Chilam Balam

I ignored the reviews and thought there was no way rude staff would impact my experience. I was wrong. I took my dad here while he was visiting and was embarrassed by the time we left. I never write reviews, but honestly the experience was such a buzz kill that I feel people should know before spending time or taking visitors here. Below are the major encounters that affected the experience. 1. BYOB Rules (?) - waiter would not open our bottle of wine until we ordered (so couldn't have a drink while reviewing the menu). Odd, but whatever. Then, we ordered two entrees to share. The waiter said he would not open our bottle unless we ordered 4 entrees. We explained we had apps down the street while waiting for a table and weren't hungry enough for 4. We had to negotiate and ended up ordering 3 entrees (which he got approval from a manager to do so.. a bit dramatic). 2. Rude about my allergy - I'm allergic to shrimp. I read the menu carefully and checked yelp pics to avoid items containing shrimp . One dish, that had no mention of shrimp on the menu, came out with several shrimp on top. I told the waiter I was allergic and asked if we could just simply have the avo top removed. He acted like it was a huge deal and said "it's your responsibility to tell your waiter if you have an allergy". Fine, I should have mentioned it. But having a waiter blame me was new. He also had to get manager approval to remake the dish without shrimp. The manager came out to our table and say to me "so what else are you allergic to in addition to shrimp" as if I was being difficult. He then made me go through the menu with him so he could say what did/did not have shrimp (in case it wasn't mentioned). He continued to make rude remarks as we went through the menu 3. When we got to the restaurant, the waiter made a point to say everything had to be ordered at once so they could "pace out the food" for an experience. After Byob and shrimp-gate, all three (3) items we ordered were delivered to our table at once - there was hardly room for anything. They also delivered the check with our meal. So basically saying they wanted us out ASAP.This was my second time here, and I will say the first time was fine - no issues. However, both times the food has been pretty mid. There's tons of cool spots on broadway, would recommend you spend your money elsewhere.

Okay, soooooooo...wanted to love this place but some strange things happened. There were four of us and we had three bottles of wine. We were immediately told we can't have three bottles for four people. That was one bottle too many. Alright. Then we ordered about 5 menu items with the idea that we would hang on to the menu because we would probably want to order more. We were then told we didn't order enough food and could only open one bottle of wine. I'm sorry, WHAT. So I asked the server if this information was on the website (I wanted to know if I missed it, we would have planned differently or gone somewhere else, wasn't trying to be difficult) and he responded..."I'M NOT HERE TO ARGUE WITH YOU, YOU CAN SPEAK TO THE OWNER." He repeated similar a few times. It was awkward. Food was tasty but it did not compensate for the weird interaction with the server. Decor was also pretty rough, haphazard with single lightbulbs just hanging out and the chairs were pretty uncomfortable.

Food is fantastic and the desserts are unique and yummy! Service is great, everyone who worked there is welcoming and seems like they love what they do. However the restaurant is small and I wasn't totally comfortable seating wise (I'm tall). I'll definitely keep going back, we love this spot. Protect it at all cost!!

Chilam Balam is a quaint restaurant with an almost speakeasy vibe. Pretty pricey, but good food. I would skip the flan (see image below, lol)

Such a hidden gem in Chicago. I love Chilam Bilam with a group of friends before a night out. We came here and did the chef's menu and we got so many delicious items. From the guac, to the taco board, to the ceviche, the place is awesome and the staff is great too. It is BYOB so bring your own tequila and you can mix in anything that you'd like! Would recommend doing this and then going to the laugh factory for a show down the street.

The food is delicious, but don't expect an incredibly friendly environment. We got lucky without a reservation, but it is a small place so I'd recommend making one. Down the stairs off the street, so kind of hard to find. It is also BYOB. Our service was perfectly fine, but it wasn't that busy. It was the most unique style of Mexican food I've ever had, with very fresh ingredients and a really interesting mix of flavors. Everything that came was hot and very tasty. Couldn't say enough good things about the food. Not cheap, but you definitely pay for great quality food.

We had a party of 10 and they made it so easy for us when it came to ordering where they essentially chose our menu and we all ate family style, allowing us to try each of the dishes. Each dish was flavorful and well balanced and was the perfect amount of food. I now wish I knew what we ate, but honestly everything served was delicious.We of course, saved some room for dessert and ordered one of each, which luckily we all had our favorites and scooped up the last bites. We enjoyed great food to celebrate a great friend we lost and the owner Soraya and her team were so attentive and even shared some stories with us that it was the perfect evening to celebrate friendship. We will be back!

First visit and we won't be back. Things began on a sour note with a gruff greeting from the hostess coupled with a dismissive, unresponsive attitude. Would that table work? Nope. (Points to different table in mostly empty space.) Mind turning down the music a bit? Shakes head. (Sound continues to blare.) All followed by BYOB rules, payment restrictions etc. That said, the server was very pleasant and the food itself was fine if quite ordinary. Bottom line is it did not compensate for the weird, punitive vibe. PS The place became quite crowded and lively as the evening progressed and there does seem to be a loyal neighborhood following. Good on them - but not for us!

Everything at Chilam Balam was incredible. The service, the food, the ambiance, the attention to detail, all of it. We did the Chef's Choice for dinner and it was absolutely the right way to go. They brought us a beautiful selection of items and all of us were amazed. The pork Milanese was an absolute standout, as were the roasted Brussels sprouts. The coconut passionfruit mousse was an incredible finish. Make plans to go to this special spot!

This place deserves to have a way higher rating. Maybe those who know don't want you to know about this spot lol.Try anything that includes their salsas, they are so good.We were just in San Francisco aka lots of good Mexican food. Even so, chilam balam easily wows. They showcase a different style of Mexican food and flavor (earthy, rich, balanced.) The Plato Placero this season was the brisket with salsas (I would live in that salsa macha if I could), Oaxaca cheese, plantains, avocado, tomatoes, tostadas, and lettuces.We didn't have a reservation but got some spots on the patio. The staff were attentive even though we were outside. Most places may check in and refill waters just once, not here.