Atmosphere review insights for Illinois, United States, Restaurants

A bit overpriced but cool atmosphere

A roast beef and cheddar will set you back $12. Served quickly, however the iPad automatically tacked on a 15% tip for the untrained eye so be aware. I don’t mind tipping for great service however “What can I get you? Ok, anything else? That’ll be $12.” doesn’t warrant a tip, especially a forced one at that. Tasted fine, extremely basic so not worth the price tag.

⭐ 1 out of 5 stars Not the Italian experience we expected We were really disappointed with our dinner at La Bella Trattoria. There were fruit flies everywhere—on the food, in our wine—it was honestly hard to enjoy anything. The atmosphere felt chaotic and loud, with club music blasting instead of anything remotely Italian. Our main course came out almost immediately after the first, and there wasn’t even space on the table. It felt rushed from start to finish, and having three different servers made it confusing and impersonal. The restaurant is attached to a hotel, so people are constantly walking in and out, which makes it feel more like a lobby café than a trattoria. To top it off, they were out of the red wine we ordered and pushed us into another bottle that was about 50% more expensive. Between the flies, the noise, and the lack of authentic atmosphere, this was a complete miss for us.

$4500 for 4 people. I was not wrong for expecting perfection. First, we (and everyone else) arrived 15 minutes early - as requested by their staff. 20 people stuffed into their vestibule for 15 minutes not able to move or talk above a whisper. It was hot, awkward and uncomfortable. We were seated on time and led to the Gallery. There were 4 of us, so for the first part of the experience we were 10 feet away from our dinner companions. More awkwardness. The gentlemen next to me and my husband was the 3rd in a party of three, so here he is 10 feet away from his companions waving at them from across the restaurant. We had a laugh about it, but it's strange and we felt bad for him. Then the hostess arrives and gives a speech about the experience. It was overacted, like an irritating theatre kid trying too hard. The food was meh. Not one time the whole night did anyone say "Oh my god, this is amazing". Yes, they use cool ingredients and interesting combinations, but nothing was truly memorable - except for dessert. I opted for the Alinea wine pairing that was $400 extra per person. Again, I was expecting perfection and was disappointed. It was mostly white wines. Of the 3 reds, we really enjoyed one - the Hirsch Vineyards Block 8 Pinot Noir. It's $90 a bottle online. So yes, it was good but for the $400 up charge per person, serving a $90 bottle is unacceptable. You gave me a used Lexus and I paid for a new Rolls Royce. "The most exquisite and rare wine selections" - it wasn't. After the first service, they take you to the kitchen and give you seasoned popcorn. Again, for $4500 I was disappointed with popcorn. They took us back to the Gallery and the tables were set up normally, which was a nice relief. We could finally converse with our friends. The service is good, the servers are friendly, but they rotate all night - the only consistent server we had was the sommelier. The whole evening was more about the theater and less about the food and wine. Again, they use creative ingredients and diverse presentations. But nothing tasted amazing or was memorable aside from the cool dessert. I waited and thought for 2 months before writing this. Overall, I was disappointed with the whole experience based on the cost. It's maybe a $500 dinner per person, not $1150. Too many details are overlooked for this price. The Gallery @ Alinea x 4 $1,740 Alinea Pairing x4 $1,580 Subtotal $3,320 Service Charge (20%) $664 Taxes $468.12 Order Fee $5 TOTAL $4,457.12

A ludicrous pretentious restaurant. Terrible, over priced food. The starters were smothered in nasty, cloying, gloopy sauces. Even the Caesar salad was a candy mess. The steak was poor. The music at 7 in the evening was so loud you had to shout to hear yourself heard. I know, I know, they are trying to create an atmosphere. Pretending to be 'with it' and young. Attempting to differentiate themselves from other steak restaurants, however you do wish to be able to actually hold a conversation over your meal. The martini had so much ice it was watery. Dreadfully over priced. It's the emperor's new clothes and at the end of the day it is still just a steak restaurant. But is it a good steak restaurant? Are the chefs competent? Nope. Do yourself a favour, stroll across the road and go to Gibson’s to see how it should be done.

