The food is creative and varied. My first time there, I created my own chili bowl, by combining a vegan base with green beans, sour cream, jalapeños, tomatoes, and a fried egg. Comfort food with a little kick! My friend got a slightly safer option-a salad. It looked fabulous and filling. Multiple waiters and managers checked in on us throughout the meal, catering to our every whim.  Decor is a ten out of ten-love the nods to LVille on the walls etc. The bar looks really cool as well. Can't wait to try it next time.
Review Source:Awesome place! Â The decor is great and the food was wonderful. Â We sat in the bar section at lunch, so we placed our order with the bar tender who was super friendly and knowledgeable about the food. Â We started with the PB&J quesadillas , they sounded interesting, so we had to try them. Â They were delicious, I never thought about PB&J on a tortilla, the portion was huge and the jelly/jam was excellent. Â One of my friends had the poutine fries, they were scrumptious. Then onto the African Chicken Chili on Fried Rice, this was great and one of my favorite dished. Â They have a nice wine and beer list as well. Â During our meal a group of ladies came in and one had a cane, the bartender was aware of this and went to the table to take the order, which was nice of him. Â We enjoyed our lunch and look forward to coming back to try other dishes.
Review Source:This is a weak three, but it's still a three. Meaning I'd be back, but I'd look for other places first.
The theme is chili - you choose which chili, on which "starch" and any kind of little toppings you want. I went with a Mexican meatball on mashed potatoes, as it was a cold snowy day, and the potatoes sounds good. The stew was...OK. Not great. Not a lot of spice, but the meatballs were good, mild and tender. The potatoes were fine, but that's honestly all I can come up to with about them. Not lumpy? Not instant? I guess I just wasn't wowed by this, and since lunch was pushing $15 for a bowl of halfway decent chili...I think I am going to find a better spot next time. Let's put it this way - Firkin is in the same parking lot.
Terrible service. Walked in and wasn't greeted. Sat at the bar at 2 pm on Saturday and it wasn't that busy and took 15 minutes to get asked if I want a drink. Of course I want a drink, I'm sitting at the bar. Then we ordered apps and a meal and the guy brought the apps and then the food a min later so we couldn't enjoy the apps before our lunch. I did the build your own sandwich and got the spicy chicken and it was disgusting and not one bit spicy. It also had that frozen taste to it. We also didn't get any silverware, ketchup, salt or pepper and we were never asked if we wanted any drinks when ours were clearly empty for a while. Just all in all a terrible experience. The manager did give us a gift card to come back though.
I can't wait for Shakou the new sushi place down the street to open this weekend.
Ok, so the beginning was a hard run.
Pros- the food Is great now! The menu is finished and I'm glad I decided to give it another few tries. I had the Midwest style with the hashbrowns...wish there was a few more hash browns but great. Â The service is great. All the servers are really nice and there is a guy bartender, don't know his name that is so nice. Â Great management now. A lot of great changes.
Cons- the jalapeno corn bread is really good but a bit pricey at $3.50 each
I will def stop by there again and I'm glad everything is great.
I read the other reviews about bad service before I went, but I thought I'd give it a try. Â I think that those early reviews must have been when the restaurant was brand new, and everyone was just getting started. Â We could not have had better service. Â Everyone was so nice, our waitress was knowledgable and attentive, and the food arrived quickly.
I am so glad I decided to give it a try. Â The food is fun and fantastic. Â We all had the chili (you can build your own bowl - so fun!), but the plates with sandwiches and other food I saw around me also looked fantastic. Â We had the sloppy joe sliders as an appetizer and all agreed we would have been happy with that as our meal. Â
On top of the great food and service, the restaurant is really nice. Â I was very surprised that a chili place would be decorated so beautifully.
Overall, I highly recommend this restaurant for a really nice spin on fun food. Â It's good for a casual dinner, or out on a date on Saturday night.
We came on a Friday night and were able to get seated right away.
For food, Â we shared the egg roll appetizer and we thought it was good. Â
I ordered the Shrimp Po-Boy which was excellent , would order that again.
My friend had the turkey chili, Â she said it was really good.
We thought its a good spot, nice atmosphere and our server was both attentive and knowledgeable.
I worry about the limited menu, Â but hope the restaurant survives.
