Not sure whether it is the Gooney Bird or the Albatross but we just went tonight after hearing there was a change in owners again. Â Service has improved somewhat from our last experience but the food was marginal. Â My husband had the rib eye that was flavorless and I had a forgettable tortilla salad with bland grilled chicken. The salad bar was a grade above what you would find at a fast food joint. Â For us this is strike three. Â We will not be back.
Review Source:Had friends in town and were looking for a quick casual meal so headed out to the Gooney Bird. Was very surprised to walk in to find everyone dressed in black and a piano player in the corner. Had no idea there were new owners who are trying to turn it into a fancy restaurant. Â Strange menu. Really greasy fried apps only. Small way over priced menu. Entrees don't come with sides and a small salad was $5.50. The special was a dish with 3 prawns for $27. I had the chicken ceaser which was $15 and it only had three small pieces of chicken on it. Â All in all a really disappointing change to what was a good thing. Â I don't see tha place lasting long.
Review Source:Been going to Gooney bird for many years. Very disappointing environment since the new owners took over. Butcher paper over the linen table clothes- really? No condiments on any tables. The place was mostly empty. Still, we waited a long time just to get our drink order. Didn't even get drinks until the salads were gone. No butter for the bread just something that tasted like vegetable oil. The service was polite but inexperienced. The food was not as good as the prior ownership. Too greasy and expensive. We won't be going back to the Gooney Bird anytime soon. Sorry
Review Source:I guess Gooney just changed owners again?? Im giving them 1 star because they don't allow you to leave 0! My fiancé took me to dinner and drinks at the Gooney last night. We have a little one at home so date nights are special! Well from the minute we walked in to the minute we left it was one disappointment after another. To start we were wedged at a two top table in between two other tables to the point that our backs were practically touching. When "both" of our servers arrived they both seemed unconfident and not put together. When my fiancé asked about their beers on draft they stumbled thru a list of 5 beers. How hard is it to remember 5 beers! I ordered a vodka cocktail and was told they were out of grey goose. Not happy about that! I changed to a margarita which was decent but had harldy any ice, not good when it's 100 outside! The menu had no rhyme or reason. There weren't many choices, everything was overpriced (5th Street prices in a shabby lacking restaurant that's blasting Jimmy Buffet??) there were also many confusing typo's on the menu. Their "Burger's and Sandwiches" section consisted of one burger and one sandwich (which was a crab cake sandwich?) might want to change the title from plural to singular. The appetizer section was sad and nothing was described as even remotely intriguing. We opted for pasta. I chose the chicken piccata (which actually was suppose to come with rice but i asked for pasta instead) and he got the chicken Marsala. Our meals came with nothing. We added two salads (small) for close to $6 a piece. The cheese (I'm thinking parmesan) was in insanely huge chunks and was overwhelming and didn't mesh well with the cranberries and the dressing was out of a bottle. Our pastas arrived; mine did have the pasta I asked for, but they gave my fiancé rice for some unknown reason. His chicken was like a mystery meat. Mine was dry. Neither one of us even ate half. When we ordered another round of drinks my margarita came and it tasted like the limes were rotten! I couldn't drink it and we just really wanted to leave! Right before begging for the check the server brought us over a complimentary  (store brought frozen) chocolate cake. They apologized for I guess all the let downs? We took a bite didn't like it and requested the check. With no appetizers and 3 cocktails  it was $78. The whole experience was really not what we had in mind when we planned a nice evening out. Such a buzz kill. WE WILL NOT BE GOING BACK! And advice our friends against it. Since we were sitting so close to the other patrons we could overhear ALL of them complaining about one thing or another and watched over and over as waitstaff either brought the wrong food or drink to a table or took away a plate due to there being something wrong with it. Sorry...owning a restaurant isn't a hobby, it's a passion and there is no passion there!
Review Source:Tonight was our second time at Gooney Bird since the new owner took over.  The first time, we went with our friends Jeff and Julie and had a phenomenal time. On that first trip, we order the clam steamers which we very tasty. We used up all of our fantastic, complimentary bread sopping up what remained of the  butter sauce that the clams were served in.  We all agreed that the steamers could be a meal in itself. We also had the crab cakes which were good but didn't rise to the level of the steamers.  We also had the clam chowder which was delicious.  Apparently, it is the new owner's dad's recipe.  The flavor is smooth, the texture is creamy but it doesn't pack a big clam punch.  On a scale of 1-10, we would give the chowder a 5 due to the missing clam flavor.  Among our table, we ordered prime rib (8 out of 10) which was served with a garlic rosemary mash(heavy on the rosemary), steak (8/10) cooked to perfection at medium rare, shrimp scampi (7/10) where the shrimp were overcooked slightly, and the halibut with a dill buerre blanc sauce (9/10)--I would have licked the plate on this one!  Tonight, we ordered the calamari special and Mr. Man virtually licked his plate clean. I had the blackened ribeye with coconut shrimp.  The steak was perfectly cooked.  Once again, the garlic mash was too heavy on the rosemary but decent.  The coconut shrimp was forgettable.  It was greasy and heavy with no coconut flavor. Â
Generally, the bar service is adequate. Â I would recommend that the bartender come up with a couple of signature drinks.. Â Both times I've asked for recommendations and was told that anything I liked would be good. Â The drinks are also slow to arrive. Â
Overall, we would rate Gooney Bird as a 6/10 but it has potential. Â We understand that in the next month or so it will become the "Blue Flame" and leave the Gooney Bird/Albatross name behind. Â We will continue to go there unless we don't see any more potential for improvement, but we are optimistic and are hopeful that a north side restaurant with a full service bar can be successful.. Â Stay tuned.
