THE 29 BEST Restaurants in Bloomington - With Menus, Reviews, Photos - Updated May 2024 (2024)

Customers` Favorites

“Terri and Chelsea are true charms as owners. They have trained their staff to the highest levels to take care of each customer. The food is excellent and exquisite, which warrants compliments to the chef! The atmosphere in Mystic is lively and energetic. We always enjoy coming to this establishment!!”

Customers` Favorites

“We had a great birthday dinner at Texas roadhouse in Bloomington tonight for Landon, Olivia and Bentley! Jessica was our waitress and she was fantastic! Along with the awesome food Jessica made our night with he great service and friendly attitude! Hats off to you, Jessica!”

Customers` Favorites

“I would recommend, as always, except being there a couple of weeks ago, our black bean soup was like it was poured from a can, not prepared with other ingredients as in the past, and cold. Sent it back to be reheated and still cool. I will not recommend ordering your black bean soup unless it starts getting prepared again and cooked. Next time I’ll get the shrimp appetizer. When you first opened, the soup was delicious. Now, it seems an afterthought.”

Customers` Favorites

“I've eaten here many times. It's the best of the Southeast Asian restaurants in town. Where too many restaurants in town use the same spices for most everything, such as the all-too-pervasive "brown sauce", the cuisine at this restaurant is pleasantly varied and not just the standard fare pleasing to the average American. The food is well prepared, so I'd encourage diners to take a chance and try something different such as eggplant or duck. I agree that it is often hard to contact them by phone during peak hours as they are chronically short staffed, not to mention popular. However, the staff are friendly, courteous and eager to please which is not easy when you're overwhelmed.”

Customers` Favorites

“My go-to is queso with the free chips, the fried shrimp with mango salsa as an app, and the steak fajitas for my meal. The fajitas are a nice portion, so I always have leftovers (which warms up nicely the next day)!”

Customers` Favorites

“We had a stellar experience. Nate was not only our server but more like a tour guide on our culinary adventure. The food was beautiful and delicious! Top to bottom, excellence!”

Customers` Favorites

“So, the oysters and the mussels were very good. I’m pretty sure the sourcing of all ingredients is very thoughtful. Even the potatoes were exceptional. We like the use of what turned out to be turnips. Everything was cooked well. I like that they are inspired by April Bloomfield, one of my favourite chefs. However, the entrees weren’t anything special. I guess it was more comfort food, and disappointing after the awesome starters. They were accommodating and made a kind of gravy. I did like the lightly fried potato slabs. The non alcoholic drinks weren’t great. And the dessert, while clearly made with good ingredients, was not as intriguing as the description. Not sure where the peach jam was in it all. The atmosphere is fine. A little darker than I’d like, a lamp on the table or small one above our heads would have been useful. The music doesn’t go with the atmosphere. I think it’s a new restaurant, and they might also be timid due to their location, but I feel they should do more with what they have.”

Customers` Favorites

“New location is beautiful. Interior was decorated with great taste. Steak was cooked to perfection. Signature bread is always a classic. The wings were surprisingly good and underrated. Sides were a bit underwhelming but that's just me.”

Customers` Favorites

“Our waitress was very friendly and attentive to our needs. The food was delicious and fresh and as we were there for my sons birthday he received a complimentary slice of cheesecake! Highly recommend!”

Customers` Favorites

“My dining experience at Anju Above tonight was nothing short of delightful.From the moment I walked into the restaurant, I was captivated by its elegance. Service was prompt; we were seated quickly, and our server was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the menu.For starters, I indulged in the Fried Veggie Dumplings and a Yellowfin Tuna Hand Roll. The fried dumplings were a true delight, perfectly crispy on the outside and bursting with flavor. They paired wonderfully with the tangy pickled vegetables on top. As for the hand roll, it was a taste sensation. The yellowfin tuna practically melted in my mouth.Moving on to the main course, I was thoroughly impressed with the Pork Belly Ramen. The pork belly was exceptionally flavorful and tender, adding a richness to the dish. What truly elevated the ramen experience was the side of sweet and spicy sauce, which, when added to the broth, turned the dish into something extraordinary. The soft-boiled egg was cooked to perfection and seasoned just right, while the mushrooms added a depth of flavor that left me craving more.Overall, my dining experience at Anju Above exceeded my expectations.I'll definitely be returning to explore more of their enticing menu options.”

Customers` Favorites

“Jacque was amazing, good seevice made my whole experience optimal!!! Thank you, keep up the great work! Great suggestion on yhat delicious bread pudding..From the "D"”

Customers` Favorites

“My dish was excellent and especially the salmon steak, the lobster tail was not bad eitherGenerous and tasty portionThe price is a little expensive for my taste, almost $50 for a dish and a glass of water!”

“Fast service,very good smoothie and sandwiches.They great you when you walk through the door. Someone will start making your food or drink as soon as you order it.The lighting is great so it makes it easy to read and create the perfect smoothie. Most of the smoothies are made to your liking therefore, I go there at least 2 times a week”

“Deeeeelicious! This is one of the few food places still open in the mall. It's no surprise, since the food is awesome. The chicken teriyaki and rice is my favorite! The service is always great, and the food is fresh. This is a place we go to regularly!”

Customers` Favorites

“Went here last night with family...I'm not sure which part I liked more, the chef grilling everything in front of us, the food he made, or those beautiful servers...but the service was professional, and the food was amazing!”

Customers` Favorites

“The sushi is phenomenal. Me and my wife frequented this restaurant when we were Bloomington residents and still make the hour drive when we get the craving till this day since relocating. Love us some Yumz!”

