This past Sunday night I went to Erie Café with two friends. I had not been there for quite a…read morewhile. When I called to make the reservation, I spoke to Johnny, and he was as nice as could be. He told me that when I arrive I should see him or Juan, the manager. When we got there, we wanted to sit outside and went to look at the area. There was a group of servers outside and they were so very friendly. It looked like rain, so we chose a table inside. Our server, Cesar, turned out to be fabulous. I must admit I was slightly biased since he had been my student in high school. That was such a surprise! I can't remember any restaurant that I've been to where the servers, managers, and everyone was beyond helpful. Aside from the people, I the food was great. I had Greek chicken, and it was enough for three people! I ate the leftovers at home for the next two nights, and they were still great. It was definitely the best Greek chicken I've ever had, including at the restaurants in Greektown. My friends agreed. I can't wait to go back to Erie Café. I certainly will go back very soon!

Food is the most important thing and it's just flat out not good. Lasagna is a weekend special and…read morecame out looking dull and tasted the same. I'd rather have Stouffers from the grocery store every time. They try and redeem things with lots of bread and included soup or salad but those aren't particularly tasty either. Red wine felt watered down too. For positives, the service is good and prompt, it smells good walking in, and the vibe is cool/authentic. That said, it took several minutes for anyone to acknowledge us at the host stand at the outset, despite several employees walking by multiple times. Wouldn't recommend because the food disappointed so much it overwhelmed everything else.

Ended up here after a show gpt canceled, last minute, at a different place in the area. Looking…read morefor a place that's not going to break your pocketbook, but still has excellent food ideas and executes the flavors well with quality ingrediets? Then look no further! My girlfriend and I were really bummed that I had driven all the way from Milwaukee to see a show only for it to be canceled 10 minutes before show time. We were getting even more irritated trying to find a place, in the west loop area, that was unique, fun, with good food at a decent price. After about 20 minutes we FINALLY settled on The VIG. My attitude changed immediately walking in and seeing the cool layout and theme while Magic Stick (50 Cent & Lil' Kim) played at a decent volume then switched to Sublime. I love an eclectic music playlist. Huge, solid, bare-wood support beams decorated with really cool led lamps that looked like they were out of a prohibition era speakeasy. The lighting was not too bright to be annoying, but not too dark where it ya can't read your menu (like so many places are nowadays)! The at on the walls was from the golden-era and really tactful pictures of pinup girls and guys. Tv's were everywhere for people to watch the Cubs beat the Nationals, and the seating was not too crammed. It was very comfortable! The staff was on top of things and very friendly and knowledgeable! Excellent descriptions and understanding of the food and drinks they serve! Good sense of humor as well which made ordering fun! The food came out promptly and well plated! The pictures are of the elote street corn deviled eggs and the Italian beef bao buns. Both were AMAZING! Well thought out dishes that perfectly mixed cultures and textures while still preserving enough individual culture of each part of the dish! That got us extremely excited to try more! The old fashioned was really good, even to my biased Wisconsin standards, and the rosé slushy was fantastic! For entrees, I got the ribeye. I will say that it is only around an inch (or less) thick, so keep that in mind if, like me, you like a medium rare to medium done steak. The char was perfect, their compound butter really was unique and added to the flavor, and the steak was still juicy enough to enjoy even though it was medium well to well done. It was still delicious and went VERY well with the potatoes it came with! The fingerling potatoes were perfectly cooked and had a light drizzle of sauce with some spiced corn kernels sprinkled around them. Truly a dish to remember, even if a tad overcooked. I did let our waitress know when she came around to ask how it was. I reassured her, when she offered to make it right, that it was still ok and that I planned on eating the whole thing so no need to do anything but give feedback to the kitchen. I know it's difficult to control the cook on a thin piece of meat like that. If you generally like medium well to well done steaks, it would have rolled your eyes back in bliss like it did to mine. My girlfriend got the The VIG burger and the Gnocchi Alla Vodka with a side of fresh cut fries. The thick and juicy burger patty itself was a little hard to taste with the cheese, sauce, and tomato. I prefer the beef patty to be the star of the show, and it just got a little lost in all of the other flavors. The texture of the patty was great, though! I could immediately tell that they don't over-mix their patty beef because it held together just enough to bite but then crumbled away nicely which made chewing easy! Next time I will ask for the sauce on the side since it was still good. The fries were fantastic. Not too crispy, not too soft...skins on and the same size as fast-food style fries. The Gnocchi was SPECTACULAR! Cooked to perfection! The sauce was well put together and plentiful, yet not overpowering! Dessert was the tiramisu which was very good! I am VERY excited hearing that a Milwaukee location is opening soon! I can't wait to try more! I'll be recommending this place to my foodie friends! Thanks, to the staff for making our night better with food, light conversation and good atmosphere!

