Busy busy busy
Came here at about 10pm on a Friday night. There wasn't a line but it was way too crowded inside already. Forget about getting a table! We decided to stay for one drink, took about 20 minutes to order a drink, paid typical downtown prices, and quickly left.
Come early if you want a seat and be prepared to wait forever to get the bartender's attention. If you can snag a bar seat, it's a really great atmosphere. Fun and young crowd, good music, and huge restaurant/bar.
Is this place perpetually jammed with an uncomfortable number of bodies? Yes, as far as I can tell. There's a broad line between "energized" and "overpopulated" and Benchmark has crossed it. If you can manage to snag a tallboy table, bully for you because the service as those is pretty good. But expect to be expelled from the table eventually as they are usually reserved. Trying to get a drink or close your tab at the bar proper, bring something to read. Add into the mix blaring music (but no dance floor) and then you'll begin to understand Benchmark's essence.
Review Source:Benchmark is one of those unique bars that holds that 'neighborhood bar' feeling as well as a touch of class. One of those places where you try your ABSOLUTE best not to black out and throw up at...but if it happened, you could probably show face again the week after. Maybe not the day after, but definitely the week after.
A few things I love about Benchmark:
This bar is huge - two stories and the roof comes off in the summer. There are enough tables, bar space, and standing area that you could easily throw together a medium sized meetup any hour of any day and know there will be room for all your friends.
The staff is great - I completely forgot our girl's name but she was friendly and actually knew what she was doing. The bartender wouldn't let us get behind the bar when we asked, but I wouldn't say that's out of the ordinary - I'm just always hopeful.
The best part about Benchmark is that they are so good with their weekdays - there's always a special for every day, and Wednesday is Trivia Night. Not just some dinky trivia night, but a $150 cash for first place kind of Trivia Night! We didn't get first place, but we sure did get a round of free shots for dominating the bonus round. WADDUP.
(I did not offer any correct answers, just took my shot).
This bar is most certainly a favorite of mine in Chicago, now, and I am sure it'll stay at the top once the weather warms and the roof comes off.
Really liked the place but was disappointed that they wouldn't / couldn't put our Buffalo Bills game on.
The waitress said she would check . A little later she said that they didn't have room to put it up because there were 10 games on at the same time.
We understood . But too bad. The food and service was good.
We caught the second half of our game  at a place that the guys at the next table told us to go to in River North.
But we will be back to benchmark, we all liked it.
Our bartender Andy deserves these 5 stars. We got a spot at the bar for the NFC championship and enjoyed our entire time there because of him. Drinks were good and fast (great Old Fashioned!) and food was delicious.
Great sports bar! Love that they play the commentary during play-time and then switch to music during commercials.
This play is okay...Theres a long ass line for no reason. It's half empty inside and the people are ok looking. I'd come back if my friends wanted to go out there really badly but it definitely is not a place I would ever decide to go to on my own. I don't appreciate standing in line at a place like this.
Review Source:I came to Benchmark with a group of 10 friends. We came into the bar not sure if they would be able to seat us, since it was a Sunday afternoon and the Bears were playing. I was pleasantly surprised that they were able to quickly accommodate our large group and they sat us next to a bank of four TVs toward the front of the bar.
The atmosphere was well-suited for a gastropub. The lighting was sufficiently dim to convey a bar ambiance, yet not so dark that it gets creepy. I'm not sure what its like on a weekend night, but on Sunday, the sounds from the Bears game (with music during commercial breaks) wasn't overwhelming, and I could hold substantive conversations with my friends across the table without shouting their ears off.
As for the wait staff, they were incredibly attentive and placed our drink and food orders pretty quickly. Our waitress was very nice and willing to offer recommendations when we asked for them. I ordered the fish tacos and a hard cider, both of which I would recommend for whoever goes. The fish tacos were delicious and of sizable portion - I wasn't able to finish my sweet potato fries because the fish tacos were so filling. Between me and my friends, we probably got half of the menu items, and the general consensus was that the food was quite good for a sports bar, and certainly met the higher expectations one might have for a gastropub.
