While I dine out close to 100 nights each year, this is the first time I have ever been compelled to post a review. This past Friday, we hosted a graduation celebration dinner at Chapmans for our family of seven plus the families of our son's friends, for a total of roughly 50 people. We chose Chapman's, primarily because it is off the beaten track, they advertise their ability to accommodate large groups, weddings and banquets and we had eaten there twice before and had enjoyed the experience. We booked the reservation in December, five months in advance and confirmed it with emails. The first bomb dropped a week in advance of the reservation when Tim, the manager, informed us there was no way he could accommodate us. After being reminded of our long-standing reservation, Tim eventually conceded we did have a reservation that he would honor, although he was none too happy about it. To smooth things over, WE offered to pre-order wine and entrees. Tim thought this was a good idea and said he would email us the choices. This email showed up Thursday night at roughly 11:00 pm, less than 24 hours before the meal, with a request that we email back all orders as soon as possible. While it was difficult to track down 50 people for their orders, we were able to email all but a few of the orders the following morning. We arrived as scheduled at 7:30 pm. Soups and salads were brought out at roughly 8:00 pm and randomly placed at various tables, without regard to i) what most people had pre-ordered or ii) the fact that a few people had not placed their orders in advance. The wait staff was generally friendly but at a complete loss as to how to manage all of this. Most of the staff started taking orders at each table so they knew where to place food as things came out of the kitchen. Entrees began to come out almost two and a half hours later. To say it was chaotic would do an injustice to chaos. At one point Tim placed a dinner in front of a guest, who said "this is not what I ordered." Tim responded, loud enough for two tables to hear "I don't give a shit." That pretty well sums up the night. There is not one aspect of the night that Tim did give a shit about. He was angry, mean-spirited and combative and made us feel like unwelcomed guests that were ruining his evening. The night was tense and uneasy, instead of being fun and light-hearted. The food was mediocre at best. Many entrees were room temperature or even cold. There was no attempt whatsoever by management to apologize or smooth things over. As I look now for the first time at various reviews of Chapmans (shame on me), many criticize the atrocious wait for food. If you are planning a large event here, don't ignore these reviews. They are written for good reason. Chapmans is a train wreck and the long waits are only a small portion of the problem.
(1)
Valerie H.
I went to Chapman's with a few friends for Sunday brunch. I didn't know that the only option you could get was the brunch buffet. So, my friends and I were seated in the bar area and were told about how you could get your omelets and pancakes made-to-order. As someone who is lactose intolerant, there were not many options for me. I ended up going with some potatoes with peppers and onions, some fresh fruit, and an omelet made to order. My potatoes were cold and soggy. The fruit salad: pineapple, cantaloup, and red grapes was lackluster. My omelet was made from eggs in a carton and had absolutely no flavor to it. The bill for the buffet was $16. No coffee, no juice, no toast. $16 for crap. I'm glad my company was far superior to the food.
(1)
Jess B.
Holy cow! Do not judge this place by the few bad reviews on here. Chapman's has been around for a long time and it has a reputation for being good. I somehow think that no one bothers to go online and say so because they don't think it needs to be reviewed. In my opinion, I had a great, upscale meal at Chapman's. I still cannot get over the fact that I lived in Bloomington for three years, drove by this place a million times, and never took the time to try it out until about a week before I moved. I am sad it took me so long to try it but I am happy for the delicious meal I had. I think we even went during all the graduation madness, and they still were willing to fit us in and provided excellent customer service and food. My boyfriend and I both had the filet mignon, and it was mouth-wateringly good. They also had an excellent selection of beers and wines to choose from. Do not be fooled by its rather bland exterior. This place is great.
(4)
Steve S.
Besides the Wait Staff... Soup of the day - creamy broccoli cauliflower was very pedestrian. Amish chicken had no taste. Israeli Cous Cous had an "interesting" brown sauce. Spaghetti squash was very fair. Can't believe there could be a worse place in town for the money! Better off with a Big Mac at McDonald's!
(1)
Nicole B.
We are fans of Chapman's- but only when we're not in a hurry... My food has always been consistently delicious (pork tenderloin with yummy sides), but man oh man, quick service is not their specialty. I've been there with 4 people and I've been there with 14 people- and I think it took the same amount of time both times to get our food. -but I'd do it again if I was with the right crew and was in the mood for a long, relaxing dinner with good company.
(4)
Gregg S.
