We were so happy to discover Politan Row during a recent stay at the Hyatt close by. It was the perfect location for a group of 7, adults and kids, to sit and enjoy great food on a Friday evening. We each chose a different meal, and a few of the kids even shared their meals with each other in order to try out more than one type of food. My mojito was tasty, but weak, but still a nice option when enjoying a meal with friends. I would highly recommend this place!
Keith T
Great concept, food stations varied with great cuisine and enthusiast, personable servers. Shame about the bar - soulless, indifferent staff who preferred to sit with their colleagues and have a chat than pay attention to customers - happened to me on 2 occasions I visited!
RudySzymon
Looks like food court, however kind of upscale one. Interesting choices of international cuisines. Full bar in the middle. All dishes we tried were very good, drinks also. Music was too loud for my ears.
DDM137
I am not a native Chicago resident so I cannot compare this dining experience to other Chicago establishments. So, a few comments on the food. The idea of international varierty within one location was appealing and the draw. Old Fashion drink was delicious but pricey even at happy hour. At our table, the Cuban sandwich was a disappointment. It was dry, lacked seasoning, and the cheese was too mild. The crab mini sandwich was tasty although expensive for the size. The creole was good but the only seafood in the creole was one lonely shrimp. It was mostly broth. I can't recall the other sandwich at our table. I believe it was a turkey sandwich from the Cuban kitchen. The diner did not eat much of the sandwich. Again, dry and lacked seasoning. The experience was ok. We would have sampled more items but it was just too expensive for the amount of food served. Overall, enjoyed the concept but the food was not as exciting as expected. Location was clean, nice outdoor eating area, full bar. If I could, I would rate as a 3.5, good.
Barb H
What a great place for lunch or dinner. The decor and vibe are very eclectic and comfortable. Lots of food choices, with a wonderful bar in the middle, plus outside dining when you can! You walk around and pick what you want, they usually bring it to you. Lots of great choices....you'll love this really current restaurant experience.
Taylor B
My wife and I have never experienced anything to compare with Politan Row Chicago, the chef-driven food hall that gives customers an opportunity to sample cuisines from all over the world. Located at 111 North Aberdeen Street, at the corner of West Randolph Street, near Hamburger University, on Chicago's Near West Side, it features 13 local vendor concepts whose international menus are an expression of individual creativity. Yes, we found Chicago-style hot dogs, meatloaf, mac and cheese, salted caramel flan, fried chicken, tacos, baklava and seafood gumbo. But we also discovered sambal shrimp, ropa vieja, Korean bibimbap, Vietnamese bun cha, Singaporean chicken rice, pork belly bao, Katsu sandwiches and udon noodles. Sample Indian street food from Kerala at Thattu, Israeli hummus at LaShuk Street Food, Cuban soul food at Clave, Indonesian dishes and classic Cajun fare at Bumba Roux, Japanese comfort food with a Hawaiian twist at Mom's, Korean and Vietnamese and Singaporean cuisine at Piko Street Kitchen, sweet galettes and deep dish quiche at Floriole and salads and soups at Smashed Radish. The hall also features Bar Politan with its signature cocktails and Perle, a German-inspired beer garden. Politan Row is open daily at 7 a.m. It closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 9 p.m. on Sunday. You've heard of Taste of Chicago. Well, this is Taste of the Planet.
Experience720834
Clave... Absolutely Horrible customer service!! Never been so insulted. The sous chef is named Dwayne, and has no sense of customer service. I came in with my daughter and asked for Vaca Frita. I preferred not to have the bread. He asked me why and said my request didn't make any sense. I explained that I cannot eat bread, but that I would pay for it still. He said "no" and that he wouldn't do it, and then he said "get out of my face!" I understand that he is a chef and may not have wanted to change the presentation of the food, but this was by far the worst of customer service. I responded by addressing his customer service, to which he denied and said it was not about customer service. At that point, I asked for what I later found out was the Operational Manager, Paris, who explained that they were independent vendors so she had no control over their actions and sayings. This is sad. I am sure the owners of Clave, Lawrence Letrero and Raquel Quadreny would not be happy that their customers were being spoken to in such a demeaning manner. This was absolutely not right.
jack m
Went for dinner and was blown away by the amount of choice here. The collection of stalls is more than capable of pleasing anyone and everyone. I thoroughly suggest taking a full lap before you order and make sure you hit as many places as possible!
