Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse - ChicagoTables too close! Menu/Service goodTables are a little to tight and close to each other, we were a party of four sitting next to a parity of very noisy six people, and every time the leaned back to clap or laugh it was right at our ears!
Besides this, excellent food and service.5/13/2013 12:00:00 AMChicago's finest for steak and wineFlew all the way from California on a friends recommendation and was not disappointed5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMSlightly Overpriced.The service was very good and they had a great wine list. It was a little overpriced but the view and the staff made up for it.5/11/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food, service & locationSmith & Wollensky Chicago is amazingly located in River North -- just next to the House of Blues and right on the river. The service is everything you'd expect and more. The cuisine is decadent and scrumptious! From the Truffled Macaroni and Cheese to the perfectly prepared Oscar Style Filet Mignon and everything in between, this is a culinary event you won't soon forget!5/10/2013 12:00:00 AMBest burger ever!Second time to Smith and Wollensky for lunch. This time we got to sit outside overlooking the Chicago River and the gorgeous Chicago skyline. Beautiful! I can honestly say, they have the best hamburger I've ever had (husband agreed) served with delicious fries and slaw. Service was great too. Can't wait to go back!5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMWe went to celebrate my nephew'sWe went to celebrate my nephew's birthday. Noel gave us a great lecture about the different choices we had for dinner.
Great ambiance and excelent location for our table. Right in front of the river.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMFor the third time in a year,For the third time in a year, Smith & Wollensky was wonderful. Superb service and delicious food. Very well managed restaurant with courteous, polite, and knowledgeable servers and, again, delicious food. What a nice place to celebrate a birthday! or anything!5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat place to dine in ChicagoI'm not a"chain restaurant" guy but S & W is an exception. A group of six of us sat outside on the Chicago River side and had a fantastic lunch. The food was exceptional and the service was even better! I can highly recommend the Wolensky Salad with Salmon. The other two couples who dined with us, had not been to S & W before and were impressed. Add it to your "must eat at" list, you won't be disappointed.5/4/2013 12:00:00 AMA must in ChicagoGreat place to dinner, the steaks are awesome and the wine list is great. Ideal for late meals, mainly to witness the sunset at the river shore and the city lights to appear in the landscape.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMMagnificent LunchOur visit was in celebration of our son's graduation from college. Our five entrees were cooked to perfection; our server's descriptions of portion size, spicing, and side suggestions were spot on. Service was attententive without being smothering. We came in with very high expectations, having dined at S&W in NYC, and left feeling we had spent our afternoon amongst friends.5/3/2013 12:00:00 AMPre-theater diningWe went to Smith & Wollensky for dinner prior to attending the theater. The food was excellent, great steaks, and the service was outstanding. Because we were dining so early, the restaurant was not crowded and we were able to be seated at a table at the window overlooking the river. There was a slight mixup with our order and were offered complimentary dessert after the theater.5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMLovely experienceBeautiful riverside restaurant with interior and outdoor dining. Calm, light filled upstairs dining area. . Excellent, practiced service provided by friendly staff. Lunch was very good with different types of selections. Shrimp bisque very good, salad average, burger very good. This isn't a "vibrant and high energy" kind of place which is a blessing if you want to speak to your dinner companions. Would be perfect for business lunch, dinner with friends or romantic dinner.5/2/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent food, was able toExcellent food, was able to enjoy the evening and have dinner on the terrace. Service was very prompt. Wine list is very encompassing. Overall great place for a great steak dinner.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMFood was great and style isFood was great and style is charming - elegant and simple. Everything was tasty, quick and we had good recommendations about the menu. Great place for romantic dinner or special occasions to celebrate or do business with style.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMI have eaten at most of S&W'sI have eaten at most of S&W's in the country, but Chicago's version is the one we always come back to. Something about the location, lights, river, and Martini's I guess. the food and service is always very good. Pricey to be sure, but what isn't in a big city today?4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat food. Excellent service.Great food. Excellent service. Would definitely go again.4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMWe have a GREAT experienceWe have a GREAT experience at Smith and Wollensky! Our server was wonderful, and the manager gave us a tour of the kitchen and the meat rooms. It was really really cool. Obviously, the food was excellent. The green beans were an unexpected favorite! And the cocunut cake was PERFECT for my birthday treat!4/27/2013 12:00:00 AMExactly what you'd expect!Exactly what you'd expect from a Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse. The steaks were fantastic, the view was wonderful and the service was very attentive. Ordered the Buttenut Squash soup on special that day but they ran out. The Lobster Bisque was a pleasant substitution. Unexpected surprise was the tour of the kitchen and the aging room. Only complaint was the bottle of red wine we ordered was noticeably warm.4/25/2013 12:00:00 AMA great meal at a favorite place.Somehow, every time we are in Chicago we end up for a meal at Smith & Wollensky. It is always outstanding! The drinks are generous pours (everything is a double, so be careful how you order) and the wine list is pretty good too. This time my wife and I split the Coffee and Cocoa Rubbed Filet. Started with a half doz. oysters and finished with fresh berries and whipped cream. We decided to give their private reserve red a try as our wine selection and were very pleased. A nice meritage of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc, 3% Petite Verdot and 2% Malbec. Very nice.