Overall, I would recommend Benchmark for people who are in the area and are looking for a nice gastropub where you can go with a group to watch a sports game yet still keep good conversation.
I've been here three times, all with different vibes...and for the most part, not so great service.
1) busy weekend night. Â Good luck not waiting in line (but it moves fast..whew!)...this place gets uncomfortably, unevenly crowded. Â Dumb girls that have their drinks and just stand near the bar, nearly getting trampled over by other people, then acting annoyed; no one hanging out in areas far from the bar...it's just annoying to be here. Â Then there are those that look so unamused while trying to eat their dinners. Â haha
2) For dinner with just one other person. Â Service was very erratic. Â It started off well when we ordered, but then our waitress just disappeared, never to be seen again. Â We actually had to ask another waiter to bring us the check? Â hmm.
3) with a handful of girlfriends on a weekday night for drinks. Â So empty compared to weekends. Â while I waited for everyone to get there, I sat at the bar- great bar service. Â But once we got seated, we were rushed to order, then to order more, then the check was practically shoved in our faces. Â The place was almost empty..what was the rush?
I've been to Benchmark a bunch of times, a few times for Bears games, which are always fun and a few times to hang out with friends.
First off, I've never had a bad meal there. Â The food is very good, the burgers are good, I've had a tuna salad wrap that was delicious, grilled chicken was good and I enjoyed their fish tacos. Place will get packed, for Bears games the game is on every t.v. but like most sports bar they blast awful music during the commercials. Â Most of the waitresses are very nice and friendly.
My one problem with the place and it has happened to me on more than one occasion, is say I order a Captain and Diet and the first bartender will charge me $8. Then later in the night I order a second Captain and Diet now the second bartender will charge me $9. Someone is stealing. For the most part the female bartenders are cool when I don't drink. They always fill my water up and don't hassle me about not drinking.
I do enjoy the place and the food is pretty good. I will continue to go there for multiple reasons.One day I will try the cookie skillet, God it smells so good. And it's nice in the summer when the rooftop is open.
I really like this place, mostly because it is a block from where I live, but I find the servers to be really unfriendly and poor service. It took me 20 minutes to order a drink on a Tuesday night, when there were only 10 people in the bar. I mean c'mon...! The food is good, and the beer is good, but they need to step up and higher a better staff.
Review Source:Thanks to Susan & everyone else at Benchmark that made our Halloween party fantastic! Â We had the perfect spot in the bar to party with friends. Â Service was top notch as well. Â
I appreciate a place that cares about their reviews and customers. Â And then even tries to do something to fix a poor review as well. Â Benchmark is one of the very few bars that did just this. Â Which nowadays you will be very hard pressed to find. Â
We will for sure be returning again and again. Â If you are looking for a great bar for a party or just a night out with friends definitely choose Benchmark.
I've been here about five times and liked it until the most recent visit. I think the girl bartenders are a big mistake. Instead of hiring staff based on looks (they're not that attractive), which is what I'm assuming they're hired based on since I couldn't distinguish any qualities that made them good servers, they should hire bartenders/servers based on quality of service because that's what this place is lacking. The staff is super slow which makes it irritating to wait to order food and drinks. You'd think the owner would want to sell food and drinks faster to make more money but the idiots working there don't get that if they hassle and sell more then they'll make more.
Also, they're trying to make extra income by charging people for drinks they didn't order. I wanted to close my tab downstairs it took 15-20 minutes to get the bartenders attention and when I finally did I was charged for an extra drink I didn't order (I ordered one premium and one well but was charged for two premium and one well). Not cool. I didn't tip and will be going across the street to Pour House where I haven't experienced anything shady yet.
I liked the music at Benchmark better which is usually why I choose to go there over Pour House but it's not worth getting crappy service and being ripped off by the staff. Tip for the owners...hire staff based on service and not "looks". If the predominantly female staff gives crappy service to the girl customers then the girls customers will stop going and the guys will follow the girls and go elsewhere as well. I would rather stay home and do laundry than go here again on a Saturday night.
