Excellent service and equally excellent food in a club-like atmosphere. It's pricey and a bit noisy, but we'll be back.
Emily
Tasty food and the service was great! We celebrated our anniversary here; they made us feel very special.
Andrew
Fantastic experience. Old world hospitality and service. You will pay for it however. Worth it. Steaks, oysters Rockefeller, creme brûlée gelato, and cocktails were noteworthy.
Jane
OMG where do I start . The beautiful service started from the moment we walked in the door . The hostess was very nice warm and inviting . While we waited for our table we went to the bar for a drink the bar tender was just as sweet as the hostess. It was like the further we made it into the restaurant the quality of service kept going up a notch. And the manager we even got to meet him and he was also super sweet. . Ok now on to the food because that's why you're here ... We started with the chard octopus and meet ball it was so good chefs kiss . We had the New York strip and the prime ribeye. Accompany by the Mac and Brussel sprouts Whew so mouth watering and delicious . This was such an amazing experience they gave . For anyone reading if you're have to option between this place and any other steakhouse choose HERE. You WONT be disappointed. .
Ahmer
If you're looking for an evening with your significant other with good conversation, this place is not for you. It's overly loud and you have to yell to talk across a 2 person table. We were sat next to a group of 6 men who were loud and profane during the entirety of out stay which ruin our evening. We couldn't enjoy our meal and couldn't wait to leave.
Jared
We went to Butcher and Bear for our anniversary dinner and it was... fine. We live in West Michigan (Grand Haven to be precise) and so the restaurant scene is nothing like Chicago. We had read good things about this restaurant and thought it would be a good place for an anniversary dinner. We could only get an earlier reservation, so we didn't eat as much as normal, but what we had was generally good. We started with sharing the caesar, which was a pretty standard caesar salad and a bit heavily dressed for our taste. For dinner, we did the 16oz ribeye, medium rare, with brussels and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were absolutely fantastic. The steak itself was more on the rare side and, to be honest, kind of lacked seasoning and flavor—not what we expected for a well-marbeled ribeye. We ordered a bottle of Zinfandel but were told that the one we ordered was not actually one they had in stock. The manager, however, went to the restaurant next door and snagged a bottle. They gave us a complimentary anniversary dessert, which was a nice gesture. Overall, I think we were expecting a bit more than we got. I think next time we'll stick with some of the other steak houses in Chicago.
Chris
I've been to lots of steakhouses and this one missed the mark on so many levels. On the food, the wedge salad dressing had a super strong mint flavor and there were sun dried tomatoes that you couldn't tell apart from the pork belly. Steak tartare came with piping hot potato skins to use - terrible combination. Steak tartare is cold, why would I want to put it on a hot potato? Just keep it simple. The wagyu tasting board...it felt like these were just steaks from the grocery store. I would have had dessert, but the bar tender didn't realize my drink was empty for 30 minutes during the meal and never asked if I wanted something else, so we just left and got dessert at Fresh Market grocery store across the street. As for atmosphere, we sat at the bar, and that is the only acceptable place to eat at. The downstairs smelled like a bar and not what I'd expect from a steakhouse. We live in the neighborhood and were excited to try, but will not be going back.
Mark Soehn
The Butcher & The Bear! 🥩
The steaks were excellent, and the Wagyu tasting board was an absolute standout — rich, tender, and full of flavor. But the real surprise? Wagyu fat + butter chocolate chip cookies served with vanilla ice cream and milk. Hands down one of the most simple, creative + delicious desserts I’ve ever had. 🍪
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Stechschulte
i was in Chicago for a week and ate/drank everywhere & had everything with clients … Butcher and the Bear WINS as the absolute GREATEST and there’s nothing else close. Thank you Kat Bruno — your service ROCKED; and the food/wine WORLD-CLASS and congratulations B&B team. I will return AGAIN & AGAIN
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Frank Noltes
Nice place, great food, get the seafood platter with the filet
This restaurant isn’t your average steakhouse, it’s a Lincoln Park hideaway where moody lighting meets modern indulgence.
The dry-aged cuts to chef-driven sides, add flavor to the experience. Consider stopping in for a drink at an art deco style bar or go all out for a date night, family night, or just because.
Highly recommend to start with rosemary focaccia, and dive into NY Strip and the black cod.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hugh Balsam
The food is delicious and you don’t have the downtown touristy atmosphere or sky-high prices. Service is very accommodating and sweet. Nice low-key room.
