Chairs were weirdly too small for my butt. Turned lighting down so far; I couldn't see my meal. Jim loved his apricot/steak salad. Excellent gimlet drink. Bathroom was: up 2 flights of stairs, in the hotel. Elevator? read more

About Last Knife - Bathroom detail - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Good happy hour and after work spot. It can get a bit busy when the hotel has a lot of visitors but overall good.

Happy hour is good for the price but wouldn't be my first choice for drinks. The bites are good, definitely a spot to hit if you are looking for a quick snack and drink near millennium read more

A bit small, but overall a great restaurant. The waitress we had was very helpful in our decisions of what to order. My ribeye sandwich was a bit dry and overcooked, but the aioli and bread balanced it out. The fries were amazing, still warm when they came out of the kitchen, and my mocktail was delicious! The dessert we got, the flourless chocolate cake, was very tasty. It was a rich, silky chocolate tart basically, without the crust. I was expecting a different kind of flourless chocolate cake so I was pleasantly surprised. All in all, I'd go here again, but I'd probably choose a different entrée. read more

About Last Knife - Don't Mock Me mocktail - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I went for Chicago restaurant week and had a fabulous time! Our waiter was super helpful as we tried to pick one drink we wanted. Eventually, I picked the Saturday morning one- it has cocoa pebbles. It was a fun way to start the meal. My friend and I split the salad and the charred steak tartare. The wedge salad was so fun because it had beef jerky in it, wayyyy better than bacon bits! There were large pieces of lettuce and enough dressing- which I feel like never happens. The tartare was also quite good! It was served with barbecue potato chips, which was very interesting. It was a fun mix and added a lot of flavor. We then split the two entrees: hangar steak and ricotta gnocchi. The hangar steak was pretty good. It was either a little tough .... or I was using the knife wrong. Could be either, honestly. The mashed potatoes or potato purée brought me right back to thanksgiving, I loved it! My favorite dish, though, was the ricotta gnocchi. It tasted like little pillows and the butternut squash purée brought out all the flavors. Would totally recommend! read more

Jeremy was a great bartender and provided us with quality drinks and service!! However once Yolanda came in for her shift she was awful slamming bottles and talking so disrespectfully to Jeremy. The worst attitude and if you look at other reviews you will see multiple reviews about her. She should not be in the service industry but she also needs to learn common respect. read more

I had very high expectations, given the high reviews and amount of buzz. When I arrived, just a few minutes after my 7:15 reservation, my friend was already waiting. She'd told me via text that they had no table ready for us yet. This happens, but with a reservation, it's annoying. Furthermore, the hostess was imprecise and said she didn't know when it'd be ready. What's the point of making a reservation then? One of the main things a restaurant should do is know how long table turnover takes at their particular location, even if not with perfect accuracy. TBH it reminded me of asking ComEd when power's back on. They can't tell you! My friend and I sat at the bar and each had a drink, pretty annoyed already. Apparently she had waited for the bartender to acknowledge her for a while, though when he did, he was very nice. It wound up taking a half hour for our table. It was nice of the bartender to give us our glass of wine on the house! Just a shame we had to wait for 30 minutes for a table WITH a reservation. The waiter was a bit standoffish and looked at me like I was an idiot when I asked why the restaurant week menu had the Wellington option online but not in person. He kept referring to the regular restaurant week menu, pointing to it. He ultimately told me the Wellington as an option would be honored, which was good. The food was hardly impressive, though I wouldn't mind checking out more options. I had the restaurant week menu, and though this often involves restaurants cutting corners, it's extra appreciated when they don't. The mushroom soup I got had little flavor - some mushroom, definitely - and was insanely salty. It tasted like something you'd get in a buffet when the caterers know few people will want it anyway. I was excited to try the beef Wellington because it's rarely offered at restaurants. This wasn't good, sadly. It was bland. The beef itself tasted weird - nothing wrong with it, per se, but it almost tasted gamey. The mushroom duxelles fared better, and the puff pastry was fine. Their dessert was a tiny slice of coconut panna cotta. It was A-OK. I am frustrated with this restaurant; it seems wildly overrated. I don't know how the people who work here truly care for their customers, with the notable exception of comping our wine. Waiting half an hour with a reservation and being served banquet-quality food that missed the mark will keep me trying other places before I come back. read more