Dropped in here for a quick Sunday brunch while visiting the city. We sat at a sidewalk table as…read morethe weather was perfect. The people watching was amazing. It was either cookie cutter 20-somethings steeped in Lulemon or Alo on their way to the gym or yoga, or the couple and their dog. Service was excellent, and food was very tasty. The menu has a number of traditional items along with some of specialties that we didn't try. Inside the restaurant is a large bar and wall with multiple TVs, so I imagine it's a packed weekend lunch and dinner crowd particularly on game day. Ultimately, this is probably a regular hotspot for the neighborhood and not a bad place if I do say so myself.

Boka was a special dining experience. The restaurant offers an intimate, cozy atmosphere, and the…read morestaff were wonderful. They were attentive, knowledgeable, and genuinely helpful with their recommendations. We opted in for the vegetarian tasting menu. Each course was thoughtfully prepared, beautifully presented, and full of flavor. Nothing felt like an afterthought, and the menu offered an impressive variety of flavors and textures. We were super full at the end. The restaurant also prepared a special birthday menu with all the great dishes the chef made for us that day. Some of our favorites included the Cherry Tomato Tart, Smoked Turnip, Chestnut Ravioli, and Roasted Maitake Mushroom with Meyer lemon and black truffle. The Chocolate Tart and Elderflower Panna Cotta were the perfect finishing touches along with the birthday ice cream popsicle. Overall, Boka felt intimate, elevated, and impeccably executed. It was clear that tremendous thought went into every dish. This was a truly memorable meal, and we will be back :).

I got a bar seat reservation for the missus and I (two) at 7:15pm on Sunday, September 6, 2026. The…read morefront desk was courteous - they give you a key for your bags (looks like an ancient key) as part of bag check, and led us to our table at the leftmost side of the bar. The bar seating itself wasn't super crowded - but every booth and table looked like it was taken, so that was interesting. On my way to the bathroom I saw their numerous michelin years of guide and stars. It's noticeably missing 2026 - and after having dined here, I kind of get why. For a drink I got the local Eris Pedestrian cider. We debated getting the chef menu ($195/each) , but we ended up ordering a la carte: chicken liver mousse ($9/each, we ordered two), roasted veal sweetbreads ($30), black truffle chicken ($43), and roasted dry aged pork loin ($51). We later ordered a financiers for dessert (forgot the price). We were full after eating everything that we ordered, but given the lack of quality of the cuts of meat, the small portion sizes, and the extremely high cost, it's hard for me to recommend this place. If this is what Michelin star-quality food tastes like (at least in Chicago), the Michelin evaluators here have either no actual taste buds, or are awarding stars for "vibes" only. The vibes are fine - don't get me wrong - but the food here isn't anything worth writing home about. Dish by dish: mousse was decent, the veal was kinda dry, the chicken was very dry, and the pork loin, while decent, wasn't as special as we thought it'd be. Financiers was kinda sweet but it was actually the only part of the meal I truly enjoyed the bites of. The post-meal truffle thing was too sweet for the missus so I ate both. The cider was... Pedestrian, as the name implies. Definitely the most fitting name for the drink. The bathrooms are down the stairs - so it's terrible for those in wheelchairs or that are mobility challenged. The bathrooms themselves are high-quality - which is part of the experience, but idk if it's "worthy" of adding stars to a mediocre food experience.