Went to the Gooney Bird....not impressed at all! The new owner has managed, in a very short time, to run the restaurant into the ground. They are out of everything when you order; no happy hour to speak of; and he is just rude! I was very disappointed. Will not be returning and suggest others to stay away.
Review Source:Not too impressed with the way that the new owner has taken this restaurant. The menu has changed considerably, prices went up, no more happy hour (at least not even remotely like it was), servers that don't know the menu, took over 30 minutes to get our food with an almost empty restaurant (when it use to be full during happy hour, and fast service). Overcooked steak, no oil and vinegar salad dressing? I could go on. Ugh...we won't be back.
Review Source:Went for Happy hour, we had been there before and it was really good with seating on the patio. Â Got there and was told "new owner", "cannot sit on patio for happy hour", "we recommend this beer, oh we are out of it". Â The happy hour menu had been scaled way down and was now mostly fried food and the prices were not that great. Â
I gather that they are no longer in the happy hour business, but just cannot bring themselves to delete it completely.
At first we were excited by the ambiance of the place, BUT.....
The Gooney Bird is the WORST restaurant we have eaten at in Chico. We normally eat at the Red Tavern, Cafe Coda, Upper Crust, Monk's, etc. Our dinner at the Gooney Bird was MORE expensive AND far worse. The mashed potatoes taste like instant potatoes, the salad was mediocre at best, their sauces like mango sauce are far to spicy to taste like anything, their rice was bland, and worst of all - for a steak restaurant - the prime rib, when ordered medium rare, was actually bright red on TOP of the steak and had a chewing gum consistency with no taste whatsoever. The top sirloin, when ordered medium, was covered in black crust (clearly burnt) and bleeding inside.
Our waitress was extremely insincere and never once made eye contact with us. She just gave us a plastic smile and fake laugh and moved on. The service was horrible, the price was outrageous for the quality, and the food was tasteless.
I'm convinced this restaurant is for people who just don't know any better. When we left the restaurant, we felt very ripped off.
I love this place! Â It kind of reminds me of some small places I've been when visiting Fort Bragg. The staff is always super friendly. I can't say enough good things about them. There steaks here are great! It's what I get when I come here. My wife loves it too. It's become the place we come when we want a nice dinner or are celebrating.
Review Source:I used to eat at the Albatross a few times a week but I have only been here a handful of times since the most recent owner took it over.
Recently though I have renewed my love for The Gooney Bird. Â It is a great place for business/ special events. Â As part of a LeTip group we have held several mixers here. Â In the winter they went above and beyond by tenting off the whole patio and putting up heaters. Â They even supplied us with our own bar and bartenders! Â We did a selection of appetizers and desserts and they were all wonderful as well. Â During the spring/summer we again opted for the patio. Â It is well landscaped and the staff made us feel at home. Thursday nights they have a live band which added to the ambiance of the event.
I have always experienced good food, great customer service, and excellent cocktails :) Â I will definitely be coming back!
We had our Rehearsal Dinner at Gooney Birds. Dana was so easy to work with, he gave us many different menu options to choose from and different price ranges to work with. Their staff worked hard to make sure everyone was ok  and happy. We fit 35 people inside the 30 person room which made the room super hot, the staff brought in fans to try to keep it as cool as possible. Overall it was great.
Review Source:This restaurant came highly recommended by a local, so off I went Labor Day Weekend to try my hand at the Gooney Bird. While it certainly wasn't bad, Â it left a little to be desired.
Decor: Upscale Applebees.
Service: Good
Drinks: Pretty good, actually
Food: Servicable. Although my companions LOVED their dinners. SO it might have been what I ordered (the coconut shrimp).
I will definitely give them another try, sicne they have a great word of mouth reputation. And that pomegranate martini... woot woot!
This is a good place to go to if you want a "nicer" meal with a cheaper price tag. The service was not the best even though it was not crowded but the food was pretty good. It doesn't have the best food in town but it is a nice change from the typical places in downtown Chico. It's definitely worth a try.
Review Source:As a kid, I always chose to have my special birthday dinners at the Albatross. I distinctly remember the warm ambience, friendly staff, delicious salmon dishes, and of course, the Island Pie. The Albatross changed ownership and eventually disappeared. Â I now live in San Francisco, but I do make regular trips to Chico to visit my parents -- so you can imagine my delight upon learning that the Albatross' original owners, Dana and Louise, had returned to Chico to reopen the Albatross as the Gooney Bird Bar & Grill. Â Congratulations to Dana and Louise, and welcome back!
Review Source:
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