Truth Be Told Reviews

The food was great! Plenty! took a doggy bag! Andrea was awesome and so enjoyable!!!!!!! I many many friends and family who are return customers. I will return!

I had great experience here, so cozy and elegant. Andrea suggested the steak and chips and I’m so glad I took her suggestion!

The burger was moderate, the fries halfway cooked. Atmosphere was a bit too into itself. Our waitress was amazing, and that's the only saving grace

Had breakfast at Truth Be Told while staying in Chicago and it was great. The food was fresh and tasty, but the real standout was Andrea, the hostess. She was super friendly and attentive, which made the whole morning even better. I’ll definitely be back next time I’m in town!

I had a fantastic experience at Truth Be Told Chicago! From the moment I walked in, the atmosphere was welcoming and vibrant. I had the pleasure of speaking with Reggie and Andrea, who provided exceptional service—friendly, attentive, and genuinely passionate about what they do. The food was excellent—fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. And the spirits? Absolutely top-tier. Whether you’re stopping by for a meal, drinks, or both, Truth Be Told delivers on all fronts. Highly recommend for anyone looking for a great dining experience in Chicago. I’ll definitely be back!

Shoutout Andrea for the amazing customer service!! Everything from the greeting up unto the farewell was kind and genuine!

Andrea was delightful! Food was fantastic and we had a great time. Andrea helped create a mocktail that my kid enjoyed and the beer selection was great.

Andrea was so great.. I go to restaurants all the time bc I work on the road and I have worked in them for more then 20 years.. so I know the difference between good service bad service and beyond expectation.. she was the ladder of the three.. and don’t say this lightly.. even thought he food was great all around.. the service was the reason I’d come back… I’ve written less reviews then my hands would have to count but taking the time to mention her and her service felt important.. give her a raise… then 2 more after that so none comes to steal her!!!!! !!!!

I loves this experience! The ambiance was nice, the food was great quality, and our server Andrea was incredible! She had the best energy and made the experience even better!

Andrea is an amazing bartender and beautiful spot! Just grabbed some drinks today but everything looked good on them menu, very good pub food

Poor quality, poor service. I always give a company or a person the benefit of the doubt. Everyone has a bad day, but three bad days are unacceptable. Day 1: The steak was chewy and had an unusual taste of old. The salad was 90 % lettuce and 10% disgusting. The staff was disrespectful to the manager. Day 2: Breakfast. Other than the crispy bottom of the pancake, breakfast was okay. But I am taken aback that the waiter comes to the table in street clothes—no uniform—nothing that signifies he works at the restaurant. Day 3: We ordered room service. You can not mess up a burger, right? Wrong. They were unable to deliver to our room—there was a shortage of staff due to an event. We came for our dinner 40 minutes later as instructed. The meal was not ready. It will be another 15 minutes, and they still won't deliver. We waited 15 minutes to find out our order was given to the wedding rehearsal party outside. Out of my site and the manager's site. The manager retrieved the meal. Now, I do not take food that has been given to others. Just out of curiosity, I looked at the burger, and the order was wrong. I cannot recommend this place. It is the worst restaurant I have been to in my 54 years.

The service was amazing. We were seated within a few seconds of arriving. On top of that., the server was phenomenal and Andrea gave us great service; went above and beyond. Good was also very good with reasonable prices.

Andrea is awesome. I appreciate the delicious food and cocktail recommendations. The vibes in the space are warm & cozy. Love the fire place!

Went there for a quick breakfast and Andreas service was amazing!! She was so nice and put a smile on both of our faces! A good way to start our day

I took my folks here after my graduation ceremony, and I'm always looking for restaurant options that can appeal to everyone. This place fits the bill! The staff are kind and personable, especially our server, Andrea. Great food, great drinks, and a lovely atmosphere.

Had an amazing experience with our bartender Andrea. She has a wonderful & uplifting personality that made the morning so much better. Andrea made wonderful concoctions that has us wanting more. If you go to Truth Be Told ask for Andrea.

Food is the best, Andrea was an excellent server and funny, what a compliment to the team and restaurant! Clean restaurant and friendly staff !!!!