Despite the number of less-than-positive reviews for this place, I consider Chilu U to be very good when it comes to food, and to service. Â Been here 3 times in the last two months, and can't find much to fault. People's opinion of chili is very subjective, and I really like the chili here. Â Midwest chili is for those who don't like it spicy, Almost Texas chili has a nice little zing to it, but I would never call it "hot". Â If you want real heat, then get the 3-chili pepper version of the rice foundation. Â You will get heat.
We found the chorizo egg rolls to be very good, tho' the version we got on our first visit changed a bit at our 2nd visit, and the third time, they weren't that great. Nobdy's perfect.  But the Kobe Sliders are excellent (cooked just past what I consider "rare", so make sure your server knows if you want them pink and not red inside.  The Sliders could be your entrée, honestly. Â
We also tried the Almost Texas chili over green beans. That was pretty tasty. There are other chili variants that cater to different tastes, but haven't tried all of 'em yet. A friend of mine ate here separately and ordered a prime rib sandwich. He gave it big thumbs up.
Desserts are OK, but the cheesecake with raspberries stand out. Â We also tried the apple cobber pie a la mode, and it was fine, but the cobbler needed more sweetness. Everybody's taste varies.
2nd visit we did have an issue. I had made reserves for 8 a week ahead. Day of the dinner, we all arrived, and the (quite young and inexperienced) hostess seemed overwhelmed. At first , she said they don't take reservations, and then I reminded her to look at their own website, plus ask the manager. It took about 30 seconds for him to get back there and get the tables set up. He apologized for the lack of awareness about the reservation. Â We all sat down, had fantastic service, and everybody was happy with their food and drink.
So, the bad reviews seems clustered arouond few months right after this place opened when any new restaurant struggles with service and consistency. Â Give it a full year and I'm sure the reviews will be overwhelming positive.
I've been here only once, but my boyfriend loves to come here for lunch.
I tried the ground beef with noodles, beans, tomatoes and avocado, and honestly it was good, but I wasn't in love with the meat.
I tried my boyfriend's... if only I remember the meat he got, but it wasn't ground, it was long shavings, with hashbrowns, guacamole and cheese, and I loves his dish!
They also have these monster sandwiches we saw other people ordering, which I must try next time.
There is something for everyone on the menu, especially since you can customize the chili, and make it however you want.
I must warn you though, the dishes are huuuuge, one is enough for 3 meals. I had it for lunch the following day and still have enough for a 3rd meal.
Food critic at large, looking for a different place--ChiliU sounded like it might be fun.
First impression--So good concept: Â Looking at the menu--build your chili dream.
But here's what needs to improve: 1) ice tea--taste should be convincingly fresh brewed; 2) basic chili (secret recipe)--spice it up and serve it warm, 3) waffle fries--serve them hot and crispy.
My impression is that this is a new startup/maybe those food improvements are simply a matter of getting into a groove. Â But they were not there yet.
We came in on a late afternoon weekday. Â Bartender and server were very accommodating. Â
The plates were large and had an attractive presentation. Â A tad pricey. Â
So pros and cons--with a good concept. Â Here's hoping the pros convince the cons to change their attitude and turn this place into a winner.
My boyfriend had been raving about this place, so we finally went and checked it out. Â It's reeaaallly cool inside! Â The decor is very different and it has an awesome bar area. Â The smells were delightful! Â Service was decent, and the food was pretty good. Â Overall, I'd say it was A-OK, but nothing that blew me away. Â We had the chili/mac n cheese appy, it was really cheesy! Â And then we shared a burger and some fries. Â Mike commented that he's had a few burgers here and each time they look different, taste different, etc.......It was good, but like I said nothing that was that impressing. Maybe next time I should try the chili....hmmmmm
Review Source:If you are going to specialize to the extent of naming your establishment after focus of your menu than you should be awesome at making it. Â They are not. Â I have eaten here three times now, I kept figuring that I was just getting in on bad night or picking the wrong thing, but it turns out their food is just not that great. Â Very disappointed, I love chili and I had high hopes for the place.
Very nice bar environment, though. Â Will still go there to drink in the evenings, but never again for food.
Great Bar -Wait Staff is pleasant along with satisfactory service- I'm not sure what my fellow 'yelper 's' are talking about when making negative comments about the service - As far as the food - Well - it's NOT 5 star But if you want 5 stars go to the Ritz Carlton- This is down town Libertyville NOT downtown Chicago !!
