I'm a firm believer in commending and supporting businesses that treat their customers well, and I wanted to post about Kuma's exemplary service tonight, since it guarantees I'll be back.

My husband and I were there with both our families, and had an unfortunate experience that was not in any way the fault of the staff or owners. When we called it to our waitress's attention, she was extremely apologetic, and rushed to get the owner. He came over and began apologizing to us profusely, sincerely upset about what had happened. Even after we told him it was okay, he comped our entire party's meals and drinks (well over $100), and insisted on bringing out desserts for everyone at the end of the meal.

I was really impressed by the way they handled a bad situation, but that's not the only time I've been impressed by the service there. Every time we've been there, we've had unfailingly friendly and pleasant servers. The burgers are beyond delicious, but what keeps me going back is knowing what a welcoming group they are.

Is anyone bothered by the fact that they have no non-alcoholic beer or a selection of teas for those non-drinkers out there?

GG wrote:Is anyone bothered by the fact that they have no non-alcoholic beer or a selection of teas for those non-drinkers out there?

No.

GG wrote:Is anyone bothered by the fact that they have no non-alcoholic beer or a selection of teas for those non-drinkers out there?

Don't they have Coke? Club soda? Water?

GG wrote:Is anyone bothered by the fact that they have no non-alcoholic beer or a selection of teas for those non-drinkers out there?

I don't drink and it doesn't bother me. They have plenty of water, which is my drink of choice, also soft drinks and pretty good lemonade, as I recall.

I don't drink, and it doesn't bother me, either. I have no problems with water or coke.

GG wrote:Is anyone bothered by the fact that they have no non-alcoholic beer or a selection of teas for those non-drinkers out there?

Not really. I'm more bothered by the lack of half-decaf half-soy frappucinos.

Well, my 1st post certainly wasn't the one to get the troops moving!
I guess my point is that not everyone wants club soda or a Coke/Diet Coke. I surely wouldn't want them turning into a namby-pamby soy latte coffee shop - no way! They're far too METAL for that kind of clientele. But some decaf coffee or some tea is pretty essential to really any place that's serving half-decent food. Am I wrong? All that being said, Kuma's is fantastic for burgers and more and I'm happy to live in a town with such a cool place.

I drink like a lackadaisical college student on St. Patrick's day, but I would say that most bars anywhere near this ilk would offer one non-alcoholic beer.
As far as tea-its better they don't. Its difficult to get a decent cup even in a fair amount of upscale restaurants. Too often the water is blood warm instead of boiling.

As far as tea-its better they don't.

Same for coffee, altho I believe the non-decaf kind is on offer there. My experience with most bar/restaurants is that unless it's been freshly made (and even then it's a crap shoot), it's likely to be the kind of cup you'd want to drink only as an emergency measure to help cut through the self-induced fog and get you back home.

I've gotta give Kuma's a ton of credit if the worst thing that this forum has said about it is that they don't serve non-alcoholic beer or nice teas. They should win some kind of award for this accomplishment.

We had a great experience at Kuma's last night. Thursday, 9:30 PM, close to full but there was one two-person table open for our party of four. Two guys at a table for four saw us and volunteered, umprompted, to move to the bar so we could use their table. We were seated and menued promptly by two very attractive servers (Erin not among them), who really knew their beers. Two Trois Pistoles later, we dined on their delicious pretzel-rolled burgers. I had the Kaijo with both frizzled and grilled onions, and it was perfectly medium rare. The fries had a large quantity of really coarsely cracked fresh black pepper, which was awesome (reminded me of my favorite Salt and Pepper Kettle Chips, matched only by their Spicy Thai.)

The waitstaff and dining companions kept each other entertained until just before midnight. The only slight downsides were no Chimay in the house even though they poured in Chimay goblets, and some songs (about half of them) being too loud for conversation. But there were good breaks for discussion. The place is small enough that I wouldn't try it on a weekend unless the back garden was open, but parking was easy and as everyone else has found, both the staff and patrons are friendly and without pretention. Kudos to Kumas.

LTH,

Had the pleasure of running into Nat and Adam of The Chicago Burger Project at Kuma's. They are blogging, w/pictures, their way through the TOC 55 best burgers, an admirable project. They've posted on 9 spots to date and, needless to say, there is some disagreement with the TOC list.

Enjoy,
Gary

stewed coot wrote:I drink like a lackadaisical college student on St. Patrick's day, but I would say that most bars anywhere near this ilk would offer one non-alcoholic beer.

