dish which was phenomenal. There was a ton of flavor and a ton of food, so I definitely left satisfied. The red quinoa was really unique and I'd love to make it at home sometime. It seemed much smaller than traditional quinoa that I've made at home. The flavor was really rich and I'd definitely recommend this dish if you go in for the regular menu. My two coworkers each ordered the sliders. They were on mini pancake-looking things that were really yummy. And the kimchi on top is always the icing on the cake. The fries had some paprika and maybe cumin? So tasty with their secret spices. And curry mayo sauce is the bomb.
Probably the best part of the meal was the excellent donuts! They were light and fluffy and warm on the inside, a little crispy and covered in sugar on the outside. And the toffee sauce with sinful vanilla soft serve...orgasmic. Thank God we don't have HR at work or I might have been written up for some of the sounds coming out of my mouth while enjoying those things.
All in all, a very successful restaurant week meal and a great way to lead into the weekend!
Love the space and the interesting mixed crowd.
The service was 4 stars, but the food was hit or miss:
Fried chicken - 5, sweet, crispy, light heat
Crispy Tofu - 2, kinda bland and boring
Seafood crepe - 1, I don't even know what that was
Tea smoked duck - 5, outstanding
House made soft serve with huckleberries - 5, perfect cold creamy slushy ending
Also, I'm a huge fan of soulful electronica, but 7:30pm is a little early to hear that loud thumping bass. Â Howabout starting after 9pm instead?
Popped in here last night for restaurant week. WHOA, amazing!
I can't believe the bad(ish) reviews I'm reading...These people must not have had Eric (the wonderful curly haired lad), the best damn server EVER. Seriously, this guy is hysterical, on top of his 'ish, and he makes really good suggestions.
Belly Q knows how to do Restaurant Week. Full portions? You bet!
Our table of 4 had two orders of Thai Fried Chicken and it was insanely delish! The sauce that's on top of it, BAM, flavor central. It's a spicy sweet mixture of greatness. We also had the Hot & Sour lentil soup (take a pass...it's meh) and the Almond Cesar Salad (it too was delish...but I'd still go for the Chicken if you're looking for just 1 appetizer).
For our Entrees, again, we tried it all. Pork Chops with Asian noodles were very tasty (the noodles were amazing). The Banana leaf wrapped salmon was good...but a little fishy for me. I like Salmon better at other places to be honest. The real winner for all of us was the BellyQ Beef. The flavor on the beef is insane. I wish they'd pair this beef with the Asian noodles, now that's a winning combo.
For dessert, we all enjoyed the donuts with caramel sauce. I think my life just changed! I don't even like donuts....or I didn't like donuts... I do now :)
We also added Edamame to our appetizers and a side of and the steamed chinese buns with hoison. The Edamame was pretty good... the buns, ehhhh, not so much. However, I do believe these are the same buns they use to make those life changing donuts. I like em better as a dessert with cinammon and sugar way better then I do with the hoison sauce.
Anywho, come here...it's awesome! The vibe. The servers. The food. All awesome!
Fantastic restaurant week experience. Â I have been looking forward to this restaurant for a while and apparently so were a lot of other people. Â Given the horrid weather last night (generously call 'a wintery mix') I expected a pretty empty place. Â No way, every table was packed by 7. Â This was the most filling restaurant week menu I have enjoyed. Â My wife and I always order different things so we can try as many dishes as possible and I am glad we did. Â Starters were a thai fried chicken (3 generous pieces) and a delicious roasted chickpea salad (no idea what magic they put in there but I want to add roasted chickpeas in all my salads now). Â Dinner was salmon wrapped in a banana leaf that was perfectly cooked and delicious, as well as the BellyQ Beef that was super tender and just the right amount of kick. Â I loved the pickled red onions and jasmine rice that came with both dinners. Â
As you can tell I liked the food, but that was not the best part. Â The cocktails were amazing, I had the Innoculin (sp?) made with something called arrack, bourbon chai tea, and coconut milk. Â It had the consistency of a white russian but infinitely more tasty. Â The ambiance just dripped cool and hip, minimalist with funky lighting, and high ceilings. Â The service was great! Â All our food came almost too quickly, our waitress was a cute as could be and told funny stories about each dish and the restaurant as she did her "Vanna White thing" while she explained the menu. Â And for goodness sake do not miss dessert. Â It was simple and flawless. Â 3 cinnamon donuts (without the hole), caramel sauce and a side of their coconut soft serve ice cream. Â Hard to describe how perfect the soft serve matched with the donuts and caramel. Â
Well done Chef Kim!