Alinea was a restaurant that we have been looking forward to eat at for the longest time, after mostly trying all of the 3 Michelin star restaurants in the US and overseas (Eleven Madison, French Laundry, Chef’s Table @ Brooklyn Fare, Lung King Heen, Le Bernardin, Per Se, etc, etc.). Unfortunately, the experience was not even close to 1 star, let alone 3 and all the accolades the restaurant received. This review also takes into account that this was not the original Alinea location given renovation, but it was at Alinea in Residence temporary location, so this review completely ignores the fact that it was set in a tent used for catering events and weddings. So here is the round up of some the 11 courses with wine pairings, although sadly for a restaurant of this caliber, there was no specific dish that stood out. Hamachi: overcooked and dry (when we provided feedback we were thanked for it, but no further effort was made to improve the experience i.e. offer a replacement, etc) Beef: was chewy and arrived cold, although it was wagyu and super marbled. Needless to say that cold fat part of medium rare beef is anything but gross and ended up not finishing it. No one bothered to ask why I sent back a plate that still had food on it or if there was anything that I did not enjoy. Wine pairing: to our dismay, after the first wine pairing (which was a Chablis), the waiter wanted to pour sake in the same white wine glass!!! My husband was in shock but managed to ask: is this a clean glass, aren’t you going to change it from white wine to sake?! Unacceptable for a 3 star Michelin restaurant. Side note: all wine glasses were the same (stemless water glasses), no specialized glasses were used to match the wine to the appropriate glass, so clearly the perception of aromas was hindered. Again, for a fine dining molecular gastronomy experience, one would expect that every single note and flavor would need to revealed, but guess that’s not the case at Alinea. Waiters would show a bit of an attitude (especially the lady waiter), would mumble the dishes unintelligibly under their mask and upon us asking to repeat some part of the food description, you would get a higher pitch, slightly annoyed voice, which would only discourage us from further posing any questions. However, Stuart and the sommelier deserve a shout out for the thorough explanations and descriptions, and for the impeccable service. I throughly enjoyed when the sommelier (sadly did not catch his name) immersed us into a dreamy artsy world, explaining what the moving art blocks in the restaurant are in reference to and how some deserts in the original Alinea location were inspired by the works of Joao Miro. Lastly, and the only personal comment I will make pertains to the fact that we were celebrating our 9-year anniversary. The team was aware, we got congratulated, and... that’s pretty much it. No other acknowledgement was made in the form of anything. Eleven Madison made a big deal at our 3-year, prepared a special cake with a candle, even gave us a gift to take away. We were particularly disappointed as the restaurant just went on to their pre-set dinner sequence and did not make the slightest attempt at personalizing our experience and making us feel like we were acknowledged and celebrated. Overall, the experience was mediocre and disappointing, food was anything but outstanding, and even worse, everything had the feel of a catering hall, where the food is pre-made, pre-heated and definitely not worthy of a Michelin nod, let alone 3!

The Valentines Day service was awful. Took forever to order our drinks (waiter didn’t even ask if he wanted drinks) with no check-ins after. The food was serviceable but not comparable to Italian spots in Chicago of a similar price point. The atmosphere was poor given the ceiling with a huge brown water stain on it and the fact that we were seated by a door where you can see into their storage area. I’m sure they have some very talented chefs working there that are mad they’re getting screwed by the fact that the front of house has already made the customer feel annoyed and ignored before the first bite.

Review rating: 2.0

I rarely write reviews but I must here. Avoid this place at all costs. Valet parking is a nightmare. Cars lined up on busy Grand Avenue and no parker in sight. Then, when car is taken, no ticket is given and I have to beg for one. Then, a reservation fiasco. I called several days in advance, gave my name to the gentleman who answered, and the greeter insisted my name was not on the list. Finally seated at cramped table where I could barely move my legs. Food--TERRIBLE! Lasagna is basically overcooked mush drowned in cheese and sauce. Likewise, the Pasta with arugula and shrimp was a sauce-laden disaster. I only went here because an accompanying friend claimed this was one of his "Old School Italian" faves. I would never set foot gain in this faux Italian place. Positive reviewers must be fans of Chef Boyardee.

Review rating: 1.0

A bit overpriced but cool atmosphere

Signal: 0.0%

A roast beef and cheddar will set you back $12. Served quickly, however the iPad automatically tacked on a 15% tip for the untrained eye so be aware. I don’t mind tipping for great service however “What can I get you? Ok, anything else? That’ll be $12.” doesn’t warrant a tip, especially a forced one at that. Tasted fine, extremely basic so not worth the price tag.

Signal: 0.0%

⭐ 1 out of 5 stars Not the Italian experience we expected We were really disappointed with our dinner at La Bella Trattoria. There were fruit flies everywhere—on the food, in our wine—it was honestly hard to enjoy anything. The atmosphere felt chaotic and loud, with club music blasting instead of anything remotely Italian. Our main course came out almost immediately after the first, and there wasn’t even space on the table. It felt rushed from start to finish, and having three different servers made it confusing and impersonal. The restaurant is attached to a hotel, so people are constantly walking in and out, which makes it feel more like a lobby café than a trattoria. To top it off, they were out of the red wine we ordered and pushed us into another bottle that was about 50% more expensive. Between the flies, the noise, and the lack of authentic atmosphere, this was a complete miss for us.

Signal: 0.0%