In a town where most restaurants have 20 to 30 reviews, having only one review is telling you something. I just wished I would have listened. We went with a friend who claimed to have a good experience, he must have gone on an off night. The evening started with a new bartender serving gimlets ordered up, on the rocks; to compound her error when the drinks were returned she simply pour them into a new glasses leaving the party with warm, watery gimlets. The blue cheesecake appetizer served with spinach would have been better served warm and with more blue cheese. Most of the meals were satisfactory, but not outstanding. When our party of eight went to order a second bottle of wine we were twice told that the bottle we selected was out of stock, disappointing for a small wine list. Of course when the bill came the gimlets which we returned were still on the bill. Maybe it was the summer crew that was on in a college town devoid of students and thus their regular staff, but what a disappointment.
(2)
Mindy C.
We had a large group and had called ahead to reserve a room to use for lunch. They were ready for us and the server was quite nice. The menu had a wide variety of options without having a large number of items. Our group had a variety of items from fish tacos to club sandwiches for hot items. We also had at least four different types of salads. Everyone felt the food was good. The only negative I noticed was they do not have a lot of help so the food arrived in shifts rather than all at once. If we had waited for everyone to be served some people would have had cold food. There were not many other people there so would not be a real need for more servers for their walk in guests. I go to a restaurant for the food and the food was good.
(4)
Tom B.
We were very disappointed with this place. many of the items shown on the menu were not available, the excuse being given - we are in transition from one menu to another one. My wife had as chicken dish and said it was like rubber. Was supposed to be on angel hair pasta and it was on very tough egg noodles. Was supposed to have mushrooms - never saw one. I had a filet and asked for it to be medium well and even told them they could butterfly it. They didn't and it came out medium rare. I won't even mention how bad the dessert was. All this for almost $100 (tip included) Stay away from this place.
(1)
Susan D.
I have been a Chapman's promoter for some time. Tonight was probably my last visit. We went for half price wine night. The wine we planned on enjoying,a long with many others, was not available. We waited over thirty minutes for a cup of soup( which arrived cold), a salad, and a sandwich. When the bill arrived (almost impossible to read due to ink quality) prices on the bill differed from menu prices. Such a lovely space-such a disappointing dining experience.
(1)
Jason K.
I remember going to Chapman's frequently 15 years ago for nice dinners with family and friends while I was a student here. Maybe I didn't have as good of an idea about the other food options present in Bloomington, or the standards have decreased since I was in college. The service was 1 stars at best. My wife and I sat down, and no less than 20 times we were passed by a server without anyone checking in on us or filling up our water glasses. This went on for 15 minutes before my wife went and asked the hostess to make sure that we had a server assigned to us. No explanation was really given to us for the delay, but the restaurant was not exceptionally busy at 6 PM on a Friday night. Food was okay, but certainly there are better options for the price you pay at other local restaurants in Bloomington. Nothing spectacular. Wine list did have a wide variety of tastes and prices, so that was helpful. Overall though, would rather spend my money and my time at another establishment.
(2)
Martha S.
Had dinner there recently with my family who all live out of town in metropolis areas. Had absolutely perfect service and every one of us loved our meal. We will be back often !! We have meat eaters and vegans and all were quite satisfied with the available options. The tomato Gouda soup is fabulous!
(5)
David S.
Used to go to Chapmans when I needed an easy in and out dinner on the eastside to avoid the terrible chain restaurants. It was always average to below average all considered; weighing price against service, decor, and food quality. Today's brunch was worth a review because it exceeded expectations. Great selection and well stocked. They have increased the quality of many of the items. The fruit and salad selections were limited, but the rest of the buffet had enough breadth to excuse limited fruit and salad, well priced including the bottomless mimosa. Hopefully this place is on an upswing.
(3)
Decoda H.
Easter brunch was unsatisfactory...when I contacted the manager the following day his excuse was "it was like feeding a herd of cattle"...need I say more ??
(1)
Lisa H.
Great food, great service. Don't miss the brunch. Nice seasonally changing menu, but thankfully tomato-gouda soup always on menu. Excellent place for banquets, business lunch or nice dinner out.
(5)
Martin B.
This place is progressively getting worse. We used to go for brunch on Sundays. We noticed that the items on the brunch were consistently getting more and more odd - like leftovers and crusty looking dishes that have been exposed to the air for too long. This last visit will be our last. We walked into the entry where there should normally be a greeter... We waited there for a few minutes unsure of why we weren't being greeted while a woman stood behind the bar playing with a remote and talking about how the internet was down. Eventually a greeter approached us, as did the woman from behind the counter simultaneously. An awkward duo of mumbling and overexcited "welcome to Chapmans" came from the pair. Neither one asked us how many in our group or began to seat us...so I had to say "two please"...and then this awkward pause as if we weren't in a restaurant. We were asked to wait while she prepared a table for us- there were scads of empty tables all around so it's a bit mysterious what had to be done to prepare it for us. We sat at the table and our greeter said she would "send someone for us." We waited for ten minutes without seeing another person and left. If you're actually a fan of this place you should go now...it appears to be taking its last breath.