Cat Astrophe
My husband and I had a wonderful anniversary dinner here. Many thanks to our server Kat, for her attentive service and drink suggestions. For appetizers, we had the tuna and meatball; both were delicious. We really appreciated that the meatball came with some crusty bread to dip in the sauce, unlike some other restaurants. For dinner, we shared the wagyu sampler which was crazy delicious, and the mashed potatoes which were underwhelming but otherwise fine. Several reviews complained of loud music level, but we did not experience this. My only minimal complaint was where we were sat, at a small two top behind a beam, in the middle of the restaurant. We would have much preferred a more private and quiet area for an anniversary dinner, which the restaurant was notified of ahead of time. Absolutely did not ruin our night though. I did take notice that the restaurant did not add any ridiculous service charges to the bill, and I appreciate that. We can’t wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carlos Mora
I was at Butcher and the Bear this past Saturday night and honestly, it was just mid all around, food, service, and cocktails. Nothing was terrible, but nothing stood out either. For the price point, I was expecting to be wowed, and it just didn’t deliver. The atmosphere was nice enough, but overall it felt like style over substance. Theres way better options in chicago
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
Clara D
I’ve been wanting to try this place. Given the pictures and the menu prices, I was expecting this to be a very nice restaurant with quality foods and services, that explained the price. I also don’t go out often for a $70 steak so this was a real treat going out here. Given the prices of the menu items, the service was lacking. We sat down and waited awhile to even get water - then for the actual waitress to come take our drink order, probably took 15 minutes. That is not the service I expect at a place this nice. I also ordered the filet medium. The outer edges of the steak were well done, and very dry. It also had overpowering burnt edges that ruined the flavor. There were parts of it in the middle that were a true medium, but a place this I expect it to be medium throughout. My partner’s steak was cooked perfectly medium rare, which he asked for so I’m not sure why mine got butchered. It was disappointing to spend that much money on something I’ve been looking forward to and was a treat.
I’d like to acknowledge the pros: the medium rare filet was perfect, whipped potatoes were excellent, and we got 2 glasses of wine - cab and Pinot. Both very good. Ambiance was also great. In my opinion though, the pros do not outweigh the cons.
Excellent service and equally excellent food in a club-like atmosphere. It's pricey and a bit noisy, but we'll be back.
Tasty food and the service was great! We celebrated our anniversary here; they made us feel very special.
Fantastic experience. Old world hospitality and service. You will pay for it however. Worth it. Steaks, oysters Rockefeller, creme brûlée gelato, and cocktails were noteworthy.
OMG where do I start . The beautiful service started from the moment we walked in the door . The hostess was very nice warm and inviting . While we waited for our table we went to the bar for a drink the bar tender was just as sweet as the hostess. It was like the further we made it into the restaurant the quality of service kept going up a notch. And the manager we even got to meet him and he was also super sweet. . Ok now on to the food because that's why you're here ... We started with the chard octopus and meet ball it was so good chefs kiss . We had the New York strip and the prime ribeye. Accompany by the Mac and Brussel sprouts Whew so mouth watering and delicious . This was such an amazing experience they gave . For anyone reading if you're have to option between this place and any other steakhouse choose HERE. You WONT be disappointed. .
If you're looking for an evening with your significant other with good conversation, this place is not for you. It's overly loud and you have to yell to talk across a 2 person table. We were sat next to a group of 6 men who were loud and profane during the entirety of out stay which ruin our evening. We couldn't enjoy our meal and couldn't wait to leave.
We went to Butcher and Bear for our anniversary dinner and it was... fine. We live in West Michigan (Grand Haven to be precise) and so the restaurant scene is nothing like Chicago. We had read good things about this restaurant and thought it would be a good place for an anniversary dinner. We could only get an earlier reservation, so we didn't eat as much as normal, but what we had was generally good. We started with sharing the caesar, which was a pretty standard caesar salad and a bit heavily dressed for our taste. For dinner, we did the 16oz ribeye, medium rare, with brussels and mashed potatoes. The mashed potatoes were absolutely fantastic. The steak itself was more on the rare side and, to be honest, kind of lacked seasoning and flavor—not what we expected for a well-marbeled ribeye. We ordered a bottle of Zinfandel but were told that the one we ordered was not actually one they had in stock. The manager, however, went to the restaurant next door and snagged a bottle. They gave us a complimentary anniversary dessert, which was a nice gesture. Overall, I think we were expecting a bit more than we got. I think next time we'll stick with some of the other steak houses in Chicago.
