Waiting very long to even get water. Couldn't order drinks for over 30 minutes and counting.... no I am leaving.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Greg H.
I am in Skokie, IL about once a year and I always stay at the Holiday Inn North Shore because it is a mile from my customer. The hotel restaurant is Bar Louie. I've been to a few Bar Louie's in the Chicago area the past decade or so, mostly in hotels. The restaurant has the look and feel of your typical hotel restaurant and bar. They were trying to hard to look upscale. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice atmosphere but looks tired.Two of my favorite things in life is calamari, and French onion soup, and Bar Louie has both on their menu. I wasn't all that hungry but needed to eat. I went down to the bar, sat down, and waited. I waited, and I waited. Waiting isn't a problem if it's busy. It wasn't busy. At all. After waiting a bit longer, I was finally able to place my order which was calamari and French onion soup. Unlike the bar staff, the kitchen was on top of it and quickly prepared my food. One look and I knew the kitchen staff was comprised of anyone who walked off the street and applied. There couldn't have been anyone with any type of formal training or my food would have never left the kitchen. French onion soup is supposed to dark, rich, and decadent. Mine was dark, but it was bland, and far from decadent. Look at the picture! See the cheese? Cheese on French onion soup is supposed to cover the bowl edge to edge. It is also supposed to be bubbling from being under the salamander. TYhe onions looked like they had been sautéed just enough to make them a bit translucent. The stock was probably just water and a beef bullion cube. The cheese, well... I've already talked about that. In the end, this wasn't French onion soup. There was the calamari but no. That was over cooked. Have you ever eaten overcooked calamari? It is tough and chewy, and just is inedible. I did eat both the soup and calamari. I paid hotel prices for them so I wasn't going to waste them food. I really hate giving a place a bad review. I really do but sometimes it can't be helped. I have eaten at other Bar Louie's and they have been good. Not great but good. The Bar Louie in the Holiday Inn North Shore in Skokie could be a really good restaurant. It just needs leadership in the front of the house as well as the rear. Like the quote on my profile says... "Good food isn't hard.", and it isn't. All it takes is some knowledge, dedication, and effort. If you happen to stay at the Holiday Inn North Shore in Skokie, my recommendation is to bypass Bar Louie and go somewhere else. There is a dinner just outside of the lobby doors. Their food is pretty good and the staff are nice and professional.
Binyamin Pinkus
I was looking for a relatively quiet place to date my wife. Service was fast and a decent choice of beer on tap. Food isn't kosher so can't touch it or comment. A bit too loud for my liking. There is a quieter area kind of outside the bar but they wouldn't let us sit there.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
A F.
If I could leave negative stars I would. We waited forty minutes to be served a steak that had just been given to a patron at a nearby table. I watched her cut into it and even eat some of the frites. They then realized they gave her the wrong order and tried to bring me the very same plate. When I asked if it was the same plate, the manager acted as if I am the one in the wrong. There was no apology, no recourse to make things right. They are the worst ever.
Tony P.
What an absolute SHITHOLE! I go to a conference every year at this Holiday Inn and this year we decided to eat here. What a f#@&ing MISTAKE!!! You would think that since this conference has been held here for over the past decade that this Bar Louie would have figured out by now that they need more than 1 cook, 1 bartender, and 1 server to run the entire restaurant but then again there were very few people there because I guess everyone else already knew what a shithole it is. After waiting 45 minutes for a steak frite they brought our order to the wrong table. And after the patron started eating off of the plate they went and retrieved the plate from her and then brought it to our table. Unfukingbelievable. But it gets better. The ass@ole manager that runs the place was completely unapologetic and simply said "Do you want another steak or what?" And NOTHING MORE. Worse Bar Louie EVER. Do yourself a favor and go to McDonald's. Better food, service, better EVERYTHING than this dump.
Mike G.
Many new homemade dinners on the menu. Great cocktails and service. Not your typical Hotel restsurant. 30 draft beers??
Lee Lovatt
Service here was second to none. We enjoyed happy hour with some lovely food. The mushroom asparagus flat bread is amazing. Quesidillas were Devine and the spinach artichoke dip very tasty. We had some cocktails because...well..why not? Every aspect of our meal was perfect. We had the option to tip over the 18% gratuity...and we did...another 18%
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
David Gonzalez
Some of their drinks are a little overcharged in my opinion. The food was okay. It was nothing special, but it wasn’t nasty either. It’s your typicalbar food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Rich L (Manik1013)
Came for lunch, was very quiet, no other customers. I want to go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Collin Daniels
Food was good but service was TERRIBLE Forgot sides, forgot drinks. We were one of three tables in there and we were CLEARLY done with our food ( they came and got our plates) then the servers just sat at the bar chatting for 20 minutes before they brought us our ticket
We came in from a long day of travel from California. We were greeted by the friendly staff. They answered all our questions, lol, including those about the local area. The food was great, cooked perfectly to order.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bourbon BBQ Burger
L.J. VENTURA
This is a good place to have a good time and have great conversations. But even better, server Jenny J. Is the BEST!!!!!She is amazing in every way, attentive, has great customer service skills & makes incredible drinks!Makes you feel welcome every visit. She is a great asset to Bar Louie! They are lucky to have her.Thank you Jen for being the BEST!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rocio Parra
Jenny....the bartender....is amazing and wonderful person ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Max A.
