Norman’s Bistro

I can’t tell you how the food was because no one would take our order! An hour later someone came to wait on us only to inform us the kitchen was closed although we sat there waiting to order and asked several waiters. It took us a forty minutes to get drinks.
The owner was there and we informed him of our issue and he dismissed our complaints about the service and walked away and said it was nothing he could do.
The one star is for the space and the the location, nice dining area and patio.
Good luck if you choose to dine here!

Forget the restaurant. Come for the bar!

Came here on the suggestion of my taxi driver. They have live jazz but we came too early! We arrived at 4pm. The space is cute & clean. Nice artwork, the service is laid back, not rude but also not smiley. As for the food, we ordered the seafood jumbo and stir fry. I wasn’t really feeling either dish. Lots of sauce as if it comes in a tub, generic. I wish it had less sauce so I could taste the real seasoning, which is why I gave it a 3 star. All in all this may be a spot to go to at night.

Good food and service.
Really like the pork chop and the seafood gumbo.
Check your bill at the end and with groups be sure to say separate bills in the beginning to save a LOT of time.

Worst, most unreliable business ever! I over a year trying to get an honest, consistent quote. The owner said the quote his chef and manager gave me was too good – never mind the fact that his voicemail we always fell and when I would call and leave messages at the restaurant, he pretty much never called back. This caused extreme stress and anxiety in my wedding planning process, and if I could do it all over again, I would have given up on him much sooner. Brides and all sane people, beware!

I just had brunch here and it was WONDERFUL. I ordered the Caribbean lamb with veggies and a side of sautéed spinach, with a martini. All of the flavors matched well together. I hate I did not get a picture (I was so hungry). The meal came with Coke slaw, a garden salad, four lamb chops and a side. More than enough food to have left overs. There was just the right amount is kick (spice). The atmosphere was calm and relaxing (but hey it was noon on a Friday). I will be back to this gem on the south side. I was very impressed as a first time visiter. Oh did I mention the serve cocktails.

The house gumbo was delicious. I visited on a Friday evening and they had a DJ and move tables to make a small dance floor. It was a busy night but our server did his best to serve us. They could’ve used one or two more servers for the crowd. Overall I would go back again I would like to try their brunch menu.

The staff isn’t very attentive. It took up to 10+ minutes before someone came over to greet us. We had to wait awhile for drinks because the bartenders were celebrating another staff member’s bday. The food is over priced and not spectacular enough to cost so much. I’m glad I tried it because it is a neighborhood restaurant, but I don’t think I’ll be going back.

Norman’s Bistro catered our wedding last September and did a wonderful job. They were very responsive to our priorities for vegetarian entrees and worked with us to meet our budget. We had jerk chicken, roast pork loin, and Chef Robert prepared a vegetarian jambalaya at my request that had delicious fried plantains in it. I really enjoyed the bourbon gravy sauce that he served with the pork loin. I especially recommend the creamed potatoes and yams as sides. The food was all tasty and served appropriately hot with great attention from the servers. Lovely presentation of the salads.

Honest review (not good) the food is very basic n over priced picture if mcdonalds charged 17 bucks for a burger. The service was horrible she was so un attentive the reason conversing with coworkers. The worst part is we could see them so we literally had to wait for her for everything went like we were at the dmv its a good party spot for older people because in the back the party was poppin. The music was really hip really was good music. I would never come again n i wouldnt recommend this place to my worst enemies
Chicken gumbo: it was surprisingly good u could really taste the holy trinity. There were big pieces of chicken. It needed salt though seems like they forgot to put salt. Adding hot sauce or heat would have made it taste better
Yams: I thought it was gonna be with pecans and marshmallows and really good sadly its jus plain yams with sugar really a disappointment to plain to basic
Corn pudding: this had no flavor at all its like they made a pudding n just added corn in it i was really disappointed thought it was gonna be like county bbq sadly mistaken
Caribbean duck: this was really delicous the sauce was to die for really pared perfectly with the duck. The problem was the duck was overcooked so it was really tuff. Then the skin wasnt crispy come on really also could have benefited from a lil salt n heat
Pot pie: isnt a pot pie more like biscuits n seafood gravy. The gravy was really cheezy but i didnt like this at all jus for the price was expecting to be wow n its so basic. This was a complete fail. The seafood was cooked good though. The biscuits old n hard

But am I going to come back?
Came in on a Saturday a little before 5. Live band playing for private party in the front. Had to sit in the back bar area.
Seafood Chili — It was a great taste to me and this is coming from someone that don’t like soup/​stew kind of dishes. Food was warm but we had a few bites, when waiter came out and after my aunt complained about it the waiter sorry” was all we got instead of a warm dish. When you think of chili you think pepper and beans. Not in this dish. It wasn’t a big problem for me as it was good just not what I thought I’ll be getting.
Shrimp, Chicken and Lobster Gumbo — After telling my waiter I would like to see some steam coming from my dish. It was delivered as promise. Being that this was the more expensive dish. I honestly liked my «warm» seafood chili more. I will say it was the right amount of protein as it was plenty to choose from. It was good quality food overall
The Great Duck Burger — Not my dish only had one bite… my thoughts «that’s a good $ 16 gyro burger» (topped with a Greek cucumber sauce.)
I’m so struggling with this rating… the food 5 stars the décor 5 stars service 3.5 stars… yet I’m giving it 3 stars… Math wasn’t my favorite subject in school.
Reading the reviews based on price, is kinda of funny and interesting but these two quotes from Mary S. & Brianna A. sums up what I think of this place based on price alone.
«I don’t think gumbo should be $ 26 though I don’t even spend that much for steak lol,» & «At first, I was put off by the menu prices,…I can truly say that Norman’s menu is worth the prices»
My gumbo was $ 27 (and on the website it currently says $ 25) but I don’t feel like I’m dropping the review down 3 stars because of the price. It’s just not a food experience I feel like I need to re-​live over and over again. If I lived closer I would come hear, but don’t want to go through the 45min drive to get hear. but I’m willing to drive 4 hours to St Louis for ribs because THAT was a five star experience to me.

