Chic Nail Bar & Spa

My office is a hop skip away so I’ve been going here for the past 2 – 3 years. My nail tech is a beautiful and talented young lady name Hanh. I’m always satisfied with my pedi and mani. I’m a runner so it’s very important for me to have nice feet and toes. They do such a great job that pedicure last for a good 2 – 3 weeks!!! I recently got a no-​chip manicure and it lasted 2.5 weeks! A regular manicure will last me anywhere from 2 – 5 days (I wash my hands often and don’t wear dish washing gloves when i do the dishes). The space itself is your regular nail shop. Nothing fancy and i’m okay with that. I live on the North Side and sometimes my girls and i would get out nails done within our neighborhood. Each time i cheat on Hanh, not only do i feel bad but my pedicure would only last for a week. Great place, great service and sweet nail techs that pays attention to details!

Seriously best nail salon with affordable prices. Their manicures are only $ 14 and they actually take their time instead of rushing through. My nails always look amazing. Every aspect is thoughtfully executed and they actually have a conversation with you if you start it. Not only that, they remember me every time i come in instead of pretending like they’ve never seen me in their life. I definitely will continue coming back.

I just got a manicure yesterday from here and my nails are already chipping and the topcoat seems to have disappeared on the edges. How is that possible? My experience at Chic wasn’t awful but it also wasn’t amazing. They charge $ 14 for just a regular manicure which I suppose isn’t too expensive but I’ve gotten manis for $ 15 that were amazing. My nail technician wasn’t very friendly and never spoke to me; she was too busy speaking to the guy next to her in Vietnamese. I wouldn’t recommend coming here and I definitely won’t be back.

I stopped by earlier today for a No Chip and Pedi and was truly BLOWN Away. My Nail Tech was Dalton, His attention to Detail was Incredible. I came here on an impulse after my haircut but a few blocks away and I’m so glad I did. It’s Clean, about ten dollars less than what I normally pay, and Dalton was a true professional. I’ll be back in two weeks.

I was just needing a quick repair while visiting from out of town. Dalton was very friendly and helpful, even customized my repair as it isn’t normally offered. The atmosphere was clean and happy. I definitely recommend Chic Nail Bar & Spa.

Not my regular place but if I need a polish change I pop in. Yesterday I came in and was told 5 min. A few min later some ladies came in for a mani pedi. No one had an appointment. The guy skipped over me attend to the women who came in. I tried to get his attention and he deliberately ignored me proceeding to serve the other customers. I walked out and went to Chan’s across the street.

Nope. I’ll spare you the details but my one visit here for a pedi with a friend back in 2012 was followed up with me having to slather toes on my left foot in anti-​bacterial ointment and gauze for a few days to banish some redness, pain, and inflammation around the cuticles. That’s never happened to me before and while I (thankfully) didn’t have to go to the doctor, I definitely could have done without whatever bug I picked up in the footbaths here. The dirty towel smell should have tipped me off. Groupon brought me in, and I vowed never to return.

I don’t even know where to begin with this. My first visit to Chic Nail Bar was about a month ago and I had a really great no chip manicure for $ 25. Thought this would be my new go-​to, quick nail salon.
So I stopped in here last night on my way home from work. I needed to be in and out quickly so I could get home to pack for my trip to LA. I planned on getting a pedicure and a no chip manicure.
I walked in and the lady told me the wait would be about 10 mins. Ok no big deal. I sat there waiting and they started a pedicure tub for me. I sat in the chair soaking my feet for about 20 mins and no one had started on me yet. At this point I was already panicked because I needed to get home.
30 minutes after my arrival, this guy finally begins on my feet and he could not move any slower. You think that would be nice and relaxing for a spa service, but it was beyond irritating. He was just being sloppy and kept screwing things up. After it had been over an HOUR since he started I told him I no longer had time for my manicure. He seemed offended and told me it would only take 15 minutes (yeah, right).
You would think that would signal him to hurry up, but he just kept taking his time. Stopped twice to wash out his eye since it was bothering him, oh and to watch Wheel of Fortune. We finally get to him painting my toe nails and he decides to remove the nail polish from a few of the toes because it looked sloppy. I wanted to scream.
2 HOURS LATER… and I finally got out of the pedicure chair. He told me I had to let me toe nails dry anyway so I should just get a manicure and I refused. I literally left the salon in a snow storm with the pedicure sandals still on.
I would never ever go back here. My toenails are a complete mess and I didn’t even get my nails done for my vacation. I still am so upset just thinking about the waste of time and money at this place.
You get what you pay for here that’s for sure. Stay away!

