Chicago Rib Shack

When I first heard that Chicago Rib Shack was coming back to London, I was filled with excitement. As a kid, my cousin and I would be taken here on special occasions and spoilt rotten by our parents. The ribs were always fantastic and service came with a smile which made returning to the restaurant an inevitable pleasure.

The day I went back (a good 25 years after my last visit) was beyond disappointing. From the minute we walked in, staff were rude and disinterested and the despite the restauant being only a quarter full, we were given the worst possible table crammed against a wall at the far end of the restaurant. We asked to sit on one of the dozens of other tables that were unoccupied, watching other parties of 2 enjoying much larger tables and we were told that they were “About to get very busy”. What? At 2:45pm?

Our starters were a great source of hilarity, with 4 ‘Super skins’ potato skins topped with cheese, bacon and chilli at £7.95, when you can get the EXACT same potato skin in the non-super variety as in addition to cheese, bacon and chillie is at ‘no extra charge’ anyway and you even get spring onions too… All for £1 less! Idiots. Its this kind of incompetency that makes you realise you are never coming back. The potato skins were limp, greasy, re-heated wedges of flabby, bland potatoes. The organic buffalo chicken wings were just as bad. Skin wasn't remotely crispy, sauce was bizarre and not like the usual ‘buffalo’ marinade and even trying to get the waitresses attention was ridiculous and once we did manage to get their attention, our concerns over the food were met with a vacant, luke-warm response. We quickly decided to cut our losses, cancel our mains and get the hell out of there. Needless to say, we did not pay service charge (which prompted our server to balk) but when service and food is THIS bad, you are better off leaving mid-meal and popping into any of the other eatieries in the area for a greatly improved dining experience.

I was surprised to see so many bad reviews on here for Chicago Rib shack. A friend and I went for an after-work dinner here last week and were thoroughly impressed with both the food and service. The atmosphere was perhaps a little quiet, but as we were dining some time before 6pm this hardly mattered. Overall, fantastic for food and a suitable restaurant for professionals and families alike.

Went to the CRS last night with my 11 year old (his birthday), my wife and 2 of his brothers (aged 12 and 16). We were unanimous in our opinion – it was the worst birthday meal we had had…ever!
Admittedly we were early (6.15pm) but the place was lifeless. Our waitress couldn't have delivered her rehearsed lines in a more disinterested way if she tried.

Food was overpriced (ok this is Knightsbridge) but if you charge a fiver for a Caesar salad it shouldn't taste sour, look grey and be the size of a small sideplate.

Specifically:

Chicken wings in their signature BBQ sauce were just under a pound each and the sauce was almost pure sugar. Inedible.
Half a BBQ chicken was £15.75 and was just enough to satisfy the 11 year old. Half a very small chicken.
Ribs were ok but not very juicy – I felt they had been sitting around for a bit and had started to dry out.
£14.95 for a burger. The Gourmet Burger Company have set a standard for burgers and the CRS failed to match it by quite a long way.

In all £73 for 1 burger, 1 half rack, 1 half chicken, 2 fries, 1 Caesar salad, 8 wings , 1 diet coke and 1 Peroni.

We were tempted in by their half price offers but the list is very limited.

My wife and I had been to its previous incarnation and were looking forward to going back.

What a dreadful disappointment and there is no way we will ever be tempted to repeat last night's awful meal. It scored no points on atmosphere, service, quality and value. You can do much better than this if your'e looking for the authentic American diner type experience.

Our son's birthday meal will be remebered for all the wrong reasons. He coloured in the pig and handed it in- as a prize they gave him a voucher for a free kid's meal which he threw away as soon as he got outside. Enough said.

went out with a group of friends, thought we would try this before we went to cienma, blimey what a load of rubbish, should have gone mcdonalds!! ribs for which im told they are famous for were truly terrible, really tough and tasteless, i can honestly say the worst ribs i have ever had anywhere, steaks where tough and not good either, but i suppose it was our own faults, this place is perfect for clueless tourists who are used to this crap! service was bad to we had to wait at least 10-15 minutes before our drinks order was taken. Thankgod they do doggy bags, they were full to the brim!! at least my four legged friend enjoyed her meal!! but thats just greed!!