Review Source:The place itself is very nice to be in, and who ever did the interior design did a great job. Â The bar area is very nice, as well as the dining area. Â I got the basic midwestern chili with hash brown base and cheddar cheese and onion on the top. Â It was very very yummy/tasty. Â There were plenty of other choice to make up your chili your way and I enjoyed the experience. Â Cost for a bowl of Chili was $8.50 which was plenty for me as I was full.
Review Source:U want Chili? Â U want something other than chili? Â U want spicy food? Â U want tasty food? Â U want Barbie dolls in the bathrooms? Â ChiliU is the place for U.
I first went here over the brutally hot summer. Â Walking by, I felt the cold air coming out of the doors facing Milwaukee Ave, it reminded me of walking down the LV strip and feeling the air conditioning from the casinos. Â It was pretty empty, but once people got a taste of their food, service, and their chic decor, it probably won't be empty ever again.
I have sat at the bar and ate a couple times, and once I ate in the bar but at a table. Â I didn't know there were tables in the back (more like a regular restaurant), but I wouldn't have sat there anyway. Â I've built a burger (delicious, especially with the CU sauce on it), had the spicy beef salad?, the chili egg rolls, and beers. Â Everything was awesome. Â
It is in the perfect location; right in the heart of downtown Libertyville. Â I'm sure Firkin, Mickey Finn's, and The Tavern weren't happy about their opening, but who cares, competition makes for better a product!
We came in after work wanting to try something new. it's getting to be fall, so chili sounded appealing. The restaurant is nice looking inside, cool atmosphere...interesting concept. We ordered the chipotle chorizo egg rolls and they were very good. Â An HOUR after we ordered our entree though (I can't make this up with things like four square telling me 59 minutes ago), we didn't have it. We almost walked. I was a server and hate to do that to servers, but our waitress didn't check back. The food came lukewarm, the po boy I had was drowned in remoulade, and the almost Texas chili my friend had was unremarkable, especially after such a wait. Again, no check in after food got delivered by a runner. The manager comped the app, but only after we suggested it. Â The food can't make up for such poor service. This is not a place I'd recommend, even with a tasty app and pretty facade. If you're going to charge the prices this place charges, then you need to make it worth it with BOTH food and service.
Two stars is because if they fixed the service, this place might be salvageable.
Came here for Brunch on Sunday and sat outside. Â The atmosphere, like others have noted, is top-notch. Â
This place must've taken the criticism it received from earlier Yelp reviews and sources to heart because our experience with the food was much different.
I got three eggs (over easy), the CU Bacon which is bacon with some chilli seasoning, hash browns and toast. Â My better half got the American Chili with a hashbrown base, an egg and other add-ins. Â
Mine was very good and the eggs were cooked as close to perfect as you can do it. Â The bacon was very good with some spice and had some sweet glaze on it, too. Â Hashbrowns/toast were standard but good, nonetheless. Â The chili was very tasty and was a good portion-size. Â They may have adjusted their menu b/c the add-ins, except for the egg and avocado, I believe, were extra $$. Â Also, there was one a couple things that were "coming soon." Â I agree with previous yelpers that why would you open or pay for menus just to have "coming soon" on them? Â There was a secondary menu given to us that the server indicated contained items that have been added. Â So maybe the final draft menu is "coming soon." Â Pun intended.
We didn't get drinks so I can't comment on that but the two of us ate for $24 plus tip. Â I look forward to coming back to try some of the other chilis/menu items. Â Sounds like this place should've waited a couple months to work the kinks but hopefully they've turned the corner.
**Note to other Yelper, this is not 545 redone. Â They are still open, this is a separate business.
Had lunch here today with my family and we all LOVED it! Started off with the fried pickle appetizer which were excellent. Very crispy and the pickles were mild and came with a sweet aioloi type dipping sauce. The sweet salty combination with a little bit of spice tasted great. My 3 year old even loved them. I had the shrimp po' boy and sweet potato fries which was excellent as well. Lots of food and somehow the sandwich seemed surprisingly light. My husband had the bahn mi meatball sub which was very spicy and he loved it. My father tried the chili with a mashed potato base and really enjoyed that as well. We all shared the dessert of bread pudding which was PHENOMINAL. Our server, Jeremiah, was excellent. He knew the menu very well, how everything was prepared and offered excellent recommendations as far as menu items. I was skeptical of this place at first, expecting it to be more like pub food, however we surprised at the sophistication of flavors of the dishes. We will certainly return!