Unfortunately, the food was not such that we want to go back. Â We went for lunch for Restaurant week. Â It was interesting to note that one of the lunch offerings (the burger) was not really a "deal", but the same cost as ordering the meal and dessert separately. Â Not a huge deal but kind of deceptive in my mind.
The food - we ordered fish tacos and the burger. Â The fish tacos were good/ok. Â The burger was just not that great at all. Â It was served on a steamed bun, with cheese, a papaya slaw and some spicy mayo. Â Just not tasty. Â The fries were yummy though.
I'd be willing to try the dinner, but would not recommend anyone go there for lunch.
I found the food to be, as others have noted, very hit or miss. A few great tasting items, but some real letdowns too. I would blame restaurant week but I don't think we ordered anything from that menu.
"Addictive" (according to the menu) Edamame starter-- just not good. And served cold, with greasy/gross-looking toppings that make it not finger-food (and trying to get the beans out with chopsticks or a fork is tough)
Seafood pancake -- okay. Raw fish on top didn't taste or look super fresh. Sauce that accompanied was just soy sauce, nothing special.
Seafood soup -- this was delicious, perfect for a cold day. Just the right amount of spice and lots of fish.
Thai style fried chicken -- okay. Â Good flavor, but soggy from the sauce. Skin not crispy at all.
Some pork dish -- a little dried out.
BellyQ beef -- very tender and tasty. Falling off the bone.
The beverage program is a total nightmare. No one particularly liked their cocktails. Â And the keg wine was a joke. Wine on tap is trendy, sure, but they don't even list the maker/distributor or where the wine is from geographically. I don't think they even list the varietals -- it's like "red" "white" or "rose". Â Which is too bad, because the dishes we did enjoy would have been elevated by some great wine.
Service was good and the atmosphere was as scene-y as you would expect -- decor predictably trendy, communal tables, dim lighting. Nothing original or special.
I MUCH prefer Urban Belly's food and more casual vibe.
I have been to Urban Belly (Yum!) and Belly Shack(Okay) already, so I decided to give BellyQ a try to complete the trifecta! Â Before going in, I always love me some Korean BBQ, so I was excited to see what BellyQ had to offer. Â Ambiance is a nice transformation from OneSixtyBlue (the former tenant). Â Service was great.
What we ordered:
Tea Smoke Duck Breast - Okay
BellyQ Beef - Good
Surf and Turf special - Decent
They definitely gave a generous portion of duck breast, I was almost full just eating that. Â BellyQ was tasty. Â Surf (Lobster tail) and Turf seemed lacking on the surf portion. Â The experience really did not WOW me and I left thinking I would recommend a few other places on Randolph before BellyQ. Â Taking my grilling and appetite to San Soo Gab San.
a_ma_ZING.
I had such a great dinner at Belly Q, I can barely stand it. I wasn't sure how busy it would be on a Friday night right after work & we had tickets to the Bulls game at 7, so I made reservations for 6pm.
Seriously, everything was amazing. Friendly host, friendly waitress, and the best dinner I've had in weeks. My man-friend had a glass of Sake, no clue which one it was, but it was delicious and smooth. We started with the addictive edamame, and yes. It's addictive. Soy-balsamic-addictive-deliciousness. For my entree I had the banana-leaf wrapped salmon, and it was cooked to perfection. We also had the steamed buns as a side, and the man-friend had the short ribs for his entree.
I honestly can't exclaim enough how great everything was. I can't wait to go back, stuff my face some more & try to save room for dessert.
You know you picked the right place for dinner when as you're walking up to it (still a block away) a delicious aroma quickens your pace.
Even with my olfactory sense intrigued, I was still a bit skeptical because of the less than stellar reviews. Â I really had nothing to worry about.
Maryum S. ad I started with some drinky drinks. Â I ordered the Indochine cocktail ($10) -Arrack, Bourbon, Chai Tea, Soy & Coconut Milk, Sugar Cane, Vietnamese Cinamon. Â Deefreakinlicious. Â Our server, Brian described it as an Asian version of a White Russian...right on. Â
The Chilled Soba Noodles ($10) was a great starter. Â Served with Thai basil, olive oil poached shrimp, and Chinese eggplant. Â These are a few of my favorite things.
