Gilt bar’s happy hour is lively classy and delicious. Definitely try and show up right around 4 as it gets packed quickly. But mostly is standing room. We stood near the bar and the service was impressive for how busy it got. The bartender really could shake those drinks! The $7 teeny espresso martini for me and husband ordered an old fashioned with wild turkey rye $8 ...bartender asked if he wanted to upgrade to the Bourbon the drink increased to $17. He should have said something. Errrr. Seats opened at the bar. (Only can order food if seated) We ordered the mussels which had a lemon vermouth sauce. Dipping the crusty bread in the sauce was my favorite part. The ambiance is fancy and artfully arranged. (4.5/5)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
MaryClare F
hogsalt knows how to do it right. has taken me forever to go to gilt bar after living in chicago for three years, but it was absolutely fabulous. between the service, the food, and the ambiance of the restaurant- it not only will leave you with a full belly but an amazing experience. will definitely have to come back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Vodka Rigatoni
Salik Ghaus
The bone marrow appetizer was delicious and so were the deserts. I wasn’t a huge fan of the gnocchi. I also felt like the gnocchi was the exact same dish at ciccio mio next door. The wagyu burger was decent.The server forgot to inform us that there is bacon in the roasted mushroom side dish, but they were kind enough to put the whole meal on the house.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cameron Kazokas
Classic low light atmosphere Italian joint. We really enjoyed our meal, but our server was largely MIA. We sat about 20 minutes before having our plates cleared and being prompted for dessert. We actually had to ask the hostess to run our check because we were running short on time by the end. Unfortunately, Gilt didn't stick out enough to make it a "must see" recommendation in Chicago.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Natalia Turek-Brzozowska
Pretty place but it seems like they're resting on their laurels - they have so many reservations, a Michelin guide mention - so perhaps there's no real point in always making an effort... We booked a table for our wedding anniversary (which we mentioned at the time of reservation), it was never referenced - fair enough. The food and cocktails were fine, and reasonably priced, but nothing special. The service was barely ok - no smiles, seemed annoyed when asked for recommendations, zero personal touch, but still clearly expecting a larger tip. We were assured we'd have enough time with a later reservation: but we were rushed to order quickly anyway. A disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Jessica M.
Gilt Bar is an excellent choice for special occasions, date-nights, girls' night-out, etc. For our wedding anniversary date, the two of us shared the following: 1) Roasted bone marrow with red onion jam 2) Rabbit paccheri with artichokes, olives and pecorino 3) Double cut coal fired 20 ounce ribeye with bernaise and herbed steak salt 4) Smashed potatoes with chicken jus, roasted garlic, and chives 5) Lemon meringue pie Overall, we enjoyed the food and experience. The only thing that I didn't quite care for was the lemon meringue pie. The excessively tall meringue is great for presentation but not exactly necessary from a consumption perspective.
PX K.
Might be my favorite restaurant after going for happy hour before a show. The happy hour menu is great for food and drink but also the regular menu is so good. Cozy vibes and staff is very friendly. Will definitely be back!
Carolina Montoya
Celebrated our anniversary here and it did not disappoint! Food is great and the service was amazing. Must try in Chicago if you’re visiting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meatball with Sauce, Burger
Iris Robertson
I love this place, has a beautiful view and always well attended. The staff was friendly and made great recommendations.I had the truffle pasta, which was simple and delicious. Will have to come back to try more of the menu!
Dave Van Dinther
A group of us went for a friend’s birthday on a Thursday evening. We arrived for happy hour and imbibed on a few of the apps and beverages and then proceeded to order dinner. The atmosphere was incredible. It had a very ‘old school’ vibe to it. The food and service were also fantastic. Would definitely recommend!
Would recommend making a reservation as it gets busy quickly! Tables are packed together but ambiance/vibes are great. They have some solid drink/app options for happy hour, and service was attentive.
Charissa H.