Review Source:I originally gave this place two stars. Â I just dropped it to one. Â I brought some friends and we ordered most of the appetizers on the menu. Â They were all terrible. Â I even asked the bartender to taste one and she immediately took it away from me and not only took it off the check but gave me a discount on the entire check. Â Great bar and great drinks. Â Just come full. Â It is too bad that they are having these issues as their location, atmosphere and bar are a 12. Â Too bad the food is a 0.
Review Source:Went here with high hopes for dinner. Interior appointments, layout, Â and atmosphere good. Somebody put a lot of money into this place, for sure. Nice facility.
Food and value is where ChiliU falls short. We started off with the "must have" chorizo egg rolls. 8.00 for a tiny bowl of little eggrolls, each filled with little more than a whisp of chorizo and cheese. Another reviewer here compared these to those little frozen pizza bites you can find at the supermarket. That is exactly what these taste like.
Next, we both had the chili. We figured when in Rome... Anyway, I got the "Almost Texas" chili on fried rice with cheddar and scallions, my wife got the 14.00 (!) Thai Shrimp chili. The Thai Shrimp chili did not have a price on the menu so the 14 bucks was certainly a surprise on the bill. Both were totally underwhelming. The "Almost Texas" was sweet and pretty bland- definitely not worth the 9 bucks. Thank god for the Tabasco on every table. I had to absolutely douse mine. My wife was not impressed with the Thai shrimp chili either. Not bad, but not remarkable either.
Wine and beer prices as high as someone could possibly stand paying in this area. Brutal. Jack and Coke- 7.75 for example.
Not going back. The owner spent the entire time hounding his floor manager and pointing out all the things that were dirty and wrong in the restaurant. The chili was barely average. Â When he stopped hounding the staff, he apparently had a profile that he was focused on welcoming and it wasn't the average person. He never took the time to ask how we were or how our food was. Very disappointing! Â The avocado I ordered cost $1.50. It was not ripe and it was about a 1/3rd of an avocado. The owner was directing the staff to clean a vent right over the area where servers brought food through. Disgusting!! Â The server forgot our appetizer. All we ordered was chili, beer and onion straws. The cost was about $35. Â Not worth it.
Review Source:Our visit to this restaurant was on a Sunday, for "brunch". Â According to the website, the restaurant is open 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. Â When we arrived, the sign said they opened at noon (brunch???). Â We checked the website again on our smart phone; they did not follow or update their website (Strike 1). Â We waited for the restaurant to open. Â (I later heard the manager telling a patron their days and hours, and it wasn't just Sunday's hours that were incorrect from what was listed on the website.
The restaurant was nicely decorated, and we went to the back patio area as the weather was perfect. Â Our server was very nice. Â My boyfriend proceeded to order the "special" bloody Mary (which apparently is offered only on Sunday). Â After ordering, the server came back and said the shrimp that comes in this special bloody Mary was never prepared the night before (strike 2). Â My boyfriend's first sip of the (regular) bloody Mary was a bit disappointing as he said it had a "lemon" taste. Â The menu looked great, until I noticed that so many items were listed as "coming soon". Â So several times, I got excited about what I would order, and I had to look further for something they DID have. Â One item that was coming soon was cornbread. Â Really? Â A chili restaurant that doesn't serve cornbread (yet)? Â Don't tell me all the things your "going to someday have in a perfect world", just tell me what you DO have!
My boyfriend ordered the American chili on mashed potatoes. Â He said it was just "OK", but for a restaurant having a chili "claim-to-fame", he was disappointed. Â There were two chilies I was interested in trying, and asked if they do a combo (1/2 & 1/2), but the server said they do not. Â None of the foundation choices excited me as much as the idea of cheddar grits, which was offered as a "side". Â I asked if I could have the cheddar grits as my foundation, and the server had to go again and ask, and I was pleased when she returned and said they would accommodate that request (I didn't look @ the bill, so they may have just charged me extra for the side instead of giving it to me as a foundation). Â I chose the Texas chili, and requested sour cream and cheddar cheese as my toppings (there were several choices). Â Although I was probably not clear, I jokingly told the server I would like sour cream, cheddar cheese, and more sour cream. Â When my dish arrived, there was only a very small dollop of sour cream on top, so I should have been specific regarding my request for extra sour cream. Â I asked her right away if I could have some extra sour cream on the side. Â I found my chili tasty, with lots of chunks of meat. Â My only complaint in regards to the chili was that I had about five pieces of meat with grisly fat that I could not chew (strike 3). Â The server returned to the patio helping other customers, but didn't bring my sour cream. Â She came to our table at one point, and I believe she then realized she forgot my sour cream. Â By time it came, I was 3/4 of the way done with my dish (strike 4?).
