The Dawson
Acclaimed items and guest favorites include: Chicken-fried Lobster Tail, Bone-in Ribeye, Dawson Burger, Mac & Cheese, Bloody Mary, and featured Fish Tacos.
A nod to the contiguous Dawson Brothers Fireplace Plant of late 19th century Chicago, The Dawson's interior design draws inspiration from the history of the neighborhood and the industrial innovation of that era and offers an artfully stripped-down aesthetic, highlighting natural and reclaimed materials in unexpected ways throughout the establishment.
Private Dining
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This place was amazing! Came here with my family and we can't wait to come back. My boyfriend and I also think it's our new fave date place!
Always love this place!
Wonderful experience that exceeded our expectations
Came on a rainy Tuesday night. It was warm and welcoming from the moment the hostesses greeted and seated us. Dining room was lively, perhaps a little loud for our group of four to chat without having to raise our voices a bit. Service was attentive. Appreciated that my water was being constantly refilled and dishes cleared. Waiter was polite and efficient, recommended a good bottle of wine for us. Food tasted great. The fish tacos to share was plenty for four, and we also had the burrata and the avocado hummus. And the fries. Best part of the night was when we left, we stopped to take a picture and the hostess offered to do it for us. She had us stand on the steps and then the other hostess whipped out a big bright light and aimed it at us so that our picture would look great without weird shadows or a bad phone flash. Thank you for being so thoughtful! Will definitely return, hopefully soon.
I love this place. The food was really good. We had the halibut , the roasted cauliflower and the avocado hummus. Each dish was amazing and had a savory sauce. The atmosphere of this place is elegant and cozy. I would definitely recommend this place.
Great service!
Exceptional service and food was delicious. Highly recommend
Amazing as always thanks Phu
Great place great service great management
Awesome place to celebrate a birthday! Had a great time!
Our food was outstanding. Our waitress was mediocre at best!
Management stepped in to help her out, which was much appreciated. noice level was too much for the evening we were looking for. Big engagement party 10 feet away from us.
The restaurant was pretty full on Friday night. The cider rye drink was perfect for a fall day. We loved the buffalo/brussel sprout appetizer and the red snapper tacos.
Everything was great but I don’t understand this trend in restaurants where they seat you right next to another party when the entire place is empty otherwise.
Great service! Food was delicious, we’ll be back again soon!
Felt the menu was pretty standard and unimaginative for how much it costs
I’ve been here a few times- brunch, dinner, happy hour after work. The service is always great, but the food is just meh. Not bad, but not good. Nothing to write home about.
We had very nice food, interesting place but too much noise.
We had a great time at brunch! Get the bacon flight it was amazing!!!
We went for brunch on a Saturday. The service was fantastic and we were well-cared for. The food came out fast and was wonderful! I ordered a bloody mary, nicoise salad (the best I've ever had!) and a glass of sparkling rose. The food, drinks, ambiance and service were all great! Can't wait to go back.
Loved this place! Great atmosphere, great food. Unique but not weird. So yummy!
Food was really disappointing this evening... tuna in the ceviche appeared to have been sitting too long in the citrus mix, and the halibut dish really missed the mark. Part of the fish was unpleasantly fishy (as if it was not fresh) 3 of us ordered this dish and all 3 of us had to stop eating it. Will probably skip the Dawson moving forward. Overall disappointing and overpriced for the quality and taste of food
This place came highly recommended and it did not disappoint... We celebrated my husband's 58th birthday with great food and great drinks...
Lovely local establishment that feels big city cool. Only complaint is that the volume of the music is not conducive to any kind of conversation. This works somewhat if you are around the bar and drinking but forget it if you are sitting at the tables. That said, the food was great (Chicken Fried Lobster was fantastic), the cocktails not so much (Coffee Moscow Mule did not work). Stick to the classics. Will definitely return.
We’ve lived in Chicago 14 months now. This is the best dining experience so far!
Visited the Dawson with friends for drinks and appetizers. The burrata and Brussels were amazing and the drinks were delicious. This place is on the pricey side for the portion sizes so it is more of a special occasion spot. We were celebrating a special engagement occasion and our waiter brought us champagne on the house - very sweet and attentive service!
Free Mimosa for birthday brunch
I have dined and drank here several times but our most recent experience was so special I just had to share... My husband and I came for a casual brunch prior to a day full of activities to celebrate my recent birthday. We marked in our reservation that we were celebrating my birthday and the server went above and beyond to make our experience special. Complimentary dessert, drinks, and just overall great service. We split the bacon flight which was so fun, and the eggs and machaca as our entree which is great for sharing. The eggs and machaca were pretty spicy (which I loved but my husband wished was less spicy). It would have been nice if it was served with a little creme fraiche to cut the spiciness. We love this place and will continue to come back.
I got the steak frites - it was good but didn’t knock my socks off. The Brussels and burrata was really good though
We had the burratta and Brussels and it was excellent. The octopus was cooked to perfection. The sauce for the mussels was so good it could be.a soup. Our server recommend all of them and he made our meal.
We had an excellent meal and very attentive service on a Sunday evening after a Bears game. We had to wait a little to secure valet parking, but the staff was very helpful. The fried lobster appetizer was excellent.
We will be back again soon, We all want to try the outdoor seating in a few months.
Great place for a date night or dinner with friends. The service was great and the food was even better!
Everything was fantastic from the atmosphere to the service to the food and drinks. A few of the entrees and starters was a little pricy for the portion sizes, but would definitely recommend to a friend and will definitely be returning.
We had great service from the get go! Our waitress was fun, had a good knowledge base of the menu for our vegans and vegetarians, and accommodated our varying arrival times for our group of 7. The food was delish!
Sat outside on the patio on a beautiful Saturday and it was great! We all did the bottomless brunch special and the brunch punch was fantastic (not too sugary). I got the burger and it looked really good when it came out, but ended up being overdone and the bottom bun was quite soggy, so it was extremely messy to eat. Great french fries though. Would recommend for the drinks and the atmosphere before the food!
We came to The Dawson for my husband's 30th birthday, and the staff really made our night! They started it with two glasses of champagne to toast to his birthday, and ended it with a dessert with candles! We had a lovely, special evening.
Met friends for brunch. Very busy at time we arrived but our server took great care to make certain we got great service. Ordered the avacado naan dish - was good but certainly preferred the avocado toast dish I have had there on previous occasions. Food in general was good and really enjoyed the energy in the room.
Such great food and service but the noise level was uncomfortable, I could not hear the person sitting across from me. Not sure what you do about it????
Absolutely delicious food that was filling!
Great dinner!!! Great service
Sat outside on fall evening with heaters perfect!!
Chose The Dawson on a whim when a college friend was in town. It was perfect for early Fall - we could sit outside, near the heaters, and were still warm. The outdoor seating area is idyllic and the food was incredible. Our waiter gave spot on recommendations, and everything we chose was delicious. Highly recommend the roasted cauliflower starter, but had a very hard time choosing just one thing!