Recommended dishes: The Classic Chicago Style Jumbo Hot Dog
Kinsey Major
large menu and plenty of seating on a friday night. will definitely be stopping back by to try more of the menu and just hang!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cheese Platter
Akshata Kharkar
Came in with a larger group without a reservation. Since it was a larger group, we weren’t expecting to be seated right away and were patient and respectful. The staff was pretty stand off ish. This was our first time, so we didn’t know the rules. We were seated a couple minutes after entering and were told we had to buy one item each hour per person. Totally fine, we listened to those rules. We were seated at 4pm, at around 4:20 we put in our order and at 4:30pm the server came in and told us they had a reservation for our table at 5pm and that we had to leave by then. We came to relax and play games with our friends. If we had known we could only be there for 30 minutes, we wouldn’t have even sat down.The staff was pretty disrespectful and didn’t accommodate when we asked to be seated elsewhere so we could stay longer. Our food came out at 4:45pm. It took over 20 minutes to come, normally that would be fine with us. But we were reminded at 4:55pm that we had to leave by 5 pm for the reservation that came in, even though majority of their party had not come in yet. But seeing that they had asked to leave at 5 pm. It was not at all considerate of our time and money.After being forced to leave early. We waited in a corner for our Uber ( as we are not from Chicago) and was asked if we were planning on staying as they could no longer accommodate the size of our group.Over all, I was extremely disappointed in my experience here. The staff was rude to my group, unaccommodating, unorganized, and I can’t help but think it may have been racially motivated as we were the only people of color in the room.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Natally Cardoso (Naty)
I never imagined going to a coffee shop and feeling like I was in a library, a games room, and my own home at the same time, but imagine all these environments in one with your friends inside having a good drink, and listening to good music. ...that's how I felt last night when I was there for the first time. I had an Irish coffee, played a board game, read a little one of the books I picked up from one of the shelves, chose a song to play in the atmosphere, laughed a lot with my friends, it was really cool, I really had fun. Congratulations to those involved in this brilliant project!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alyssa Jones
We’ve been coming here years but after our last visit I don’t think we’ll ever be back. My husband and I popped in to celebrate his birthday and grab a few drinks before our movie date (as is tradition whenever we go to Webster theater) . It was fairly busy but definitely not insane. While we were trying to scope out a place to sit we encountered a rude woman with a nasty, condescending attitude who lectured us about needing a reservation if we planned to sit anywhere (um we’re only 2 people.. you don’t even take reservations for parties under 5?!) and the encounter put us off so much that we decided to just leave. As we were leaving she snarkily said “have a nice night.” When we were obviously leaving due to her rude behavior. When the first thing out of your mouth is some thing rude to a customer who’s trying to be a patron at your business, there’s something off. I’m a small business owner in the service industry and I can’t imagine treating anyone like that… all I have to say is word of mouth is valuable and I’ve been recommending this place to everyone I know in the area and I will make sure I update my recommendation especially since I see how many bad experiences others have had with the same person in the other reviews. How you treat your customers is what keeps people coming back (or not coming back in this case). We decided to go to the Webster movie bar instead which we thought might be equal customer service but they were actually SO nice, skip this place and go there instead! Thanks SO much for making us feel unwelcome in a place we frequent and putting a damper on our birthday celebration! Have a nice night. ?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Sophie Lin
My favorite place to bring boyfriends, friends, out of towners, book nerds, beer enthusiasts, board game geeks, coworkers, acquaintances, In-laws, and your mom. I'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Perfect
Dimo Kallis
the atmosphere was really relaxing with the books and games, good music too. the irish coffee was great!
Julia Valadez
Love that they don't have wifi :PSuch a good lounge spot to have a sip and chat :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kayla Pearce
The space is cool, but staff is very rude. They put a reserved sign on our table while my friends and I were still sitting there. We were like, "Well, I guess we're leaving then." I would have been understanding if they'd said, "hey, we're going to reserve this table for after you leave, no rush," but the staff member didn't say a single word.They also only have two coffee options (caffeinated and decaf) and no non-dairy milk alternatives. I'll probably go back because I love the idea of a third place, but I expect to be similarly insulted.