Manditory 18% fee for every order, plus tax, the amount of fries are decievingly small, they put a cone in a cup and fill it with fries leaving 30% of the space with air, overpriced food,Before tax a burger, marg & nachos were $41, after tax and the 18% fee it was $55
Matthew R
There is nothing on the menu meal wise besides like grilled cheeseLooks like a good place to get a drink but not a family gathering for
Waiting very long to even get water. Couldn't order drinks for over 30 minutes and counting.... no I am leaving.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
I am in Skokie, IL about once a year and I always stay at the Holiday Inn North Shore because it is a mile from my customer. The hotel restaurant is Bar Louie. I've been to a few Bar Louie's in the Chicago area the past decade or so, mostly in hotels. The restaurant has the look and feel of your typical hotel restaurant and bar. They were trying to hard to look upscale. Don't get me wrong, it's a nice atmosphere but looks tired.Two of my favorite things in life is calamari, and French onion soup, and Bar Louie has both on their menu. I wasn't all that hungry but needed to eat. I went down to the bar, sat down, and waited. I waited, and I waited. Waiting isn't a problem if it's busy. It wasn't busy. At all. After waiting a bit longer, I was finally able to place my order which was calamari and French onion soup. Unlike the bar staff, the kitchen was on top of it and quickly prepared my food. One look and I knew the kitchen staff was comprised of anyone who walked off the street and applied. There couldn't have been anyone with any type of formal training or my food would have never left the kitchen. French onion soup is supposed to dark, rich, and decadent. Mine was dark, but it was bland, and far from decadent. Look at the picture! See the cheese? Cheese on French onion soup is supposed to cover the bowl edge to edge. It is also supposed to be bubbling from being under the salamander. TYhe onions looked like they had been sautéed just enough to make them a bit translucent. The stock was probably just water and a beef bullion cube. The cheese, well... I've already talked about that. In the end, this wasn't French onion soup. There was the calamari but no. That was over cooked. Have you ever eaten overcooked calamari? It is tough and chewy, and just is inedible. I did eat both the soup and calamari. I paid hotel prices for them so I wasn't going to waste them food. I really hate giving a place a bad review. I really do but sometimes it can't be helped. I have eaten at other Bar Louie's and they have been good. Not great but good. The Bar Louie in the Holiday Inn North Shore in Skokie could be a really good restaurant. It just needs leadership in the front of the house as well as the rear. Like the quote on my profile says... "Good food isn't hard.", and it isn't. All it takes is some knowledge, dedication, and effort. If you happen to stay at the Holiday Inn North Shore in Skokie, my recommendation is to bypass Bar Louie and go somewhere else. There is a dinner just outside of the lobby doors. Their food is pretty good and the staff are nice and professional.
I was looking for a relatively quiet place to date my wife. Service was fast and a decent choice of beer on tap. Food isn't kosher so can't touch it or comment. A bit too loud for my liking. There is a quieter area kind of outside the bar but they wouldn't let us sit there.
Atmosphere: 4
Service: 5
If I could leave negative stars I would. We waited forty minutes to be served a steak that had just been given to a patron at a nearby table. I watched her cut into it and even eat some of the frites. They then realized they gave her the wrong order and tried to bring me the very same plate. When I asked if it was the same plate, the manager acted as if I am the one in the wrong. There was no apology, no recourse to make things right. They are the worst ever.
What an absolute SHITHOLE! I go to a conference every year at this Holiday Inn and this year we decided to eat here. What a f#@&ing MISTAKE!!! You would think that since this conference has been held here for over the past decade that this Bar Louie would have figured out by now that they need more than 1 cook, 1 bartender, and 1 server to run the entire restaurant but then again there were very few people there because I guess everyone else already knew what a shithole it is. After waiting 45 minutes for a steak frite they brought our order to the wrong table. And after the patron started eating off of the plate they went and retrieved the plate from her and then brought it to our table. Unfukingbelievable. But it gets better. The ass@ole manager that runs the place was completely unapologetic and simply said "Do you want another steak or what?" And NOTHING MORE. Worse Bar Louie EVER. Do yourself a favor and go to McDonald's. Better food, service, better EVERYTHING than this dump.
Many new homemade dinners on the menu. Great cocktails and service. Not your typical Hotel restsurant. 30 draft beers??
Service here was second to none. We enjoyed happy hour with some lovely food. The mushroom asparagus flat bread is amazing. Quesidillas were Devine and the spinach artichoke dip very tasty. We had some cocktails because...well..why not? Every aspect of our meal was perfect. We had the option to tip over the 18% gratuity...and we did...another 18%
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Some of their drinks are a little overcharged in my opinion. The food was okay. It was nothing special, but it wasn’t nasty either. It’s your typicalbar food.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Came for lunch, was very quiet, no other customers. I want to go back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food was good but service was TERRIBLE Forgot sides, forgot drinks. We were one of three tables in there and we were CLEARLY done with our food ( they came and got our plates) then the servers just sat at the bar chatting for 20 minutes before they brought us our ticket
Restaurantji Recommends
We came in from a long day of travel from California. We were greeted by the friendly staff. They answered all our questions, lol, including those about the local area. The food was great, cooked perfectly to order.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Bourbon BBQ Burger
This is a good place to have a good time and have great conversations. But even better, server Jenny J. Is the BEST!!!!!She is amazing in every way, attentive, has great customer service skills & makes incredible drinks!Makes you feel welcome every visit. She is a great asset to Bar Louie! They are lucky to have her.Thank you Jen for being the BEST!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jenny....the bartender....is amazing and wonderful person ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Manditory 18% fee for every order, plus tax, the amount of fries are decievingly small, they put a cone in a cup and fill it with fries leaving 30% of the space with air, overpriced food,Before tax a burger, marg & nachos were $41, after tax and the 18% fee it was $55
There is nothing on the menu meal wise besides like grilled cheeseLooks like a good place to get a drink but not a family gathering for
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3