I stayed at Hotel Julian for five days while visiting Chicago and while there, I dined at About Last Knife for breakfast, twice and dinner, once. The staff is friendly and accommodating, but a touch slow to refill and check on you, at times. The Greek yogurt parfait at breakfast is a nice, healthy way to start the morning. Whipped, fresh Greek yogurt drizzled in honey, gluten free, house made granola and fresh fruit makes a delightful trio. The beef Wellington was good, but suffers a tad on the flakiness of the puff pastry crust when it is reheated. It's understandable as beef Wellington is generally made with a whole tenderloin and then cut to portions, as ordered. The hasselback potatoes are worth a taste with crispy outer crust, covered in green onion sour cream and generously salted. I enjoyed the French onion soup with its well caramelized and deeply flavored beef broth. They use a raclette for the cheese instead of the customary gruyere. It's extra stretchy and chewy, but doesn't have the bite of a good gruyere. For a great drink, try the Et Tu Brut(e). Not bad for a small hotel restaurant. read more

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If the service had not been so strange this would likely have been likely been a four star review. We had a reservation for 7 PM on a Saturday. When we arrived the bar was relatively full, the lounge type seating area in front in the large bench seating had people at it and all of the tables were full as well. We were seated by a hostess and given menus but not given water or told who our server would be, and then no one proceeded to talk to us for 10 to 15 minutes until I flagged down a passing server and asked "Do we have a server?" to which the gentleman responded "Someone will be right with you." No apology, or even slight sense of embarrassment or care that we had been unattended. He then returned and said he would be our server and we promptly asked for water as he saw and commented that we already had drinks (from waiting at the bar.) He then disappeared for at least another 10 minutes, again, without bringing any water. When we placed our orders we asked a third time for water and finally they filled our empty glasses. They never apologized for ignoring us for so long when we were seated or not getting us water. You could also see the servers talking over by the POS station and not making eye contact with us as we were trying to get their attention. Who knows, maybe someone didn't show up for work, but they definitely had a service problem that evening. Two of the group ordered the French onion soup. On this particular day it looked nothing like previous Yelpers pictures of that dish. It barely had any cheese on it whatsoever. Seriously, to the point that you could see the broth and onions through the cheese it had so little. The broth was tasty albeit a little salty, the onions were cut in very thins trips and still had some crisp texture which was interesting but not something I particularly like in a French onion soup myself. It was good, but not great and many restaurants and home cooks make it better than this. The beef Wellington slice was a decent value at $20 including the bordelaise sauce and three whipped potatoes. The beef was tender, the mushroom duxelle had great flavor and as typical for a Wellington the crust was soft inside but had the outer edge crispy from egg wash. The bordelaise sauce was well seasoned but nothing special. For me a better fit would have been the béarnaise sauce. The gnocchi with squash was flavorful with tender gnocchi, but it was served somewhat lukewarm. The $40 filet mignon was well charred and tender, the roasted mushrooms with the sunchoke pieces that came with it was probably the best thing all night. The brussels sprouts sides was tasty, however the sauce was a bit too sweet and overall a tad too salty. The sprouts had great caramelization and were nice and tender. By the time our entrées were served at roughly 8:05 PM, the bar area was empty as well as the front of the restaurant with the lounge chairs. There were quite a few open tables by the time we left at 8:35. Sort of strange for a Chicago restaurant, but it makes sense since it's in a hotel, although you can see in right through floor-to-ceiling windows off of Michigan Avenue. There are quite a few interesting items on the menu that we did not try, but if we returned with others we definitely would. With a few improvements in service and tweaks to the dishes this could easily be a four+ star experience. read more

About Last Knife - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Over priced. Not enough options on the lunch menu. Breakfast ends too early. Staff was good though. Fries were also good but the blueberry aioli taste more like ranch then anything. read more

Looked at the menu and thought it sounded good. Went and sat at the bar and got awful service. Yolanda was our bartender and she acted absolutely annoyed that we sat there and was very abrupt with us. I'm a former bartender and am always very patient and understanding sitting at bartops but there were literally 3 other people sitting at the bar at the time. All we got was "what do you want". Anyway, I got the seafood pasta which was fine and he got the salmon which he said was OK. Of all the places in Chicago, I would never go back. read more