I was able to get a table last minute for a large group, and was pleasantly surprised that we manage to get their private table. The service was great, very quick and efficient. The food was pretty standard – although the chicken wings and the ribs were really tasty. I would definitely book this again for a large group.

This American themed eatery has what you would expect from a Rib Shack plus more as the flair and character of the place seems grand yet inviting. The many touches to the restaurant stand out including the pig motifs, the stained-glass window and not forgetting the bibs for ribs.

The food is generous boasting large portions with a selection of meats other than ribs including a range of fish, chicken and salads. This venue is more suited to the meat-eater offering a small choice of vegetrian. Dishes such as the onion loaf are better shared as it is much larger than you might expect, briskets are very flavoursome and ribs do warrant bib wearing.

The drinks and wines are typically priced but the list includes some imported beers which are worth a try.

Service is good and the staff have the same flair to suit the place. Very attentive and not shy to fasten the ribs to you.

Chicago Rib Shack is a great place to start a night, recommended for a pre-meal to the Royal Albert Hall with the bus stop directly outside. Would be suitable for parties, families and couples especially with the more intimate seating downstairs with private areas.

Upon entering, we asked to sit in the bar, but were ushered to the basement where we found other tables of Americans. Is that where all Americans must eat?? The beef brisket and pulled pork were swimming in sauce, the corn must have been cooking since morning and the potatoes were hard. But this was all minor compared to THE MOUSE that ran across the floor as we were paying. The manager did NOTHING but say it was due to the nearby construction. Who cares WHY it was there; the fact is that it was there and one must then ask, “How many others are there??!!”
Save your money. This place is overpriced and the food and atmosphere are a terrible disappointment.

Went there last week 8/09, fan of the old place and hoping for a reprise.
First course, one quarter of iceberg lettuce with good blue cheese dressing, surprising very good,
Ribs for both us, very poor, had baby rack and st Louis ribs respectively- very disappointing, barbecue sauce was foul,
Onion loaf- the thing we most remembered from the old place was swimming in oil and my last bite was a chunk of quartz in the disk, showed the manager who deducted that off the bill, lucky I did not lose a filling.

What a disappointment- nostalgia ain’t what it used to be, try the chilli ribs in harvesters or go to Tony Roma’s in the states, this was very poor.

This is not a child friendly restuarant and the staff were rude and unhelpful, even a written complaint did not receive a reply. The food was great though.

I have a bit of a thing for places like these, with Big Easy in mind. I realise that I won't be treated to a ***-type dinner, but that's obviously not the reason for going here either. With the Rib Shack, I find it's been fun and very buzzy place (unfortunately with its fair share of kids) to go to in the weekend evenings. I was once there for a weekday and we were the only ones in the place, and with a dining room like that, you're almost expecting an echo when you order. So the varying atmosphere would be my first take-away.

The food is very straight forward and being a meat and barbecue fan myself, I have never been disappointed. Sure, it's messy (everyone's offered bibs!), and not very classy, so if that's your aim, there's no reason to visit. But if you're after a fun evening with friends, a lot of beer and meat, then this is the place. The big minus is, compared to Big Easy for instance, that it takes a lot of people to fill the place, but as I mentioned, it usually seems to be full in the weekends.

The 5 of us were in a kind of rush for a pre-show meal at the Albert Hall and were served swiftly and efficiently by an English speaking waitress, in a very pleasant atmosphere with an LED mirror for company. Food was outstanding, feeding 8,12,and 13 year old kids and 2 very happy adults. The atmosphere was great even though only 1/2 full (or was it 1/2 empty!!!). Would rush to go there again and thoroughly recommend it – spent £70 on the 5 of us with drinks, main meal and dessert…great value.

This was my first visit to The Chicago Rib Shack and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the whol experience. I had heard various tales of woe and many of joy so I decided to take the chance whilst I was in town to head over and see for myself.
I was made very welcome from the outset with lively and enthusiastic greeting on the door, although I had to wait a short while for my table I took this as a sign of good quality.
The food was excellent and to my likiing, its messy and everyone wears bibs which is a novel idea.
All in all it was a very good experience and we will be returning on NYE for the bug event.