Being an out of towner, this place reminded me like a place (Bar Louie) I go back home but only 5 times bigger in space. I like this place better because it actually has an elevator to go to the 2nd floor which you don't find very often in other places. When you walk  in, you can immediately see a bar in front of you then above you is a balcony full of people and an open area to the 2nd floor. Plenty of seating area and tables, this is a great place to come on a Friday night with friends and just hang out with some beers/drinks. They have Guiness on draft and nothing else matters to me.
The bathrooms were easy to find and the areas below were well lit so none of that stumbling to find the way back to the light LOL. The only thing I find annoying is standing in line outside to get in. Not like this place is a club but that's a bit ridiculous to me.
Great place to people watch as well and dance to the gangnam style dance when it comes on :)
Really good service!
I went to Benchmark on National Cheeseburger Day. They only allowed my burger to be cooked "medium." I'm usually a medium-well type of gal with my burgers, but this was ok with me since it was only a dollar.
I've only been here twice and both times it was a very young crowd. Which is fine if you are 21! Â I was ok with it since I was only here to hang out with friends and of course the second time was to take advantage of the $1 cheeseburger deal with a friend.
This party just took a turn for the douche...
I've actually had some fun times in here...when it's quiet. But, alas, on Friday and Saturday nights it's filled with steroid-pumped knobheads (that's British for douchebag in case you're wondering) and fake-tanned-to-the-max Nancies with hemlines to match their IQ and attitutes to match their ugly platform shoes. And the management are obsessed with cultivating a large line out front when it's nowhere near capacity to make it seem like the place to be at. Tip of the day...it ain't.
So, in short, if you're like me and think lining up to get in bars means that the only people inside are idiots who think it's ok to line up to get in a bar, give this place a miss of a Friday or Saturday evening.
Bench mark gets a 2.5 stars for food, 3.5 stars for service.
Came here for Bears/Pack Thu night game. Totally understand it's a busy night and you can't save tables but our waiter was pretty dismissive of us. And we were bringing a party of almost 12!
Food was ok, not the best bar food (pizza was forgettable, spinach/artichoke/jalapeno dip was tasty but that's pretty hard to mess up, and korean tacos were too heavily dressed).
Saving grace is that service stayed fairly consistent throughout the game. Never had too wait too long for a drink which is nice.
Crowd was interesting, not necessarily my preference for a "sports bar" but then again it's not really a sports bar. I might stop by if I was in the area but wouldn't make a point to come here.
My experiences here have been like night and day -- literally.
By day it's a bar that has better-than-average cocktails, good food that has some imagination and a nice presentation behind it, and a pretty comely waitstaff.
The retractable roof is worth one visit to see, and it makes the space feel airy and unique. In my few visits I had one excellent bartender, and two average to below average waitresses.
After dark this place turns into NIGHT OF THE LIVING DOUCHEBAGS. Even the women who go here at night are douchebags.
it's just a tool fest. Expect lots of white guys saying bro, lots of backward hats, and girls saying "OH MY GOD'' a lot.
I was on Wells Street one night and I was speaking to a group of European tourists who saw the ridiculous line for the place and figured they must be missing out on the best bar in town.
"Vee vent in, it vas very crowded, zer vas no dancing. Â It vas not .... special.''
No, it's not special at all.
This restaurant has excellent food and service and a great atmosphere! Â I've yet to try something I haven't loved at Benchmark. Â Here is a quick overview of some of the dishes and drinks I've had the opportunity to enjoy:
-The Lollipop Lamb Chops are extremely fresh and cooked to perfection. Â If you're a big eater, I recommend ordering four chops since they're a bit on the small side. Â The menu provides the option of choosing two, four or six chops.
-The Jalapeno Hot Soft Pretzels and side dips are delicious! Â We ordered two pretzels for a group of five and had just the right amount with a little left to spare.
