Bavette’s Bar & Boeuf in Chicago is known to be one of the best, if not the best steakhouse in the city. I continue to praise their steaks, service and vibe, and regularly go to the Bavette’s outpost in Las Vegas (where it’s actually much easier to get a reservation!). This article, though, is going to focus on my recent (birthday!) experience sitting at the bar at Bavette’s Chicago as a walk-in. If you’re looking for my review of the full, sit-down experience of Bavette’s Chicago click here. If you’d like my review of Bavette’s in Las Vegas (one of the first reviews I did for this blog!) click here!

This year, my birthday fell on a Monday, and the special restaurant Brian had planned wasn’t open on Mondays, so we had to improvise. We landed on trying to get a seat at the bar at Bavette’s, for the primary purpose of trying their much-lauded burger. Bavette’s opens at 4pm on Mondays and we arrived around 4:40. By this time, every seat at the bar was taken, although many of the diners at the bar were already finishing up their main courses. As such, we decided to wait, and the lovely bar staff offered us drinks, which we eagerly ordered.

We didn’t have to wait long until two ladies finished their meal and paid their bill. By 5pm we were seated at the bar. There were a few other couples, groups, and individuals also waiting, and by 5:25 everyone who had been waiting was seated. The point is that you will have to wait, but people don’t generally sit at the bar as long as at tables, so there is a lot of turnover here. That said, the couple who sat next to us was there when we arrived (and probably got there around 4pm), and left around the same time we did, around 6:15ish, so that rule doesn’t apply across the board. I wouldn’t recommend coming here as a walk in with more than two people, as it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to sit together. I also doubt it would be this easy to get a seat on a weekend.

Service at the bar was top-notch, just as it is at the tables. It’s actually super fun to sit at the bar, chatting with other people, if you feel like being social. We actually sat next to an actress who stars in Chicago PD, so that was pretty neat! We started with the shrimp cocktail, something we’ve never actually ordered at Bavette’s before. You get eight very large shrimp, arranged around a platter that is probably a bit too large for the number of shrimp you get. The cocktail and lemon garlic sauces were divine.

True to my word, we skipped the steak and ordered the 10 oz Double Wagyu Cheeseburger. At first, cracking it open, the burger seemed underwhelming — not much going on besides the meat and cheese, however after your first bite you taste the perfectly blended and balanced pickles, onions, and dijonnaise sauce. An astonishingly well-balanced symphony of flavors delight your palate, and the only question on your mind is whether you can finish the whole thing. Luckily, we split the burger because it came with a solid amount of perfectly crispy hand-cut fries. This burger rivals one of my favorites in the City, from Francois Frankie’s. Both are Wagyu beef cheeseburgers with similar buns, however the Bavette’s burger is less messy, and a little more perfectly balanced. It would be tough, though, for me to pick a favorite between the two.

We also ordered the truffle mac and cheese because I just cannot NOT order it. The pasta is never mushy, the truffle isn’t overwhelming – subtle enough to taste but not overpower the cheese, and the crusty baked cheese on top adds a nice texture to the dish. Never skip the truffle mac and cheese at Bavette’s!

OK, the other thing that you’re never allowed to skip at Bavette’s is the Carrot Cake. It’s got all sorts of textures and flavors going on, and is easily one of my favorites in the city. There’s a nice amount of nuts, raisins, and a lot of coconut in here, and the frosting is to die for. Apologies for the slight blurriness of the photo – it’s quite dark in this restaurant! They also brought me some vanilla ice cream with hot fudge with a candle for my birthday, so we ended up eating that and taking the cake home. I had enough cake leftover to eat it for three more days! It’s a huge slice!

The only note I would give following our super fun bar experience at Bavette’s is that my glass of Ridge Zinfandel was not served at the proper temperature. Normally, I wouldn’t care too much but the wine was actually warm, so I would suggest that they make sure to chill even their red wines by the glass to avoid it being too warm.

We had a blast at the Bar at Bavette’s, and I would recommend giving it a shot if you’re willing to come early, or wait for a little while. There are only about 20 seats, and they do fill up pretty much right at open, even at 4pm on a Monday, so it’s still not an easy seat to snag in the city, but I don’t think there will ever come a day when I would tell someone not to take a chance on Bavette’s, so if you’re thinking about it, just go! The burgers and the steaks here are worth waiting for!