Do not order the takeout burger from here. The burger will arrive dry and lacking flavor. Fries will arrive soggy. Surprised this restaurant allows such a terrible product to leave their kitchen.
Food: 1
Service: 1
Steve Dorsey
I just got back home to Colorado from my trip to Chicago. My wife and I met a couple of friends who live north of that city and we had dinner at Smyth.
Our reservation was at 8 PM. Later than I would have liked, but you get what you can find. We met at 7 PM at a nearby pub called The Press Room. It is a dimly lit, warm and friendly pub where I didn't realize that you need a reservation. We managed to sit down for about a half hour to meet up and enjoy a drink prior to the meal. It was the perfect beginning.
After a three block walk over to the restaurant, we were seated and treated to an impeccable wait staff in a beautiful and comforting environment. Lots of wood, leather, rich textures and fantastic smells. I really wanted to grab some vinyl and spin a tune on the beautiful turntable.
The orderly kitchen Was not too loud and the folks who work back there had a great disposition running the evening. That attitude bled over to the staff and provided for a wonderful potential on an amazing night.
A dozen courses. Nine wine pairings (if I recall correctly). Each morsel was a beautifully crafted piece of edible artwork. Every presentation was as beautiful as it was delicious.
Having eaten at several Michelin rated establishments, this is what I expected. These meals aren't cheap, but I have found that they are always worth the cost.
The staff was thoughtful, kind, fun, and careful to never step on our conversations when presenting. There were a couple times I shut down what I was saying because I wanted to hear with the Sommelier had to tell us about a particular pairing. (I didn't want him to politely pour and then walk away!) I am familiar with almost every type of wine out there, but the pairings surprised me. In a good way.
Aside from the fact that I probably drank too much (I found myself at one point with five different classes on the table because I was forcing myself to keep my wits about me until the end of the evening), everything about this experience was absolutely perfect. I was comfortable, my wife was happy and enjoying the evening, and my friends were duly impressed by the attention to detail and quality.
If I were to be critical at all, I would bring up the compulsory 20% fee added to the meal. In post-covid times, I feel that I have given my 20% plus (over and over) and it's time to go back to the old ways of sticking to strictly 15%. That being said, I found it a bit imposing to make it compulsory. if I am trusting them to provide me with a meal at this level, quality, and cost, then they need to trust me to hand out a gratuity in accordance with my satisfaction.
But please don't let that point diminish from the quality of the meal or the service.
My wife and I used to do this about once a year. We would visit a different city in America and eat at the best restaurant in that city. City Zen (D.C.), Menton (Boston), Per Se (New York City), The Herb Farm (Woodinville/Seattle), Coquette (New Orleans)... These gems are always our favorite part of a trip to visit an amazing city. Smyth is a valuable addition tot hat list.
We will likely turn our sites towards Europe soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Linh Chau
Wonderful!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Garrett Hall
Unreal in the best way possible. We went for my birthday and had a special, memorable time. Thank you Alyssa and the rest of the staff for a core memory I'll always carry with me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sarah Capote
Smyth was an excellent and decadent experience full of the flavors of autumn. My best friend and I enjoyed celebrating our 30 year friendship anniversary together. Thanks to the great team at Smyth!
Alan Chun
The visit to Smyth marked the completion of my goal to visit all 3 stars restaurants in US, and that was a beautiful ending.
In general, it is hard to define what type of cuisine Smyth is serving, because in every dish you can experience influence from different discipline. The most impressive dish was caviar in walnut oil, the sweetness perfectly compliments the savory taste of caviar and I see that as a quite successful invention.
I look forward to more ground breaking restaurants like Smyth in the US.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Adam Ellis
Great dinner, but not 3x as good as a 1 star Michelin restaurant, although it did cost another 3x as much.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ernest Owens
We're in Chicago for a lovely getaway for the next few days and I was surprised with a reservation to try the 3 Michelin Starred restaurant, Smyth. There's only 13 restaurants in America who have earned 3 Michelin stars -- the highest a restaurant can earn?
One of the best meals I've ever had in my life -- it was beyond incredible. 14 courses of the most experimental delicious cuisine that tells a story that only the phenomenal Chef John Shields can tell. I'm beyond amazed and will be thinking about this dinner for many years to come.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
F abromitis
Went for burger.... good but no way worth $27... Way too small and otherwise non-descript try Union Green Beans good but undercooked Potatoes Dauphine useless Sorry Mr Smyth I'm sure upstairs is much better Loyalist review!
Very surprised this is 3 Michelin stars and #90 on the top 100 list. Provided I have only been to 3 other 3 star restaurants- this is the most expensive ($600) and the least enjoyable. The service is good- but not the elevated service expected. They explain the dishes but not in terms that make sense. The food was really flavorful- but there was not a lot of texture. Most of the dishes were soft. One dish the texture was kale leaves and that was a relief. There were a couple of courses that we didn’t like, but I really liked the iced white rice (I think that’s what they said it was).
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Aakash Chudasama
TL;DR: Skip this place and head to The Loyalist in the basement.