I like this place! They are fast, and kind. Also cheapest prices I’ve seen in the downtown area!

This is a very good place for me to do my nails. They are doing pretty good and my nails look perfect.

My new go to spot twice a month for long lasting and perfect no chip manis and excellent pedis! …and cheap! $ 25 is the cheapest no chip mani I’ve come across in Chicago! They are very knowledgable and nice employees who actually take pride in their work and don’t rush you out in a hurry. My no chip lasted three weeks! Can’t say enough good things about this place!

I’ve been going to this nail spa since it’s inception.
I’m a picky customer and ALWAYS get fantastic results from my FAVE, Nancy.
Han gives the BEST pedicure massages. Make sure you tip her WELL if you’re lucky enough to get one!
Brian is super polite & friendly. :)
Nancy has been my nail person for YEARS (I followed her from another spa) & she is the absolute best. Her work is ALWAYS perfect.
It’s like she’s a machine of some sort. NO JOKE! lol
The spa has recently been remodeled and the colors great.
Looking forward to my next weekly visit.

As soon as we got here they were rushing us to sit down. The Mani/​pedi was only 35min, the place was under construction an smelled like mold. And it was freezing cold.

My experience didn’t start out so bad, but I quickly learned that this place belongs on the ‘Do Not Return’ list.
I bought the YouSwoop mani/​pedi combo. There were no other clients when I walked in, yet I felt like they were rushing me. The pedicure started out ok as the one lady was very quiet, but as soon as the other lady was finished with her dinner (yes eating in the salon area), she came over and didn’t stop squawking the entire time. She did apologize and said she wanted to talk to her friend, but then continued barking and laughing in her native language.
Now I enjoy a good pedicure. The service would not have been so bad if I was able to relax, but I was surprised when the 2^nd woman started my manicure even before my pedicure was started. So by the time the leg scrub was started, I had my left arm stretched over my body in an uncomfortable position so she can get her job done faster. What’s the point of having the service if I can’t enjoy it?
The nail job itself was decent, but what I’m going to say next will have you running for the hills. As I was waiting for my nails to dry, I was able to watch the 2^nd woman in the mirror as she cleaned near one of the pedicure tubs. As she swept, she cleared her throat and hocked a loogie into the tub. Yes, SHE SPIT IN THE TUB WHERE YOUR FEET GO! Are you feeling sick yet? Oh, and then about 10 minutes later a young lady came in for her pedi appointment, and guess which tub they placed her at?!
Never again!

Exactly what the rating says «Eek! Methinks not.» Unilocal you described it perfectly. The place is a dump, the owner is rude and I had a YouSwoop and I didn’t even stick around to use it because the owner was SO INCREDIBLY RUDE! And based on these reviews, I’m glad I didn’t. Who wants someone tearing apart their cuticles and rushing through what’s supposed to be a RELAXING and ENJOYABLE experience?
I wouldn’t be sad if this place went out of business. Hopefully for all of Chicago’s nails sake, IT WILL.

I had a youswoop for a classic mani and spa pedi, made an appointment at 5pm on Friday evening. When I got there at 5pm, it was kind of busy with 4 other person there, they had 3 nail techs I think. So I kind of have to wait 20 minutes, so I don’t think appointments mean much to them because when I got there and told them I had an appointment at 5, they didn’t even ask what my name was, all they did was nod?! Didn’t even tell me to take a seat and pick my color, but that’s what I did anyways, picked my color and waited. And in the mean time inhaling the fumed air (smelled like chemical or some sort, not very pleasant)
The pedicure took a long time, much longer than at other salons (I get my mani-​pedi done regularly so I know how much time it should take), I think the reason partly is because the nail techs were very chatty with themselves, sometimes she’s so into their conversations she’s using her body language too, very animated, what I meant for me = taking a long time finishing my pedicure, and it was just ok, nothing spectacular. And she did not have much conversation with me either, well I usually don’t care for casual conversation anyways, but it came across as rude. Onto my manicure, which was a different tech, she’s a bit better, very fast, and she did talked with me a little so I don’t feel like I’m in some sort of factory and not a supposedly relaxing salon.
I can def. say I will NOT go back. Next time I make sure to Unilocal a business before I buy any groupons/​youswoop etc.

