I recently stumbled upon this restaurant and from they outside patio it looked inviting. Upon entering we realized that it was actually a nightclub that runs as a restaurant during the day. It was empty and we selected to sit in a booth. I noticed that the booths were not clean and either had ripped seating or stained with who knows what. I decided to still give them a chance and try the Colombian cuisine. I ordered a bandera paisa, empanadas, and a margarita. The margarita was terrible, the food was ok. The chicken empanada was by far the best I've had and I've tried a few other places, the beef empanada was bland. The bandera paisa looked to be a small portion for $22, but it tasted good. The sausage was a little salty but decent, beans were just okay, the steak was perfectly prepared and tasted great, the egg was perfect, the rice was good, it came with 1/4 of an avocado that was good. The plantano maduros were 2 slices good. They chicharron was tasty but parts were so hard that I worked about breaking a tooth. My friend ordered the breaded chicken breast and it came with fries, salad, and rice. They enjoyed it. They also requested water and that came in a bottle at a charge, so no free water here. The restroom also had no paper towels for drying your hands. Also, the waitress never came back after bringing the food which was odd. Overall, the ambiance and customer service need improvement but the food is ok. read more

La Gozadera Restaurant & Bar - a red couch and red walls - Colombian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Every so often, you find a place where the food tastes delicious and customer service is remarkable, La Gozadera is the place. Sory, who served me during my last visit, remembered where I sat and exactly what I ordered. How cool is that?! Our empanadas had a flaky crust, stuffed with seasoned meat and veggies served hot just the way I like it. The cassava? Sweet and fried. Enough said! The cornbread with pork belly and queso were out of this world. We opted for the parrilla mixta as the main entree since both my friend and I are carnivores. The various meats were juicy and cooked perfectly. Sory provided with excellent service again. I simply love this place. read more

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This is a great place to visit. The food was fantastic, people are super nice. Loved the churros. A bit old but but overall a great place. A bit pricey but drinks are great too. Can't wait to go back . read more

Ordered a late night takeout from this place around 9:30 PM. Used Uber eats and was appreciative of the fast delivery! I got Bandeja Paisa as my meal. For those that don't know, it usually consists of rice, beans, plantains, chicharron, flank steak, avocado, and a arepa. Sometimes it includes a chorizo as well. So I got all of that and it was still warm when it arrived. The chicharron was delicious and the pork melted in your mouth. Literally my favorite guilty pleasure. Rice and beans were alright. Beans didn't have too strong of a flavor, and that was disappointing. Plaintains were juicy and delicious! Arepa was one of the stars. Usually they are flavorless but this one had a nice crunch and a sweeter taste. In the salsa it was . I was disappointed with the steak. It was tough and it was so small! Usually I'm use to a stip of flank steak but this was literally the size of my Palm. Disappointing. I don't like chorizo but my partner said it was good with a spicy kick! read more

This place is AMAZING! Very clean and relaxing ambience, I came into the restaurant one day and ordered the grilled chicken breast with rice and salad on the side. OMG it was so delicious I ate the whole plate the chicken was cooked to perfection and omg the side salad with the house salad dressing is to die for! I also got more plates with a lot of different kinda of meat! Oh also don't Forget to get the Mojito! If you want to get loose and feeling good you have to get the mojito! I would totally recommend this restaurant to all my friends and family and the owner is very sweet and friendly :) read more