-The Bone-In Chicken Wings are tasty and quite meaty. Â My husband and I ordered half with BBQ sauce and half with hot sauce. Â The BBQ sauce is just the right mix of tangy and sweet while the hot sauce has a nice kick without being overwhelming. Â
-If you're a red wine person, the Slantwalk is a must-try!
-For dessert lovers, the Skillet Cookie is a great way to finish off your meal. Â Be sure to order extra spoons because this dish is meant to share.
If you're looking for a great restaurant in Old Town, your search is over. Â Benchmark is the right answer for any type of outing.
Wow! What a pleasant surprise! Benchmark is DOG FRIENDLY! Staff couldn't have been nicer, our server Jenna (from Virginia originally!) took care of bringing at her suggestion, a tray of water for my maltipoo, and was very friendly to us, too. Definitely returning on another warm and pleasant evening....
Review Source:I've been here 3 or 4 times now for friends' birthday parties and I still don't like this place. Food is just meh and the drinks are pricey. Not to mention the long line outside to look like the place is bangin' .  The wait is up to an hour or longer when you arrive after 10:30pm ( Fri and Sat).  Also, it's very difficult to get drinks from snotty bartenders. I almost  forgot, the bathroom is in the basement. Ladies, be very careful making your way down there with heels after several drinks.
Review Source:I went here with a larger group and ordered the salmon. it came out raw. i sent it back. the waitress brought it back with the salmon plopped back on the plate and a dirty napkin attached to the plate. i was disgusted and asked her about the napkin. she snapped asking rudely if i "really" wanted her to put in a "whole NEW order?" i didnt want to make her more mad so i left it. The salmon was decent once it was cooked and the waitress ended up taking the salmon off the bill which was the right thing to do.
I was unhappy with the service, but the food wasnt too bad. The place is a bar with upscale bar food. Dont go there expecting good service or a happy staff.
I came to Benchmark on a Saturday night. The line was pretty long around 11:30pm. It probably took us 20 minutes to get in. Once we were in 4 seats opened up, so we just sat at the bar.
I didn't pay for the drinks, but I would be mad if I did. They were overpriced and very weak. The music was good, I'll give them that. I didn't get a chance to walk around or go upstairs, but it was packed.
Some people were dressed up and some were wearing shorts and caps. If I'm ever bar hopping in the area I would stop by only if there wasn't a line.
My friends don't utter the word "Benchmark" around me because it instantly turns me into a sourpuss. Forget about trying to get me to go there without some heavy bargaining and calling in favors.
Yesterday was the first time I was guilt-tripped into going during daylight hours. I DID have a delicious lunch at Benchmark yesterday while basking in the direct sunshine allowed by the retractable roof on the second floor, BUT I can't give a rating that changes when the sun sets. Benchmark after dark is EVERYTHING I dislike in a Bar...lines for no reason, good music but no dancing, terrible floor plan that makes it impossible not to be perpetually jostled by people taking a lap, and Bartenders who only seem to fulfill table orders.
I am a 4 corners bar fan and I'm certainly bro-friendly, but this scene is a hangout for d bags. Fortunately, they are kept fairly occupied by waiting in lines the whole evening (door, bar, bathroom).
As for the food, the tuna in my Ahi Tuna Salad was very good. I loved the saltiness of the Ahi Tuna. Beware of the tasteless oily dressing, though. I didn't love the mesclun lettuce mix. My friends were pleased with the Fish tacos. Its a very hearty portion and it wasn't greasy. I was eyeing the Summer veggie mix side dish that looked very substantial and tasty.
Four stars for food and retractable roof, minus two stars for the bad attitude of the evening clientele and staff.
My visit to Benchmark did not start out well...we had to wait in a line. That winds around itself. And velvet ropes. I hated that crap when I went out in NYC so I was really bummed that it was happening on vacay. Then i realized that they did this for crowd control...and it was lovely once inside. Not overly crowded upscale sports bar with an upstairs and retractable roof.