This restaurant has a diverse menu, presented and served with excellence. My wife and I had a variety of dishes, all of which were true to the culinary origins. Ranging from a superb salmon pate to east and west coast oysters to a tandoori roast chicken to Succulent fish and chips and topping it off with a banana themed trifle, our meal was delightful. Service was excellent with every member of the staff paying attention to our table and ensuring food arrived. Piping hot from the kitchen and dishes were cleared without a rush, but promptly upon finishing. Highly recommended and priced at an excellent price point for the quality received.

The staff here is all exceptionally welcoming, friendly, and efficient. In particular, servers Emily and Andrea are especially responsive to customer requests and anticipate customer needs. The food is ample and expertly prepared. The salmon is first-rate. Breakfast omelets are large and tasty. The hamburgers are sumptuous, cooked to order with leafy greens, bacon, cheese, etc. Wonderful food and service.

Andrea was absolutely wonderful. Her hospitality was a very high vibration. She is wonderful and the food was spectacular.

The restaurant is very well appointed with a fireplace and window options for seating. It is elegant without being stuffy. The staff is wonderful - accommodating and friendly. They seek out extra knowledge for you. The menu is varied and includes some Welsh dishes. The potion size is ample without left-overs. We will definitely return for a quiet evening.

A fantastic place for lunch. Excellent food, cheerful and professional staff. I had the Lamb Shepherd’s Pie which was wonderful We were a party of six and everyone enjoyed the food, service and atmosphere. Our server, Andrea, was professional, knowledgeable, and made sure we were satisfied.

It’s a great location in Hyde Park. The atmosphere was casual, but elegant. The food was good and reasonably priced. Our server Emily was amazing. She knew the menu was polite and attentive. I give her five stars.

This is my go-to spot whenever I’m in town, and it never disappoints! The atmosphere is always inviting, the food is consistently delicious, and the wait staff are all amazing — truly some of the most friendly and attentive I’ve experienced anywhere. I don’t know everyone’s names, but every single person I’ve interacted with here has been great. That said, I have to give a special shout-out to Andrea Dalman. She has such a warm, welcoming personality and a great sense of humor, and she always takes the time to recommend something on the menu I might not think to order myself — and without fail, it ends up being my favorite dish of the night. She really goes above and beyond to make guests feel taken care of. If you’re looking for excellent service, a team that clearly loves what they do, and food that’s worth coming back for again and again, this is the place.

Great lunch spot if you are at the University of Chicago. We had a burger, fries, salad, and chicken dumpling soup, which we are great. Andrea was an excellent server!

A very fun lunch. Great ambience and our server Andrea was efficient, lively and full of fun energy. We had the burger and the English cheese sandwich. Both spot on!

Love this place! Beautiful setting. Food was delicious. Right on campus. Andrea and Carsy took great care of us!! We will definitely be back!

Adjoining the Study Hotel on the campus of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park is a restaurant named Truth Be Told (“TBT”). Our recent visit was deeply disappointing. Upon arrival, there was no greeter and no clear view of the dining room, leading to an awkward and unnecessary wait. Service was extremely slow—25 minutes for water, over an hour for food, and long delays for both black coffee (15 minutes) and a cappuccino (20 minutes). The open kitchen revealed chefs without hairnets, raising concerns about hygiene. Most disturbing was the loud obnoxious waitress, who adopted a performative, stereotyped persona with us as a Black couple—behavior she noticeably toned down when serving the white woman next to us. Her inappropriate comments about her “Black baby daddy” were offensive and unprofessional — no kidding she thought it was okay to chat us up like that! There was a positive— Spinach & English Cheddar Quiche: Egg Custard, spinach, English cheddar cheese, shallot, garlic, served with a mixed green salad. The pastry puff the quiche was prepared in was a huge surprise (not described on the menu) and it made for an outstanding unique quiche, but also resulted in an hour long wait for our meal. Our waitress did not think to tell us the dish took an hour to prepare when we ordered it. When it was finally ready the other routine breakfast had not been prepared! (“Study Breakfast” — Two eggs, sausage, home fries, wheat toast). Even when they finally brought the food out it was short the side of bacon that I ordered! The oysters were served with a magnificent pickled beetroot and champagne mignonette, but were tiny in size and definitely not worth $5 an oyster! BTW $5 for a cup of simple black coffee is downtown prices — $2.95 at Salonica’s a few blocks away! Jasmine Y. “Very disappointing experience,” Elaine H. “Slow service,” and MATT T. “Our dinner experience … was poor and disappointing” all describe my experience which is in stark contrast to that of one reviewer who stated that he can’t say enough about his positive experience at TBT. I will not likely return for breakfast—maybe a cocktail at the bar.