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NO INTEGRITY, NOT UPFRONT ON COST, LIARS REGARDING PERSONAL SECURITY, NON APOLOGETIC, INEXPERIENCED, AKA HORRIBLE JUDGES OF CHARACTER. Waitstaff CLAIMS to guard your drink at entrance of bathroom bc drinks are not allowed in bathroom(unusual, but didn't bother me). Upon leaving bathroom, no one was standing by drinks as promised! I asked if my drink could be replaced, they claimed it was being watched from a distance ...REFUSED w excuses. I explained that it wasn't fair that I trusted them as I was not allowed to guard my own drink and had no one else to, THEY ARGUED!  NO APOLOGY for their mistake, and EVENTUALLY, 10 min. later at my 2nd attempt for empathy, replaced my drink w a bad attitude and while taking the menu away ! IT'S ABOUT INTEGRITY! Upon paying, yet another INJUSTICE! I was informed of their $10 minimum. It was not on the menu, I was not verbally informed and there were no physical signs announcing this. I kindly suggested they fairly warn customers and again they argued that they shouldn't have to bc "ALL places have a $10 minumum." As I kindly shared that MANY BARS, PUBS AND RESTAURANTS DON'T, the bartender, like the waitress, condescendingly said," like McDonalds?" Reaveling their shelteredness. QUE ATREVIDO(how shamelessly rude). They proceeded to make faces to each other in front of me as I paid....MALA GENTE Y EQUIVOCADA. I came to enjoy and support my Latino community as I often do, but was so disappointed by their small minded rudeness. They are inexperienced, immigrants with BIG EGOS who haven't a clue how to properly judge people. YOU ARE THE INEXPERIENCED ONES. I've lived here my entire life and am an avid explorer of Chicago. I've explored and traveled a lot and I'm fair. EXPLOREN MAS PARA QUE SEAN MAS EDUCADOS, HUMILDES Y JUSTOS. Lo tienen alrevez. You never know who you're dealing with. I arrived w an open and kind heart, and left so disappointed at who I came to support. ESTAN ATRASADOS a cerca de como tatar a los clientes. Welcome to a more international experienced crowd! DON'T judge by physical appearance, LIFE 101. FYI, MANY PUBS, BARS AND RESTAURANTS DON'T REQUIRE A MINIMUM. IF THEY DO, THEY FAIRLY ANOUNCE IT. BE FAIR, APOLOGIZE WHEN DUE, AND DON'T BE ARROGANT ASSHOLES. Also, I'm an actual experienced/trained dancer, another valuable customer beneficial to your business LOST for many valuable reasons. I saw waitresses physically MOCKING those who danced ! read more

Food and service is really bad. Food is cold an no well prepared. Service is very disappointed. I requested several times the same thing never bring it. If I can give them zero I will. La comida y el servicio son realmente malos. La comida está fría y no bien preparada. El servicio está muy decepcionado. Pedí varias veces lo mismo nunca traerlo. Si puedo ponerlos a cero, lo haré. read more

We had dinner here early on Sunday night. This experience was a mixed bag, but overall disappointing. First, three or so items from the menu were missing, one of which my husband was very interested in trying (parilla mixta). Next, most of the beers from the drink list were also all out or discontinued, including the one Colombian beer on the menu. So I had a diet coke, and hubs had a mint lemonade (limonada yerbabuena) which they made to order. They forgot to add sweetener, so he had to send it back. (When it came back, it was delicious). I am a flexitarian and am trying to avoid meat most days, but that appears to be pretty much impossible at a Colombian restaurant (which is fine-- I can do chicken). The empanadas had good flavor, but they were a weird consistency (this might just be because they are Colombian empanadas, and I've mostly only had Cuban style which I guess I prefer based on my limited exposure). The dough, filling, and potato on the inside were all the same texture, which was mushy and off putting. I ordered the chicken fajitas, which were tasty and well cooked (but if you're used to American-Mexican versions, like those at Applebee's or Chili's, these will be strange. They're served with rice instead of tortillas and lack the sauces and sour cream we are used to getting). My husband ordered the half order of the picada Colombiana. The description of picada Colombiana reads: "served with pork ribs, cassava, yellow golden potatoes, grilled skirt steak, green plantains, pork belly, Colombian sausage and arepa," so we logically thought that the half portion would be the same, just half the size. Instead, the meat was limited to pork belly and a few chunks of sausage-- no skirt steak or ribs at all. It was like a giant plate of pork belly with a few chunks of other things and a piece of yellow potato hiding underneath the pork. We asked if there was a mistake, and the server said that's the way the half portion is--they just leave out some of the meats even though the menu says nothing. He liked the flavors, but it was just too much pork so we ended up driving down our street afterward and found someone asking for change and offered him the leftovers, which he gratefully accepted. (My husband is not a huge pork eater, but he mainly wanted to try a variety of things because we were new to Colombian food). I would be willing to try this place again, perhaps for dancing and/or drinks, but I really doubt we'll be eating here again. read more

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A friend celebrated her birthday at La Gozadera on Friday and we had a great time! I got there around 9:30pm and it was still pretty quiet which allowed us to talk without screaming over one another. Friday night is ladies' night (woo!) so they offer $5 margaritas and a few other specials from 9pm-12am. The server recommended the passion fruit mimosa and she was right, it tasted good. There were 10 of us so we ordered the Picada Colombiana, which is a mixed appetizer plate. We got to sample different items including pork ribs, arepas, and yucca. The food was piping hot when it got to our table, and service was very good overall. We also ordered maduros, which are always delicious, and empanadas. Theirs were particularly light and tasty. Around 10:30 is when the music get cranking; the dance floor is on the smaller side but the music was great and other guests were friendly. I would for sure come back. read more