Customers` Favorites

“We had a large group and the restaurant was a little busy. It took them awhile to get drink orders and were slow to get chips and salsa out. That did improve but was a slow start.When I ordered I explained that I couldn't eat meat and asked if my food could be cooked on a clean grill or pan away from meat. Our server said yes that they could do that. Unfortunately, my vegetarian taco salad had a large piece of chicken in it and I did not eat eat it.It was a waste of food. The taco salad looked good other then all the oil that ran out of it when I first cracked a piece off the side. That is also when I found the chicken. They did offer to remake and asked if there was anything they could do. I have no trust in the kitchen when this happens and I usually not eat. It's such a big waste of food and I hated to see them throw it in the bin.Everyone liked their food. My wife really enjoyed her vegetarian chimichanga. She's not concerned as much about meat as I am. She would just pick it out if she found it. She did not have that issue though and said it was one of the best Mexican dishes she's had at a restaurant. My kids both got chicken on the beach and said it was okay.Our server worked hard and you could tell he felt bad about the meat. They did a nice job with the large group after the slow start. We were able to make it back to the arena for the basketball game in plenty of time.Vegan and vegetarians should no that their food is not cooked separately from mean. It's a shame because the have some nice vegetable options like broccoli, cauliflower, and zucchini. I would not recommend this place of you don't eat meat.Vegetarian options: Vegetables for vegetarian dishes are cooked on the same grill and a high chance of cross contamination or even meat in your vegetarian dish. This seems to be how most Mexican restaurants treat vegetarians and is unacceptable. Please don't have a vegetarian section on your menu if you can't prepare those dishes properly.”

“So good! I'm actually not normally a fan of the typical dumplings from Asian places (they look good, and I want to like them, but they're boring for me). But these bao buns from Bao Destination are like extra big, extra fluffy, extra tasty versions of a dumpling, and they're great. And the sauce is wonderful, and surprisingly spicy.”

“I recently went to the Hy-Vee bakery looking for a cake for my sons birthday. As I was looking through the cake selection book I happened to look over and up behind the bakery counter and I saw the most fantastic cheeseburger cake. I spoke with Monika, and found out that it was a specialty cake that she had just added to display. I asked if it was possible to customize it as my son eats plain hamburgers and would find the humor in that and Monika was very accommodating. The cake turned out so amazing. Monika is so creative and the cake turned out so good. A big THANK YOU to Monika for being just so nice and accommodating but also a fantastic creator of beautiful tasty cakes!”

Customers` Favorites

“We were in town for a conference and stayed in the doubletree hotel. Christian was our server, and he made our experience wonderful!! Christian had an amazing attitude and even with a bigger party, the food was out in under 15 min!! Very impressed!”

Customers` Favorites

“Love this place!! The food is phenomenal and the drinks are well made.....great atmosphere for business gatherings and the piano player stole the night.....such a great vibe and he will be missed when he retires ”

Customers` Favorites

“Great tasting Mexican food, never disappointed, large portions, great prices, 3 locations in the Bloomington/Normal area, stop by anytime!Parking: Great locations with plenty of close parking”

“Excellent! Even though they were busy, the staff was working fast and were still very courteous. Never been here before but the smoothie was really yummy and the bowl was awesome. Look at the photo and see they took the time to make the banana slices line up nice and pretty, then made a pattern with the PB. Thanks for the detail amid the hustle!”

“The place got slammed as a result of some delayed flights. The crew on shift rolled up their sleeves and knocked out the orders with a smile. Ordered the southwest chicken wrap and was pleasantly surprised. The chicken was tender and flavorful, lettuce was crisp, and the cheese was, well cheesy. Great service, even when slammed. 5/5 would try again.”

Customers` Favorites

“The bacon wrapped dates are off the chain in Jesus name. I live here in Texas now and every time I go back to visit, bacon wrapped dates is a must!Ella is a blessing!”

“So, this restaurant has fallen off, big time. We ordered the same thing we order every time, but the portions were much smaller and pre-mixed with basmati (Usually comes with a seperate container with significantly more sauce and meat and a seperate container of rice. If i had to guess, i'd say we had maybe 2-3 tablespoons of sauce in each of our meals. It wasn't even enough to coat the rice. It was still white after mixing. Incredibly dry and inedible. I counted exactly THREE small pieces of chicken in my meal, 4 in hers.I generally don't complain as it's rare that we get bad indian food, but I called and this guy tells me "We will try to do better next time", which wouldn't ordinarily be a problem but he offered no refund, no replacement, nothing of the sort. I called back again a couple minutes later and asked if i could drive back across town and get it replaced and he hung up the phone.Talk with your money, folks. Spend your money elsewhere.”

Customers` Favorites

“Please help this place out. We went on a Sunday night, they were dead. Service was excellent, prices were so good, food was great!They have breakfast all day and kids eat free off of it. The kids meal was large. They offer $10 meals that are big.We need to keep this place open and support them. We will be going back soon!Kid-friendliness: Free kids breakfast meals offered all day”

“Our server was top-notch. One of the best ever. My wife had her best birthday dinner in years. The food, staff, and atmosphere is amazingly professional, efficient, and friendly. I'll be back.”

Customers` Favorites

“I recently went to the Hy-Vee bakery looking for a cake for my sons birthday. As I was looking through the cake selection book I happened to look over and up behind the bakery counter and I saw the most fantastic cheeseburger cake. I spoke with Monika, and found out that it was a specialty cake that she had just added to display. I asked if it was possible to customize it as my son eats plain hamburgers and would find the humor in that and Monika was very accommodating. The cake turned out so amazing. Monika is so creative and the cake turned out so good. A big THANK YOU to Monika for being just so nice and accommodating but also a fantastic creator of beautiful tasty cakes!”