I love coming a sitting at the bar, so when I find a good new spot I can do this at I get pretty excited. First of let me start by saying this is not your typical hotel restaurant. It is much much more. It seems as though it's becoming a trend these days where new hotels are starting to have amazing restaurants in them that locals and tourists like to come to alike. I sat at the bar with Amanda and she recommended some great cocktails and talked to us about the different ingredients inside. She was a great people person, a very knowledgeable bartender, and a huge reason on why my experience was so great. Next let me talk about how comfy the bar stools are! I could sit there for days and drink the craft cocktails. After all my relaxing at the bar I was starting to get pretty hungry and ordered the burger, seasoned fries, and the potato. All of which were very good but the burger was my favorite. Perfectly cooked and seasoned with lots of cheese on top, what's not to love? It wasn't greasy at all and I felt amazing the rest of the day, which is hard to find after devouring a burger. I can't wait to come back and try more cocktails and menu items! This is located in the new hotel Julian just of off Michigan ave and Randolph. Next time I'm there I want to check out some of the hotel rooms for when I have family in town. read more

About Last Knife - Burger time! - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

$17 Old Fashion with crushed ice.. Wedge salad with little to no dressing and covered in raw onions. The salad arrived after my entree.. Pork Chop was unrecognizable and cooked well done when I suggested medium after not being asked. Came with cold potatoes. $17 Wine pour was maybe 2 oz. $90.00 for a $40 meal. Disappointed. read more

The service was good as the waiter checked up on us and was very polite. We waited a decent amount of time for our food. I would advise to call ahead to make sure there's no wait since that's what we did to make sure we could get a table. The beef Wellington's were cooked nicely as they were easy to cut. My favorite part of it was the pastry as it was nice and crunchy. The potatoes were delicious and soft. The Brussels sprouts were a little salty for my liking but would still eat them. My mother enjoyed her turkey pot pie, but for me it was quite salty as well. I would definitely recommend the beef Wellington's. read more

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The food was good, and the venue seemed cool. I wasn't very happy with the service. The bartender, (Yolanda?), was pretty dry and rude towards us and another couple at the bar. We were pretty much ignored most of our time there. The biggest turn off was the way she treated and spoke to her coworkers. A lot of foul language and complaining. I get that stuff happens in the workplace and I don't fault anyone for being upset or having a bad day, but it's not good to do around customers. read more

This place is underrated. This is my second time here and I am beyond pleased. I am a huge Beef Wellington fan and ALK has it every day. It is amazing. A very fine cut of flavorful tenderloin just melts in your mouth. Topped with wild mushroom duxelles and prosciutto then encrusted in a flaky pastry, it is sublime. Mashed potatoes sprinkle with a little fried prosciutto are light yet still creamy with great potato flavor. The Romaine Wedge is a fantastic take on the classic Caesar. Homemade dressing. Fresh romaine. Tasty chopped jerky. Delish. Give this place a try. read more

This place is swanky and in the lobby of Hotel Julian. Ordered the ribeye which was seasoned to perfection, and the mashed potatoes were a highlight. My least favorite were the Brussels sprouts, but still flavorful. Staff seemed a tad forgetful, but I'm attributing that to newness. read more

discouraging is not that they changed twice but that they promised to refund and didn't do that. had to go to credit card issuer. so be attentive and cautious - they may believe that tourists are carel read more

Steaks lacks flavor! Almost asked for an A1 sauce but opted for table salt and pepper instead... For their preparation time of 30mins they could have atleast thrown in some herbs and butter for better seasoning... Not worth the price better go to another steakhouse instead. read more