(1)
Jocilyn W.
This place couldn't be more overrated. Do yourself a favor and go to Scholars Inn, Michael's Uptown or The Tudor Room. The only reason I gave it a 2 is because our actual waitress was great, the rest of the staff were completely incompetent. We went for Easter Brunch and were sat at a tiny 4 top for 4 adults and a highchair. When we asked for a larger table so we could use the highchair (which was missing a leg), they refused even though there were several larger tables open the entire time we were eating. We also had to talk to 4-5 staff members ending with the manager before someone gave us an answer about switching tables. All while we stood in the middle of the restaurant, baby car seat in hand, hovering over other diners. The food was beyond mediorce. They advertised a pancake station and omlete station, neither of which existed. There were pre-made pancakes sitting on the table with some toppings and none of us ever saw an omlete. Food was just an average buffet. Finally when I needed to change my daughters diaper I realized there was no baby changing station on either the restaurant or event side (How is that even code anyway?!). I had to change her on a couch in the foyer. This place was a total disappointment. Very unhelpful service, medicore food and not at all family friendly.
(2)
Christa R.
Have not been here it was on my list of places to try. I called ahead before my travels about there hours. Was told they were open on Sunday nights. I planned to take family here for dinner after church. Called on Sunday to see if we need reservations and was told they are only opened til 2. Guess I'll never try them out. Maybe they need to get better staff to let people know proper times of business
(1)
Angela S.
We dined here for a group graduation ceremony and the experience was awful. The entire meal was cold, it took far too long to receive service, and little acknowledgement was made for the poor experience. I recommend you spend your money elsewhere and I'm very upset with our time. It tool over 20 minutes to receive water, then to ask the server for more water? Come on. We had good expectations but I am sad to report the 2+ hours we spent there was awful.
Takes Reservations : Yes Delivery : Yes Take-out : No Accepts Credit Cards : Yes Accepts Bitcoin : No Parking : Private Lot Bike Parking : No Wheelchair Accessible : Yes Good for Kids : No Good for Groups : Yes Attire : Casual Ambience : Classy Noise Level : Quiet Alcohol : Full Bar Outdoor Seating : No Wi-Fi : Free Has TV : Yes Waiter Service : Yes Caters : Yes
Kevin C.
While I dine out close to 100 nights each year, this is the first time I have ever been compelled to post a review. This past Friday, we hosted a graduation celebration dinner at Chapmans for our family of seven plus the families of our son's friends, for a total of roughly 50 people. We chose Chapman's, primarily because it is off the beaten track, they advertise their ability to accommodate large groups, weddings and banquets and we had eaten there twice before and had enjoyed the experience. We booked the reservation in December, five months in advance and confirmed it with emails. The first bomb dropped a week in advance of the reservation when Tim, the manager, informed us there was no way he could accommodate us. After being reminded of our long-standing reservation, Tim eventually conceded we did have a reservation that he would honor, although he was none too happy about it. To smooth things over, WE offered to pre-order wine and entrees. Tim thought this was a good idea and said he would email us the choices. This email showed up Thursday night at roughly 11:00 pm, less than 24 hours before the meal, with a request that we email back all orders as soon as possible. While it was difficult to track down 50 people for their orders, we were able to email all but a few of the orders the following morning. We arrived as scheduled at 7:30 pm. Soups and salads were brought out at roughly 8:00 pm and randomly placed at various tables, without regard to i) what most people had pre-ordered or ii) the fact that a few people had not placed their orders in advance. The wait staff was generally friendly but at a complete loss as to how to manage all of this. Most of the staff started taking orders at each table so they knew where to place food as things came out of the kitchen. Entrees began to come out almost two and a half hours later. To say it was chaotic would do an injustice to chaos. At one point Tim placed a dinner in front of a guest, who said "this is not what I ordered." Tim responded, loud enough for two tables to hear "I don't give a shit." That pretty well sums up the night. There is not one aspect of the night that Tim did give a shit about. He was angry, mean-spirited and combative and made us feel like unwelcomed guests that were ruining his evening. The night was tense and uneasy, instead of being fun and light-hearted. The food was mediocre at best. Many entrees were room temperature or even cold. There was no attempt whatsoever by management to apologize or smooth things over. As I look now for the first time at various reviews of Chapmans (shame on me), many criticize the atrocious wait for food. If you are planning a large event here, don't ignore these reviews. They are written for good reason. Chapmans is a train wreck and the long waits are only a small portion of the problem.