InterestedGrace
Too many types of food to count, vegetarian, seafood, mac and cheese. I had a hummus bowl with grilled chicken that was excellent, huge, fresh vegetables and warm good pita and hummus on the side. Friend has a lobster roll that as an Easterner she pronounced excellent, as good as they get. Service from busboys was thoughtful, brought water without asking. Appears that they all work together, as the service, silverware and dishes got collected all together. Huge area and on a Sunday noon not horribly crowded but expect during weekdays one would need to focus and not mill around, as we did before choosing. Truly must be something for everyone's taste here. Most of our meals come to $19 0r 20, some of us found it more than we could eat, and takeout containers quickly given to us.
sunflowerfallon
My husband and I stumbled upon Politan on our first night in Chicago. We enjoyed getting 2 entrees (one Korean BBQ style bowl and one Mediterranean bowl). We dined outside. This would be a great stop for folks with different taste/cravings. Though we didn’t make it for happy hour, the menu looked amazing and affordable—for drinks and snacks!
We went there after a busy noon for early dinner with teenagers. The place has a cool an casual vibe and reminds you of a Singaporean Hawker center. Also has a beer garden style terrace. All kind of different cuisines, in different stalls prepare a great variety of dishes. From Bao (which was excellent) to tacos ( highly recommend the goat tacos!) - Everyone found a great dish to indulge. My favorite dish was the coriander chicken from “Thattu” a South Indian style kerala curry. Perfectly balanced with the right amount of spice. Nice bar in the middle serves all kinds of drinks, and the place is open all day long. Will definitely return!
Alan S
The Randolph Street Corridor didn’t realize it needed this food hall, but it did. Despite somewhat sterile surroundings, this hall is a great spot to hang after work with friends to have a cocktail and snack or as a destination for dinner. When I visited there was a welcome mix of area families, hipsters, tourists and foodies (checking out a stellar variety of cuisines and dishes). Small servings enable you to try more—and you’ll want to. Cocktails are surprisingly well concocted. Beer garden is lovely. I could visit weekly. Maybe daily.
David K
Great food hall! Spacious, outdoor and indoor seating. Great selection of unique food offerings. Visited on a Wednesday evening. Crowd seemed to grow as the night progressed but never to the point of too crowded. Great location for drinks, light fare, meal, or any combination thereof. Outdoor bar and indoor bar. Better for lunch or dinner than breakfast but do have some limited offerings for morning too.
We were so happy to discover Politan Row during a recent stay at the Hyatt close by. It was the perfect location for a group of 7, adults and kids, to sit and enjoy great food on a Friday evening. We each chose a different meal, and a few of the kids even shared their meals with each other in order to try out more than one type of food. My mojito was tasty, but weak, but still a nice option when enjoying a meal with friends. I would highly recommend this place!
Great concept, food stations varied with great cuisine and enthusiast, personable servers. Shame about the bar - soulless, indifferent staff who preferred to sit with their colleagues and have a chat than pay attention to customers - happened to me on 2 occasions I visited!
Looks like food court, however kind of upscale one. Interesting choices of international cuisines. Full bar in the middle. All dishes we tried were very good, drinks also. Music was too loud for my ears.
I am not a native Chicago resident so I cannot compare this dining experience to other Chicago establishments. So, a few comments on the food. The idea of international varierty within one location was appealing and the draw. Old Fashion drink was delicious but pricey even at happy hour. At our table, the Cuban sandwich was a disappointment. It was dry, lacked seasoning, and the cheese was too mild. The crab mini sandwich was tasty although expensive for the size. The creole was good but the only seafood in the creole was one lonely shrimp. It was mostly broth. I can't recall the other sandwich at our table. I believe it was a turkey sandwich from the Cuban kitchen. The diner did not eat much of the sandwich. Again, dry and lacked seasoning. The experience was ok. We would have sampled more items but it was just too expensive for the amount of food served. Overall, enjoyed the concept but the food was not as exciting as expected. Location was clean, nice outdoor eating area, full bar. If I could, I would rate as a 3.5, good.
What a great place for lunch or dinner. The decor and vibe are very eclectic and comfortable. Lots of food choices, with a wonderful bar in the middle, plus outside dining when you can! You walk around and pick what you want, they usually bring it to you. Lots of great choices....you'll love this really current restaurant experience.