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This is my second time at ALK! I came here with some friends before and really liked the food so I brought my mom here to celebrate Mother's Day. She left the restaurant super happy and full! The food and drinks are both amazing and everyone is super nice! Our waitress was able to provide recommendations and help us choose the right drinks. I'm very picky with my cocktails and when I say fruity, I really mean fruity where I can't even taste the alcohol. I got the Daiquiri and it tasted great! Just like the description, fruity but not too sweet. For the food, we got the mushroom soup, shrimp cocktails, beef Wellington and ribeye steak with mushroom and Brussels sprouts as sides. Everything tasted amazing! The mushroom is the best tasting mushroom I have ever had in my life! It's my second time eating the beef Wellington and it's wrapped in the same yummy mushroom and pastry. It's just perfection! The first time I had the brunch version with a poach egg on top. It's like heaven! I will order this every time I go back to ALK! I definitely recommend trying the beef Wellington and get a side of mushrooms! You won't regret it! The ribeye steak we got is 16oz and I never thought my mom and I will be able to finish it but we did! It was that good! I was super full but still wanted to finish it. The steak came with Brussels sprouts on the side... oh my god, was I really eating vegetables? I didn't know Brussels sprouts can taste like that! I loved it so much I went home and tried to cook my own Brussels sprouts but my version definitely wasn't comparable and tasted like vegetables... props to the chef!! Our waitress told us the chef actually has Michelin stars! No wonder the food tastes so great. Even the simple grilled cheese I tried last time was the best grilled cheese. I'm feeling hungry from writing this review thinking back to the yummy food. I can't wait to go back again! P.S. the location was a big plus! After dinner my mom and I walked around millennium park, which is just across the streets! read more

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ALK should change its name to DCH (don't come hungry). Food very good. Service nearly nonexistent. My wife, son and I were offered water only 15 minutes after arriving and offered one beverage during the entire dining experience. Saw our waiter walk by occasionally. Never made eye contact and visited the table only when he thought we were ready to leave. We ordered appetizers. Those were gone, as was our drinks, but we never got to the entree. He didn't even ask. As I write this I'm waiting for our bill. I have no idea if he will bring it because he doesn't seem to know we are here. No, it's not super busy. Moderately busy at best. I'm staring at 4 empty tables. read more

Yes! Stopped in for dinner while visiting. Initial service wasn't great - seemed like maybe I was getting the cold shoulder because I was a party of one. Eventually got my drink order and it was all up from there. The incider trading drink was so yummy - would have had these all night long. The French onion soup was salty and delicious. The Wellington was also delicious. The fries were pretty plain and I didn't eat them but I wasn't left hungry. Great food and a cute spot. read more

About Last Knife - Wellington - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Wanted to have cocktails. Was seated and never spoken to again. Had to go to bar to retrieve our own drinks, which would have been fine if the staff at the bar had not looked like it was an inconvenience to hand us two bottles of beer. We sat on the patio and watched a table that had not been cleaned off slowly be robbed of steak knives, utensils, and glasses being tossed to the sidewalk. Plenty of other restaurants/bars to go to downtown that actually tend to their patrons. read more

Amazing food!! Definitely recommend the filet with the garlic butter on the side .. DELICIOUS!! Ask for Ivy!!! The moment we sat down, we were greeted with her warm and beautiful smile. She had the best personality and so much knowing of the menu to help guide us. It felt like we knew her forever. The manager was a sweetheart too and even came by to check on things. Beautiful ambiance in this place as well. I'll definitely be back and will recommend it to everyone!! read more

Put that last knife on my chest. French Onion Soup - Too salty, with cheese slices from the supermarket. I can see the shapes and the cheese slices were floating at the center of the bowl. Lamb Lolichops - Average Production. Try improving on the seasoning. Blackened Salmon - Salmon is good, crisp fish skin is a plus; the garnish is not fresh, asparagus in the freezer for a month or so. Beef Wellington - Dampened crispy puff pastry, wrong/uneven reheat for the slices, sauce is mysterious, it's not red wine sauce and it's layered. Mashed potatoes is okay, but not like from real potatoes. In all, I can sense the kitchen's way to cut the cost down by preparing all in advance for at least for 2 weeks, and there's nothing wrong with it; but if you're charging more than average, you have to work beyond average. I know there are good reviews about great pancakes and small bites, I think they're real. But if you put those hard dishes on, you have to serve them well. This shouldn't be an 170 dollar meal looks like. Also there's nowhere saying there will be 20% service charge on the menu. Not to mention there was no good service. The service fee is mainly for the fridge because the food are coming fast... and for the microwave! 如果你只点简餐可以 千万别点硬菜 硬菜全是冷冻许久拿微波炉热的 强制20%小费且不提前告知 服务不行 酒水掉度 黑店别去。 ホットケーキなら大丈夫ですが、メインコースは全部冷蔵庫からマイクロウェブで温めたものです。品質と合わさない価格と隠されたサービス費により、ブラックすぎる飲食店だと判断しております。是非ご注意してください。 read more

Nice and tranquil ambiance, enjoyed a couple of good old fashioneds with some friends with great care and attention by Nadia.

