Chef’s Burger Bistro

My wife purchased the $ 35 Groupon, and we came away very impressed at the value. We split the BBQ Flatbread to start, which was pretty tasty. We also had the truffle fries with the fried egg on top, and they were solid, though the fried egg was a bit overcooked. Each of us really liked our burgers. The beer list, though limited, had some really good craft beer options, and my wife enjoyed her wine. Our service was excellent — they were well-​staffed and our wait times were minimal (we came in after work around 5:30 pm on a Friday). We will be back.

Turkey burger one of my favorites from the menu. A solid patty, seasoned and cooked well, topped with a thick-​cut piece of bacon, and fresh lettuce/​tomato. The garlic aioli isn’t a strong flavor, overcome by the bacon and turkey, so you can order without or get ketchup with it if that’s your thing. The side salad is presented nicely, and is light on the dressing (a good thing). It’s already mixed up so the dressing has evenly coated all parts, just a beautiful salad. Service is on point, especially if you sit at the bar. The Apex Predator sounded like a boss beer, and lived up to its name with a golden body with a hint of fruit. Was $ 7 though, which is high for a beer, even on River North/​Streeterville area.

Great offer for happy hour was $ 1 oysters. Fresh, sweet, east and west coast. Average service. Server arrived and stated «are you ready?» Happy hour crowd with only one table occupied. No advice offered when inquired about wine list. Above average for oyster quality only.

Hidden gem for happy hour; Chef’s Burger Bistro has the best happy hour in River North/​Loop area. $ 1 oysters, 50 cent buffalo wings, $ 2 sliders and half off flat breads. They also have decent $ ⁴⁄₅ draft beer specials.
Protip: you can pick most of their beef burgers as your $ 2 slider choice (the «american» has a hunk of mac & cheese & bacon as toppings and the «BBQ» has decent brisket as a topping). The wings aren’t very flavorful (and a bit too greasy) but you can never go wrong with $ 1 oysters and $ 2 sliders. The oysters come with the standard lemon slices & cocktail sauce plus these pickled cucumbers that add a perfect salty crunch. 5 stars for happy hour!
They also have $ 10 bottomless mimosas on Saturday/​Sunday, which is *always* a good idea for brunch.

We decided to give them another chance when we saw Groupon was offering dinner plus wine for $ 35.
We went today during the second half of the Bears game.
Our server was very good and any disappointments I might have with the kitchen, is of course, not his fault. The wait was excruciating long for our bbq chicken flatbread and when it did show up, it looked very sloppy. It appeared thrown together & the crust undercooked. I would not recommend it.
We also ordered two of the house «bistro burgers» and both were very good. Finally something to enjoy. The beef was a good portion & the house made bun was soft and held the weight of the beef, much better than when they first opened.
The side order of onion rings were over cooked & quite possibly re-​fried before coming out.
I did notice the bartender seemed to be a lot of fun & made the round amongst the regulars. He brought a festive atmosphere to the place.
I would say Chef’s Burger Bistro is a solid burger joint.

I’ve been here a handful of times being just down the street from my place. Didn’t think too much of this place before as I would come by occasionally for a burger and beer for dinner. But recent visits during happy hour and lunch hour have made me a fan. Happy hour specials are Monday thru Friday from 3 – 7 including $ 4 tap beers and slider & appetizer specials. Limited beer tap selections but I thought it was a rather good value. I’d call ahead to get the details on specials and such since their website doesn’t seem to be available. As for lunch, I was really impressed. $ 14 for a HUUUGE chicken sandwich and garlic aioli fries. Believe me this was more than enough for two meals.
’til next time, cheers!

We came here for lunch on a Wednesday, 1pm to avoid the rush. The service was impeccable. Everyone was very nice and helpful and our server made great suggestions. My favorite part was the truffle fries served with an over easy egg. Yum. The burger was decent and everyone else enjoyed their meals.
I would like to come back for a happy hour and grab a drink, great ambiance.