This restaurant made me question Michelin's integrity. Average and uninspiring try-hard food but admiteedly excellent service. The "pre-tip" BOH fee benefits fee or whatever it's called prior to asking you to leave a tip for FOH service feels so trashy especially when you're paying what you are. You seriously can't figure out how to give proper wages/benefits in your cost structure toend the meal with a Ticketmaster experience?
By far the most disappointing supposed three star dining experience I've had. The food wasn't great by any means, mostly boring. Service was excellent but management/ownership is living on a different planet trying to nickel and dime fine dining. Won't be returning or recommending.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
Patricia Reyes
I was really excited to visit a restaurant with 3 Michelin Stars, but as soon as I saw an ant crawling inside my plate, I could not believe it. Normally, you would assume that someone would have their face inside the plate inspecting it before it goes out to the customer. How could they miss insects crawling in the bowl? What else did they miss? No manager came to apologize or anything -- No deductions, no apologies, not even a discount. I was just asked to wait for them to come back with a new plate, while my anniversary dinner was ruined. What is the $173 service charge (in addition to gratuity) even for, if we can't count on the service or even the cleanliness of the food? I'm not mad at the staff. They were very polite. I'm mad at the management and the owners.
Katie Erbs
Smyth is a lovely dining experience, but I don't think quite at par with other three star restaurants.
Let's start with what's right: Wonderfully warm atmosphere. The wood textures and warm lighting is spot on. The meal starts well with the small bites and champagne pairing. Things progress well enough with the culmination of a lamb and brioche with a beaut of a nebbiolo.
The what's not three stars: 1) The wine pairing and presentation. They go for small batch which is why I assume they are so skint on servings. Given such small servings, we expected more, with a bit more information on producers. The wines were presented with hardly any information (one was presented as being from Italy, but no region and had to ask about the grape). Some of the whites bordered on flabby. They were inconsistent in notifying what needed to last one Vs two courses. Given what we paid for five pairings, I would have definitely opted to invest that in some very nice bottles if I were to do it over again.
2) Little things with service: No offer to take coats on entry. Service was friendly but stopped at superficial. The following night we went to Alinea and the service was miles above, with laughter throughout our service and meal. Our group was very grateful we ate with Smyth prior to Alinea, otherwise we would have been pretty disappointed.
It's a great meal, but just not quite to three star expectations, and experiences you get with the likes of Alinea, Geranium etc. If in a group, skip the pairing and buy some great bottles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Jill Wohlfeil
Honestly better than Alinea in all aspects. Food, service and atmosphere. Imaginative food without the forced theatrics. Worth every penny.
Do not order the takeout burger from here. The burger will arrive dry and lacking flavor. Fries will arrive soggy. Surprised this restaurant allows such a terrible product to leave their kitchen.
Food: 1
Service: 1
I just got back home to Colorado from my trip to Chicago. My wife and I met a couple of friends who live north of that city and we had dinner at Smyth.
Our reservation was at 8 PM. Later than I would have liked, but you get what you can find. We met at 7 PM at a nearby pub called The Press Room. It is a dimly lit, warm and friendly pub where I didn't realize that you need a reservation. We managed to sit down for about a half hour to meet up and enjoy a drink prior to the meal. It was the perfect beginning.
After a three block walk over to the restaurant, we were seated and treated to an impeccable wait staff in a beautiful and comforting environment. Lots of wood, leather, rich textures and fantastic smells. I really wanted to grab some vinyl and spin a tune on the beautiful turntable.
The orderly kitchen Was not too loud and the folks who work back there had a great disposition running the evening. That attitude bled over to the staff and provided for a wonderful potential on an amazing night.
A dozen courses. Nine wine pairings (if I recall correctly). Each morsel was a beautifully crafted piece of edible artwork. Every presentation was as beautiful as it was delicious.
Having eaten at several Michelin rated establishments, this is what I expected. These meals aren't cheap, but I have found that they are always worth the cost.
The staff was thoughtful, kind, fun, and careful to never step on our conversations when presenting. There were a couple times I shut down what I was saying because I wanted to hear with the Sommelier had to tell us about a particular pairing. (I didn't want him to politely pour and then walk away!) I am familiar with almost every type of wine out there, but the pairings surprised me. In a good way.
Aside from the fact that I probably drank too much (I found myself at one point with five different classes on the table because I was forcing myself to keep my wits about me until the end of the evening), everything about this experience was absolutely perfect. I was comfortable, my wife was happy and enjoying the evening, and my friends were duly impressed by the attention to detail and quality.
If I were to be critical at all, I would bring up the compulsory 20% fee added to the meal. In post-covid times, I feel that I have given my 20% plus (over and over) and it's time to go back to the old ways of sticking to strictly 15%. That being said, I found it a bit imposing to make it compulsory. if I am trusting them to provide me with a meal at this level, quality, and cost, then they need to trust me to hand out a gratuity in accordance with my satisfaction.
But please don't let that point diminish from the quality of the meal or the service.
