Absolutely incredible from start to finish! Every dish was outstanding. The burger was perfectly…read morecooked--juicy, tender, and full of flavor. The handmade gnocchi was phenomenal, with a delicious smoky flavor that made it unforgettable. The croquettes were unbelievably mouthwatering and absolutely delicious, and the burrata was simply to die for. On top of the amazing food, the restaurant had great music, a wonderful atmosphere, and a staff that was welcoming, attentive, and genuinely friendly. This was an exceptional dining experience, and I can't wait to come back. Highly recommend!

My partner booked a table so we could unwind and enjoy a nice dinner before heading to a Broadway…read moreshow. We arrived early and spotted an open bar table, so we grabbed it. Perfect timing because it gave us a great view of a FIFA match while we informed the hotess and settle in. We ordered the hamachi collars, the Midwest salad, and the Amish curry chicken. We forgot to snap a picture of the hamachi collars, but they were a huge, delicious portion. The sauce leaned a bit sweet, but thankfully it wasn't poured directly over the fish. The standout dish was definitely the Amish curry chicken. It smelled incredible and tasted even better. Kudos to the managers for making the whole experience genuinely pleasant

A thousand percent YES Worth the wait…read more Worth the cost. Service, ambience and food delicious. Can't wait to come back and try more Whatever wine I had was SO good and so bad I can't remember the name because I want to go back to order it again

The first bite in Chicago... and what a delicious welcome!…read more My culinary adventure began at The Purple Pig, a Mediterranean spot in the heart of Chicago's Magnificent Mile. A James Beard Award-winning restaurant and Michelin Bib Gourmand honoree. The star of the meal? The divinely delicious Spanish Octopus. Cooked to perfection, so meaty and tender. And paired with marbled potatoes, sambuca, chimichurri, and Spanish chorizo. Every bite was beautifully balanced and flavorful. This octopus dish will be remembered. Service at the bar was attentive. And the restaurant was nice.

My wife and I live in Seattle. But when we come to Chicago to revisit some of our old stomping…read moregrounds, Boka is, without question, on our list of places to revisit and reminisce. Hands down, and I don't say this lightly - Boka is one of my favorite restaurants in the country. I don't think it's too wild to say it may certainly be my FAVORITE restaurant in the US of A. This past week was my second pilgrimage to Boka, and I was stoked as ever. We ordered some non-alcoholic drinks, a few appetizers, and our entrees (duck and black truffle chicken). We had a nice discussion with the waiter and shared our enthusiasm and excitement with him. We shared that this was our return to my safe culinary haven, and I was prepared to be dazzled again. And dazzled I was. The chicken was phenomenal. The flavors were amazing and so poignant, and the tenderness of chicken made you really question if you were eating chicken at all. Everything was so moist and tender, and each bite was a ballet of flavor in your mouth. The duck, although not the star of the show, was hearty and delicious as well. The parsnip puree added an earthiness complexion to each slice of duck. The kicker of the night was when our server brought us our bill at the end. He gifted us complimentary menus of what we ordered that night, paired with a generous "Welcome Back" and the date of our wonderful evening. That small, but mighty, gesture encapsulates Boka in a nutshell. Fine dining, excellent quality of food, topped with service that was personally catered to make our meal enjoyable. It's about the experience, and every aspect of our experience at Boka was met with extraordinary marks. I'm dreaming already of round 3 at Boka. When? I don't know. But I'll be ready to tango again.

I've been to Boka a few times now, and every visit has been a great experience. The food is…read moreconsistently excellent, and the staff is always friendly and knowledgeable about the menu. We started with the bluefin tuna tart, which was light and refreshing. The topping was delicious, but I think dialing it back just a bit would let more of the tuna shine through. The dry aged beef tartare was one of my favorite dishes of the night. The crispy potato chips added a great crunch, and the cornichons brought just the right amount of acidity to balance everything out. Next came the Hokkaido scallops, and they were cooked perfectly. I also appreciated that the kitchen split all of our appetizers onto separate plates since we were sharing. It's a small detail, but it made the meal feel much more thoughtful. For our entrees, we ordered the black truffle chicken and the glazed beef short rib. I'm not sure how they prepared the chicken, but it was incredibly tender with some of the most flavorful skin I've had. Every bite was juicy and almost melted in your mouth. The short rib was just as impressive, perfectly cooked and full of flavor. I've also done the tasting menu here before, and it was just as memorable. You definitely won't leave hungry. The restaurant has a great atmosphere too. It feels perfect for a date night without being so dim that you can barely see your food.

