Bluebird Food & Spirits

The food variety at Bluebird
is terrible but I give it threes for the outdoors seating in the summer and the fireplace in the winter.

Went with a party of 4 and had a nice table outside. We started with watermelon margarita and I did not like it one bit, but I’m not really a fan of watermelon nor tequila. We had cheeseburgers, oysters, salad, chips and guac, and shrimp. All was delicious! We also tried all of their desserts which were nothing special to me, but I’m not really a sweets person. Staff was attentive and friendly, we dined for probably 3 hours and they never rushed us! Ambience was really chill, it’s a nice place to catch up with friends.

I am a Carl fan since the Mexican spot around the corner (for those who know!)
His margaritas are great!!!
Ordered shilaki mushroom crostini — small portion. For $ 3.50 the portion should be bigger as it is in prospect heights which is a more expensive neighborhood.

This place is great. Great people, great food, new cocktails are terrific. I’m here like every week. The pineapple BBQ wings are the best.

The food doesn’t seem as as wonderful as when they just opened. I recently had the ribs — it felt like they came out of a microwave — all sog, no char, and a bizarre ketchup like saucing. The cocktails aren’t terrible but they could be better.
The space in front, even though it’s now filled with tables, it still has an awkward ambience. .Perhaps the bar should be moved to the front?
It is still a mainstay in the neighborhood, for now, but as others have said, neighborhood options are rapidly increasing.

The servers are ALWAYS overwhelmed and VERY slow. It took about 20 min after we were seated for our menus and they ran out of them so our table of four had three menus. It took another 20 min for the server to comeback so we can order. We ordered a pitcher and it took over 30 min to get to our table. We had to get up and look for our server more than once. At 9pm on a Saturday they ran out of 3 entrees including the ribs and before 10pm ran out of two of the three desserts. We had to remind the server we needed utensils and napkins and plates. The food took a really long time, was cold when it came and one simple request to have the sauce on the side was messed up. The wait staff didn’t come by to check on us once the whole time there, we had to look for one to get some service like to get more water and to clear the plates. After we got up to look for a server for our check we had to call another one over so they can take it. I live three blocks away and every time I try to give them another chance they disappoint with the same problems.
The front staff can’t handle the amount of customers.

Great cocktails, music, and set up. The brunch food could be expanded and be a bit clearer in how it’s delivered. For example, the «kielbasa and eggs» is some diced up kielbasa (which wasn’t much) thrown together with scrambled eggs and home fries. I would have preferred an untouched kielbasa link with my food. Perhaps, I was thrown off by the delivery but the food seemed meh.
I’ll focus on the drinks moving forward.

A year ago the food was decent. Now it’s average at best. They’ve changed the menu a few times, and no improvement. Who takes the best salad they had which was a Thai chicken salad with watercress, and replaces with some basic mixed green salad with no flavor? This place. We had the grits and shrimp and the grits were horrible. A year ago I had the same dish and it was amazing. Not sure what they did, but I wouldn’t waste my money on food here. There are better options in the neighborhood now.
Perks is that it’s way too big and never fully packed. Main bar is all seated area so makes it a pain to order when it’s packed. Pool table in the front. Open space in the back.

Carl is a savior to this place. It’s changed a lot, and would have a 3-​star if it weren’t for him. 40 minutes until we found out there were no oysters after we ordered them, but in true Carl style, he had a Mariano-​Rivera-​like save.
Downstairs is awesome. Fun occasional comedy and music acts. The place gets packed, so come early.
Be sure to order the oysters, but definitely have it confirmed that they have them.

This place is surprisingly huge. It’s a weird block, so there’s a bar/​restaurant area as well as a loungey area. And there’s a downstairs, where someone was having a private party the night I went.
They also have a pool table. It’s $ 1.50 for 4 games, which is ridiculously cheap. There’s also foosball.
Cocktails are fine. They have a wide variety of things, including DIY San Pellegrino cocktail (if that’s not a sign of gentrification, then I don’t know what is).
I had one of their winter cocktails — a hot toddy variant which was okay, but not great. My second (and last) drink was the Divine Intervention. It was my last drink because it was S-​T-​R-​O-​N-​G. Our waitress even warned me, but hey, who can turn down a cocktail with Scotch, vermouth and chocolate bitters?
All in all, great bar to hang out. Saw a few people on dates, so I guess it’s good for that too.

A very nice bar in the neighborhood! Went there for the Super Bowl and it was perfect! Good deal for food and drinks are not expensive! Good choice of beers! Must!