I've been to lots of steakhouses and this one missed the mark on so many levels. On the food, the wedge salad dressing had a super strong mint flavor and there were sun dried tomatoes that you couldn't tell apart from the pork belly. Steak tartare came with piping hot potato skins to use - terrible combination. Steak tartare is cold, why would I want to put it on a hot potato? Just keep it simple. The wagyu tasting board...it felt like these were just steaks from the grocery store. I would have had dessert, but the bar tender didn't realize my drink was empty for 30 minutes during the meal and never asked if I wanted something else, so we just left and got dessert at Fresh Market grocery store across the street. As for atmosphere, we sat at the bar, and that is the only acceptable place to eat at. The downstairs smelled like a bar and not what I'd expect from a steakhouse. We live in the neighborhood and were excited to try, but will not be going back.
The Butcher & The Bear! 🥩
The steaks were excellent, and the Wagyu tasting board was an absolute standout — rich, tender, and full of flavor. But the real surprise? Wagyu fat + butter chocolate chip cookies served with vanilla ice cream and milk. Hands down one of the most simple, creative + delicious desserts I’ve ever had. 🍪
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
i was in Chicago for a week and ate/drank everywhere & had everything with clients … Butcher and the Bear WINS as the absolute GREATEST and there’s nothing else close. Thank you Kat Bruno — your service ROCKED; and the food/wine WORLD-CLASS and congratulations B&B team. I will return AGAIN & AGAIN
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice place, great food, get the seafood platter with the filet
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
This restaurant isn’t your average steakhouse, it’s a Lincoln Park hideaway where moody lighting meets modern indulgence.
The dry-aged cuts to chef-driven sides, add flavor to the experience. Consider stopping in for a drink at an art deco style bar or go all out for a date night, family night, or just because.
Highly recommend to start with rosemary focaccia, and dive into NY Strip and the black cod.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food is delicious and you don’t have the downtown touristy atmosphere or sky-high prices. Service is very accommodating and sweet. Nice low-key room.
My husband and I had a wonderful anniversary dinner here. Many thanks to our server Kat, for her attentive service and drink suggestions. For appetizers, we had the tuna and meatball; both were delicious. We really appreciated that the meatball came with some crusty bread to dip in the sauce, unlike some other restaurants. For dinner, we shared the wagyu sampler which was crazy delicious, and the mashed potatoes which were underwhelming but otherwise fine. Several reviews complained of loud music level, but we did not experience this. My only minimal complaint was where we were sat, at a small two top behind a beam, in the middle of the restaurant. We would have much preferred a more private and quiet area for an anniversary dinner, which the restaurant was notified of ahead of time. Absolutely did not ruin our night though. I did take notice that the restaurant did not add any ridiculous service charges to the bill, and I appreciate that. We can’t wait to go back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I was at Butcher and the Bear this past Saturday night and honestly, it was just mid all around, food, service, and cocktails. Nothing was terrible, but nothing stood out either. For the price point, I was expecting to be wowed, and it just didn’t deliver. The atmosphere was nice enough, but overall it felt like style over substance. Theres way better options in chicago
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 2
I’ve been wanting to try this place. Given the pictures and the menu prices, I was expecting this to be a very nice restaurant with quality foods and services, that explained the price. I also don’t go out often for a $70 steak so this was a real treat going out here. Given the prices of the menu items, the service was lacking. We sat down and waited awhile to even get water - then for the actual waitress to come take our drink order, probably took 15 minutes. That is not the service I expect at a place this nice. I also ordered the filet medium. The outer edges of the steak were well done, and very dry. It also had overpowering burnt edges that ruined the flavor. There were parts of it in the middle that were a true medium, but a place this I expect it to be medium throughout. My partner’s steak was cooked perfectly medium rare, which he asked for so I’m not sure why mine got butchered. It was disappointing to spend that much money on something I’ve been looking forward to and was a treat.
I’d like to acknowledge the pros: the medium rare filet was perfect, whipped potatoes were excellent, and we got 2 glasses of wine - cab and Pinot. Both very good. Ambiance was also great. In my opinion though, the pros do not outweigh the cons.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 2
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