WOW! The food here is amazing! I’m kind of bummed that I’ve only learned about it recently, but then again, it’s better than late than never. I dined at Norman’s this past weekend and I really enjoyed myself. The food was delicious (I had the Seafood Chili) and the drinks were strong and flavorful. I had two! At first, I was put off by the menu prices because I’ve gone to some restaurants and been completely underwhelmed by the seasonings and taste of the food, despite the expensive ingredients. I can truly say that Norman’s menu is worth the prices. The food is filling, tasty, and prepared very well. The only issue our group experienced was the slow wait staff. Speed of service is definitely not an important factor at Norman’s. Other than that, I honestly cannot complain. Norman even stopped by our table and invited us to come back for their holiday celebration. I plan to definitely be in attendance!

I was excited to try this restaurant after seeing it on Check Please! Went for a late lunch on Sunday with 3 others and sadly, we were all very disappointed in the food and the space. Most of the dishes lacked flavor (Gumbo, Cajun Catfish) or had flavors that did not work well together (Cranberry Salmon). The yams were good but corn muffins were dry and flavorless, coleslaw was watery and overly sweet, and most of the brunch buffet looked unappetizing. Definitely overpriced given the lackluster food and less than classy ambience.

This food is soooo good. I decided to stop by for breakfast and had the pancake breakfast. Food was fresh, homemade and seasoned well. This is my new breakfast spot. I’m leaving the other restaurant around the corner.
I can’t wait to come back

Prior to coming here, I’d read several reviews, watched food critic shows and had referrals from friends. I must say we were beyond disappointed in the service, space and food.
We were half greeted by a young hostess that was clearly overwhelmed and did not smile or make us feel welcome. They were obviously short staffed and we were underserved because the wait staff was being stretched beyond what they could handle.
The Trolley Tour proved to be overwhelming to this establishment. The desserts ordered were Peach Cobbler and Salted Caramel Cake both of which were returned after 1 bite. The crust on the cobbler was moist and soft and lacked flavor, the cake tasted as if it had been frozen too long and had an old taste.
Hopefully…in the near future, things will get better. Customer Service training is definitely a recommendation.

I’ve been experiencing some great burgers across a few states and have to say the blue burger was amazing, and is a contender for one of the best.

Only thing memorable to me was the gumbo, which although was good, as not worth the price tag that they have attached. Reason why this review is so low is that the burger that I got which was supposed to be duck… was actually just ground up duck like a normal burger. Couldn’t even tell if it was duck… maybe it wasn’t.
Second reason was the girl got the snapper and it had the biggest fishy smell and taste I have ever witnessed at a restaurant. Maybe I’m being harsh because Chicago doesn’t have access to fresh seafood? Either way, won’t be coming back.

I went here for brunch with high hopes and was disappointed. I’m going to blame part of this on myself. My love of breakfast had me ordering the pancake platter. I was looking forward to having sweet potato pancakes for the first time, but it was nothing special. The potatoes that came on the side were bland, but tasted okay once doused in hot sauce and salt. Eggs were bland as well.
My friend ordered the biscuits and gravy platter. It came with steak on top which she said was overcooked and her biscuits were dry.
Now…this is classified as a Brazilian restaurant, so I probably should have ordered something else versus going the normal breakfast route. I plan on coming back in the near future to try more of there main entrée items. Also note service was fast although when we first got there it wasn’t that packed. No complaints about service though.

There were quite a few diners in the main area, but still enough seats such that I didn’t have to worry about people sitting on top of me.
Homemade yeast rolls. Garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Seafood chili. Homemade corn muffins. Chicken, shrimp, and lobster gumbo. Salted caramel cake.

Realizing how restaurants tend to fill up quickly for evening dinner on the weekends, I decided to visit Norman’s Bistro during the mid afternoon on a Saturday. There were quite a few diners in the main area, but still enough seats such that I didn’t have to worry about people sitting on top of me.
Homemade yeast rolls. Garden salad with raspberry vinaigrette. Seafood chili. Homemade corn muffins. Chicken, shrimp, and lobster gumbo. Salted caramel cake.
I have no extensive review. The service was laid back and the food was damn good. I like the fact that the bread was homemade rather than brought in from a bakery. You can tell by the texture of fresh, baked bread. The seafood chili and gumbo were full of flavour. Having been to New Orleans, I am accustomed to any dishes with a roux base being spicy, but the full flavour of the dishes at Norman’s Bistro made up for the lack of pepper in the chili and gumbo. The salted caramel cake, I do believe, may have come from a bakery. It reminded me of the dobo cake I’ve had at Julius Meinl.
I shall have to return again to sample some other menu items. I have a feeling the restaurant can pack out after 5:00, so it will be another Saturday afternoon excursion. It will be worth it.