(1)Valerie H.
I went to Chapman's with a few friends for Sunday brunch. I didn't know that the only option you could get was the brunch buffet. So, my friends and I were seated in the bar area and were told about how you could get your omelets and pancakes made-to-order. As someone who is lactose intolerant, there were not many options for me. I ended up going with some potatoes with peppers and onions, some fresh fruit, and an omelet made to order. My potatoes were cold and soggy. The fruit salad: pineapple, cantaloup, and red grapes was lackluster. My omelet was made from eggs in a carton and had absolutely no flavor to it. The bill for the buffet was $16. No coffee, no juice, no toast. $16 for crap. I'm glad my company was far superior to the food.
(1)Jess B.
Holy cow! Do not judge this place by the few bad reviews on here. Chapman's has been around for a long time and it has a reputation for being good. I somehow think that no one bothers to go online and say so because they don't think it needs to be reviewed. In my opinion, I had a great, upscale meal at Chapman's. I still cannot get over the fact that I lived in Bloomington for three years, drove by this place a million times, and never took the time to try it out until about a week before I moved. I am sad it took me so long to try it but I am happy for the delicious meal I had. I think we even went during all the graduation madness, and they still were willing to fit us in and provided excellent customer service and food. My boyfriend and I both had the filet mignon, and it was mouth-wateringly good. They also had an excellent selection of beers and wines to choose from. Do not be fooled by its rather bland exterior. This place is great.
(4)Steve S.
Besides the Wait Staff... Soup of the day - creamy broccoli cauliflower was very pedestrian. Amish chicken had no taste. Israeli Cous Cous had an "interesting" brown sauce. Spaghetti squash was very fair. Can't believe there could be a worse place in town for the money! Better off with a Big Mac at McDonald's!
(1)Nicole B.
We are fans of Chapman's- but only when we're not in a hurry... My food has always been consistently delicious (pork tenderloin with yummy sides), but man oh man, quick service is not their specialty. I've been there with 4 people and I've been there with 14 people- and I think it took the same amount of time both times to get our food. -but I'd do it again if I was with the right crew and was in the mood for a long, relaxing dinner with good company.
(4)Gregg S.
In a town where most restaurants have 20 to 30 reviews, having only one review is telling you something. I just wished I would have listened. We went with a friend who claimed to have a good experience, he must have gone on an off night. The evening started with a new bartender serving gimlets ordered up, on the rocks; to compound her error when the drinks were returned she simply pour them into a new glasses leaving the party with warm, watery gimlets. The blue cheesecake appetizer served with spinach would have been better served warm and with more blue cheese. Most of the meals were satisfactory, but not outstanding. When our party of eight went to order a second bottle of wine we were twice told that the bottle we selected was out of stock, disappointing for a small wine list. Of course when the bill came the gimlets which we returned were still on the bill. Maybe it was the summer crew that was on in a college town devoid of students and thus their regular staff, but what a disappointment.
(2)Mindy C.
We had a large group and had called ahead to reserve a room to use for lunch. They were ready for us and the server was quite nice. The menu had a wide variety of options without having a large number of items. Our group had a variety of items from fish tacos to club sandwiches for hot items. We also had at least four different types of salads. Everyone felt the food was good. The only negative I noticed was they do not have a lot of help so the food arrived in shifts rather than all at once. If we had waited for everyone to be served some people would have had cold food. There were not many other people there so would not be a real need for more servers for their walk in guests. I go to a restaurant for the food and the food was good.
(4)Tom B.
We were very disappointed with this place. many of the items shown on the menu were not available, the excuse being given - we are in transition from one menu to another one. My wife had as chicken dish and said it was like rubber. Was supposed to be on angel hair pasta and it was on very tough egg noodles. Was supposed to have mushrooms - never saw one. I had a filet and asked for it to be medium well and even told them they could butterfly it. They didn't and it came out medium rare. I won't even mention how bad the dessert was. All this for almost $100 (tip included) Stay away from this place.
(1)Susan D.
I have been a Chapman's promoter for some time. Tonight was probably my last visit. We went for half price wine night. The wine we planned on enjoying,a long with many others, was not available. We waited over thirty minutes for a cup of soup( which arrived cold), a salad, and a sandwich. When the bill arrived (almost impossible to read due to ink quality) prices on the bill differed from menu prices. Such a lovely space-such a disappointing dining experience.
(1)Jason K.