Non-alcoholic beer isn't the only thing the bar doesn't serve that most bars do. Try ordering any gin or vodka that you've heard of! And when one of us asked about wine, the waitress made it clear that would be a very bad idea.

And yet what would seem a peculiar (and annoying) deficit in any other bar is just part of Kuma's charm. They've clearly made a conscious choice to be a certain kind of establishment (a shrine to beer), and because they create such a good vibe in being that kind of establishment, they bring you over to their side rather than leaving you wishing you could bring them over to yours. You go with the flow (literally).

I think I would feel the same about non-alcoholic beer. Kuma's sculpts its personality out of the things it doesn't have and doesn't do as much as out of things it does have and does do.

Went to Kuma's for the first time on Monday for dinner. Glad we hit it now as we heard from the bartender (Stephanie?) that a film crew was coming in the next evening to scout it out as they were to be featured on Check Please! She said next month, but not an exact date. One regular at the bar was not at all happy.

We really enjoyed our perfectly cooked burgers and great beers. Hopefully we'll make it back again before the show airs!

They could do like Feed, and refuse to be on it.*

I think I'll go to Feed today.

* It was the kids' edition.

Hopefully we'll make it back again before the show airs!

Looks like I'd better adjust my timespan for eating through the menu. Only three or four more burgers to go until I earn my "I eat too much Kuma's" award.

Beverator wrote:Went to Kuma's for the first time on Monday for dinner. Glad we hit it now as we heard from the bartender (Stephanie?) that a film crew was coming in the next evening to scout it out as they were to be featured on Check Please! She said next month, but not an exact date. One regular at the bar was not at all happy.

We really enjoyed our perfectly cooked burgers and great beers. Hopefully we'll make it back again before the show airs!

Kuma's is definitely looking for more exposure as they just bought ad space on the back cover of next month's Windy City Rollers program.

Allright, get crackin'.

Too bad they didn't have this a couple months ago. I'd be almost done already. Time to start over, I guess.

Damn shame

Dear Kuma's,

Don't take this the wrong way - I still really like you, and we've shared some great times together. But I think you need to know about some things I've noticed - I don't want our relationship to sour.

I'm sure Thursdays are crazy busy, what with the $2 off Belgian beers you guys offer and all, but would it be too much to ask you to keep your beer stocked? Of the last three times I've been in, at least two or three of your beers are out of stock.

I mean, It's not like they go bad within a couple days - is it that tough to make sure you have enough Chipotle Ale, or enough Maudite? We got the ass-end of your Edmund Fitzgerald last night, the last Fin Du Monde, and at least two or three other things were out as well.

Another note on the crazy busyness - please, please, please hire another bartender/waiter on Thursdays. We saw only two girls - both extremely nice but extremely overworked. Two girls for the entire indoors and the patio? Maybe that's why it took ten minutes to get a beer. Every beer. And the bill.

And did I notice a slip in the burgers? Mine was supposed to come with frazzled onions. No frazzled onions. The wife's was supposed to have kalamata olives. Black olives instead? Probably would have been nice to know. Thin, watery tzaziki? Pathetically limp red onions? What a bummer. Don't get me wrong, they were cooked great as always...except for the fries. And don't tell me you backed off from your giardinera ketchup to regular, bland plain ol' Heinz. That'd be a tragedy.

You guys were so nuts and just...out of it...that I didn't even want to take the time to get my "Hall of Gluttony" card stamped. I know everyone has an off night. I hope this was it, and not any indication of something else.

whiskeybent wrote:Another note on the crazy busyness - please, please, please hire another bartender/waiter on Thursdays. We saw only two girls - both extremely nice but extremely overworked. Two girls for the entire indoors and the patio? Maybe that's why it took ten minutes to get a beer. Every beer. And the bill.

And did I notice a slip in the burgers? Mine was supposed to come with frazzled onions. No frazzled onions. The wife's was supposed to have kalamata olives. Black olives instead? Probably would have been nice to know. Thin, watery tzaziki? Pathetically limp red onions? What a bummer. Don't get me wrong, they were cooked great as always...except for the fries. And don't tell me you backed off from your giardinera ketchup to regular, bland plain ol' Heinz. That'd be a tragedy.

I couldn't agree more. The SO and I went to Kuma's yesterday at noon for a nice relaxing lunch. Now granted - it was Father's Day - but it was noon and the place wasn't full (maybe 1/2 dozen folks at the bar and one table eating lunch, and one table on the patio). It appeared that the folks at the bar had just put in their orders just ahead of us. We ordered our food at about 12:05 and didn't get our food until 1:00. In that time, 7 more tables were sat inside, and there was a constant stream of people flooding on to the patio.

