Wine Bars in Eau Claire

“So good! I went for the first time this Saturday, true hidden gem.“

“I absolutely love The Informalist and have a five-star experience nearly every time I come here! From the ambiance to the service to the food, they consistently knock it out of the park.

HOWEVER, we dined here last night, and I have to say, the airline chicken was extremely disappointing. I’ve ordered this dish before and was really looking forward to having it again, but it has been completely reworked. The last time I ordered it, it was a savory chicken thigh with a delicious sauce and cornbread. It was comforting, flavorful, and honestly one of my favorite dishes on the menu. When I ordered it on September 18, 2026, I was surprised to receive something entirely different. It was essentially a chicken breast served with untrimmed green beans and felt like a completely different dish from the one I remembered, and not worth the $38 price tag.

The rest of our meal was phenomenal, and I still love The Informalist, but if a dish is going to be changed this dramatically, I really think it needs a new name or a clearer description on the menu. What I received was simply not what I was expecting based on my previous experience with the dish.

For reference, the photo with the dish in a bowl is the airline chicken on a previous visit. The photo with the pizza in the foreground is from last night.“

“We treated ourselves to dinner there on the Saturday after Christmas. It was amazing. Impecable details abound from the attentive wait staff, to the cooked-to-perfection (and personal requests) meals, desserts and cocktails. An excellent choice for feeling pampered... perfection without ego! Comfortable! A special note of thanks to Eric for his attention to every detail.“