I bought the Youswoop for a spa mani/​pedi before reading the Unilocal reviews. Hesitantly, I called to make my appointment to use it. I didn’t expect much as I went in for my NYE mani/​pedi.
Contrary to what everyone else is saying, I was greeted promptly and seated as soon as I chose my polish. I had 4 different women working on me throughout the hour, and they were all friendly. My massage was decent, similar to what I usually recieve at other salons. My polish stayed on for about 3 days before it started chipping, but that’s expected since I didn’t get no-​chip and chose glitter polish, which always comes off sooner.
The salon looks somewhat run down, as it’s an old building, but everything appeared to be clean. I also noticed a regular come in, and she brought a friend with her, going on about the place. After I paid, someone (perhaps the owner???) asked me if I only bought the one Youswoop. I said yes, so she gave me her card and wrote $ 25 spa mani/​pedi on the back for me to use in the future.
I had a good experience here. Keep in mind that more people write reviews for extrememly good or bad reviews than for good or mediocre reviews. You get what you pay for, and I would return here.

Similar to other reviewers, I had bought the Groupon for the salon (formerly Crystal Nail salon). I was surprised when I arrived to a run down nail salon, with no air conditioning! On a day with 80+ degree heat, I couldn’t believe that I was sweating while getting my nails done.
For a 3:00pm appointment arriving shortly thereafter, it took ~1.5 hours to finish. They were thorough, however I have similar concerns to other reviewers about the sanitation of the tools used, particularly between clients. My friend and I both received pedicures and the tool they used to scrub out feet was exactly the same, no sterilizing between uses. Kind of gross.
Definitely will not go back here.

While this is definitely not the best experience I’ve ever had at a nail salon, it wasn’t nearly as bad as I expected based on the other reviews here. I had a coupon for an AquaSpa Pedicure and a No Chip Manicure, and so I had to go, even after reading these terrifying reviews. I had some difficulty making a last minute appointment and had to go a different day than I originally wanted to, but making an appointment was worth it, I had no wait at all.
Overall, I enjoyed myself. There wasn’t anything special about the pedicure that made it «AquaSpa» instead of just a normal pedicure, but it was still nice. My feet are soft, the message chair worked, and my nail person was really nice. The water was extremely hot when I first sat down, but she quickly adjusted it for me and then went to work. She spent almost 40 minutes on my feet, it wasn’t rushed and nothing was dirty, I saw them cleaning and disinfecting the tub before I sat down, and the autoclave is out in the open.
Then, I had my no chip manicure. I was really skeptical about it because my nails never, ever, ever hold polish. I don’t know what it is but typically I’m chipping and pealing within a few hours. Not this time. This stuff is in it for the long haul. It’s been 5 days, no chips. It’s not the nicer manicure I’ve ever had, but it looks good and it’s staying put. It is a little weird because the base coat is kind of thick, but whatevs. The nail tech was again, really nice.
I don’t think I’ll make a special trip back, because it’s out of my way, but I wouldn’t tell anyone not to try it.

I’ll admit, I definitely cringed a few times in reading some of the recent reviews this place has gotten*. But my experience wasn’t as horrible as it was for some of the other customers who’ve Unilocaled.
I agree the salon could have been cleaner. Most places could stand to take better care of their tools from a hygiene perspective. I noticed the collection of tools by the pedicure station also had a giant bottle of hand sanitizer by it, and the woman doing my toes squirted some Germ-​x onto the scrubbing brush, etc when working on my feet. Haven’t seen that before. I was happy with the pedicure job overall though. The girl next to me, who arrived after I did, was up and out of her chair way before I was, so her pedicurist seemed to just fly through her service.
My manicure job was definitely rushed. The woman haphazardly clipped my nails without actually looking to do it straight and therefore had to file and refile them to get them square shaped. I noticed a couple of the nails had uneven polish by the cuticles, but I was pleasantly surprised by how shiny my digits were at the end!
There seemed to be a little disorganization in who was tending to which customer once more than 2 customers are in the salon. I had to wait a while between my pedicure and manicure, as a different lady did my nails.
*and was mildly scurred enough to contemplate not redeeming this Groupon just yet… or to even just eat the cost of it.
P. S. This place used to be called Crystal Nail salon. And there is no way that mani-​pedi was worth $ 80.