Band of Bohemia

Brewery, Bar, Eatery

4710 N Ravenswood Ave
Chicago, Illinois, 60640-4408
United States

// CLOSED //

Closed in July of 2020. Closing made permanent in October of 2020.
BEER STATS
Average:
3.83
Beers:
20
Ratings:
46
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.15
Reviews:
4
Ratings:
13
pDev:
12.53%
View: Beers | Place Reviews
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by DbbC:
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Rated by DbbC from Illinois

5/5  rDev +20.5%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5

Mar 21, 2017
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.4 by Archfiend from Illinois

Oct 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.7 by Hayley_86 from Netherlands

May 16, 2019
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Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

4.04/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.25 | food: 4.25
It took awhile to get here, though once we finally did, it was great to see Michael Carroll behind the bar. He was one of the first Half Acre employees (and brewed awesome craft sodas there), also an Alinea alumnus, now co-owner & brewer at Band of Bohemia.

The space is cavernous to a fault, cool homey vibe walking in but it quickly opens up into a large awkward industrial space. Everything is considered, and there’s a lot of weird wallpaper and chandeliers. I heard there was some little area where you can play records, which maybe i’ll try to do next time.

Service at the bar was excellent, and specialized. Cocktail and wine focused, but they were similarly aware of the house beers. Very helpful when quizzed on the various menu items, and they easily made things for us off menu.

Food was also truly excellent, though expect a $50 per person tab to eat. Some dishes were amazing, others just good. Highly recommend the cheesecake and foie gras & lemon cake appetizer, and i’m not even a big fan of sweet stuff. Short rib entree was a little skimpy for $40+, it was decent but no one loved it.

Overall, this is more a fine dining destination, but you can still walk in and have house beers at the bar. The beers take second & third fiddle to the food and cocktails however. The beer list was kind of ho-hum, lots of spiced beers all with a very similar house yeast character.
Sep 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.91 by REVZEB from Illinois

Jul 30, 2018
 
Rated: 4.15 by DoubleDaisyCutter from District of Columbia

Dec 19, 2017
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Reviewed by dogbert617 from Illinois

3.05/5  rDev -26.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 2.75 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.75
Honestly, I was expecting more of their beers, from the hype I'd heard about this place before coming here. Other than the Sweet Potato Honey Porter(my favorite) and Parsnip and White Pepper Rye(2nd fav), the other 3 beers I had(Figgenfennel ESB, The Great White Basmati, The Noble Raven Ale) were disappointing. On the other hand, their food was decent, and stood out a LOT more vs. their beers. Ordered the duck confit pappardelle and the hibiscus panna cotta dessert, and both of those were good. It is a little pricey to eat or drink at Bohemia vs. other breweries that are cheaper, another disadvantage for this place. I know they're going for a nice vibe with their inside decor, but I was hoping their beers would at least be as good as their food was.

I'm not against coming back to this place, and maybe one day I'll reluctantly give this place one last shot. In my opinion, the other breweries in the Ravenswood Ave. corridor(Empirical, Begyle, and Dovetail) all outshine this place, and you'd be better going to any of those places. I'll even reluctantly say(only saying I haven't always liked how hoppy many of their beers are like) you might want to consider either of Half Acre's taprooms(due to their food being good, and usually cheaper vs. Bohemia's food offerings), over this place. Better yet if you're this far north in Chicago, go to Hopleaf first(or any other place near Foster/Clark or the immediate nearby area and get some food to go), go back to Empirical's Ravenswood/Foster taproom(note their 2nd location on Morse has a kitchen, and is NOT a BYO food place vs. the original on Ravenswood), and take advantage of their BYO food policy.
Nov 20, 2017
 
Rated: 4.14 by DoubleSimcoe from Pennsylvania

Aug 26, 2017
 
Rated: 3.84 by Jeffsbowen from Illinois

Apr 23, 2017
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Reviewed by Dactrius from Netherlands Antilles

3.6/5  rDev -13.3%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 2 | food: 4.25
From the first second walking in the door I really liked the look and vibe of the place. We opted for the 5 course prix fixe menu with beer pairings along with a full pour of the one beer not included in the pairing. The first course was great and the beer it was paired with was nice as well. As the meal went on the high bar was not maintained with some courses being misses and the beers all being very "samey." Although the beers utilized different adjuncts the base beer for all of them was very similar. The food was well presented as you'd expect from a Michelin starred restaurant. Service was very good but the pace of the meal was way too fast. I did my best to slow eat but as soon as I was done with one course the next was practically on its way.

Prices were about what you'd expect, although I was annoyed that the beer flight was $15 for 5 pours and the pairing was $20 for 5 pours. Are you really going to charge me $5 extra just because you're bringing the beer out in a clay jug and pouring it into my glass at the table?

The restaurant did a lot of things right but in the end I was left with a predominantly negative memory of the place anyways. Full disclosure, we had an awesome meal at El Ideas the night before so BoB was in a tough spot.
Apr 16, 2017
 
Rated: 3.95 by cryptichead from Illinois

Jan 08, 2017
 
Rated: 5 by DaneAugus from Illinois

Dec 22, 2016
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Reviewed by Kurmaraja from California

4.16/5  rDev +0.2%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.5 | selection: 3.25 | food: 4.75
First and foremost, this is a restaurant. And a very good one. They do some special events - such as themed brunches, a la "Lowcountry Boil" or "Goat Barbacoa" - but their main focus is their dinner service and the prix fixe meals. The kitchen is manned by veterans of Alinea, so you're in talented hands. The space is spectacular; an old brick warehouse space with high ceilings (20 feet?) converted into a turn of the century (no, not this last century, the one before it) Eastern European parlor with some whimsical decorative touches (the heavy elephant patterned drapes which help keep the noise level in check, porcelain beer vessels and parlor games displayed by some of the side chairs). It isn't, however, incredibly formal. It maintains a casual feel - the tattoo heavy waitstaff in casual attire, canvas aprons, helps with this - and though very open is warm and inviting. The beers avoid styles, instead taking names of ingredients. They are subtle and well made, intended to pair with the food. This is a food lover's destination that happens to make some interesting beers, not a beer focused restaurant. The distinction is important. Personally, I feel that places like this are a great indication of the increased relevance of beer in the food world and a sign that the so-called craft "bubble" is not in fact a bubble.
Jan 18, 2016
Band of Bohemia in Chicago, IL
Brewery rating: 3.83 out of 5 with 46 ratings