Our server was David. He could not have been better! All in all, a great meal at one of our favorite places.4/22/2013 12:00:00 AMFabulous eveningWe let the restaurant know that we were celebrating an important event and they went out of their way to make our evening special. Outstanding food and device! We will definitely return and recommend to our friends.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMEnjoyed ourselves and hadEnjoyed ourselves and had a very good steak. It was our anniversary so we were just out for a nice dinner. We left happy. People around us were loud but that's not the restaurants fault by any means.4/20/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat, not perfect.We had the scallops (on special) and the beef carpaccio to start. The scallops were so perfectly cooked with an amazing sear. The carpaccio was served on a Himalayan salt block, which gave the meat the perfect amount of saltiness. Would highly recommend them both.
My dry-aged steak was tasty, but a touch overdone in certain areas (not totally consistent). My SO's filet (au poivre) was perfectly cooked, but had a bit too much sauce and overpowered the steak flavour.
That all said, it was a wonderful meal and these are trivial issues that would not prevent us from coming back. Great atmosphere, great service and great options. Also, order a side dish. We didn't and our steaks looked lonely on the plate.4/19/2013 12:00:00 AMWent on a slow Sunday night,Went on a slow Sunday night, downstairs bar/loungue was closed so sat at the bar upstairs. It was nice to have a quiet bar scene rather than the normal hectic (or vibrant) scene that is usually the case at S&W. Burger was outstanding and drinks to match.4/14/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat steaksExcellent food and service. Among the best steaks I've ever had. Not any pricier than any other upscale steakhouses in Chicago.4/13/2013 12:00:00 AMAlways a wonderful experience.Always a wonderful experience. The food is excellent and the attention to service
is above all the rest.
Whether you order a steak or a burger , you are treated with the utmost concern for
satisfaction.
We choose this as our favorite downtown spot.4/13/2013 12:00:00 AMFood was fantastic! We reallyFood was fantastic! We really liked our Waiter. The Chocolate Cake was impressive4/12/2013 12:00:00 AMFabulous!My boyfriend and I wanted to spend a special night on the town with his brother who is home on leave from service for the army overseas. We felt royally pleased by the fabulous service, every bite was to die for, and the special tidbits of history and uniqueness that fill every cranny of the wonderful river view space made the whole experience just wonderful.4/12/2013 12:00:00 AMThe food was great and JamesThe food was great and James did a fantastic job serving our group. Thank you.4/7/2013 12:00:00 AMService and location terrific.Service and location terrific. Bernaise sauce to die for!!4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMFabulous steaks, perfectlyFabulous steaks, perfectly cooked to customer preference and served by knowledgeable waiting staff. Staff very attentive and an ideal location overlooking the river.4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMThis was my first time diningThis was my first time dining at S&W. I have been going to other well known steak houses in the city for years and decided to give this one a try. It did not disappoint. From the fresh rolls they bring to the table (delicious!), to the bone-in prime rib that was cooked and seasoned to perfection, this place get's 5 stars all around. The creamed spinach might be the best I have ever had and the wine selection was vast. I highly recommend this place.4/6/2013 12:00:00 AMThis is my husband's and myThis is my husband's and my favorite steakhouse in Chicago. We go here for anniversaries and other special occasions. Consistent, delicious, and just lovely. Something for everyone.4/5/2013 12:00:00 AMYou can always count on S&WYou can always count on S&W for very good food and excellent service.4/3/2013 12:00:00 AMI like to have some personalI like to have some personal touch from our server, which was missing.