Came here with a friend to use a Groupon, and we were well satisfied, but not blown away. The Groupon gave us the opportunity to have a drink each, share an app, a burger each, and share a side. That’s a lot of food, and it was a very good deal.
The beer list is decent, though not all of the beers are described on the menu, which for craft beers, I think is a necessity. At least tell me what kind of ale it is, or if it even is an ale. For our appetizer, we chose one of the flatbreads, which was probably a mistake given we were getting burgers afterwards. We went for the Liguria flatbread and were surprised to find out that those skinny shavings on it were lemon peels, and not cheese. Still, not a bad combination of flavors with the chicken, roasted red pepper, and pesto.
For our side, my friend chose the truffle fries. I don’t like the truffle flavor, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t really want to fill up on fries anyway. They come on a large plate, with an egg on top (which is not mentioned in the menu description), and you can find some non truffled fries among them, so I had a couple, and they were tasty. We both opted for build your own burgers, because their gourmet offerings all had both appealing and not so appealing toppings mixed together and it didn’t seem right to pick them apart, when we could just make our own. I ordered a medium rare burger with brie and an egg. Loved the brie. The burger was perfectly cooked. The egg was a bit overdone. And yet the burger was still messy and impossible to eat as a whole. My friend ordered the special sauce on the side and she could pick hers up. Good to know. By the way, the special sauce is basically thousand island dressing. All in all, it overfed me and I enjoyed it, though it certainly didn’t inspire any I have to come back here again cravings.
The atmosphere itself was alright. The patio was still open and had a few groups out in it. But the restaurant was basically empty. Service was attentive, but then a regular walked in and created a lot of noise right next to us with the bartender, which was distracting and unpleasant. I’m all for old friends reuniting, but not when they’re shouting at each other in a small space. With so many other excellent burger options around, I’m not sure I’d come running back.

Upstairs closed due to private function, so seated in the bar on game one of Cardinals vs Cubbies playoff game. Crowed and service a little slow but sever was courteous and helpful with our ordering. All had different burgers and were well satisfied. Wish they toasted their delicious buns. Tried two kinds of fries and the onion rings, liked the fries loved the rings. A good meal.

We were in town for a conference and stumbled upon this place. They have a nice patio with very friendly staff. I can’t remember our servers name but he was so friendly and seemed to actually care about us, in making small convo with our party of 8. All of our food looked delicious! I had the chicken sandwich and it was amazing! Pretty large portion sizes for lunch also. This was a great find for our lunch break! Highly recommend!

Absolutely enjoyed lunch. Lamb burger, bistro fries and Bistro Salad were great. The side of seasonal veggies were freakin spectacular!
Five stars from The Ross Grouo.

A buddy of mine lives not too far from this joint and he thought it would be a good idea to come here for lunch. I’ve never tried it but any place with burger in the title is an easy sell for me.
It was pretty nice out so we sat on the patio to enjoy. Our server Aoife who was pretty quiet came over and took our order. I got the bistro burger which came with lettuce, tomato, and pickles along with something called bistro sauce… I never figured out what that was but that burger was good as fuck! I was able to choose a cheese and I went with the creamy brie which definitely set that mf off! Definitely a burger to be reckoned with as it was a nice size and quite juicy… I like it that way!

My friends and I were in the city for the day to visit Navy Pier and needed a place to eat. We found this place while we walked away from the pier and decided we were feeling burgers. First off, the table we sat at was a small booth that had us all awkwardly facing the same direction. If you like that, then this is the place for you!
Service was good and the waitress was very nice.
Onto the food… We ordered lamb burgers, the bistro burger, onion rings, and truffle frites. All the burgers looked good to begin with, but the taste was a whole new story. All our burgers tasted mushy on the inside and was extremely off putting. I’d equate the texture to wet dog food. The onion rings were fairly decent, until I ate another ring that was doused in salt. Poorly seasoned, but ok. The saving grace was the truffle frites. They were delicious and had a huge portion.
Overall if you want a poor burger and severely overpriced menu items, then I totally recommend this place. Otherwise, pick any other place.

We waited a few minutes to be seated on a Saturday evening on their nice outdoor patio. They have a huge space, two large floors of a building. I ordered a veggie burger, which featured a savory I think bean-​based patty – nothing to write home about, but decently satisfying. I liked their bun bread, which is soft and rich. The boy got the turkey burger, which looked like a pretty sizable patty and thus a good deal, as all their burgers are ~$ 10 – 15. All the servers were pretty chatty, which was amusing.

May 26, 2015 Update
I have to say Chef’s Burger Bistro continues to surprise! On our most recent outing, we sampled their new Gunthrop Triple Breaded Chicken Wings — $ 8 for six wings (would have been enough) $ 11 for nine wings (enjoy and share). Absolutely amazing! Super crisp exterior and amazingly-​juicy meat. Time to rename this place Chef’s Super Wings! The wife had a moist and perfectly cooked Lamb Burger, topped with grilled gyro meat, tomato, raw onion and tzatziki sauce — we ate on it for two days. Treat yourself to the truffle fries for only $ 6 — they are worth the upcharge!

