Best Historic Restaurants in Hyde Park

Due to a glut of options, there are few places in Chicago that spark the “when are we coming back?” conversation before the main course is finished. This is one of those places. The dishes were comfortable yet complex, making you realize, there’s a talent-level in the kitchen that makes them impossible to replicate. Each bite from first course through dessert was exceptional, which is a feat considering we were last seating on a Tuesday night. What made the experience was the service. Lauren S. was welcoming and informative without being pushy. She deftly answered all of our questions that felt like she was guiding us through the menu based on her expertise not her opinion. This included steering us away from certain dishes when she understood our flavor profiles, and explaining things without ruining the surprise. Her attention to little things without feeling crowded made us realize what front of house talent does to heighten the experience. The only knock was the nitty-picky things on the space. The bathroom was a bit disheveled, there was a crud on the handle of a fork (nothing on the tongs, I checked before using it). Extremely minor unless you’re judging for Micheline stars. Simply put, where it matters everything is well thought out from concept to execution. If you can get in, it’s an absolute no-brainer.

We were seated 10 minutes early for our 1pm reservation. Out server arrived at our table immediately and greeted us. We put in drink orders then when she came with those we ordered our appetizer and meal. We thought it might take a bit of time as the place was full but it was all out quickly. Ordered thr pot pie and braised beef and both good. This is where service got slow but I think they seated 3 or 4 new tables in her area at once so she was busy. Ordered thr mint cheesecake and that was amazing. Bill was $80 plus tax so not really bad for 2 people to have a nice meal with drinks and dessert. The tree and Christmas decorations were beautiful and we lucked out and were seated near the tree. Will make it a tradition each year to go back. Lucked out on the reservation because we missed it when it opened. So glad we got one!

I love this place! It’s kid friendly, a nice ambience and food is 10/10. I could live off of that pot roast and grits, delicious!