Came by for dinner the other night and it was a unique experience. Made a reservation request on…read moreOpenTable and was emailed an invoice requesting full payment, including tax and gratuity before my reservation was secured. The restaurant is by reservation only with an opening time of 6 pm. Reservations were only available at 5:30 pm and got an email requesting to arrive after 5 pm. El ideas is a Michelin 1 star restaurant in an industrial part of Chicago with a bus stop right in front of the restaurant. There was some street parking. The restaurant seems like a warehouse and features an open kitchen where interaction with the team was encouraged although I didn't see anyone doing so. The restaurant is BYOB. Dinner was a blind tasting menu of ~9 courses. I found the flavors on the extremely bold side. Food quality and ingredients were top notch, including Wagyu, local duck, local fish, local produce, foie gras, tuna Tartare. Service was decent for dinner, keeping in mind that gratuity was prepaid before dinner. ~$250/head after tax and gratuity for dinner.

I did not know food could do that. I do now…read more El Ideas was my first Michelin star experience and I walked out genuinely changed. That is not hyperbole. That is just what happened. The space sets the tone immediately. Small, intimate, covered in art and graffiti, good music humming through the room, open kitchen front and center. The concept is a dinner party in someone's very talented home and they commit to that vision completely. White tablecloths and stunning dinnerware sit comfortably alongside the laid back energy. It is BYOB including non alcoholic, which is an inclusive and thoughtful touch that more restaurants should take note of. Ten courses. Every single one intentional, innovative, and surprising. The first dish arrives with one instruction: lick the plate. No hands, no silverware. It is a perfect opening statement. Fine dining does not have to be stuffy or precious, it can be joyful and a little unhinged, and the food can still make you emotional. Mine did. Three dishes I will think about for a long time. A chicken marsala interpretation so layered with flavor that I genuinely felt something eating it. A Korean BBQ duck that was lean and bold, paired with mushroom to deliver the fatty richness the duck alone could not carry. And a banana rice pudding with a pandan marshmallow element on top that somehow coaxed out distinct and separate banana flavors I did not know existed. Every dish played with texture, hit multiple senses, and offered something genuinely new in each bite. The chefs are also your servers. They bring each course out themselves, deliver a little speech about what you are eating, engage with you throughout the meal, and pull you into the kitchen conversation naturally. It felt homey and accessible in a way that fine dining rarely achieves. Go in knowing little. Trust the kitchen completely. Walk out a different person. Worth every penny and then some.

Ox bar is a lovely upscale restaurant with a rotating seasonal menu focused on fresh ingredients,…read morecomfort food (I wouldn't say soul food though), in a great location. To start we got the trout dip, the brioche loaf, and the beets. The beets were fine - tasty but nothing thrilling. The brioche was special, nearly dessert like, melt in your mouthy buttery bread toasted golden brown. The best app was the trout dip which was like a tuna salad but made with fresh fish and just insanely tasty. Even if you don't like fish this is a must get. We ordered mains I had the whole trout (more trout I know) which was excellent. Spiced well and a very generous portion for $50ish bucks We had a birthday at the table and service was slow (though our waitress Sarah was so excellent). I think realizing this they did something special for the birthday. We ordered the cookies because we heard those were incredible. When those came out we also received the fig crème brûlée, the apple fritter (with vanilla/apple ice cream), and chocolate gelato (with a candle). I don't know if this was typical, but for the three of us this was CRAZY. It was easily an extra $50 in dessert (which I'm not complaining). Okay but how was everything? Let's start with what we ordered, the cookies were excellent. Melt in your mouth and stuffed with a hunk of high quality dark chocolate. And if that wasn't enough, it came with incredible caramel sauce. The fig crème brûlée was tasty. Hint of fig in there brought out a deeper flavor in the crème and it was brûléed perfectly. The apple fritter was good, but nothing special. The vanilla ice cream was a lovely palette cleanser to the chocolate from the cookie. See if you can ask to get a scoop next time with the cookies. Finally, the tiny scoop of chocolate ice cream was excellent. It felt like there was a deeper flavor that I couldn't quite put my finger on. Super rich and luscious. Overall an incredible dinner and we will be back.

