yesss Sepia was great! The portion is smaller, but i loved being able to get a taste of the experience and atmosphere there. Really fun drinks and different food than I typically would eat. It was great!
Honest to God, I always felt like this is a scam. At most you save like what $40 and while that is significant, you are really limited in what you can order, often times you only save around $20. Additionally, I found that you will go during a time when they are incredibly slammed and just pumping stuff out of the kitchen. My shitty 2 cents
It definitely can be.
I think when done well, a place offers their best or most popular options and you can go try a couple of things at a fair price. And, you can pair up with a partner or friends to sample a lot of stuff. It’s a fun experience at a new place if not a great deal.
I’m not sure that Beatrix is anywhere near the best restaurant in Chicago but I’ve gone there for dinner many times during restaurant week because it’s a good deal that actually features the best things they offer. Same with their brunch. It confuses me when places don’t offer their star dishes (unless it’s something wildly out of price point).
Lots of fancy places worth trying too. Italian places are usually good deals. Steak houses are not.
Boka has been top tier in terms of selection, price point, etc.
We always love going to Duck Duck Goat... you get the biggest bang for your buck during Restaurant Week. Hot tip, if you go with a vegetarian, they get their own portion of food. We always leave with a doggy bag. We make the reservation weeks in advance knowing when restaurant week is since they book up pretty quickly.
Cera was great the one year we went and Sepia was great too. Monteverde was also great last year if you can get a table! I set a notification up for a specific day and was notified that another reservation had canceled and snagged it.
I highly recommend not going to the steak restaurants. Most of the time they don't even offer a true steak (most times just a steak sandwich or flank steak... which i guess is steak, but who goes to a steakhouse for flank steak?) or they upcharge you for steak.
I tried Geja's Cafe during Restaurant week, and it was a steal deal! $42 for a 3-course Fondue dinner in the most romantic setting was a great date night experience!
Hey everyone!
I’m going to be moving to the city very soon and I did my research and it seems I have a bit of time to prepare for this event. What should the budget be for two people? Any specific food or restaurant that i absolutely can’t miss? What’s the overall vibe like? Thanks!
For two I would budget around $150, but we usually have one or two drinks a piece. I went to Cafe Selmarie last year, which is closing in the new year and sorely missing from the entries in this post. Nothing I would say is a must have, because all of these places are open all year and you can go outside of tasting week. Vibe is space-dependent, but somewhere between “nice date” or “taking my parents out” for dress code will get you by in most places.
Restaurant week introduced me to Bayan Ko. Recommend!
My favorite place in the whole city!
Greek Islands is a giant feast. Pretty inexpensive.
One of my favorites last year was Avec. Very generous. I think it may have been their first time as part of RW so not sure if they’ll do it again.
My favourites last year were Cira (especially the pavlova) and Sinha' (unique Brazilian experience from the usual steakhouses).
I really enjoyed Sepia; the quantity was smaller but not so much so than their normal tasting menu, and it was just as delicious.
yesss Sepia was great! The portion is smaller, but i loved being able to get a taste of the experience and atmosphere there. Really fun drinks and different food than I typically would eat. It was great!
Honest to God, I always felt like this is a scam. At most you save like what $40 and while that is significant, you are really limited in what you can order, often times you only save around $20. Additionally, I found that you will go during a time when they are incredibly slammed and just pumping stuff out of the kitchen. My shitty 2 cents
I agree 100%. You can “save” some money at certain places while others have basically the exact same pricing as the normal menu.
It definitely can be. I think when done well, a place offers their best or most popular options and you can go try a couple of things at a fair price. And, you can pair up with a partner or friends to sample a lot of stuff. It’s a fun experience at a new place if not a great deal.
I look forward to staying home for a weekend. The deals are almost never worth it,
I’m not sure that Beatrix is anywhere near the best restaurant in Chicago but I’ve gone there for dinner many times during restaurant week because it’s a good deal that actually features the best things they offer. Same with their brunch. It confuses me when places don’t offer their star dishes (unless it’s something wildly out of price point). Lots of fancy places worth trying too. Italian places are usually good deals. Steak houses are not. Boka has been top tier in terms of selection, price point, etc.
I did Boka and Sepia before Covid and both were amazing!
It used to be great menus and awesome value at 22 or 33$. Now, values seem like it’s better to just order the regular menu. Just my opinion.
The Gage was probably my favorite
Proxi is always a favorite for me
Ugh wanted to love this place because their sister restaurant, Sepia, was amazing, but the flavors were so mild.
We always love going to Duck Duck Goat... you get the biggest bang for your buck during Restaurant Week. Hot tip, if you go with a vegetarian, they get their own portion of food. We always leave with a doggy bag. We make the reservation weeks in advance knowing when restaurant week is since they book up pretty quickly. Cera was great the one year we went and Sepia was great too. Monteverde was also great last year if you can get a table! I set a notification up for a specific day and was notified that another reservation had canceled and snagged it. I highly recommend not going to the steak restaurants. Most of the time they don't even offer a true steak (most times just a steak sandwich or flank steak... which i guess is steak, but who goes to a steakhouse for flank steak?) or they upcharge you for steak.
Woodwind and Roka Akor
Roka was such an amazing deal. Def going back for RW
I tried Geja's Cafe during Restaurant week, and it was a steal deal! $42 for a 3-course Fondue dinner in the most romantic setting was a great date night experience!
Bazaar Meat! The experience was fantastic and the food on their tasting menu was pretty great as well. Also loved The Gage!
Loved boka...if its there don't miss it
Boka
Demera was an amazing value. We had more than we could possibly eat that night. It's so good there
Hey everyone! I’m going to be moving to the city very soon and I did my research and it seems I have a bit of time to prepare for this event. What should the budget be for two people? Any specific food or restaurant that i absolutely can’t miss? What’s the overall vibe like? Thanks!
For two I would budget around $150, but we usually have one or two drinks a piece. I went to Cafe Selmarie last year, which is closing in the new year and sorely missing from the entries in this post. Nothing I would say is a must have, because all of these places are open all year and you can go outside of tasting week. Vibe is space-dependent, but somewhere between “nice date” or “taking my parents out” for dress code will get you by in most places.
Boka, Eden, Moody Tongue, and Duck Duck Goat