I remember going to Chapman's frequently 15 years ago for nice dinners with family and friends while I was a student here. Maybe I didn't have as good of an idea about the other food options present in Bloomington, or the standards have decreased since I was in college. The service was 1 stars at best. My wife and I sat down, and no less than 20 times we were passed by a server without anyone checking in on us or filling up our water glasses. This went on for 15 minutes before my wife went and asked the hostess to make sure that we had a server assigned to us. No explanation was really given to us for the delay, but the restaurant was not exceptionally busy at 6 PM on a Friday night. Food was okay, but certainly there are better options for the price you pay at other local restaurants in Bloomington. Nothing spectacular. Wine list did have a wide variety of tastes and prices, so that was helpful. Overall though, would rather spend my money and my time at another establishment.
(2)Martha S.
Had dinner there recently with my family who all live out of town in metropolis areas. Had absolutely perfect service and every one of us loved our meal. We will be back often !! We have meat eaters and vegans and all were quite satisfied with the available options. The tomato Gouda soup is fabulous!
(5)David S.
Used to go to Chapmans when I needed an easy in and out dinner on the eastside to avoid the terrible chain restaurants. It was always average to below average all considered; weighing price against service, decor, and food quality. Today's brunch was worth a review because it exceeded expectations. Great selection and well stocked. They have increased the quality of many of the items. The fruit and salad selections were limited, but the rest of the buffet had enough breadth to excuse limited fruit and salad, well priced including the bottomless mimosa. Hopefully this place is on an upswing.
(3)Decoda H.
Easter brunch was unsatisfactory...when I contacted the manager the following day his excuse was "it was like feeding a herd of cattle"...need I say more ??
(1)Lisa H.
Great food, great service. Don't miss the brunch. Nice seasonally changing menu, but thankfully tomato-gouda soup always on menu. Excellent place for banquets, business lunch or nice dinner out.
(5)Martin B.
This place is progressively getting worse. We used to go for brunch on Sundays. We noticed that the items on the brunch were consistently getting more and more odd - like leftovers and crusty looking dishes that have been exposed to the air for too long. This last visit will be our last. We walked into the entry where there should normally be a greeter... We waited there for a few minutes unsure of why we weren't being greeted while a woman stood behind the bar playing with a remote and talking about how the internet was down. Eventually a greeter approached us, as did the woman from behind the counter simultaneously. An awkward duo of mumbling and overexcited "welcome to Chapmans" came from the pair. Neither one asked us how many in our group or began to seat us...so I had to say "two please"...and then this awkward pause as if we weren't in a restaurant. We were asked to wait while she prepared a table for us- there were scads of empty tables all around so it's a bit mysterious what had to be done to prepare it for us. We sat at the table and our greeter said she would "send someone for us." We waited for ten minutes without seeing another person and left. If you're actually a fan of this place you should go now...it appears to be taking its last breath.
(1)Jocilyn W.
This place couldn't be more overrated. Do yourself a favor and go to Scholars Inn, Michael's Uptown or The Tudor Room. The only reason I gave it a 2 is because our actual waitress was great, the rest of the staff were completely incompetent. We went for Easter Brunch and were sat at a tiny 4 top for 4 adults and a highchair. When we asked for a larger table so we could use the highchair (which was missing a leg), they refused even though there were several larger tables open the entire time we were eating. We also had to talk to 4-5 staff members ending with the manager before someone gave us an answer about switching tables. All while we stood in the middle of the restaurant, baby car seat in hand, hovering over other diners. The food was beyond mediorce. They advertised a pancake station and omlete station, neither of which existed. There were pre-made pancakes sitting on the table with some toppings and none of us ever saw an omlete. Food was just an average buffet. Finally when I needed to change my daughters diaper I realized there was no baby changing station on either the restaurant or event side (How is that even code anyway?!). I had to change her on a couch in the foyer. This place was a total disappointment. Very unhelpful service, medicore food and not at all family friendly.
(2)Christa R.
Have not been here it was on my list of places to try. I called ahead before my travels about there hours. Was told they were open on Sunday nights. I planned to take family here for dinner after church. Called on Sunday to see if we need reservations and was told they are only opened til 2. Guess I'll never try them out. Maybe they need to get better staff to let people know proper times of business
(1)Angela S.
We dined here for a group graduation ceremony and the experience was awful. The entire meal was cold, it took far too long to receive service, and little acknowledgement was made for the poor experience. I recommend you spend your money elsewhere and I'm very upset with our time. It tool over 20 minutes to receive water, then to ask the server for more water? Come on. We had good expectations but I am sad to report the 2+ hours we spent there was awful.
(1)