Post #442633 by MNZombie on Thu, Mar 26, 2009 6:02 AM

Finally made it to Trader Vic's on my most recent trip to Chicago from Minnesota. I had to say it, but I was disappointed. First, let me tell you that my brother and I were there at about 4:30pm on a Sunday, due to time constraints. That's about a half hour after the bar opens and a half hour before the restaurant opens. That may explain some of our complaints, but not all.

The atmosphere was OK, if anything it seemed a little sterile. Too well lit, too well planned out. We sat a table because I didn't want to be at the bar where several guys were discussing and watching the NCAA tournament on the TVs above the bar. We sat down and immediately noticed the "Asian influenced" music that sounded like it was straight out of the local sushi bar. About 10 minutes later it was replaced by the worst music of all, smooth jazz!

Service was lacking (the waitress couldn't be found when we were ready to order and kept coming back every 30 seconds after we had our drinks, very annoying). None of our drinks tasted very well mixed. We had the egg roll appetizers which came with a sauce that was clearly a mix of ketchup and teriyaki sauce. Everything was just of kind of average (except the prices)

Some people may like the new Trader Vic's Chicago, but for me, it was a let down. Maybe it was the time of day, I don't know. I just know next time I'm sticking with Hala Kahiki, Chef Shangri-La or even the Tiki Terrace instead.