The Tea smoked duck breast ($23) served with fluffy bao was to die for. Â Great salty, smoky flavor. Â
And that something that I could smell from a block away...it was the lemongrass chicken ($18). Had just a small kick to it that was complimented by the fresh flavor of the lemongrass. Â
Big portions here, great for sharing. Â Our server Brian was very patient with us as we tried to decide on dishes. Â He also had a nice guarantee to move along our indecision, "If you don't like it then I won't make you pay for it!" Â He was very attentive when we first got there (early dinner around 6pm) but as the crowd started rolling in it became more difficult to get his attention. Â He tried.
I have been to BellyQ a handful of times and loved it. The service is consistently great and everyone is very friendly and knowledgeable. The restaurant itself is expansive, open and appealing. I love the moss wall by the restrooms! So pretty!
I absolutely love the Chinese Eggplant with Thai Basil. I could eat a whole bowl of it. The Asian Coleslaw is another favorite of mine. The Almond Caesar Salad with spicy chickpeas is a fun twist on a traditional caesar salad.
I get the Goat Milk Feta Cheese and Rice Noodle Pancake every time. So good. The Spicy Lemongrass Chicken is delicious as well.
I like that BellyQ occasionally changes up their cocktail menu. I've had some pretty awesome drinks here. I always try to mix it up and try something new and I've never been disappointed with my choice.
For dessert, the Huckleberry Ice Soft Serve is always great. It's refreshing, fruity and the homemade soft serve is perfect.
We had been hearing about BellyQ for a bit and hopped on Yelp to read the reviews. Â They seemed a bit all over the map and we decided to try it for ourselves. Â Open table had a last minute rez open at 6:45 on a Friday and away we went.
Service - Great - I believe our waiter was Jonathan and he was attentive and knew all the details about each dish. Â All food came out super fast too which was nice.
What we ordered -
Thai Fried Chicken - OMG - love. Â Spicey enough to make my nose run (I'm a wheeny) and great flavor. Â I'm from the South and couldn't NOT order this.
The Noodle/Shrimp/Eggplant Salad - My husband almost ordered a second one it was that good.
Salmon - Whoa - Unexpected greatness (and the slaw was good too)
Ribs - Okay this is what really blew our socks off. Â Just fell off the bone, flavor was perfect.
Donuts with ice cream - I can't wait to have this again. Â A must order to cap the meal.
We had a fantastic experience, just what we were looking for and will definitely bring family and friends the next time!
Ugh - maybe it's better for dinner.
I was part of a group of seven that went to BellyQ for lunch. It was pretty much dead; there was only one other occupied table. Mediocre food and TERRIBLE wine. We ordered a couple of each of the four appetizers; the only one that any of our group thought rose about blah was the spiced fries. One of our group had good things to say about her salmon - but not the quinoa that accompanied it, since it was cold. None of the seven of us had anything more positive to say about our meals.
But back to the beverages....Our server actually told us that "kids" love the "wine on tap" approach. I am not exaggerating; it tasted like cheap boxed wine. We ran out of water and had to ask our server for more; he hadn't noticed (yes, despite having only two tables to serve).
We tried to flee to The Tasting Room across the street after "lunch" to get rid of the taste of the bad wine, but they weren't yet open. Sigh.
My husband and I are big Bill Kim fans (well - I guess we are more of a big Belly Shack fan seeing that we only made it to Urban Belly last weekend). Â Since Belly Q has been open for 6 mos, it was about time to go. Â
The pros
+The food is delicious and just what we expected from Bill Kim. Â
+Bottomless sparkling water - this absolutely delighted me
+The space is itself is great
The cons
-The service was only so-so - I asked for my leftover short ribs to be boxed up and the waiter didn't give them to me. Â I totally forgot until we left & was REALLY bummed.
-It's kind of loud - I don't think I'd want to come here with more than 1 person because I just don't think you'd be able to hear anything. Â I was already struggling to hear the waiter
I would definitely go back for the food. Â But in the end - I live to so close to Belly Shack that it may be awhile before we get back there. Â I would definitely be interested in going back to get one of the grill tables, though, so I am sure we'll make it back within the next 6 months or so.
My parents, boyfriend and I went to BellyQ for the first time this evening. We were easily able to get a 5 p.m. reservation on OpenTable at about 3 p.m. today.
