James Restaurant & Bar

Can't say enough good things about the James. I've gone multiple times at different hours, for different events, and each time it has never disappointed. No matter if it has been for brunch, lunch, dinner, or drinks The James continues to live up to it's expectations. The staff is extremely friendly and accommodating. On multiple occasions the staff has gone above and beyond to ensure that my dining experience is great.The food is fantastic, and offers diverse menu so you have multiple options depending on your mood. Feel like I need to try something new every time I'm there! Also, sneakily has one of the best burgers in the city!! 100% recommend making a stop at the James.

Had a very nice experience at James. Very cozy setting, not too loud. Oh well yea, mYne because it was dead empty there. We arrived about an hour earlier for cocktails. Three other people at the bar, no one seated for dinner. Then we sat for dinner and we were the only ones eating. Service was surprisingly slow for being the only ones. But maybe they gave us privacy. The food was great!! The charcuterie board is perfectly sized with good cheeses, nothing super fancy bit great. All the food we had was very very good and the drinks are just as good. We were very surprised about the lack of customers but mayne it was because it was a Sunday night. No Idea.

Updated review Feb 2019 - I have since been back to James (which is under new management) and the service was much better. The atmosphere is more welcoming and the staff seemed much more positive. It looks like the previous manager had such a negative impact on the environment but now the new manager Morgan is so focused on bringing the quality up that there is a noticeable difference. Our server Mark was very helpful and accommodating. Happy Hour is lively and the patrons seem friendly, professional and generally a nice crowd. The food was good, needed extra seasoning but generally good overall. The lighter bites such as the flat breads, chicken wings and meatballs were a hit and very popular among diners. Personally, I very much enjoyed my Wedge salad and the serving sizes were quite generous. I will be back to check out brunch - their new menu looks appetizing. Thank you again, James for caring about your presence in the neighborhood. Will see you soon! I am a local resident (2 blocks from your establishment) and I have been to James for both dinner and brunch probably over 10 times. My husband and I have a 3 month old and we were excited to find a local place where the food was quite good as there are not a lot of choices in Logan Square for restaurants. It started off fine, there were a few inconsistencies but we overlooked them as the food was still good. The our experiences just declined, food became sloppy, service rude and downright bad. We gave James many many chances and after this past weekend we reached our limit. We have experienced the following incidents in our visits over the past 3 months: *waiting 20 minutes to be given water or a menu *waiting 70 minutes for our meal (brunch) to be served *ingredients missing from the meal we ordered and then when we asked about it, we were told the kitchen was out of food *only 1-2 servers working when there were large parties holding an event in the back room, servers complaining to us that they were short staffed *an owner telling us our meal would be complimentary after waiting for so long, when in fact we received a check and paid it *waitress chewing gum with it falling out of her mouth while talking to us *bacon burnt to a crisp twice (a waitress tried to tell us it wasn’t. Rung it was just because it was pepper crusted) *chicken breast undercooked and pink inside *i cannot eat gluten and was told eggs Benedict had no bread but the crab cakes had bread crumbs, which I found out too late *a guy who wears a check shirt (worked the past 2 Sunday’s for brunch) was rude when I told him the bacon was burnt, he said across 3 tables ‘what did you say??’ then said he would come back but never did *same guy talking to staff and chatting while there were tables who had not ordered and dirty plates on other tables Reviews are something I do not usually write, but I am so disappointed that I feel I will write one as the message I get is that James Management just doesn’t care. Speaking with other locals, it seems that these experiences are very common at James and you’ve lost many customers. Unfortunately you also lost us as customers which is a shame as your food has potential.

The food and ambiance are excellent. Our waiter was not on par with the rest of the experience. He brought us slightly warm coffee and tea. No creamer and was distracted. We were the only patrons in the restaurant so I felt it was not a matter of being too busy. The lobster bisque was delicious as well as the mixed beet salad.

We went to James last Saturday night and had a wonderful time. Service was spot on from the hostess to the server. The food was wonderful. We got the mussels and little neck clams app and the cheese board. The bacon jam was the jam! The meat loaf was incredible and the James burger hit the spot. The desert was the perfect size and tasty. The house made whip cream was a perfect compliment to the desserts. Perf ed CT meal all around.

We held our daughter’s Baptism here a little over a month ago and we were so impressed with this restaurant! It was our first time at the restaurant and the manager as well as the staff were extremely friendly and the service was superb! Organizing the event with Matt was very easy and everyone did a wonderful job in making sure we had a great experience. All of our guests loved the food and had a wonderful time. We will definitely be recommending James Resaurant to all of our family and friends and we’ll surely be dining here again and again!

Overall the James was a great place for an after work drink and meal as recommended on Seated. I came with a group from work go enjoy some happy hour drinks and an assortment of apps before dinner. It was easy to make a reservation here and the ambience was nice - the place has a comfortable but modern feel. There was music but it wasn’t too loud so you could easily have a conversation with your group. My group had everything margaritas, martinis, wine, cocktails, and beer. My cocktail was made well and everyone else enjoyed theirs. We ordered wings, cauliflower, and the spinach artichoke dip as appetizers to share. I love the spinach and artichoke dip. It came with toasted bruschetta bread and the servers always brought more over if we ran out. I had the short rib entree for dinner and I really enjoyed it. The short ribs were cooked well and the sauce was incredible. Overall, it’s worth the stop if you want a good dinner with your co-workers