Like whisky mentioned above, there were again 2 girls in the entire bar for service - one working as "bartender" one as "waitress". Both were swamped. There were 3 cooks in the kitchen, however and the food seemed to be coming out at a snail's pace (perhaps they were training new kitchen staff - I just don't know how 3 cooks could take 1 hour to create an "Iron Maiden" veggie burger and a "Dark Throne" chicken breast sandwich.)

The food ok - not great. Though the sandwiches were tasty, they were somewhat unremarkable and their temprature was tepid at best (i.e. "totally not hot"). I think the toppings did a lot to make them "tasty" - but the fries were room temperature (I saw one of the cooks plating the fries from a large stainless steel bowl - so they had obviously been cooked before-hand and were sitting around). Additionally - I noticed our sandwiches sat at the service station for 5 minutes or so because our waitress was so slammed she didn't notice that they were sitting there (hmmmm...maybe one of those 3 cooks could have brought out a plate or two so their creations wouldn't get cold...just a thought.)

It was a dismal experience - from what I could tell, there could have only been a maximum of 3 orders ahead of us (I estimate 6 entrees total). And that took an hour? Weird.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm willing to give Kuma's another go as the place seems to be highly regarded on the board (the beer selection makes me giddy). I thought the service thing was just a fluke because it was Father's day after all. However, if Whisky noticed the service problem, and I noticed a BIG service problem yesterday, it's somthing that Kuma's needs to pay attention to - or they risk every customer's experience becoming a big downer. Given the rumor of an upcoming "Check Please" review in the next few months, I don't see the dining experience improving all that much if they don't get more staff for service and get the kitchen's issues cleaned up.

It makes me sad - I had such high hopes for this place because it's in my neighborhood.

mellonhead wrote:Now don't get me wrong - I'm willing to give Kuma's another go as the place seems to be highly regarded on the board (the beer selection makes me giddy). I thought the service thing was just a fluke because it was Father's day after all. However, if Whisky noticed the service problem, and I noticed a BIG service problem yesterday, it's somthing that Kuma's needs to pay attention to - or they risk every customer's experience becoming a big downer. Given the rumor of an upcoming "Check Please" review in the next few months, I don't see the dining experience improving all that much if they don't get more staff for service and get the kitchen's issues cleaned up.

It makes me sad - I had such high hopes for this place because it's in my neighborhood.

I eat at Kuma's with frequency and regularity and I have never, ever once experienced anything resembling a service issue and I love the food.

Take it for what it's worth.

Best,
Michael

I was there Saturday and things seemed to be working well for a busy bar. The giardinera ketchup seems to have bitten the dust, however, or at least is no longer the standard option; I didn't have a chance to ask if it was available at all.

I wish they still had beers up on the chalkboard, though, rather than the printed beer list which seems inevitably to be slightly off what the actual selection is.

GardenofEatin wrote:I'm a firm believer in commending and supporting businesses that treat their customers well, and I wanted to post about Kuma's exemplary service tonight, since it guarantees I'll be back.

My husband and I were there with both our families, and had an unfortunate experience that was not in any way the fault of the staff or owners. When we called it to our waitress's attention, she was extremely apologetic, and rushed to get the owner. He came over and began apologizing to us profusely, sincerely upset about what had happened. Even after we told him it was okay, he comped our entire party's meals and drinks (well over $100), and insisted on bringing out desserts for everyone at the end of the meal.

I was really impressed by the way they handled a bad situation, but that's not the only time I've been impressed by the service there. Every time we've been there, we've had unfailingly friendly and pleasant servers. The burgers are beyond delicious, but what keeps me going back is knowing what a welcoming group they are.

I'm sorry, but you just can't tell a story like this and not explain what actually happened. If this "unfortunate experience" was in no way the fault of the staff and/or owners, then what on earth would compel the restaurant to "apologize profusely," comp an entire table full of meals and drinks, AND offer free dessert?

Aside from the above, I have no complaints about KK. Awesome spot! Excellent macaroni.

Zombies. 'Nuff said. Fortunately they picked the wrong bar to attack on a Saturday night.