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After contemplating going to La Gozadera for a long time I finally went last Friday. We had our reservation at 7:30pm and the restaurant was still empty by then. Our host was also the waitress and she was super helpful and friendly (I believe her name was Sory). I sat at the bar to chit chat with her while I waited for my friends and she recommended a few dishes to try and also recommended the Passion Fruit Mojito (Mojito de Maracuya) and it was phenomenal... not too sweet and very tasty! Then for the food we decided to order a few dishes and share (good idea for groups since portions are huge!) We had the media picada which is a sampler of meats such as chicharron (crunchy pork skin), sausage, fried yuca, potatoes, and arepa! All of the items were good... especially the chicharron. We also ordered 2 extra arepas because who doesn't love a good arepa! Finally we ordered the Petacon mixto (chicken and beef) and it sits on a plaintain (think of a jibarito without one side). The portion was huge and very filling plus we had a good number of the Passion Fruit Mojitos so it was great. If you don't like sweet drinks just ask the bartender to not make it so sweet and she handled that very well for us! Then around 10pm the DJ comes and starts off the party with dancing and pure fun!! They have bottle service for birthday celebrations at a relatively cheap price. Can't wait to go back for more dancing and great Colombian food! read more

La Gozadera Restaurant & Bar - Media picada! This was a great appetizer to share for first timers like us! The portion is huge! - Colombian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This was such a delicious treat to find. The media picada was absolutely delicious and lots of food for 2 people. We ordered bandeja paisa also and took home a ton of delicious leftovers for later. The yuca and fried pork pieces were incredibly delicious. read more

Why doesn't this place have more reviews??? Great dancing music... came at 1 am and enjoyed every minute!!!

Absolutely horrible service not to mention I ordered a pina colada and a margarita what we got was not that. We got to the restaurant and asked to be seated in a booth. The server said she could not do that because the booths are for large parties. I asked why the booths that were occupied only had two people if that was the case? We were a party of three. She sits me by the window with the air blasting. A booth opens up and she does not even offer to move me and my family but she moves another family that we're already in a booth. She then brings us the appetizers sits it down walks away. The table in front of us was lucky enough to get their appetizers and plates to eat off of!! She comes back and asks if everything was okay? I said a plate to eat off might be nice ? The food comes out and she takes it to the wrong table at this point I'm done. On a side note the owner is amazing! But this server I had really did it for me. The drinks were horrible the service was a joke. I am disappointed I used to frequent this place. This will be the last time. read more

It's really a fun place; however, the rules are ridiculous!! If I order food and can't find the waitress, I get yelled at for trying to order a drink at the bar?!? That's absurd. Honestly, if I'm giving you business, whether at the bar or the table, you should be appreciative of the business you're making off of me. Food was great don't get me wrong, but the rules and restrictions as to how I want to order food or a drink didn't sit well with me. If you can get Colombian cuisine somewhere else do it. If not, I guess this place is good. Just remember, once you sit at a table, you're locked in. read more

La Gozadera Restaurant & Bar - Colombian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was SO bland. I was so bummed. I expected so much more. Needed so much added to be good. Also the service was so slow. Totally upsetting read more

Went there and ordered takeout and the food is below average. I would say its the worst out of the other three Colombian restaurants (Las tablas, Sabor a cafe and Pueblito Viejo) i've visited. The picada which is a plate really hard to get wrong since its mostly pork belly, yuka and other bite-size items was really hard and hard to chew. The Parrilla mixta featured dry-flavorless and tough chicken, pork and beef. The salsas (chimichurri and the other green salsa) were the worst. One of them was mostly oil but no flavor. The chimichurri was bad too. No flavor and no kick. The empanadas are supposed to be on the crunchy side but this were soggy and also lacked flavor. Prices are above average. The staff..... well, read the other comments. Seriously, the staff is bad. Really bad. I dont even know where to start so I'll let you be the judge. read more

We had (its big enough to share with someone) (score) the Parilla platter, that came with chicken, skirt steak, chorizo, morcilla, and pork, fries, salad, and fried plantains. Everything was cooked to perfection. Also had the passion fruit mojito which was absolutely amazing. I'll definitely be back! read more

