Bar Goa, an Indian Restaurant & Cocktail Bar

First time in Chicago. Booked a table for my hubby and I. We arrived 10 minutes early and were asked to wait at the door instead of being offered a drink at the bar while we wait.

QR menus which are not intuitive and had to ask for a physical menu.

I ordered a watermelon juice to drink. After a couple of minutes our water Ian came back and told us that they were out of watermelon juice. I then ordered a chai tea instead. He then came back again a few minutes later to say that they weee out of chai tea too.

Had the Gunpowder Dosa and upon our waiters recommendation the Butter Chicken croquettes . The Gunpowder Dosa was amazing.

For mains we ordered the Goa Chicken Curry and the Paneer Makani, neither were very good. They lacked spice and flavor.

You are not able to choose your spice hotness for the curries. They come out standard. We both like our curries hot.

When the bill arrived I noticed that our bill had a surcharge of 4% and upon asking our waiter he said that this was added to keep the cost of the food down ????

I asked the hostess upon leaving whether the surcharge was mentioned on the digital and physical menu and she said yes and showed me where on the menu it was……..it’s invisible. She did say that I could request to have it removed from my bill.

The waiter should have mentioned the surcharge when he introduced himself.

I was looking for something g amazing…….this wasn’t it. A total missable dining experience when visiting Chicago.

Our meal with a 25% tip came to just under $200. That included 2 starters, 2 mains, 2 naan breads, 2 beers and a mango lassi.

Vegetarian options: Mediocre vegetarian options available.

Dietary restrictions: They have vegan and vegetarian options available.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 2

Recommended dishes: Butter Chicken Croquettes

Butter chicken croquettes are a must have

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Butter Chicken Croquettes

Cool Indian food spot in downtown chicago. Food was solid, I tried the fried shrimp and the ghee aloo chaat for appetizers. The fried shrimp was amazing, the bhel was pretty decent. For entree I had the malwani fish curry. It was a sea bass fillet, cooked grilled with a tasty curry and came with rice. I wish it came with some more sides though. I also got the mango Lassi and too be honest wasn't the biggest fan. They mixed in crushed cardamom which really took over the flavor the Lassi. Overall food was interesting and they had other dishes I'd really want to try as well.

Atmosphere was cool, lots of seating with cool lighting

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Food was excellent! Service was very poor. Our server was not very friendly, waited 10-15 to get our drinks, she failed to tell us that rice and naan bread was not included with our meal and an additional charge. We were seated next to a group of 4 ladies, one of them was talking extremely and unnecessarily loud, it was really annoying so we moved literally 2 feet away to another 2 top. Our server was upset about it and gave us attitude saying we had to leave at 7:15 because another reservation needed it. It wasn’t even that busy and there was no reason the other reservation couldn’t have sat at the table we were at which was another 2 top 2 feet away… After that, the server was just rude to us. She took 20 minutes to notice we were done with our food and needed boxes and the check. I would come back, but ONLY for the food. I serve as well so I know what good service looks like and this was not it.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Butter Chicken

Food wasn't good. Maybe it was an off day, but I ordered a Bombay Biryani and it was very bland. The wings on the sampler were under cooked.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

Really testy food & great service appreciate

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

I had a horrendous experience at Bar Goa in Chicago. As tourists, we were excited to try this place, but it turned out to be a huge disappointment. The service was absolutely terrible, our servers were unwelcoming and lacked basic courtesy. The food itself was subpar, with poor quality and unsatisfactory portions. But the worst part was the service; it felt like we were a burden rather than valued customers.

Overall, this experience ruined what could have been a nice outing in Chicago. Definitely would not recommend this place to anyone.

Food: 1

Service: 1

Food was so bad

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

We went there for birthday celebration and punjabi music but the DJ could not get it right even after numerous requests! Music was disappointing!! :(

Atmosphere: 2

Overpriced. The appetizers were the only good thing, packed full of flavor. The mains lacked the flavor expected, very bland. For example, the butter chicken just felt like a creamy tomato soup. It wasn't too bad/ inedible but didn't feel like there was any value for the expensive bill we ended up paying. Better Indian flavors and experience at a reasonable price elsewhere.

Beautiful space, food was tasty enough. The portions are wildly small and way overpriced. Also there was a huge disappointment in that for dishes that traditionally come with rice or naan such as a curry, everything was an additional add on. I had to pay extra for rice to go with my curry. I had to pay extra for chutney to dip my cauliflower app. $28 for a fish curry plate that was the diameter of an average pancake. The fish was a sliver thinner than my pinky finger. You're paying for River North. Just know that!

Had a Chili Paneer and it was great, better than last time! Tropical Guava was refreshing DJ played random mixed songs, did not make sense And they take 20% gratuity which exponentially increases your bill Ban Goa

Nice food, promptly served but overpriced for the quality. As an example we requested a little yogurt to temper the (spicy) sambas and was served a tiny amount (about two tablespoons) that ended up being charged to the bill for $5.

I don’t know why this place does not higher rating but their food is absolutely delicious!
We tried Amritsari Kulcha, Cauliflower 65, aloo chat, Sabudana vada and Gun Powder Dosa. Fun Powder Dosa was our favorite. The sambhar they served with it was so authentic that we complimented the chef.

There are a few Indian restaurants around the place which have high number of reviews and slightly more rating but this restaurant deserves all the accolades.

Also try their Lychee cocktail.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Bar Goa was an okok place. The place stank of smoke, as the doors opened. The food was good, drinks were okok nothing great. The ambience and staff were good, this rating goes to the staff

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 4