Then it hit about 11. Lines outside were crazy. Roof was closed. Guess crowd control went out the window because suddenly we were packed like sardines. That cool balcony? It became a place for the "mature" folks to drop stuff. Maybe if I were more drunk it would have been really fun, but I wasn't. I feel like it would be more fun to hang here if it was not a Friday or Saturday night...
So, I love the idea of this place, and because it's so convenient, I will probably end up there again. Last time we were there, we sat outside on the patio, great location, terrible service, but decent food... Our friend went inside without any issues to use the restroom, but we were ready to go. We asked the bouncer (since there was a line now) if we could run in and give our friend her purse. They told us to stand in line if we wanted to go in... Okay, sure, I understand if you get 'tricked' into letting people in, but we just wanted to drop off her purse so we could leave. One friend, just to help another friend out...
He then asked us to call our friend and have her come out to get her purse... what the heck? You have three people standing in line. We JUST ate outside on your patio, you let our other two friends walk in, why can't you just let us bring her the purse she left on the table?
This isn't the first time we've had issues like this, they aren't very friendly, the crowd is a little douchier than I prefer, but it is what it is. I would try the Pour House down the street before I go here again... But I will probably come in again, get drunk and have fun with friends... still not a great staff though... They can do much better!
Before beginning at Benchmark you have to ask yourself the question "How bro friendly am I?" If the answer is very little to not friendly at all then you might as well take the 50 bucks you were going to spend, buy some cargo shorts/Michigan State apparel and stare at yourself in the mirror while the latest Nickleback CD is soundtracking. It's going to be that painful for you.
Being bro friendly myself I really don't have any problems with the type of clientele you'd figure a sports bar in Old Town would attract. Even if I did though, I think I'd be able to overlook it due to just too many awesome features.
It's got lots of open-air patio space that flows really well. Perfect for getting some rays while catching the game. The food is really tasty upscale bar bites, and they offer the greatest type of potato on the market...tots. There's a build your own bloody bar on the weekends with all the ingredients so you don't have to worry about if they make a good one or not. The staff is very friendly all around, and even when they're busy they seem to do it with a smile. Â
Sure, it's easy to hate on a place because you overheard a couple d-bags argue about who's d**k is bigger or who from the Tigers should make the all star team, but I'm not holding it against Benchmark. What they control they're pretty awesome at, and I've never left without anything but a 5 star experience.
One of the nicer sports bars in the city, Benchmark has a great space, good service, and surprisingly good bar food. I've been here for drinks before and they have a good variety and well-made drinks. On a recent visit for an event, I had a chance to try some of their food, which was so much better than I was expecting. All the appetizers were delicious.
There are two levels and the upstairs features a retractable roof that's open in the summertime, which makes this a nice little place for alfresco drinks. Even in the wintertime, it's nice to have the view and light coming in from the glass roof. There's also a little lounge area upstairs. Here's a helpful tip--you'll usually get a drink faster at the bar upstairs. Â
Service has been attentive and good on all visits. Only negatives for me, the place gets too crowded, a line on busy nights, and the crowd skews way younger in their 20's.
I don't think I will ever go back to this bar because of the potential for a LINE!! Went here at 4:45 today, got in at 5:45. Ick! We had friends inside, so we waited. I can only assume that everyone else in line with us knew someone inside.......
When we got inside, the bar was not over crowded. The line seemed fake. Fake line = a 1 star review. However, I have an appreciation for attentive wait staff, and our server Alex was a really good server. Give that girl a raise! That bumps my review up to 5 stars, but averaged with the 1 star for the crappy fake line, I give it a 3.
In terms of layout and design, Benchmark is very cool. Â It offers large booths, many large TV's for watching games, an upstairs that overlooks the first floor and is great for people watching, and a retractable roof that turns half of the upstairs and downstairs into a patio when the weather is nice. Â These features make Benchmark worth a visit.