If you like alcohol, this place is good. If you don't like or can't drink alcohol, you should probably skip this place. There's like 4 mocktails, which I hate mocktails, so that's not really a choice for me. So I was left with coke or water. The food is fine, but with so many good options in Chicago, I'd never come back. Honey Peppered King Salmon - $39.99 - The lemon confit is sour and bitter. It's quite unpleasant. The salmon is cooked fine, nothing spectacular about it. The portion is small. It's kinda weird to give me a fresh lemon along with the confit lemon. The bites with the fresh lemon were pleasant. I'd skip this. 3/5 stars. Ricotta Gnocchi - $19.99 - This was good, until the 5th bite where it was getting cold. The plate doesn't come out hot, so the gnocchi starts getting cold, and the ricotta filling starts to become unpleasant to eat. It's hard to chew and swallow. I drank lots of water to get this down. So, the first 4 bites were great, but it was rough afterwards. 3/5 stars. 8oz Double Cheeseburger - $29.99 - I took a bite, and it was just average. The husband ate this dish, and he said you have to get to the part with the burger sauce, then it was tasty. The fries and the garlic aioli was good. My bite was like 3 stars, but the husband gave it a 5. 5/5 stars. Chocolate Cream Pie - $13.99 - This needed salt. The oreo crust is salted perfectly, but the chocolate and whipped cream are undersalted. If you don't take a bite with the crust, you'll realize something is wrong. If they fix the salt problem, this could be a great dessert. 4/5 stars. Here are my problems with this restaurant: I was still hungry after eating two entrées and half a dessert, there's not a drink menu for those that can't drink alcohol (4 mocktails do not count, especially when they are like $15ish), and the food was underwhelming. This was quite a bill to leave hungry. Also, my husband pointed out that I finished my two entrées before he finished his food. This is wild, because he devours food, while I eat dainty bites. Ye, sigh.
Mariana Leria
This place is so fun!! Looks great to go for a date night or just with friends. The atmosphere is amazing, the service is fantastic and the drinks are truly amazing.Love the second bar down the stairs and the photo booth. Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kelsey W.
Visiting from Hawaii and had Gilt Bar on my list for weeks! It is everything it lived up to and more. The service was excellent, Jostin was our server and went above and beyond. We got Bone Marrow, House salad, Truffle pasta, Chicken Piccata, and Mashed potatoes. Perfect. Just looking at the food speaks for itself. Gorgeous furniture and sexy ambiance, perfect place to celebrate our anniversary. Thank you Jostin and Gilt Bar!
Steven Parsons
Had a nice enough time but didn’t think it quite lived up to the hype in terms of flavor or service. Excited to come back for the speakeasy
Gilt bar’s happy hour is lively classy and delicious. Definitely try and show up right around 4 as it gets packed quickly. But mostly is standing room. We stood near the bar and the service was impressive for how busy it got. The bartender really could shake those drinks! The $7 teeny espresso martini for me and husband ordered an old fashioned with wild turkey rye $8 ...bartender asked if he wanted to upgrade to the Bourbon the drink increased to $17. He should have said something. Errrr. Seats opened at the bar. (Only can order food if seated) We ordered the mussels which had a lemon vermouth sauce. Dipping the crusty bread in the sauce was my favorite part. The ambiance is fancy and artfully arranged. (4.5/5)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
hogsalt knows how to do it right. has taken me forever to go to gilt bar after living in chicago for three years, but it was absolutely fabulous. between the service, the food, and the ambiance of the restaurant- it not only will leave you with a full belly but an amazing experience. will definitely have to come back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Vodka Rigatoni
The bone marrow appetizer was delicious and so were the deserts. I wasn’t a huge fan of the gnocchi. I also felt like the gnocchi was the exact same dish at ciccio mio next door. The wagyu burger was decent.The server forgot to inform us that there is bacon in the roasted mushroom side dish, but they were kind enough to put the whole meal on the house.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Classic low light atmosphere Italian joint. We really enjoyed our meal, but our server was largely MIA. We sat about 20 minutes before having our plates cleared and being prompted for dessert. We actually had to ask the hostess to run our check because we were running short on time by the end. Unfortunately, Gilt didn't stick out enough to make it a "must see" recommendation in Chicago.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 3
Pretty place but it seems like they're resting on their laurels - they have so many reservations, a Michelin guide mention - so perhaps there's no real point in always making an effort... We booked a table for our wedding anniversary (which we mentioned at the time of reservation), it was never referenced - fair enough. The food and cocktails were fine, and reasonably priced, but nothing special. The service was barely ok - no smiles, seemed annoyed when asked for recommendations, zero personal touch, but still clearly expecting a larger tip. We were assured we'd have enough time with a later reservation: but we were rushed to order quickly anyway. A disappointment.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Gilt Bar is an excellent choice for special occasions, date-nights, girls' night-out, etc. For our wedding anniversary date, the two of us shared the following: 1) Roasted bone marrow with red onion jam 2) Rabbit paccheri with artichokes, olives and pecorino 3) Double cut coal fired 20 ounce ribeye with bernaise and herbed steak salt 4) Smashed potatoes with chicken jus, roasted garlic, and chives 5) Lemon meringue pie Overall, we enjoyed the food and experience. The only thing that I didn't quite care for was the lemon meringue pie. The excessively tall meringue is great for presentation but not exactly necessary from a consumption perspective.