Everything is served family style so we chose a bunch of dishes to share. We ordered:
1) Addictive Edamame with Soy Balsamic;
2) Chilled Soba Noodle Salad with Thai Basil, Olive Oil Poached Shrimp, and Chinese Eggplant;
3) Steamed Chinese Buns BBQ with Hoisin Sauce;
4) Double Smoked Bacon with Kimchi Pancake;
5) Baby Back Pork Ribs with Hoisin-Rosemary BBQ;
6) Banana Leaf Wrapped Salmon; and
7) Vietnamese Cinnamon Donuts with Vanilla Soft Serve and Huckleberry Jam.
Truly, everything was delicious. My favorite dishes were the soba noodle salad, the pork ribs, and the donuts. The vanilla soft serve very unique; it was made with coconut water and had lime zest on top.
The edamame was good but a little messy to eat because the shells were covered in the sticky balsamic. Might be nice if the beans were removed from their shells.
My least favorite dish was the pancake, but that's not to say I didn't like it. I just preferred the other dishes more.
I tried the seasonal House Cola, which is currently Gingerbread Vanilla. I was nervous that the drink would be too sweet, but it was just right.
We had the option of sitting at a grilling table or a regular table. The hostess kindly pointed out that the grilling table is less comfortable for tall people (my boyfriend is quite tall) so we sat at a regular table. Our waitress was Jillian, and she was very knowledgeable and friendly.
Will be back!
One thing I will say about BellyQ is that the customer service is stellar. Â After leaving a disappointed yelp review, very, very few restaurants would go the extra mile to make sure I had a better experience here. I've heard of some restaurants even leaving comments to yell at the yelper! Â So I was very impressed with this attention, and the VIP treatment given to our party of 3 on my second return. BellyQ earns an extra star just for that.
This 2nd time around, we got to try several more dishes. Â The eggplant appetizer was my favorite. Â Easily overlooked on the menu, this is a seemingly simple and well-constructed cold appetizer, full of flavor.
The Almond Caesar salad was fine, but the standout were the blackened chickpeas, I could have eaten a bowl of these. They're light and crispy. Â Apparently during happy hour they serve these as a snack. Genius!
The chilled soba noodle salad was a little too wet for my tastes, and would have been SO MUCH better if the shrimp were charred up, instead of being poached.
We also had the Bacon/Kimchi Tofu Hot Pot (think Korean Soondubu). Â This was spicy without being spicy, which is my favorite kind of spicy. Â Does that make sense? I love spicy food, but my palette just can't handle it, and usually my mouth is burning to the point I just can't enjoy the dish anymore. Â This dish is spicy done well, without the lingering burn.
Their drinking vinegar sodas are also good, especially if you think typical soda is too sweet. Â I've tried two -- concord grape the 1st time, and this time the lychee. Â Both very good.
Other dishes tried were Baby Back Pork Ribs, Spicy Lemongrass Chicken, Spinach w/ Dried Shrimp and Chinese Sausage. Â The ribs and chicken were cooked nicely. Â I would skip the last dish.
So all in all, I still wouldn't say I love the food, but I did really appreciate the service.
Great space, nice energy, okay food.
Liked our table along the front window side. Â If we go back though we'd ask to slide a little further back from the front door as folks waiting to be seated start to mill around those first couple of tables.
Our server was nice and friendly. Â She probably didn't need to give my Korean wife any tips on how to cook the kalbi we ordered, but I'm sure she meant well.
The food was mixed and ultimately disappointing. Â Crispy tofu app was very tasty and the dessert donuts were really delicious. Â But the Korean short rib was a let down (fine, but not as good as what you get in the smaller mom & pop places) and the kimchi pancake was not good.
Glad we tried it once, don't see a need to make it a regular spot.
Have eaten here a few times, even though this place is SO out of my hood. Â But its that good. Â And the meals that you here are worth the price (I think its a bit undervalued the first time I went, but I think now after they reduced some of the sizes, its fairly valued).
The cocktails are original and of course, with the guidance of Peter Vestino, each cocktail works together really well. Â And it helps that one isn't bombarded with so many choices. Â For such a big place, they really know how to make you feel undaunted and excited for what you order. Â
I'm vegetarian, so I was limited on what I tried, but things I've tried here have all worked well. Â My favorite is the vegetable hot pot. Â Its perfect to share with 1-2 people and warms you up and gives you a flavor that lingers around. Â The waitstaff are friendly and knows their menu, so they helped me pick out things that would agree with me. Â
This place is big, but always packed. Book a reservation. Â Luckily, each time I came, I didn't have to wait (never made a reservation). Â But that's because we either sat at the bar, the community table or in the most recent case, a group of 6 had cancelled so we 6 could take the table instead. Â And glad we got in, because all my friends (this was new to a few of them) fell in love with the food.