After the meal, she asked if we would like anything else. Â I asked for a latte, and she said she didn't know if they have that (that's fine if you don't, but you've been open for about a month, and I would think you would know the items on your menu...unless that was another item "COMING SOON").
We heard another patron asking if he could just get a bowl of chili (minus the choice of several foundations). Â Although we didn't hear the answer to his question, we did see him get served with a foundation of some kind underneath. Â My thought is you're probably getting a minimal amount of chili and these lower-cost fillers bulk up the dish that allows them to charge $9.00-$13.00 per chili dish. Â
The food is just "O.K.", as is the service. Â They still need to get their act together regarding their menu, service, and hours of operation. Â I could probably say more, but I think I've said enough.
Maybe we'll give this place another shot in 6-12 months...if it's still in business.
We had dinner there this evening.  The food I had was good.  My husband said his was OK.  I had the turkey chili w/ the mashed potato foundation & my husband had the black angus chili with the mashed potato foundation.  The isssue I had is why can't you just have chili?  Why do I need a foundation?  I will say the potato foundation was very good.  The menu has plenty of items on it, but most of them say coming soon!  Not sure what the wait is on green beans with onions, but that is an item that  is not yet available.  The atmospher is very cool.  Love the bar.  I could see us going here a lot in the winter for chili.  Also, they don't open until 5 p.m. which seems king of crazy.  They have plenty of items that would be good for lunch.
Review Source:My family wanted to try a new place for a late-ish dinner and agreed to check out ChiliU - shop/dine local.
The space is great, and if it had been a tad less humid we would've tried the patio...the first trick is finding the host/hostess. We entered through the "back" entrance, which faces the parking garage and has a sign on it marked "entrance". No host/hostess so my husband walked to the hallway connecting the back of the restaurant to the front bar area before anyone from the staff greeted us. There were only six other diners in the restaurant so it wasn't as if we were lost in the crowd.
The menu is limited with several items listed as "available soon" or something like that. I really don't care what the coming attractions are at a restaurant. I want to know what I can order, thank you.
You can order several types of chili on a bed of noodles, rice or potatoes, with a variety of add-ons, some of which will cost you and extra $1.50/item. My husband and younger son each ordered chili on mac, and it was OK. I would have wanted "amazing" for $12/order. My other son ordered a burger, and it was a good-sized burger done medium with just the right amount of pink. I ordered a fusion bahn mi (Vietnamese sandwich), which was supposed to be spicy but I found it bland and needed the hot sauce that was at the table to season things up.
We didn't order drinks because I wasn't in the mood to pay almost $9 for a cocktail, especially paying what we did for what I should have made in a crock pot earlier in the day...
So, dinner for the four of us - one appetizer and four entrees, plus tip was almost $60. It's back to Thai Noodle we go.
hmmm...This place looks nice. I went in cause they advertised this epic bloody mary on their door...with a bacon egg and cheese slider...awesome right? Well apparently its only on sundays...which the advertisment failed to say...and it was saturday..boo. I settled for a regular bloody M...nothing special...I may go on a sunday to actually get this epic bloody mary and try the food...but I was pretty disappointed.
Review Source:Alright, we went here after ChiliU had been open for its second weekend....My friends and I had a party of six and we went around 7pm on a Friday night. They weren't busy at all, maybe 5-6 tables filled inside with almost double that open.
The hostess didn't greet my friends and when we said we would have 6 people she was really confused and told us she wasn't sure if she could fit that many people...? She sent us to the front of the restaurant to the bar area and they said the same thing and sent us BACK AGAIN to the back. We end up get a table together....
We end up waiting about 10 minutes for a drink order to be placed. Another 15 minutes to get our drinks, which were brought by a manager. We ordered and waited about 45 minutes for the food. I used to serve, so I understand the wait on food isn't in her control. But, she never came by to say, "I'm sorry the food is taking so long..etc"
We get our food, she forgets who ordered what. The food was alright. So we finish, and as we are leaving two of my friends feel like they should say something to the management...Apparently, the entire staff is new. It was a really young guy around my age (24), and couldn't keep eye contact or really acknowledge the problem.
Overall, you could tell that our waitress had no previous experience and we are rooting for this place but they definitely need to get their shit together!
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