Might be my favorite restaurant after going for happy hour before a show. The happy hour menu is great for food and drink but also the regular menu is so good. Cozy vibes and staff is very friendly. Will definitely be back!
Celebrated our anniversary here and it did not disappoint! Food is great and the service was amazing. Must try in Chicago if you’re visiting.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Meatball with Sauce, Burger
I love this place, has a beautiful view and always well attended. The staff was friendly and made great recommendations.I had the truffle pasta, which was simple and delicious. Will have to come back to try more of the menu!
A group of us went for a friend’s birthday on a Thursday evening. We arrived for happy hour and imbibed on a few of the apps and beverages and then proceeded to order dinner. The atmosphere was incredible. It had a very ‘old school’ vibe to it. The food and service were also fantastic. Would definitely recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Would recommend making a reservation as it gets busy quickly! Tables are packed together but ambiance/vibes are great. They have some solid drink/app options for happy hour, and service was attentive.
If you like alcohol, this place is good. If you don't like or can't drink alcohol, you should probably skip this place. There's like 4 mocktails, which I hate mocktails, so that's not really a choice for me. So I was left with coke or water. The food is fine, but with so many good options in Chicago, I'd never come back. Honey Peppered King Salmon - $39.99 - The lemon confit is sour and bitter. It's quite unpleasant. The salmon is cooked fine, nothing spectacular about it. The portion is small. It's kinda weird to give me a fresh lemon along with the confit lemon. The bites with the fresh lemon were pleasant. I'd skip this. 3/5 stars. Ricotta Gnocchi - $19.99 - This was good, until the 5th bite where it was getting cold. The plate doesn't come out hot, so the gnocchi starts getting cold, and the ricotta filling starts to become unpleasant to eat. It's hard to chew and swallow. I drank lots of water to get this down. So, the first 4 bites were great, but it was rough afterwards. 3/5 stars. 8oz Double Cheeseburger - $29.99 - I took a bite, and it was just average. The husband ate this dish, and he said you have to get to the part with the burger sauce, then it was tasty. The fries and the garlic aioli was good. My bite was like 3 stars, but the husband gave it a 5. 5/5 stars. Chocolate Cream Pie - $13.99 - This needed salt. The oreo crust is salted perfectly, but the chocolate and whipped cream are undersalted. If you don't take a bite with the crust, you'll realize something is wrong. If they fix the salt problem, this could be a great dessert. 4/5 stars. Here are my problems with this restaurant: I was still hungry after eating two entrées and half a dessert, there's not a drink menu for those that can't drink alcohol (4 mocktails do not count, especially when they are like $15ish), and the food was underwhelming. This was quite a bill to leave hungry. Also, my husband pointed out that I finished my two entrées before he finished his food. This is wild, because he devours food, while I eat dainty bites. Ye, sigh.
This place is so fun!! Looks great to go for a date night or just with friends. The atmosphere is amazing, the service is fantastic and the drinks are truly amazing.Love the second bar down the stairs and the photo booth. Can’t wait to come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Visiting from Hawaii and had Gilt Bar on my list for weeks! It is everything it lived up to and more. The service was excellent, Jostin was our server and went above and beyond. We got Bone Marrow, House salad, Truffle pasta, Chicken Piccata, and Mashed potatoes. Perfect. Just looking at the food speaks for itself. Gorgeous furniture and sexy ambiance, perfect place to celebrate our anniversary. Thank you Jostin and Gilt Bar!
Had a nice enough time but didn’t think it quite lived up to the hype in terms of flavor or service. Excited to come back for the speakeasy
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Roasted Bone Marrow, Smashed Potatoes, Truffle Pasta, Cookie Skillet, Truffle Mozzarella Sticks