Cindy's is so so good!!! I will be recommending to all of my friends who visit Chicago! the view…read morewas amazing and our bartender, Fatima, was EVEN BETTER!!!! Such a fun time!

The view & vibes are amazing and can speak for itself but coming here to say GREAT staff! I am new…read moreto having to avoid dairy and soy (my baby is allergic and we are breastfeeding) and I turned to my husband and said this was the best meal I have had in the past 3 months since navigating these new allergies. It wasn't "just order it without sauce", our server Collette came out with a menu she marked up to highlight what I can have & modifications which took off so much of the mental load I normally have to deal with while eating out right now. The kitchen clearly communicates with the rest of the servers because even the food runners reconfirmed the allergy-free dishes/adjustments when serving our table which is so rare! So often we try to confirm an allergy adjustment was made with the person dropping off the food and they have no clue what we are talking about. This staff was proactive and It was so nice not having to repeat myself! From a new mom thank you so much for letting me take a night off from worrying AND getting to eat hot delicious FLAVORFUL food for the first time in too long!!!

Absolutely insane experience. Make sure you get a reservation because this place gets booked up…read morequickly and rightfully so. My wife and I ordered the bone marrow to start and shared a single cheeseburger with the bacon and egg add on. The bone marrow with the marmalade on the side was amazing. I loved the thick toast they gave on the side. It was the perfect balance for such a rich dish. The burger is probably one of the best burgers I've had in my life. The bun was nice and fluffy, the burger was juicy, the bacon was thick and flavorful, and the egg was cooked to perfection. For a couple of bites, we threw a little bone marrow and the marmalade on the burger and it took it to a whole new level. The restaurant was small and comfortable. A tad loud with the music, but I didn't mind too much. I would gladly trade that for the delicious meal we had. I would highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great burger. Just make sure you get a reservation early.

Arrived just as they opened at 10AM on a Friday and were the first customers in the door, but by…read morethe time we left at 11:30 there was a good sized line. Vibes inside are excellent and drinks are (very) boozy with a variety of booths, tables, and bar seating available. Burger with Egg and Bacon (4.25/5): Look, this is a great burger. Bacon is melt in your mouth and the egg adds a bit of creamy richness on top of the fatty, salty beef and cheese combo. The bread bun is pillowy, but I wouldn't wait in a line for hours for this. Bone Marrow (10/5): Now I would wait in line for hours for this bone marrow dish that absolutely changed my life. This comes with 4 HUGE pieces of bone marrow that you spread over fluffy, perfectly toasted Texas toast and pair with a beef cheek marmalade that exactly rides the line between sweet and savory. If you come here without ordering this, you're missing out big time. Green Salad (4/5): Nice, fresh and I needed some fiber. Nothing mind blowing, but a good change of pace. Crispy Fries (4/5): Very lightly crispy fries (reminiscent of light well for the west coasters), but the sauces are where this shines. Garlic aioli and mornay sauce (think white gravy) were rich, thick, and excellent! Key Lime Pie (4.25/5): Whipped cream on this INCREDIBLE, wish you could just order a bowl of that. I think they serve it slightly warmer than fridge temp (cool not cold) and it just melts on the tongue with really strong vanilla flavor. Pie itself is also good; nice strong tartness with the buttery and salty crust. Mille-Feuille (4.5/5): Chocolate sauce has a nice depth of flavor with the shattering crisp of the pastry. Pastry cream was a lot thicker than I expected, but super rich and delicious. Definitely a dessert to share.

Stopped here after dinner for some drinks in their downstairs lounge. I've never gone downstairs…read moreand when I entered it gave speakeasy vibes, I loved it. I had one of the best espresso martinis here and enjoyed sitting on their cozy couches while chatting to my friends. The atmosphere downstairs was really calm and relaxing. Service was quick and our server was very polite.

Came for the burger, but stayed for the drinks. Maybe I chose a bad night, but I thought the burger…read morewas disappointing based on its hype and Gretel's reputation. Hands down, the saltiest burger I ever had in Chicago. At least, they were generous with the fries. Laidback vibes and cool space, I would come back to try the other cocktails on the menu with friends.