Inside a hotel on N Michigan, ALK is a great find in a busy area. Their cheese plate was ok, probably the least favorite thing we ordered but still good enough and we finished majority of it. Their ALK roll was awesome. Came with almost 9 pieces so it's great for sharing and great for people who don't like raw sushi (had grilled filet on top!). Their filet burgers (3 pieces) were cooked well, a little too much blue cheese for my liking but was able to push some off. Their shrimp tempura came with 6 pieces, a great dipping sauce and a grilled lemon for squeezing. The crab cake was a good size, my favorite part was the fresh kiwi pico that came on top. Their cinnamon bread pudding with ice cream on top was a great dessert option. I think the waitress mentioned that they change their desserts every month but if they have that, I would definitely recommend trying it. Lastly, their orange wine was incredible!! read more

Great service! Adrian was very helpful providing incredible service with my food. The steak was delicious.

I went to meet an old friend for breakfast who staying at the Julian Hotel. ALK is inside the hotel. We got there when they opened. Clean. Nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The reason for 3 stars. First. no vegan options. Plant-based is the new thing. They need to offer oatmeal even. I ordered only a side of roasted potatoes in olive oil. The waitress comes to the table just before our food arrived and says the kitchen never told her until that moment. No potatoes will tater tots work? I really did not want them but there really wasn't any other option. Odd, as I said yes, my tater tots arrived. They were just tots, you all know what they look like. ALK. I suggest adding vegan options. read more

So about last night!!! I mean last knife (pun intended). I really wanted to like this place. However the night would prove the name. We walked in and went to the host stand in front. There we waited while the hostess was on the phone. We literally were standing there waiting to be acknowledged for what seemed 4-5 minutes but she was too busy to even say "one moment, or etc". And the place wasn't wry packed. We stood there and when she was done we finally got a word in and asked for a table for two. She barley said words and seemed to have her mind set on being elsewhere. Whatever. We sat down and were given menus. I had my mind made up of what I wanted already!! BEEF WELLINGTON!!!! Seeing the waitresses carry them to other tables was making me so hungry for one. I ordered one and waited for mine. And then, it arrived!!! It was so small. Which was confusing because I was seeing nice size portions walk past me. Our table was near the kitchen so pretty much all the orders would pass us by. Such a huge let down. You know how you buy a loaf of bread and the very 1st slice on the end is half the size of other slices and more of a sliver than a slice? That pretty much what it was like. Like an Oreo cookie size of beef. I ordered it medium-rare. So I sliced into it and it was rare/raw. At first I didn't notice until I had it in my mouth. It immediately knew something was wrong. And what was funny was after one bite the portion was damn near have gone. So 2 to 3 bites and my portion would of been done. I called the waitress and did what I hate to do. I complained about the rare to raw serving and asked why my portion was so small. Keep in mind this is a $30 dish. I'm not expecting it to be crazy huge, but I did expect a fair/comparable portion size to what I was seeing coming out of the kitchen.l and to other dinners tables. I had to do it. I was so taken back by the portion size and the way I asked for it to be cooked compared to How it came to my table was just too much. The waitress apologized and said she's bring another one. At this point I debated just canceling the order. But I wanted to give it another go and like this place. Well the replacement arrived and the size was a little bigger than the previous portion given to me. It was also cooked how I asked. It tasted ok but a bit on the bland side and mushy texture. Overall for the price ($30) I expected a better experience. I can excuse and take a lot of things and understand we're only human, but from a hostess that's ignoring, food under cooked, portion size for a toddler and bland taste I was at a loss. This was not our waitress fault. She's not the hostess nor the cook. She was caught in the middle. The picture attached is the 2nd portion I was given after o sent the 1st one back. It's literally twice the size of the original portion given. I expected a slice not a sliver. Such a disappointment especially after reading all the reviews. Really wanted a nice dinner after flying in from Miami and visiting Chicago. I found this place on yelp before arriving to Chicago and already knew this is where my 1st dinner would be. So I really wanted to like it like I said before. read more

