Best Date Night Restaurants in Chicago

There were a few things that didn’t go well for the price tag. 1) We were 3 people dining. 2 of us received their main course and we had to wait more than 5 min for the 3rd person to receive their main course . Unacceptable. 2) When I ordered coffee along with the desert order- we received our coffees while before our desert arrived while my lemonchello arrived while after our desert. No consistency 3) My experience with truffle season.. Usually the places that offer truffles - they offer a special dish.. truffle pasta or truffle rissotto.. here it was- add to one of the dishes..so, I picked the most delicate/simple- pasta limone which is also not perfect as the flavor loses to catch the taste of the truffle - especially if you charge $59 fur the truffle shaving (black.. not white truffle )..

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.

The Girl and the Goat always exceeds expectations, even when my expectations are sky high! Thank you! We had the Pig Face, String Beans, Goat Belly, and Steak. The dishes all exploded with flavors. The balance of seasonings, use of citrus, vinegar and other elements of the dishes played well and makes the culinary experience here amazing. The cocktails were yummy as well. The Peach-Te-quilla was light and refreshing. The Spicy Fat Boy had a ton of flavor. To finish the night, we had the Toffee Pumpkin cake and a neat pour of the Pappy Family Reserve. The Pappy was a treat and made a great night even more special! Thanks to Stephanie and all the team at the Goat. You are all AMAZING!

This is a challenging review to write. The food and cocktails were excellent. Truly the best French dip that I have ever had and a wonderful, creative Harvest Salad with Brussels sprouts and squash and bacon in a lovely, creamy lemon vinaigrette. Well-made, tasty cocktails led by an olive-oil infused martini which I will promptly try to replicate at home. Now for the bad part—The service was terrible and colored the entire experience. Our server would simply disappear for long periods of time. Poof—gone. Nowhere to be seen. And I mean long periods…..Like 20 minutes. Our drink order sat on the bar for at least 15 minutes, maybe longer. I could see it from where I was sitting and almost went up to pick it up myself. Our drinks finally were delivered about 30 seconds before our food, which was delivered by a runner, not our server. At this point, our server again disappeared and we had to ask another server for our check. We did notice other tables that were assigned to him asking other servers for help. In retrospect, the problem started at the very beginning of our visit. We waited a long time for a greeting, and then lets just say he set a leisurely pace for both our drink and food orders. And, this was a late lunch on a weekday. The first floor was maybe half full and the top floor was totally closed, so the mystery remains of where our server could possibly have been stealing off to. And I should add that there was not one acknowledgement from our server, or anyone else, that there was a problem. Guess this is the experience that you are going for? Net effect is that my dining mate will not return. I may try again—The food was that good. Overall, a great experience to remind one that the service really does matter.

Love Elina’s and have been often because the vibes, service, and food is top notch. Definitely a great date night. Intimate and cozy!