I know that this is a steakhouse, but I came for a burger! A Wagyu beef burger at that! After…read moreadding an egg and some bacon on, this had to be one of the best burgers I've had, EVER! If the French dip has your attention, you should try that as well to go with the delicious au jus! The fries came with a garlic aioli that has a STRONG garlic, so if you don't like that, sub for ketchup. This place gets busy so make reservations ahead of time, if not your wait time can be hours, unless you choose to sit at the bar which is a first come, first serve basis. The bartenders are on point with the drinks too. If I were to be back in town, I'd return for this butger!

$400+ dinner for two, including drinks. Nothing special,…read morelike we hoped. Pretty much standard steakhouse fare ... maybe a little less tasty than some of the other top-ranked steakhouses I've been to. I'd put it on par with Smith & Wollensky or Capital Grille, which is to say better than average and overpriced. To start off, the wicked stepsister hosts, who look about 20 years old, at the front seem to take joy in making you wait, even if you have a reservation and laugh in your face when you ask to sit in a certain area. There is nothing cool about dealing with a 20 year old on a power trip when paying almost half a grand for dinner for two. The real hero of this establishment should be their lighting designer ... I would venture to say that the dimly-lit yet perfect feeling vibe of the restaurant is what sets it apart. If not for the design of the restaurant, it would be just another steakhouse. The waiters are as pretentious as the hostesses. You know you you walk into a Restoration Hardware store and someone making minimum wage gives you, 'mansion attitude'? That's everyone we encountered at Bacette's ... insufferable snobs. We started out with cocktails, which were well made. Nowhere were the prices but expect a cocktail to set you back $25. The steaks are around $80 - $120. We both had the bone-in filet mignon, which was $89 at the time of the review. I guess it's supposedly a rare cut of meat ... although when I asked our butcher about it being rare, he chuckled and said, 'whatever sells steaks, I guess'. The filet was good ... again, nothing amazing ... on par with a chain like Capital Grille. I ordered mine medium rare and it came medium and a bit under seasoned. Each steak comes with a side of Bearnaise sauce, which honestly was the best part of the meal. Rarely would I consider ruining a $89 steak by dipping it in sauce ... but it kind of needed the extra kick. We got asparagus and the truffle Mac and cheese. The Mac and cheese was better than the steak, however, we were expecting the normal overflowing sides, which are usually too much for two people to finish. The Mac and cheese was pretty small and we felt like it was more like a single side ... especially given that the filet (minus the bone) was probably around 8 ounces. Asparagus was just your average asparagus. We had the chocolate pie and ice cream for dessert. The chocolate cake was almost like an entire slice of cake frosting with a scoop of dense whipped cream on top. Way too sweet and we barely ate half amongst the both of us. The ice cream was nothing special. We didn't realize you could not have a reservation and sit at the bar. Honestly, we were placed downstairs at a table ... and felt like we were sitting in a basement. It was not as nice as the upper restaurant and they refused to move us when we asked them if we could sit upstairs in the better part. She gleefully said it would be a two hour wait to change tables. If we knew we could have just snagged an empty bar seat upstairs, we'd have done that because it's better than the basement. Although, we saw some near arguments as people rushed in to get a bar stool in front of people who were waiting a long time. And, it's a little awkward to eat with vultures standing behind you waiting to jump into your seat, I'd imagine. So maybe make sure that you request to be seated upstairs and see if the mean girls hostess will accommodate the request. Overall, Chicago has so many good steakhouses, the fact that this one ranked so highly mystifies me. I've been to several better than this which were not even ranked. The atmosphere is cool ... everything else is average ... except for the attitudes which are below average.

Really loved this little bar! Great food! We didn't realize we were there for Happy Hour or we…read morewould've honestly ordered way more. I loved the cider I ordered and I would go back just for that. We loved the other people we talked to there. The ambiance was incredible. The only outlier was the bartender seemed to be having an off night, she just wasn't super attentive with guests. But it wasn't so terrible that it tainted an otherwise great experience. I would definitely return to this place!

We stopped in for a night cap and a snack on a Friday evening! We sat at the bar and I liked how…read morebig and comfy the chairs are. We also had front row seats to watch March madness, and more importantly the beer filling mechanism that fills glasses from the bottom! Kinda fun to watch. The bar also has purse hooks, which I am always grateful for. The food came out pretty quickly and was super fresh and delicious. The bartender was sooo sweet, very attentive and quick, and made sure my soda was always topped off. I loved the vibe and the moody lighting! The menu is definitely River North prices -- nothing terribly surprising bht on par for the neighborhood. At the time of our visit, cocktails were $15+ and the fry basket was $10. Again, not terrible but definitely paying to be in River North. If you're in the neighborhood, definitely worth it!