Was tooling around the area with a group and decided to give this place a try. Seated us pretty quick and thankfully turned the music in our side room down to a mild roar. So 4 stars four our waitress.
Burgers were good but of the handful of burger choices the lamb and another burger were sold out. Shame because the lamb burger sounded good. Had the burger with an egg and manchego? cheese. Asked for medium. Got medium well. At least the meat seemed quality.
Price was high but the cost of the fries was silly. Think McDonald small for 3 bucks. Good fries but with the cost of the burger seemed weird.
Beers range from 5 bucks all the way up to «your joking right?»
Best part of the night was when a well dress maybe Russian hostess helped deliver the food to the wrong place setting only to accuse us of swapping seats. Might have been offended if it wasn’t so hilarious.
Might be back to try a lamb burger but would rather keep looking for a burger bar.

Service was not impressive to start with, it’s obvious they were understaffed.
Our appetizer, chicken wings was undercooked; practically half raw. We informed the server and at least her attitude was much nicer after that. She took it back and mentioned it’ll be on her. The entrée was decent, ordered bistro burger.
When they brought the chicken wings, it was undercooked AGAIN! I’m completely speechless and definitely never been served undercooked food twice (same dish?!).
The server apologized, do understand it’s not her fault. It’s the kitchen. But definitely would NOT recommend this place. Don’t waste your money at this place. The sangria tasted like sugar water, undercooked appetizer (twice!!!), ok burger…
Grateful the server was apologetic though. But again, don’t waste your money and time at this place!

I would say that Burger Bistro is just fine… and it commits the crimes that most Loop/​River North/​Streeterville burger places commit as well.
Stopped by for a lunch reservation yesterday. Fairly quiet for a 60-​degree Monday. We had a half-​moon-​shaped booth and I ordered the Bistro Burger Your Way medium rare with cheddar, lettuce, tomatoes and onions. My wife and I split the onion rings (fine) and the salted caramel shake (tasty, not mind-​blowing).
The burger itself was cooked closer to medium/medium-well…but the Crimes Against Humanity here are the prices for the burger and then the fact that those prices don’t include fries. So, as is, you are looking at about $ 16-​$ 17 for a burger with fries here. Sorry, not even close!
I might come back with friends who work close to this location, but Chicago has a ton of great burger places that are cheaper!

Gourmet crafted burgers at a reasonable price.
I was walking downtown Chicago and came across this burger place. I gave the menu a quick glance and was more than enough to give the place a shot.
Burgers are sophisticated, including premium ingredients like Spanish Ibérico ham, and are overall well crafted.
I order a Wagyu Burger with crispy onion, house sauce and a beet slice. I was overall very happy, I thought the beet gave it s very unique twist. Although the bun was a little dry and not at its best, that’s why I give them 4 stars.
I would definitely visit this place sometime soon.

Yowza! This place is jumping! And what I thought was going to be a casual burger joint– turned out to be a happening place with a great patio, a full bar and some really good tasting food!
Located where Blackies once stood, Chefs Burger Bistro offers up some pretty tasty burgers (don’t like beef? Try kangaroo, camel or boar instead. Yep! I said kangaroo!!). Crazy, right?
We went on a sunny Friday afternoon and this place was packed! After about a 20 minute wait they found us a table for 4 and we were off and running!
The décor is quite nice with big circular booths lining the bar area and high tops scattered about. Hanging over the busy bar are these ruby red fixtures that are suggestive without being overt. Upstairs– the rooms would be perfect for a party with huge windows open to the patio and skylights letting in the sunshine. Big globe lights add a contemporary flair.
We started with the shrimp ceviche– a little bland but still good. But then on to the star of the show, the burgers! And as good as the burgers were– know that they come served on these artisan rolls that are baked in house 3 times daily. Delicious!
I tasted the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ (a burger made with 50% ground bacon and beef) which was the winner at our table for overall taste. The boar burger was good but it came pretty rare for our table who liked things cooked a little more. And the camel and kangaroo burger were both lean and tasty.
As a side– we went with the duck fat fries and these were delicious!
Service was spot on given how busy it was and management stopped by a couple of times to make sure we were all enjoying ourselves!
Don’t think that because it’s a burger place that this is a cheap date. Average check at our table was $ 25 a person and no one had a drink. Guess those camels and kangaroos demand a high price!
So if you are a burger lover– check out Chef’s Burger Bistro! Your taste buds will thank me!