Exquisite vibes, great drinks, friendly staff, top tier comedy show in the back on
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Anne Neri Kostiner
Parking: Narrow lot
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brownie Sundae
3raxftw “3raxftw”
I really did not enjoy my experience here. It's supposed to be a "third space." It is not that. I would describe this as primarily a cocktail bar with some book focused marketing. It's weird, first of all, to go into a space with books everywhere, where you're supposedly encouraged to read, and have them blasting music louder than a dive would. It's also weird that the staff is so incredibly rude to everyone and does their best to make you feel unwelcome. Their purpose is really to make sure that you order enough drinks. Finally, it's weird that the only seating you seem to be able to get, especially for a group, is reserved. You really seem to need to reserve here, and I would not recommend trying to go on your own because I doubt you'd get seated. What really rubbed me the wrong way was that there was an entire back area visible through windows at the bar which had apparently been reserved in its entirety for some sort of private event, which meant all the rest of the patrons were packed into the front and explains the awful seating. And half the remaining tables were reserved too. Again, not the sort of thing you expect to see from a "third space."The prices are also very high, and the drinks are very bleh. A good craft cocktail bar is going to charge the same and you'll get much better drinks. I find the concept of this place very enticing, but based on my experience, that concept is really just a marketing gimmick.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
Amari
Unfortunately did not have a great first experience here. In fact, we left feeling uncomfortable and disrespected. My friend and I came in unsure of what exactly the place was but it seemed like a nice “vibey” place to snack and read, like a cafe? bookstore? bar? meeting place? library? No idea lol! We found it on social media. We were stopping by half an hour before our spin pottery class started and had only been there maybe a total of 30 minutes. Half of which we spent looking around at books to purchase and going to the bathroom before a place on a couch finally opened up for us to sit and read. The other fifteen minutes is what I’m about to explain now:We sat listening to the music and looking through our books for not even 10 minutes before a lady with short, blonde hair approached us off-puttingly with “So What is it you’re going to order?”. Mind you, we hadn’t been handed a menu and at the time did not know there was a drink per hour minimum (again, regardless of that, we were sat for less than 10 mins). I’ll just do a back and forth of the exchange. Her tone was sarcastic and condescending and we were genuinely confused as to why. Me: “Sorry, we didn’t know we had to order something right now” Her: “Well, this IS a business” Me: “We’re aware… we just didn’t know what type of place this was. We’ve never been here” Her: “I’m not sure what you’re used to but we are at capacity and would rather have PAYING customers here” My friend: “Oh….kay. Yeah, um we’re actually leaving” and the lady proudly prances off to greet other customers. I was so upset by the interaction, no longer interested in purchasing the things I had in mind, so I went to the bar and asked to speak to someone privately. I already assumed that the blonde woman was likely the manager (She WAS). She walks up with the same snarky demeanor as before but you can tell she didn’t expect to be pulled aside. I just let her know how to properly speak to customers and how incredibly uncomfortable she made us. That it’s not okay to insult potential customers based off of personal dispositions, but luckily for her, she chose someone who will sit her down the way a teacher would a student instead of yelling. It’s just sad how proud she seemed of herself when she treated us that way and even sadder that a new, young customer such as myself would need to breakdown the issue to her. A simple “Hi! How are you? We actually have a food and drink minimum for seating. Here’s our menu so you can get a chance to look” would have gotten the message across just fine that we should order soon. She just stared at her toes and apologized for her approach and for not handling things better and then we left.It just sucks that we thought we found a cool, quaint place but left feeling unwelcome. Although we didn’t get to try anything, the food smelled like it could have been good. I wanted to try the pizza. Also, there seemed to be a lot of things offered there, we just didn’t get to experience that the way others did that night. The music was loud but there were private rooms you could reserve. Anyway, we’re still unsure exactly of what this business is categorized as since no one took the time to explain when asked, but it seems centered around money and lacks overall customer service. The bartender with red hair was nice though! And the nice guys at Jimmy John’s next door really redeemed our experience at this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Mer Luchs
Unfortunate that it has been identified as a third space- a space welcome to all, under Oldenburgs sociological argument as a space in which “there are no prerequisites or requirements that would prevent entry” as someone in financial hardship looking to spend time with friends, I understood this to be the operating concept of kibbinetznest as somewhere I could spend time while contributing at the exact level of my means- just as other patrons did. Unfortunate that a pay what you can scale is unoffered, and wish I’d had a better understanding of how kibbinetznest operated before trekking out, I understand the frustration and feeling of being worn down while working in the service industry in a packed house, but wish I’d had an opportunity to understand that not purchasing a beverage would lead to me being asked to leave before the waitstaff curtly informed me in front of my friends.