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Food is alright. They have upped the prices since being opened. Definitely cut down on the side portions. Huge reason I have to give it a 3 Star is because of service. It is an open kitchen, which is where I see the problem. The head chef is awful. The way he was talking to the other coworkers turned me away. No reason to talk to employees that way. Most likely won't return due to that. read more

This is a great place! The food was delicious. The staff was warm and friendly! Exec. Chef Daniel is really approachable and dedicated to providing great food. GiGi ( Food and Beverage Manager) and Mike (server) are dedicated to making your experience more personal. Thank you Chef and your staff for an enjoyable experience. I will be back with friends and family! I want to try the Beef Wellington... it looked amazing! read more

About Last Knife - Delicious Super French Toast! - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Went last night (4th of July) around 5. Did not know what to expect as they had just re opened post covid. Glad we went!!! Loved the food, social distancing was perfect. Windows and patio was fantastic right by the hustle and bustle of downtown. Very fun people watching. Most importantly the food was epic, i think i had a little bit of everything. I will definitely be back. read more

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The best old fashioned I've ever had! We tried a few other cocktails and they were great too. Highly recommend their incredible bartenders.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE - One of my new go-to places for steak! I came here with a friend for restaurant week and we were both so impressed. Every course we had came hot and was absolutely incredible. I wasn't expecting to love the steak so much, but you can tell that the quality of the meat is great as well as the rest of the food. I was so full by the end of the meal but wanted more! The ambiance and vibe of the place is great, too. Low-lights, good music, swings and couches. Would be a great place for a date. The prices were definitely good for the restaurant week deal. Admittedly, I didn't check what the prices would be like otherwise but I would pay to eat here as much as I would other good steak places. read more

Amazing!! This restaurant is the perfect compliment to Hotel Julian, which is a wonderful hotel. Two of my friends and I stayed here during the week for work and had a wonderful experience. First, the drinks were incredible - if you like bourbon/rye, I highly recommend their Bandit of Hell's Bend cocktail. My friends and I also ordered the Three Valley's Zin/Sirah. All were delicious! We also had dinner which I can't rave about enough. Mykayla was a wonderful server - thank you - and helped a lot with our decisions and made great recommendations. The two gentlemen working with her were great too- they were all super attentive and made sure we wanted for nothing. For food, we started with the Charred Octopus - trust me on this, even if you're not an octopus fan, it's worth the try! The texture and flavors were amazing! Mykayla emphasized this too, and she was so right! We also ordered the Gorgonzola and Fig Tartine which was tasty. For dinner we shared the two burgers - the Burger and Fries and the Truffle Mushroom Burger. I am salivating as I think about them. Both were delicious, but the combination of flavor in the Truffle burger is out of this world. For a side, in addition to the fries (which were perfect) we ordered the Brussel sprouts. I asked for them without the red pepper flakes which Mykayla wasn't sure they could do because it was all cooked together. Since I'm the only one of the group with a spice aversion, I told her not to worry about it, but they delivered! We received exceptional Brussel sprouts with the red chili flake sauce on the side. I was so happy! This restaurant/bar is wonderful and worth a stop whether you're traveling to Chicago or a native. During happy hour it's definitely popping, so make sure you swing by! read more

About Last Knife - A little rye and a little wine - yum! - Gastropubs Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

During my short stay in Chicago, I had the pleasure of dining at some popular and well respected restaurants, including Blackbird, Boka, Bavettes, and Girl and the Goat. Given this, About Last Knife absolutely deserved a visit and exceeded my expectations. The restaurant's open arrangement and modern style made for a nice ambience. Our waiter Mike provided exemplary service; friendly, professional, not overbearing. We had the beef wellington with what looks like hollandaise sauce, squash gnocchi, burrata and tomato salad, and beef tartar for a total of 75 dollars before tax and tip. Everything was delicious and my preference for the food is in the order above. The beef wellington was extremely well prepared; tender juicy steak wrapped in a well seasoned shell of mushrooms and pastry. The hollandaise sauce (2 dollars extra) that was provided was also amazing, with a very unique property of a hint of what seems like vanilla. The waiter volunteered a preparation of medium and it was appropriate. The squash gnocchi was also well flavored, but what also really stood out was that the gnocchi was charred to yield a thin crispy outer shell. The dish was not overly rich. The burrata and tomato salad had just the right amount of acidity. It was well seasoned and I really appreciated the surprising addition of jalapeños (similar to those you put on nachos). The acidity provided here worked well with the dish. Slightly wished for a bit more basil scent. Finally, it was my first time having beef tartar. I really liked the dish; I think it serves as a great amuse and the chips served with it are fried to just the right level of crispyness, not too fragile but not too thick. I had a blast here and is absolutely on the top of my list when I revisit Chicago. This is a hidden gem. I came at 11:30 am and felt it was the perfect time before the rush. Great job ALK! read more

