CheSa’s Bistro & Bar Chicago - (Near Chicago, IL)

5 /5 Theresa Sowinski: Absolutely fantastic evening here!! My daughter is Celiac....every dish was DELICIOUS and safe for her to eat. My husband and I have no food allergies but the food was wonderful!!! The cocktail I ordered was delightful!! Pineapple coconut deliciousness!! The Alligator Cheese dip was wonderful and the meat was very very tender. We ordered the Catfish and Jambalaya and the Lobster Mac and Cheese.....both amazing!! The breading was light and crispy with no aftertaste. Finally, we shared the Beignet Waffles with Peaches and Ice Cream for dessert (not on the menu BTW but available). Like a taste of heaven lol!! Seriously, we would have loved this place even if we didnt have a GF kiddo with us. Prices are moderate but a good value and the waiter was super pleasant and engaging. The environment was modern, very clean, and comfy. Excellent!!!

5 /5 Arielle Steward: CheSa and team are doing their BIG ONE!!! I went Saturday night without a reservation and there was no wait. We ordered the Hushpuppies, Lemon Pepper Salmon, Chicken and Beignet Waffles, and Catfish and Jambalaya. Everything was 5/5 no notes!!!! AND it’s 100% gluten free. They don’t use GMO food either so everything tastes so fresh and like real food. Julian and CheSa were our waiters and were really attentive, offering great service. This food was so good, seriously you HAVE to go!!!! I can’t wait to go back!!!

2 /5 Taja Blackburn: I’m going to break this down, as the most honest review ever. For starters I felt bad , it’s New Year’s Eve and me even being a minute late I call , to ensure and let the restaurant know I’m going to be late, I got there at 5:14pm, and no one was there( reservation was at 5pm) . The waiter was a gentlemen. Sat us & gave us a ‘ holiday menu ‘ which had very limited items ( things I had not seen on TikTok that brought me to CheSa’s ) so disappointed but my wife and I shared the seafood gumbo. Gumbo was mid. I’d rate it 4/10. But we were starving , and craving catfish & lobster etc. which again was why we came. The server was a gentlemen ( stated he can’t serve alcohol drinks ) which was fine. However .. about 20 mins of us chillen a group of 2 & then another couple and then party of 10 came in and the bartender arrived and took the drinks for all tables except ours ( mind you we were the first there ) on top of that I noticed everyone else but us had the actual menu and not the ‘ holiday menu ‘ we had. RED FLAG. After being served the seafood gumbo finally I asked for a regular menu like everyone else, got it, and no one came to ask if there was something else we wanted to order. Bartender of age never came to our table to ask if there was anything other than water , we wanted to drink. Another RED FLAG. Overall super disappointed I was looking forward to the deep fried lobster Mac and cheese & my wife wanted the catfish jambalaya. Yet we settled to share gumbo. Which again was mid. We are big foodies and travel and eat all around the country and this was a place we were dying to try , yet got limited access to menu , and then saw full menu was available. Overall 1/10 experience. Because we support black owned businesses I think id give this place one more chance. But I’m not from here, & first impressions are everything. Who knows when we’ll be back. My advice : when bartender is late , host should que who was there first and waiting , and actual menus should be given to everyone , not just a selected group or couple. Very strange . I always tip , but left cash for exact amount. And host ran to our table as if we didn’t pay. Crazy how he didn’t run to us with actual menus nor attentiveness in the first place. I’m sure the food we came for is great. Sad we didn’t have that option. Literally This review is not based on food we wanted to order , we came to order the entire menu , but again didn’t get anything on the menu because we were never given the actual menu .

5 /5 Sara Mundt: Had our office holiday dinner at CheSas and everything was outstanding. We were specifically looking for a 100% GF restaurant, and very intrigued by the menu - there were many dishes we couldnt imagine done GF. Its a beautiful space, the staff was welcoming, and were able to speak with Chef CheSa for a moment and she was delightful. Everything we ordered was exceptional. We shared a double order of fried green tomatoes and a round of cocktails to start, then we had two orders of the fried catfish & jambalaya, a fried salmon po boy, the sea bass with red beans & rice, and the short ribs with grits. Everything fried came out piping hot, crisp, and delicious. We all had a chance to sample each others dishes and were really impressed. We finished our meal with a shared beignet waffle with peach compote that was perfection. The menu prices feel very fair for the quality of the dishes and the overall dining experience. Im excited to visit again for brunch.