Johnnie Blue

So yummy.  I ordered the porterhouse kebab and mashed potatoes for take-out and everything was extremely tasty.  The restuarant/bar itself has a very nice paired down, warm feeling and I think it's a great addition to the area.  Looking forward to our next meal there.

I really wanted to like this place. The area west of Lincoln Square could use a couple more nice restaurants, so I was excited to try this one. My friend and I stopped by for a couple drinks after work on a weeknight -- around 6ish. When we arrived, we were literally the only customers there. We were greeted (by a cook, I think?) and told that the bartender hadn't arrived yet but that he could get us some drinks in the meantime. My friend ordered a 7 and 7, while I asked for a wine list. They didn't have a list but said I could look back behind the bar and pick which bottle I wanted. I did and the Chianti I chose was average. Perfectly drinkable but nothing special. My friend's 7 and 7, however, was crazy strong -- so much that she switched to something else for her second drink.

We had two drinks each and had an appetizer of feta and olives that was just OK. The big shock came when the bill arrived. My glasses of wine were $10 apiece and my friend's 7 and 7 was $12. I have no problem paying these prices -- and even higher -- if the drinks are exceptionally good (Ward 8 in Evanston, for example) or if the location is such that high prices are expected or even if the ambiance is great. But this is essentially a souped-up sports bar near Lincoln Square serving very average-quality drinks. There's nothing special about it to justify those prices.

The pro of this place is that the staff is very nice and friendly. I pointed out that the $12 charge seemed excessive and they knocked it down to $9 ... which still seems high but whatever. They said they were still working out the kinks in their computer pricing system, which is understandable. But at the end of the day, if I'm paying more than $50 for two mixed drinks, two glasses of wine and a small appetizer, I expect more than this.

Just to illustrate how inflated their prices are, you can go around the corner to Monti's for a delicious sandwich and get the very same mixed drink for $5.

Bottom line: They seem nice and well-intentioned but they are definitely going to have to adjust their prices (or at least provide a drink menu ... geez) if they want to survive in that neighborhood.

You have to be careful what you order here - lamb chops were really good (better than in Greektown), and the cheeseburger was also good, though a bit dry - but a salmon entree was (to us at least) nearly inedible because it came dredged in a SWEET lemon sauce. It was just really very peculiar. Same for what the menu calls "Guacamole." Yes, it was made with avocado, but there the resemblance ended. It was seasoned predominately with the same Greek seasoning mix that we had assumed would grace our salmon! If they'd called it "avocado dip" and served it with pita chips, instead of the anemic tortilla chips that came with it, then it might have been okay. Eggplant dip was very tasty though. We were ordering using GrubHub, and there are no menu descriptions, so the moral of the story is to call and ask a lot of questions before ordering. We will order again - but we'll exercise caution.

I have no evidence for this, but the previous reviews below sound as if they were written by the owner's friends and relatives. Just my humble opinion, but surely an unbiased reviewer would have mentioned the weird guacamole.