Amazing atmosphere and everyone there is so
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: The Classic Chicago Style Jumbo Hot Dog
large menu and plenty of seating on a friday night. will definitely be stopping back by to try more of the menu and just hang!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Cheese Platter
Came in with a larger group without a reservation. Since it was a larger group, we weren’t expecting to be seated right away and were patient and respectful. The staff was pretty stand off ish. This was our first time, so we didn’t know the rules. We were seated a couple minutes after entering and were told we had to buy one item each hour per person. Totally fine, we listened to those rules. We were seated at 4pm, at around 4:20 we put in our order and at 4:30pm the server came in and told us they had a reservation for our table at 5pm and that we had to leave by then. We came to relax and play games with our friends. If we had known we could only be there for 30 minutes, we wouldn’t have even sat down.The staff was pretty disrespectful and didn’t accommodate when we asked to be seated elsewhere so we could stay longer. Our food came out at 4:45pm. It took over 20 minutes to come, normally that would be fine with us. But we were reminded at 4:55pm that we had to leave by 5 pm for the reservation that came in, even though majority of their party had not come in yet. But seeing that they had asked to leave at 5 pm. It was not at all considerate of our time and money.After being forced to leave early. We waited in a corner for our Uber ( as we are not from Chicago) and was asked if we were planning on staying as they could no longer accommodate the size of our group.Over all, I was extremely disappointed in my experience here. The staff was rude to my group, unaccommodating, unorganized, and I can’t help but think it may have been racially motivated as we were the only people of color in the room.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
I never imagined going to a coffee shop and feeling like I was in a library, a games room, and my own home at the same time, but imagine all these environments in one with your friends inside having a good drink, and listening to good music. ...that's how I felt last night when I was there for the first time. I had an Irish coffee, played a board game, read a little one of the books I picked up from one of the shelves, chose a song to play in the atmosphere, laughed a lot with my friends, it was really cool, I really had fun. Congratulations to those involved in this brilliant project!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We’ve been coming here years but after our last visit I don’t think we’ll ever be back. My husband and I popped in to celebrate his birthday and grab a few drinks before our movie date (as is tradition whenever we go to Webster theater) . It was fairly busy but definitely not insane. While we were trying to scope out a place to sit we encountered a rude woman with a nasty, condescending attitude who lectured us about needing a reservation if we planned to sit anywhere (um we’re only 2 people.. you don’t even take reservations for parties under 5?!) and the encounter put us off so much that we decided to just leave. As we were leaving she snarkily said “have a nice night.” When we were obviously leaving due to her rude behavior. When the first thing out of your mouth is some thing rude to a customer who’s trying to be a patron at your business, there’s something off. I’m a small business owner in the service industry and I can’t imagine treating anyone like that… all I have to say is word of mouth is valuable and I’ve been recommending this place to everyone I know in the area and I will make sure I update my recommendation especially since I see how many bad experiences others have had with the same person in the other reviews. How you treat your customers is what keeps people coming back (or not coming back in this case). We decided to go to the Webster movie bar instead which we thought might be equal customer service but they were actually SO nice, skip this place and go there instead! Thanks SO much for making us feel unwelcome in a place we frequent and putting a damper on our birthday celebration! Have a nice night. ?
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
My favorite place to bring boyfriends, friends, out of towners, book nerds, beer enthusiasts, board game geeks, coworkers, acquaintances, In-laws, and your mom. I'll be back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Perfect
the atmosphere was really relaxing with the books and games, good music too. the irish coffee was great!