We came for dinner on a Friday evening and enjoyed sitting by the open kitchen. It's a big space…read morethat is well decorated with good energy on a weekend night. Wines were great though pricier than the cocktails which was interesting. Service was very prompt. We started with the perogi, lettuces, and smoked capocollo. The pierogi was delicious and a good shareable portion. The lettuce was like an elevated ceasar salad with plenty of cheese on top. The smoked capocollo was like a salty thick prosciutto - not really my favorite. We got the chicken as our entree, but this was definitely on the smaller side. It was well cooked though with a tasty crispy skin. Overall it was a nice meal but on the pricier side for the portions. I appreciate the use of well sourced ingredients though.

I came with Publican with a group for Brunch and would certainly come back again…read more Atmosphere was comfortable / relaxed. We sat outside had great conversation. It's a great place for group get togethers and casual catch-ups. While none of the food we had was incredible, everything was good and we were happy with what we had. Dishes I specifically had were - Chicken Schnitzel - Maple Braised Publican Bacon - Bread & Spreads w/ fish dip - Brunch Potatoes w/ spicy aioli

This spot has been on the list for some time and finally got here for lunch on a Thursday. We had…read morea 12:30 reservation for 5 and sat outside. Some were running late, no problem, the kind Host sat us. Given the mild summer day, most were enjoying the space outside with a view of the Fulton Market area. Large interior with a Beer Hall vibe. We started with the Breads and spreads (2) starter that came with their house baked bread-seeded rye and spence sourdough. Smoked fish and pimento cheese dip were both delicious pairing nicely with the fresh bread. Also ordered their Bloody Mary-tried it and I'm not a big fan of Bloody Mary's but this one was perfect-bonus-included a Beer chaser. For lunch it was the Burger (flame grilled taste, came out medium as ordered and just the right size, loved the beef fat fries), Chicken Schnitzel (tasty take on the classic with the Chicories taking it over the top), Farro and Quinoa Bowl (the tasty healthy option), Classic waffle (simple and delicious). Service was friendly and engaged. Justyne took great care of us! Limited dessert menu at lunch so we ordered a caramel ice cream and it was enjoyed. Farm to table goodness not to be missed.

Stopped into Black Barrel Tavern on a recent visit to Chicago. It was highly recommended by some…read morelocals and it didn't disappoint. Indoor and outdoor seating was available. The interior has the vibe of an elegant pub with rich dark wood everywhere. There are choices of bar seating, high tops and tables. We were greeted and waited on immediately even with the lunch crowd. Our waitress had some really great suggestions as well. Our door came out quickly. Really great portions for the price point. I ordered the chicken parm sandwich and had it for lunch and dinner. The bread was fantastic, the sauce, amazing. Probably the best I've had. While I know fries are common, these were excellent. Crispy, seasoned just right. This is a great downtown Chicago restaurant. I highly recommend you give them a try.

I love the vibe here! It's a great place to sit on the patio and have a few drinks! Very dog…read morefriendly too! Service is great! They make a great michelada here! As far as the food it's very average. The pigs In the blanket is very different from what you would expect-I'd rather just have chicken and waffles. The chilaquiles were pretty mid. We asked our steak for medium it was beyond well done. Chips were very soggy too!

Beautiful interior space serving the best cocktails in Old Town. Wide variety of food items and…read morethe service is amazing. Lively atmosphere that also has an outdoor for summer months! Pro Tip: crispy rice is a must try

We stopped by for brunch on a Sunday. The food was great and reasonably priced. It seemed to be…read morebooked so we had to sit at the bar. Service was great and we tried: - Cold Brew - Turkey Club - Steakhouse Burger Can't go wrong if you're looking for an American brunch.