I came here for happy hour on a weekday. It’s a very cozy bar considering it’s large size. There’s foosball and pool near the front of the bar, with a fireplace in the back. I’m a fan of their pomegranate margaritas. I shared the traditional wings; salad with feta; and penne with sun-​dried tomatoes and chicken sausage with friends. Everything was good, but the penne was my favorite. I could have had bowls of it! Staff was friendly. Great for groups. Only downside is that it’s a bit expensive with a happy hour deal of only $ 1 off select drinks.

This place is in a really great location. The size of the restaurant is great for groups, and even has a pool table in the front section. I went for brunch and ordered the asparagus with scrambled eggs and hash browns. I was unimpressed

I was sooo happy about this place. I needed a nice place IN WALKING distance of my apt for brunch and this hit the spot! Me and my booski went there for brunch and had a grand old time. The set up was a lil weird walking in but its a nice large clean spot, great for the whole family.
The staff was friendly and quick and I did not feel rushed at all. My only issues was they did not have the French Toast i want… and I wish I new that upon seating down. Like the hostess could have said that but whatever I got was tasty just not what I wanted. Also I suggest some type of bottomless drink deal that would perk this place up even more for brunch:)
I will be back for the french toast and also maybe dinner!

Literally a hidden gem because for a long time it was behind scaffolding.
We enjoy coming here to hang out and enjoy the warm fireplace while sitting by the bar. The food is good and well-​priced. The patty for the hamburger is very fresh and made at the restaurant. I love the bun that they used. The lasagna was large, but I wished they heated it more. It was served lukewarm and I like my food piping hot.
Now that it’s winter, they serve hot mulled cider. Again, it’s served lukewarm, but they give you a generous pour of rum in it.
We love the look of Bluebird. The front half is more like pool/​beer hall and the back half is bar/​restaurant. In the summer, there’s a nice patio to sit outside. We’re happy that Bluebird is in our neighborhood.

I give Bluebird a solid 4-​stars for food; had the Grilled Cheese with Bacon and enjoyed it! The apple salad they serve with it was a definite bonus; slices apples in a a light dressing really balanced out the cheese sandwich. Although they didn’t have a kids menu, the kids enjoyed the dumplings and pulled pork sandwich; definitely not BBQ by Texas standard but was good. Dumplings were definitely a hit as my son wolfed them down in about 5 minutes.
The only troubling thing I found was service; maybe it was because I was there with kids but I felt ignored after our order was taken; I finished my beer about the time our meals arrived and would have ordered another if anyone had bother to ask. Our server was invisible after arriving with our meals; didn’t talk to us until she brought the bill. Missed an opportunity to sell a dessert and definitely another beer.
Overall: 3 ½ stars but won’t hold the service against the restaurant too, too much…

My first experience here for brunch. I’ll say everyone was friendly, however nati was the reason for 5 stars.
Great service with a smile attention to detail and efficient.
Food was good, drinks as well, clean place and overall a great experience.

Is this place named after the bluebird of happiness? Because i was very happy after having brunch here with friends.
Came early on a Saturday and walked through the front area to the back bar and seating area. Was promptly seated and ordered a Ringwald, a very tasty cocktail. My friends joined shortly thereafter and we were all taken care of by our terrific server.
One pal’s dish was a bit delayed and our server apologized and let us know in such a gracious manner that we didn’t mind. The rogue dish came out two minutes later and all was well. I had the kielbasa, which was very nice and filling. Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.
The place is nicely designed, has friendly service, good food and reasonable prices. What’s not to like? I am a fan and expect this place to be a mainstay in this changing neighborhood for years to come.

Very nice inside! Odd layout: there’s a party room for groups when you first walk in, so to get a table you have to go to the back.
This neighborhood desperately needs more burger spots. Bluebird’s burger is just okay. The burger is kind of small, so if you’re a big dude, you may want to order an appetizer as a side dish. The potato salad is more mayo than potato. Pretty gross =/​
Shoddy service. We had 3 different servers help us and we were only there an hour.

A much needed restaurant/​bar in the area! A fairly basic menu but all the food is done extremely well. Pair that with a great tap list and a fireplace and there you won’t mind it’s the only place nearby since you won’t want to leave.
I’ve been four times and have yet to order something that wasn’t delicious, from the brunch, lunch, or dinner menus. Good wait service and good bartending makes it easy to like Bluebird.