I was not there for awhile but still good place to go and invite someone, this time was a birthday.4/3/2013 12:00:00 AMIt was the highlight of ourIt was the highlight of our weekend getaway! We will be back!3/31/2013 12:00:00 AMThe Best of the BestDinner at Smith and Wollensky's was amazing. Six of us went to celebrate a friends birthday and to all get together for the first time in a long time. We were treated to an outstanding table with a view of the Chicago River and the Michigan Ave. bridge. The service was absolutely excellent and the food, and we had a wide variety, was simply outstanding. The steak, the sea food, the sides of mashed potatoes, asparagus, and green beans and the chocolate were incredible. There really wasn't anything that could have made the experience better.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMTook our daughter to S & WTook our daughter to S & W for her 25th birthday. Great experience. Our waitress was outstanding and the other staff very friendly. Our meals were very good - big portions. Will definitely go back when in Chicago.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMHad an excellent time. GoodHad an excellent time. Good service and good eats.3/30/2013 12:00:00 AMSuper fantastic!Me and two girlfriends went for a 7pm dinner. It was a fantastic choice. We all had cocktails to start and were not disappointed! Flavourful and strong! The meals were amazing too...I had the tenderloin trio which were all done to perfection. We shared three sides: roasted wild mushrooms, truffle mac n' cheese, and roasted asparagus. The mac n'cheese was everything you could hope for and the others were delicious as well. We finished by splitting a gigantic slice of chocolate cake. But we were so full already that we only ate a small part of it and took the rest home! Overall an off the charts experience!3/25/2013 12:00:00 AMGreat serviceLove this place a must for any Chicago stay: great lobster and steak3/24/2013 12:00:00 AMIt is Smith & Wollensky!Exceeded our expectations! Best beef in Chicago and cooked to perfection.3/22/2013 12:00:00 AMMy first visit, and I am veryMy first visit, and I am very glad I came. Great service and food. Had a great dinner with friends.3/20/2013 12:00:00 AMA ClassicS & W never disapoints. The service is poilite, professional, and crisp. I usually go the classic route at this gem. Ceasar salad to start, the NY strip, creamed spinach and home fries. I will go back again and again.3/20/2013 12:00:00 AMSt. Patrick's Day at S & WWe went to Smith & Wollensky for their world renowned reputation of great steaks and its scenic view of the Chicago River. The ambiance and service were both excellent; as well as the wine list. Our view of the river that I requested wasn't the best despite saying it was a special occasion. My steak was slightly overcooked the first time, but when management found out it wasn't cooked to my liking (normally I don't complain about such things), they immediately told the kitchen to put another one on the grille. Overall it was a very nice evening and I would go back again.3/17/2013 12:00:00 AMEvery vacation, we chooseEvery vacation, we choose a restaurant as our "splurge" of the trip and eat somewhere that is a little out of our everyday dining budget. This time, we chose Smith & Wollensky for that meal and I couldn't have been happier with our choice. The service was impeccable (attentive but not intrusive - we never had to ask for anything) and the quality of the food was beyond compare. Everything was prepared beautifully & seasoned properly - we left full to overflowing yet with absolutely no trace of the meal sitting "heavy" in our stomachs. I would definitely go back again next time we visit Chicago and highly recommend that anyone who is on the fence about whether to book this restaurant or not, go ahead & do it - you won't be disappointed!3/17/2013 12:00:00 AMExcellent Service and theExcellent Service and the best steaks to be found in Chicago.3/16/2013 12:00:00 AMClient lunches or dinnersClient lunches or dinners are always successful at Smith and Wollensky. Too notch service from the time if arrival to the sad time when you must depart. WINE WEEK is amazing ... Held twice a year, it is an event not to be missed!3/14/2013 12:00:00 AMWhat a great time! SteaksWhat a great time! Steaks were awesome! And that truffled mac and cheese....wow.3/14/2013 12:00:00 AMWe had Dinner which was justWe had Dinner which was just perfect...best steack in Chicago is bone in rib eye.
We also lunched during the wine tasting week and what a great event to go to... more
wine to taste than you can hold! My very favorite dining place when we visit Chicago.3/13/2013 12:00:00 AMWine Week is Not to be Missed!!We always LOVE going to Wine Week at Smith & Wollensky!! Great service and superb selection of wines, etc. Highlight was definitely our wonderful waiter, Pete Joyce; as well as our Wine Steward, Blaine Goldflies. Thank you!!3/12/2013 12:00:00 AM