Great atmosphere, fantastic food, awesome service... what more can you really ask out of a restaurant.... i guess free parking in the city, but we found a spot and there were plenty more, so take the time to drive around the area and you won't have to pay the valet.
Pros:
Great service from the bartender to our waiter. Â He handled my group of 8 smoothly and efficiently. Â
Cons: They ran out of ingredients for one of their yummy hand crafted drinks the red lotus :(
very sad about this, but at least got to try another drink, the crescent, that was almost as good.
Food: Â Well seasoned, balanced, perfectly cooked. Â Each piece of meat was so succulent and delicious. Â
Apps:
Thai Style Fried Chicken - highly recommend getting this. Â the sauce is amazing and the breading is perfect and each piece was fantastic
Crispy Tofu - good, not as good or savory as the chicken though
Added Flavors:
Chef's Kimchi - new and refreshing. Â if you are expecting the typical fermented kimchi that you can buy at the store or what you get at your ordinary korean bbq restaurant, then you won't like this. Â Chef Bill Kim likes his Kimchi fresh and crunchy and it's different. Â It really just matters what kind you prefer.
Chinese Eggplant - OUT OF THIS WORLD - highly recommend this. Â my hubby doesn't eat eggplant and he really liked this, and I am just amazed he even tried it.
One of a Kind (Savory dishes)
Tea smoked duck - prepared very well and pairs perfectly with the steamed chinese buns and hoisin sauce. Â There are only 6 buns so order accordingly. Â The duck wasn't gamey or chewy and I really liked the chinese broccoli that accompanied the duck.
Baby Back Pork Ribs - Tasty and well seasoned, you won't go wrong ordering this dish if you are afraid to be adventurous and try something new
Braised Lamb Shank - well prepared, very gamey though. Â The gamenous also was in the chickpeas so if you don't mind that taste, then you will thoroughly enjoy the flavors on this dish
Grilled Succulence (House specialties)
Banana Leaf Wrapped Salmon - Flawless representation of perfectly cooked fish. Â Very flavorful
Spicy Lemongrass Chicken - Easily hands down the best dish of the night, so good that we ordered two of these for our group of 8, enough said!
Korean Short Rib and Belly Q Beef - Both amazingly seasoned, tender and delicious. Â You most definitely can't go wrong with these korean staple dishes.
Dessert - Next Level Boba
Citrus Ice - Yummy, balanced and delicious. Â I could have used more boba though, but it was interesting how they were super micro mini bobas. Â Definitely brings a yummy tasty sensation to your mouth. Â
I would highly recommend anyone to come here if you enjoy asian flavors, make your reservation early though!!
Sister restaurant Urban Belly is my jam. Alas, it's not a dinner-and-drinks/night-on-the-town kinda place (which is what our night called for) so I was really excited to hear about BellyQ. I did a little research, great reviews. And, oh, what this? They have karaoke after nine?! I was pumped.
My girlfriend and I get there and take in the atmosphere. Fantastic interior, very hip. Friendly hostess and bartender; and, damn, what a tasty manhattan!
But then we got seated and proceeded to wait 15-20 minutes for our waitress to make an appearance and bring us water. Thankfully, the delay didn't carry on to our food, which was all brought out in a very timely fashion. For an appetizer, we went with the steamed buns which, sadly, were just that--steamed buns with nothing inside; super underwhelming. On the other hand, the double smoked bacon and kimchi soup was complex and exotic. And our entree, the Korean short ribs, were nothing short of excellent.
As for karaoke, total bummer--there was a private party, so performing Depeche Mode and INXS was not going to happen. On the flip side, we witnessed some dude from the private party attempt to steal a plate of oranges from the bar. Seeing him get caught and reprimanded was pretty funny.
While it's not a bargain by any means, BellyQ is probably more affordable than most places on Randolph. And we did enjoy the food and decor. But, then again, sister restaurant Urban Belly is cheaper and in my opinion tastier. So, really, I'd just recommend going there.
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