Love that they don't have wifi :PSuch a good lounge spot to have a sip and chat :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The space is cool, but staff is very rude. They put a reserved sign on our table while my friends and I were still sitting there. We were like, "Well, I guess we're leaving then." I would have been understanding if they'd said, "hey, we're going to reserve this table for after you leave, no rush," but the staff member didn't say a single word.They also only have two coffee options (caffeinated and decaf) and no non-dairy milk alternatives. I'll probably go back because I love the idea of a third place, but I expect to be similarly insulted.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 2
What a unique spot. Certainly coming back soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Exquisite vibes, great drinks, friendly staff, top tier comedy show in the back on
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Parking: Narrow lot
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brownie Sundae
I really did not enjoy my experience here. It's supposed to be a "third space." It is not that. I would describe this as primarily a cocktail bar with some book focused marketing. It's weird, first of all, to go into a space with books everywhere, where you're supposedly encouraged to read, and have them blasting music louder than a dive would. It's also weird that the staff is so incredibly rude to everyone and does their best to make you feel unwelcome. Their purpose is really to make sure that you order enough drinks. Finally, it's weird that the only seating you seem to be able to get, especially for a group, is reserved. You really seem to need to reserve here, and I would not recommend trying to go on your own because I doubt you'd get seated. What really rubbed me the wrong way was that there was an entire back area visible through windows at the bar which had apparently been reserved in its entirety for some sort of private event, which meant all the rest of the patrons were packed into the front and explains the awful seating. And half the remaining tables were reserved too. Again, not the sort of thing you expect to see from a "third space."The prices are also very high, and the drinks are very bleh. A good craft cocktail bar is going to charge the same and you'll get much better drinks. I find the concept of this place very enticing, but based on my experience, that concept is really just a marketing gimmick.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 2
Unfortunately did not have a great first experience here. In fact, we left feeling uncomfortable and disrespected. My friend and I came in unsure of what exactly the place was but it seemed like a nice “vibey” place to snack and read, like a cafe? bookstore? bar? meeting place? library? No idea lol! We found it on social media. We were stopping by half an hour before our spin pottery class started and had only been there maybe a total of 30 minutes. Half of which we spent looking around at books to purchase and going to the bathroom before a place on a couch finally opened up for us to sit and read. The other fifteen minutes is what I’m about to explain now:We sat listening to the music and looking through our books for not even 10 minutes before a lady with short, blonde hair approached us off-puttingly with “So What is it you’re going to order?”. Mind you, we hadn’t been handed a menu and at the time did not know there was a drink per hour minimum (again, regardless of that, we were sat for less than 10 mins). I’ll just do a back and forth of the exchange. Her tone was sarcastic and condescending and we were genuinely confused as to why. Me: “Sorry, we didn’t know we had to order something right now” Her: “Well, this IS a business” Me: “We’re aware… we just didn’t know what type of place this was. We’ve never been here” Her: “I’m not sure what you’re used to but we are at capacity and would rather have PAYING customers here” My friend: “Oh….kay. Yeah, um we’re actually leaving” and the lady proudly prances off to greet other customers. I was so upset by the interaction, no longer interested in purchasing the things I had in mind, so I went to the bar and asked to speak to someone privately. I already assumed that the blonde woman was likely the manager (She WAS). She walks up with the same snarky demeanor as before but you can tell she didn’t expect to be pulled aside. I just let her know how to properly speak to customers and how incredibly uncomfortable she made us. That it’s not okay to insult potential customers based off of personal dispositions, but luckily for her, she chose someone who will sit her down the way a teacher would a student instead of yelling. It’s just sad how proud she seemed of herself when she treated us that way and even sadder that a new, young customer such as myself would need to breakdown the issue to her. A simple “Hi! How are you? We actually have a food and drink minimum for seating. Here’s our menu so you can get a chance to look” would have gotten the message across just fine that we should order soon. She just stared at her toes and apologized for her approach and for not handling things better and then we left.It just sucks that we thought we found a cool, quaint place but left feeling unwelcome. Although we didn’t get to try anything, the food smelled like it could have been good. I wanted to try the pizza. Also, there seemed to be a lot of things offered there, we just didn’t get to experience that the way others did that night. The music was loud but there were private rooms you could reserve. Anyway, we’re still unsure exactly of what this business is categorized as since no one took the time to explain when asked, but it seems centered around money and lacks overall customer service. The bartender with red hair was nice though! And the nice guys at Jimmy John’s next door really redeemed our experience at this place.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1
Unfortunate that it has been identified as a third space- a space welcome to all, under Oldenburgs sociological argument as a space in which “there are no prerequisites or requirements that would prevent entry” as someone in financial hardship looking to spend time with friends, I understood this to be the operating concept of kibbinetznest as somewhere I could spend time while contributing at the exact level of my means- just as other patrons did. Unfortunate that a pay what you can scale is unoffered, and wish I’d had a better understanding of how kibbinetznest operated before trekking out, I understand the frustration and feeling of being worn down while working in the service industry in a packed house, but wish I’d had an opportunity to understand that not purchasing a beverage would lead to me being asked to leave before the waitstaff curtly informed me in front of my friends.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 1