Seriously, I can think of a few thousand things that could impact an experience (especially on an outdoor patio, which Kuma's has) without being in any way the fault of the establishment itself. But far from thinking that G of E owes us full details, I think the restraint he/she showed is a very good thing, even if this was not something that comes afoul of our posting guidelines (and I have no idea either way). We've talked before about the megaphone effect of LTHForum, and if this was an isolated occurrence that's not the restaurant's fault, and they handled it well anyway, I think there's no value in tagging them for all Internet eternity with whatever brand of weirdness or unpleasantness it was.

The relevant point is, they handled it to the point of customer satisfaction. That's worth knowing, the rest is not.

Mike G wrote:Zombies. 'Nuff said. Fortunately they picked the wrong bar to attack on a Saturday night.

--So soon we might be looking for a Zombies entry on Kuma's Wall of Gluttony...?

Even if those were free range zombies, though, I'd still be, um, mindful about the preservatives.

I eat at Kuma's with frequency and regularity and I have never, ever once experienced anything resembling a service issue and I love the food.

Take it for what it's worth.

Well, likewise. I'm at Kuma's at least every other week, never a problem til' my last visit. Like I said, just hoping it's a one-off. But I will be going back on a Tuesday next time, in the interest of science.

Perhaps an LTH evening is in order.

eatchicago wrote:

mellonhead wrote:Now don't get me wrong - I'm willing to give Kuma's another go as the place seems to be highly regarded on the board (the beer selection makes me giddy). I thought the service thing was just a fluke because it was Father's day after all. However, if Whisky noticed the service problem, and I noticed a BIG service problem yesterday, it's somthing that Kuma's needs to pay attention to - or they risk every customer's experience becoming a big downer. Given the rumor of an upcoming "Check Please" review in the next few months, I don't see the dining experience improving all that much if they don't get more staff for service and get the kitchen's issues cleaned up.

It makes me sad - I had such high hopes for this place because it's in my neighborhood.

I eat at Kuma's with frequency and regularity and I have never, ever once experienced anything resembling a service issue and I love the food.

Take it for what it's worth.

I loved the service the one time I was at Kuma's, too, but I don't discount mellonhead's experience. In other words, it's not necessary (in my opinion) to say, in response to a post noting a bad service experience, "Well, I never had bad service there." The implication is that the complaining poster must have done something to "deserve" his bad service. (Must have been overly demanding, must have had a bad attitude, must have had inappropriate expectations, etc.) But that might not be the case at all. It could be that if any of us were at Kuma's on that particular occasion, we would have agreed that the service was bad--even if we've never experienced bad service the times we have been there ourselves.

If this implication was furthest from your mind, Michael, then the criticism doesn't apply to your post. (You could simply have been saying, "I trust you that Kuma's service was truly awful on the night in question, don't doubt it for a second, but I think it must be a rarity, since I've had many good service experiences there.") But however you meant it, I think it does happen with some frequency here that members fail to credit a poster's report of a bad service experience at a place because nothing like that has happened to them at that place, which makes them feel that somehow nothing like that could or would happen to them at that place. But likely they're wrong.

riddlemay wrote:I think it does happen with some frequency here that members fail to credit a poster's report of a bad service experience at a place because nothing like that has happened to them at that place, which makes them feel that somehow nothing like that could or would happen to them at that place. But likely they're wrong.

Riddlemay,

Not saying it can't happen at Kuma's, or anywhere for that matter, but as someone who spent a couple of hours at Kuma's tonight, first at a table, then at the bar, it sure as heck didn't happen to me.

Service was exemplary, friendly, informed, efficient, both table waitress and bartenderess.

For a bar serving burgers named after Metal bands Kuma's could give customer service lessons to restaurants costing many multiples more.

Burger was very good, if slightly past med-rare, calamari fried with sliced cherry peppers and lemon verging on addictive.

Enjoy,
Gary

riddlemay wrote:You could simply have been saying, "I trust you that Kuma's service was truly awful on the night in question, don't doubt it for a second, but I think it must be a rarity, since I've had many good service experiences there."

This is exactly what I was saying, mainly in response to mellonhead's statement that "it makes me sad".

It troubles me that a restaurant can have an excellent track record and suddenly a couple reports of slow service (mind you, not rude or mean, but slow) and now this place gets labeled as a problem restaurant that we should be "sad" about. So, in my mind, yes it is necessary to respond to a discussion about bad service that I believe is blown way out of proportion.

If two posts outweigh the dozens of statements that had been made already, my point in speaking up was to add further data to the discussion. There is no implication that a particular person did something wrong, but an implication that the data provided is out of the norm, in my experience.