For restaurant week my coworkers and I made a reservation for a Friday at noon for 5. We arrived around 12:10. We were seated right away, but after we ordered the appetizers took at least 30-40 min to come. I ordered soup and it was probably less than half of the bowl (it was tasty though). After they took away the appetizer dishes we were told they were firing up the second course- 4 of us ordered the steak sandwich and 1 ordered the grilled cheese. Around like 1:10 our waitress said she would check on our sandwiches, we asked for the dessert to go and the check since we had meetings at 2. At 1:20 we also asked for the sandwiches to go. At that time the waitress told us that there were only 2 chefs in the kitchen. We would have appreciated to know this when we first were seated to expect slower service. Around 1:30 she brings the dessert to go, but says the sandwiches aren't ready yet, however, the manager said we could get 25% off. At that poing we were all super hungry still and were worried we would be late for our 2pm meeting, we considered just leaving and saying we wouldn't eat or take the dessert or sandwiches. The waitress went to go see if she could do more for us since we were still displeased. The manager then came over because she realized we only received a soup at that point after being there for 1hour and 20min. At like 1:40 we finally got all our food to go. Back at the office when we started eating we realized they only gave like half of the portion for dessert (half of a Panna cotta instead of the full circle) and then only half of a sandwich. The soup was tasty. I believe the entree and dessert were tasty, however, at that point I was so hungry that I scarfed down my meal without really tasting it. read more

I'm not one to give 5 but this was great. I was dining solo and did not want dress up steak. Found this new gem on here. It's a new "modern" space but I didn't feel out of place not wearing skinny jeans. I went with the warm burrata vinaigrette, it was just right not to overpowered by the vinegar and not too leafy with the basil. I had the fillet with mushrooms for dinner both prepared perfectly. I will return read more

I dined here for dinner last Saturday with some friends. First off, I absolutely love the decor! It has a modern upscale look but doesn't have the stuffy feeling that many traditional steakhouses have. The marble tables are so beautiful and add such a nice touch to the place. The restaurant is located on the first floor of hotel Julian. It is on the smaller side but it didn't feel too crowded. We ordered the marinated hanger steak, the dry aged t-bone, and the dry aged ribeye. For sides, we got the Brussel sprouts, French fries, and the mushrooms. We also ordered four of their cocktails. The cocktails were so delicious and unique. There was one called "Saturday Morning Cartoons" which included Cereal infused milk. One thing that stood out to me is that they have breakfast available even during dinner service which is awesome! Next time I come, I will definitely try some of their breakfast options. The marinated hanger steak was good but not what I thought it would be. When I think of marinated, something that is flavorful. However, when I asked our server what the steak was marinated in, he said salt and pepper. However, I did get a side of the red wine sauce (for Additional $2) which made the dish. The steak was cooked to perfect temp and was at a fair price point. Both the T-bone and the ribeye was so delicious, tender, and hit the spot for a good steak. Next time, I would love to try the beef Wellington. No sides are included when ordering the steak which is typical for steakhouses. However, I strongly recommend the sides. The mushrooms were honestly the best I've ever had. They were buttery, flavorful and had so much texture. The French fries were medium thick but perfectly crispy and well seasoned. My least favorite were the Brussels sprouts. They could've been more crispy and flavorful but nevertheless, it was a decent choice. For dessert, we did both the coconut panna cotta and the flourless chocolate cake. I LOVED both! The panna cotta was more gelatinous than traditional panna cotta but the subtle creamy coconut flavor was phenomenal. The flourless chocolate cake came with a fresh whipped cream that really cut the deep flavor of the chocolate, it was perfectly balanced. I can't wait to come back!! read more