BiXi Beer Is Doing Something Interesting. Not All The Food Has Caught Up.

BiXi Beer is one of the more genuinely original concepts in Logan Square, and I want to give it credit for that before I get into the rest. It's an independent, owner-operated microbrewery with a full kitchen, founded by Garrett Chambers with real technical discipline behind the brewing program. The beer is made in the basement. The menu is built to pair with it. The tables have lazy Susans because this is meant to be shared. The rooftop is large, beautiful, and open year-round. All of that is legitimately good.

The concept bills itself as izakaya-adjacent, but it's really more of a fusion kitchen having fun with a broad set of influences. Sometimes it lands. The ssam plate is solid — a build-your-own setup that works well for the lazy Susan format and gives the table something to do together. But the Mongolian beef is forgettable in a way that sticks with you, not because it was bad, but because nothing about it gave you a reason to remember it. That's the recurring issue here. Nothing at BiXi is bad. Nothing made me regret coming. But the city has restaurants doing this style of food with more conviction, and that's a hard comparison to escape when you're deciding where to spend a Tuesday night.

I can't speak to the beer personally, but the people I've brought who drink have called it solid, which tracks for a program this thoughtful about the production side. What I can speak to is the N/A list, which is thin in a way that feels like a missed opportunity. A space this invested in the beverage side should have a non-alcoholic program worth ordering from. It doesn't yet.

Come for the rooftop and the vibe. Order the ssam plate. Skip the Mongolian beef. Know going in that the experience is more about the space than the food.