My wife and I have never experienced anything to compare with Politan Row Chicago, the chef-driven food hall that gives customers an opportunity to sample cuisines from all over the world. Located at 111 North Aberdeen Street, at the corner of West Randolph Street, near Hamburger University, on Chicago's Near West Side, it features 13 local vendor concepts whose international menus are an expression of individual creativity. Yes, we found Chicago-style hot dogs, meatloaf, mac and cheese, salted caramel flan, fried chicken, tacos, baklava and seafood gumbo. But we also discovered sambal shrimp, ropa vieja, Korean bibimbap, Vietnamese bun cha, Singaporean chicken rice, pork belly bao, Katsu sandwiches and udon noodles. Sample Indian street food from Kerala at Thattu, Israeli hummus at LaShuk Street Food, Cuban soul food at Clave, Indonesian dishes and classic Cajun fare at Bumba Roux, Japanese comfort food with a Hawaiian twist at Mom's, Korean and Vietnamese and Singaporean cuisine at Piko Street Kitchen, sweet galettes and deep dish quiche at Floriole and salads and soups at Smashed Radish. The hall also features Bar Politan with its signature cocktails and Perle, a German-inspired beer garden. Politan Row is open daily at 7 a.m. It closes at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, at 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and at 9 p.m. on Sunday. You've heard of Taste of Chicago. Well, this is Taste of the Planet.
Clave... Absolutely Horrible customer service!! Never been so insulted. The sous chef is named Dwayne, and has no sense of customer service. I came in with my daughter and asked for Vaca Frita. I preferred not to have the bread. He asked me why and said my request didn't make any sense. I explained that I cannot eat bread, but that I would pay for it still. He said "no" and that he wouldn't do it, and then he said "get out of my face!" I understand that he is a chef and may not have wanted to change the presentation of the food, but this was by far the worst of customer service. I responded by addressing his customer service, to which he denied and said it was not about customer service. At that point, I asked for what I later found out was the Operational Manager, Paris, who explained that they were independent vendors so she had no control over their actions and sayings. This is sad. I am sure the owners of Clave, Lawrence Letrero and Raquel Quadreny would not be happy that their customers were being spoken to in such a demeaning manner. This was absolutely not right.
Went for dinner and was blown away by the amount of choice here. The collection of stalls is more than capable of pleasing anyone and everyone. I thoroughly suggest taking a full lap before you order and make sure you hit as many places as possible!
Too many types of food to count, vegetarian, seafood, mac and cheese. I had a hummus bowl with grilled chicken that was excellent, huge, fresh vegetables and warm good pita and hummus on the side. Friend has a lobster roll that as an Easterner she pronounced excellent, as good as they get. Service from busboys was thoughtful, brought water without asking. Appears that they all work together, as the service, silverware and dishes got collected all together. Huge area and on a Sunday noon not horribly crowded but expect during weekdays one would need to focus and not mill around, as we did before choosing. Truly must be something for everyone's taste here. Most of our meals come to $19 0r 20, some of us found it more than we could eat, and takeout containers quickly given to us.
My husband and I stumbled upon Politan on our first night in Chicago. We enjoyed getting 2 entrees (one Korean BBQ style bowl and one Mediterranean bowl). We dined outside. This would be a great stop for folks with different taste/cravings. Though we didn’t make it for happy hour, the menu looked amazing and affordable—for drinks and snacks!
Restaurantji Recommends
We went there after a busy noon for early dinner with teenagers. The place has a cool an casual vibe and reminds you of a Singaporean Hawker center. Also has a beer garden style terrace. All kind of different cuisines, in different stalls prepare a great variety of dishes. From Bao (which was excellent) to tacos ( highly recommend the goat tacos!) - Everyone found a great dish to indulge. My favorite dish was the coriander chicken from “Thattu” a South Indian style kerala curry. Perfectly balanced with the right amount of spice. Nice bar in the middle serves all kinds of drinks, and the place is open all day long. Will definitely return!
The Randolph Street Corridor didn’t realize it needed this food hall, but it did. Despite somewhat sterile surroundings, this hall is a great spot to hang after work with friends to have a cocktail and snack or as a destination for dinner. When I visited there was a welcome mix of area families, hipsters, tourists and foodies (checking out a stellar variety of cuisines and dishes). Small servings enable you to try more—and you’ll want to. Cocktails are surprisingly well concocted. Beer garden is lovely. I could visit weekly. Maybe daily.
Great food hall! Spacious, outdoor and indoor seating. Great selection of unique food offerings. Visited on a Wednesday evening. Crowd seemed to grow as the night progressed but never to the point of too crowded. Great location for drinks, light fare, meal, or any combination thereof. Outdoor bar and indoor bar. Better for lunch or dinner than breakfast but do have some limited offerings for morning too.