Andrea is the best and super attentive!! great food too and allowed me to take a few calls from my table which was very productive

This was my second visit to the restaurant. The first time, the server seemed distracted and I didnt enjoy the food as much. This time, although the server was a newer employee, she was attentive and helpful. My cousin had the root vegetable soup, which she enjoyed so much she requested the ingredient list, and the chef kindly obliged. We also had the cashew hummus and the pickled beets. Both were good. Another cousin had the butter lettuce salad w pomegrante and apple and I had the kale and delicata squash salad - both were with roasted salmon and both salads were very good. A third cousin had the fish and chips. And while the chips were hand-cut, hot and crispy w a tasty garlic-salt seasoning, the fish was more batter than filet. Overall, we enjoyed our meal and we will be back.

Had the Bangers & Mash which was tasteless, needed flavor and simply salt. Our waiter Caesar was great. The fireplace and ambience I would return for, not the food.

This was my first time here. The host welcomed us kindly. Our server Andrea was fun 😁 and kind. The food was delicious. I enjoyed the fig jelly. We even had the opportunity to chat with Reggie about the upcoming changes to the menu and events. We will be back.

Andrea & Emily were Amazing!!! Pleasant and prompt. Definitely will continue coming here! We love it!! My Fiancé and I reside just 10 min away we love the food, atmosphere and customer service.

I met up with my two Chicago based nephews here for Friday evening dinner recently. I booked on line in advance and we found this place close to where both nephews are studying at the university. We were warmly greeted and shown to our table near the fire. Service was a little lackadaisical which was strange as the place was not that full for a Friday night. But we finally got the attention of someone to take our drinks order followed by the food. Two of us went for the British Fuller's London Pride beer. We also ordered the same fish and chips which were OK with nice white fish inside a thick batter. The house burger was also very good. For dessert we went for the excellent Snow Egg, Sticky Toffee pudding and the Cambridge Burnt (a sort of larger Creme brule). I left paying $160 (including tip) for the three of us which I thought was a bit steep but I guess they are oriented to Chicago prices.

The food was amazing, atmosphere was good, and best bartender ever! Andrea was making the best drinks. I had the cucumber martini

Andrea made us feel welcome at breakfast. Portion, ingredients, seasoning, it was all great! We had the avocado toast, eggs Benedict and the yoghurt. Later we had dinner in the restaurant too and that was equally lovely.

We’ve been coming here for three years now and have always enjoyed the food and service however, with Andrea on the team the place is at a whole other level. She’s on the ball and knows what you need before you even ask for it. What a great addition to the Truth Be Told family!

This menu has exploded since I was here last year!!! So much added to their brunch menu. The spinach quiche is made by their pastry chef and is perfect. And generous portions. And our sweet server Andrea made it better!!!

My husband and I spent four days in Chicago and had several meals in the Truth Be Told restaurant. The service was outstanding (Andrea is the best!), and the food was to die for each time. The wait staff was cheerful and welcoming and ready to help us navigate Chicago. Highly recommend this restaurant!

Food was perfect. We loved the Bircher muesli, the avocado toast, & the French toast!!! Service was excellent! Thank you, Andrea for taking such good care of us!

I stayed at The Study because I enjoyed my previous stay, but I did not get the chance to visit Truth Be Told. I’m glad I did this time around and had the pleasure of dining in with Andriea! She was great company and made sure I enjoyed my food. Everyone has been great- I’ll be back of course!

Great restaurant at The Study at U Chicago! We ate there 3 times for breakfast and it was also delicious! Our server Andrea always greeted us with a smile and was incredibly welcoming and friendly! Service was excellent and highly recommend. The restaurant is cozy and decorated beautifully (like the rest of the hotel!).