My wife and I used to do this about once a year. We would visit a different city in America and eat at the best restaurant in that city. City Zen (D.C.), Menton (Boston), Per Se (New York City), The Herb Farm (Woodinville/Seattle), Coquette (New Orleans)... These gems are always our favorite part of a trip to visit an amazing city. Smyth is a valuable addition tot hat list.
We will likely turn our sites towards Europe soon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wonderful!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Unreal in the best way possible. We went for my birthday and had a special, memorable time. Thank you Alyssa and the rest of the staff for a core memory I'll always carry with me.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Smyth was an excellent and decadent experience full of the flavors of autumn. My best friend and I enjoyed celebrating our 30 year friendship anniversary together. Thanks to the great team at Smyth!
The visit to Smyth marked the completion of my goal to visit all 3 stars restaurants in US, and that was a beautiful ending.
In general, it is hard to define what type of cuisine Smyth is serving, because in every dish you can experience influence from different discipline. The most impressive dish was caviar in walnut oil, the sweetness perfectly compliments the savory taste of caviar and I see that as a quite successful invention.
I look forward to more ground breaking restaurants like Smyth in the US.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great dinner, but not 3x as good as a 1 star Michelin restaurant, although it did cost another 3x as much.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
We're in Chicago for a lovely getaway for the next few days and I was surprised with a reservation to try the 3 Michelin Starred restaurant, Smyth. There's only 13 restaurants in America who have earned 3 Michelin stars -- the highest a restaurant can earn?
One of the best meals I've ever had in my life -- it was beyond incredible. 14 courses of the most experimental delicious cuisine that tells a story that only the phenomenal Chef John Shields can tell. I'm beyond amazed and will be thinking about this dinner for many years to come.⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went for burger.... good but no way worth $27... Way too small and otherwise non-descript try Union
Green Beans good but undercooked
Potatoes Dauphine useless
Sorry Mr Smyth I'm sure upstairs is much better
Loyalist review!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The best meal I have ever had.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Very surprised this is 3 Michelin stars and #90 on the top 100 list. Provided I have only been to 3 other 3 star restaurants- this is the most expensive ($600) and the least enjoyable. The service is good- but not the elevated service expected. They explain the dishes but not in terms that make sense. The food was really flavorful- but there was not a lot of texture. Most of the dishes were soft. One dish the texture was kale leaves and that was a relief. There were a couple of courses that we didn’t like, but I really liked the iced white rice (I think that’s what they said it was).
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
TL;DR: Skip this place and head to The Loyalist in the basement.
This restaurant made me question Michelin's integrity. Average and uninspiring try-hard food but admiteedly excellent service. The "pre-tip" BOH fee benefits fee or whatever it's called prior to asking you to leave a tip for FOH service feels so trashy especially when you're paying what you are. You seriously can't figure out how to give proper wages/benefits in your cost structure toend the meal with a Ticketmaster experience?
By far the most disappointing supposed three star dining experience I've had. The food wasn't great by any means, mostly boring. Service was excellent but management/ownership is living on a different planet trying to nickel and dime fine dining. Won't be returning or recommending.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 5
I was really excited to visit a restaurant with 3 Michelin Stars, but as soon as I saw an ant crawling inside my plate, I could not believe it. Normally, you would assume that someone would have their face inside the plate inspecting it before it goes out to the customer. How could they miss insects crawling in the bowl? What else did they miss? No manager came to apologize or anything -- No deductions, no apologies, not even a discount. I was just asked to wait for them to come back with a new plate, while my anniversary dinner was ruined. What is the $173 service charge (in addition to gratuity) even for, if we can't count on the service or even the cleanliness of the food?
I'm not mad at the staff. They were very polite. I'm mad at the management and the owners.
Smyth is a lovely dining experience, but I don't think quite at par with other three star restaurants.
Let's start with what's right:
Wonderfully warm atmosphere. The wood textures and warm lighting is spot on. The meal starts well with the small bites and champagne pairing. Things progress well enough with the culmination of a lamb and brioche with a beaut of a nebbiolo.
The what's not three stars:
1) The wine pairing and presentation. They go for small batch which is why I assume they are so skint on servings. Given such small servings, we expected more, with a bit more information on producers. The wines were presented with hardly any information (one was presented as being from Italy, but no region and had to ask about the grape). Some of the whites bordered on flabby. They were inconsistent in notifying what needed to last one Vs two courses. Given what we paid for five pairings, I would have definitely opted to invest that in some very nice bottles if I were to do it over again.
2) Little things with service: No offer to take coats on entry. Service was friendly but stopped at superficial. The following night we went to Alinea and the service was miles above, with laughter throughout our service and meal. Our group was very grateful we ate with Smyth prior to Alinea, otherwise we would have been pretty disappointed.
It's a great meal, but just not quite to three star expectations, and experiences you get with the likes of Alinea, Geranium etc. If in a group, skip the pairing and buy some great bottles.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Honestly better than Alinea in all aspects. Food, service and atmosphere. Imaginative food without the forced theatrics. Worth every penny.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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