Their food is above average for bar food and they offer a nice variety. Â On Sundays, they have a bloody mary bar which is pretty fantastic. Â They serve you a healthy portion of vodka and you get to mix and match tomato juices, spices, and garnishes. Â Benchmark gets crowded (especially for big games and nice weather) and unfortunately it impacts their service. Â It was slow for new rounds of drinks. Â Saturday nights draw a line and sometimes too many douche bags. Â This place is worth a visit but isn't for everyone.
To me, the sign of a good bar is less about the way it looks and more about the way it feels. And Benchmark certainly looks good. The interior is clean and open, with a large square bar dominating the lower floor and dozens of TVs for game-watching. There's also a large, open upstairs bar and seating area which partially overlooks the first floor and also boasts an impressive retractable roof (for the few months of decent weather we get in Chicago, I guess). The crowd features an upper 20's set willing to pay a bit more to be seen at the place still widely considered the cool kid on the block (and proven by the River North-esque lines that form most weekends after 10).
Benchmark features upscale bar food during the day; note that by 'upscale', I'm referring more to price than quality. I've never been dissatisfied but don't expect anything groundbreaking here. Drinks are definitely a step up from the college bars of Lincoln Park, though you'll pay for it in higher drink prices and basically non-existent specials. Not that my bar is set very high for what I consider a night-spot parading as a sports bar by day, but the service has been consistently spotty.
With the black and white facts out of the way, allow me to return to my original point: a great bar doesn't have to tell you it's a great bar; you already know, likely from the first time you stepped through the door. And I've just never gotten that from Benchmark.
Solid food and neat atmosphere. Â We're not ones to be in Old Town unless we need to hit up the Spice House and/or the aquarium store (no PetsMart fish in this household!)
So in trying to decide what/where to eat we happened upon Benchmark, which I remembered because they're suppose to have the amazing roof.  Now, it was about 30° outside so no roof for us, but the guy showed/told us how it worked and I cant' wait to see it in action!
We split the spinach, jalapeno and artichoke dip. Â Very tasty! Â I had the falafel burger, which I which had more taziki sauce on it, but for my waist line it was plenty! Â
The booth tables with the TVs in them would be cool if I came there for a specific game. Â The Hawks were on and instead of loud, blaring commercials, they switched it over to some upbeat pop music until the game returned. Â and every time the Hawks scored they had their own horn blaring and song playing celebration!
I liked the bar itself. Â The clientele inside though? Â Snooty city. Â And then I ended up with a baby behind me. Â In a bar. Â Groan. Â It was a sports bar with a douche-bag edge to it I suppose. Â But I'll be back for that retractable roof!
We were in town for the Super Bowl and we stumbled upon Bench Mark. Â We had some appetizers all of which where good. Â Place was packed for a Saturday afternoon. Â Bartenders were super cool and helpful in pointing us in the right direction upon our Chicago Mission.
Great spot to watch a game. Â Interior is awesome along with an attractive staff!
What's not to like... Came here pretty drunky on a Friday night and had a decent experience. Funtimes, lots of drunk dudes to chat up. But lemme break it down for ya--
1. Never seen so many MEN in my life... Dudes to be exact. Not sure if that's a good or bad thing, but meh, I didn't mind.
2. Decently priced drinks, although catching the attention of the bartenders is a little tricky but manageable.
3. Lots of dudes, everywhere
4. For your standard "barn bar" (yall know what I'm talking bout- huge place, lots of places to stand around in) it was pretty easy to stay comfortable. very nice!
In conclusion, I approve!
I went to Benchmark because my friend was celebrating her birthday there. I arrived at 10:30 and there was already a ridiculous line. The line was such a turnoff, I would've walked away but I wanted to see my friends. So I waited...
Thirty minutes later, I'm inside in a very EMPTY upstairs. Plenty of room to move, plenty of tables. Annoying. I still had a good experience. Good food and drinks. Our waitress was really good.
I won't come back here though because of that fake line.
I gave an extra star because a girl from the large group of biotches behind me (they seriously made fun of every single person that walked by) told the bouncer that she'd make-out/flash him and he told her to get back in line. Bravo bouncer, bravo.
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