I went there for Restaurant Week and while I am not sure if that is an accurate representation for the restaurant, it didn't really make me want to come back. The food was fine, but the service was severely lacking.
We were a bigger group that appears to have been their first customers on a Sunday. We had a reservation so they knew we were coming. We wanted to order bottles of wine, but every single one we requested was out. It got to the point that our leader asked for recommendations. The server was nice enough and offered to bring her a taste. She picked one out and that was fine. My other friend ordered a whisky and they were out of that. What is going on? We didn't order until 40 minutes after we sat down for some reason. Again, we were the ONLY people in the entire restaurant at that point. Their restaurant week menu had 4 courses, but they called an "audible" and allowed a three course for $15 less. Me, wanting the whole experience, just did the 4 course. About half the group did the 3 course which just chopped off the dessert. I will describe the food below, but we all ordered. Halfway through, they announced that they only had two duck dishes left. Again, we are the only group in here meaning that we took one of the entries for the eventing just for our table. There was also lots of confusion on who got what.
1st course: This was grilled veggies, soup, or salad. This came out 20 minutes after we ordered. There was a second table seated by the time our food came out. Actually, not all the food came out as I ended up waiting for my soup a full 10 minutes after everybody else. Again, no other table had food, but they forgot my soup? As for the soup, it was pretty good, but I had to eat it fast to catch up with everybody else.
2nd Course: This was the pasta course. Again, server had no clue who was supposed to get what and I ended up getting every single pasta dish offered to me except for my gnocchi. Ended up getting it quick enough, but myself and my table mates commented how much pesto was on it. Like it was pesto soup with dumplings. The Bolognaise others got looked and smelled excellent. The risotto was pretty lackluster based on what my friend mentioned.
3rd course: Those all came out at weird times including everybody who ordered the scallops first, followed by the duck, followed by my beef. The scallops smelled EXTREMELY fishy and my friends commented how salty the clam chowder was. The duck looked good (for the two people that got it) and my beef was excellent so thats a plus
4th course: This is the dessert that half of us got. Some got the tiramisu which actually looked good. Nice and light. I got the chocolate mousse which was a bit goopy and full of a weird jam. Not worth the extra $15 IMO.
We, of course, wanted another bottle of the same wine, but we bought the last one so we had to go through the weird tasting once again. How can you say you are a wine bar and be out of so much alcohol? In all, this meal took 2.5 hours! Thats really long for a four course meal. Restaurant Week is supposed to be a place and time to test out new places across Chicago and while I am glad to try this place, I was unimpressed. There are a bunch of places like this in Chicago and they have wine and not be so disorganized in the service. It was fun company, but this will likely be a pass from me moving forward! read more