La Gozadera Restaurant & Bar - Colombian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

3 stars for good dj and dance floor, the food I had (picada tray?) Was good. However, they lost their liquor license it seems, and their BYOB corkage fees are ridiculous. $30 for spirits, $15 for wine, $10 beer. If it's an oversized bottle they double it, meaning a $13 family sangria bottle ends up being a total of $43 w corkage fees. I understand they need to make money but those fees aren't reasonable. Too many alternatives for BYOB pieces available to be nickel and dimed here read more

I went to La Gozadera to have a picada. Wow!! It was really good! I enjoyed to the last piece! The service was excellent and I'm looking forward to enjoy the other delicious items they made there! Keep up the excellent work!! read more

We made reservations and the manager was very misleading. They called us the day of our reservation and they said that they won't be selling liquor because their liquor license had expired. They told us we could bring our own liquor with no charge, BYOB. So we arrive with our party of 6 and our own liquor, the personnel tried to charge us $30 per bottle. We weren't told about the charge before hand and other customers were also upset about the misleading information we received. If we would have know about this extra charge for drinking our own beverage then we would've cancelled our reservation. A waste of time! Personnel was rude and tried to force us to pay for terrible service. read more

Went on a Saturday night, I suggest you arrive early or make a reservation. Only complaint I have is the seating there was a lot of empty reserved seating and we had to sit on a high bar stool table but glad enough we had a seat. The dining area is a bit small. The service was kind and friendly, now the food hands down was very delicious we ordered appetizers chicken and beef empanadas and a cheese arepa wish I would've took a picture of it but we devoured them quickly. As to our dinner choices Bandeja paisa & Parrila Mixta, everything was perfectly seasoned and so much food. And as for the drinks Peach and Mango Margaritas sweet and the best part you can taste the liquor we paid a little extra to upgrade to our favorite tequila (patron) will be coming back soon! read more

La Gozadera Restaurant & Bar - Colombian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Amazing! Their food is always good never have I experienced different. Their chicken steak fried pork sweet bananas pork chops soups EVERYTHING IS GOOOD! Now their customer service is beyond it so nice staff always know what I want how I like it never a issue. I've made sure to share my experience with many people my mom and friends also love this place. I've been here plenty of times and expect to return much more. every time I post pictures of my food people ask where is that place what's the name and of course I tell them my great experiences :) read more

I've been to a few Colombian restaurants in Chicago, but this is hands down my favorite. They have live music and you can even dance if you want. The food is amazing and one of my favorite things about this place and their drinks are so good you won't sip on them for more than a few minutes before they are gone. If you are looking to unwind, relax, and try some amazing Colombian food do not miss out on this place! Their Empanadas are to die for and if you are in a bigger group get the Picada Colombiana you will not regret it! read more

Columbian done well. Lots of thought went into the decore here. There are a few different levels which make the place look unique. The full bar is inviting and has traditional Columbian pictures and icons giving it an authentic feel. The center floor looks as if it is for dancing but we were there for dinner only. The empanadas were good and affordable. The staff was friendly but had some difficulty with English which was obviously a second language. The food came out hot and tasted great. We ordered a mixtos plater which had a full chicken breast, steak, pork chop, blood sausage and pork sausage plus salad and fried plantains. It was enough to feed us both. We expected the flan to be great but were most surprised with the pomegranate fluff. The price was very right. I would suggest this spot for a date or large group. read more

What a beautiful spot with positive vibes and great food. Also they have great food The owner is down to earth and a very strong women.

My favorite Colombian place the food is excellent the portions are big and service is good and friendly

We ordered a dish called Colombian...I can't remember but it was big enough to share with 4 people. Super delicious!! The arepa y carnes que traía yum! And it was a great affordable price! There aren't drink specials (at least on Saturday night idk what it's like any other night). Like beers were $5 and they had a bucket of 6 beers for $30 soooo not much of a deal there but if you go with a group of people you all can split the cost of a bottle. I didn't try their cocktails but they looked good! I did want to try one but i didn't. We went on a Saturday and they played a lot of salsa which was fun! The DJ wasn't the best...the dance floor would be filled with people then put a random song that no one liked I guess because everyone would leave the dance floor. All in all it's a fun place! And our waitress was on point and excellent! read more

The place is made for having fun. Good Colombian music, empanadas and pasa bocas! Not for a sit down dinner after 10pm because that's when the party starts. read more