I took my wife to Chicago and had several phenomenal meals, the best of which was Oriole.
We had a table on Sunday for the Salon experience.
I hesitated to post this, but it was honestly one of the worst dinner experiences I’ve ever had.
I can’t tell what I’m missing, if it was just an off night or if everyone is just appealing the historical authority of Alinea because of its fame.
I can separate what I know to be just Alinea (no cocktails, for example) from my own preferences. It’s fine. I don’t care for the decor, the music, etc but it’s their show and that’s fine.
The food was simply not good. Overly salty, thick and cloying sauces, wagyu cooked to nearly medium well, chicken that was tough, etc.
My intent with this post isn’t to slam Alinea, but to honestly just try to understand.
I’ve been to other 3 star restaurants that aren’t my favorite (e.g. Per Se), but they’re without any real flaws. This was flawed, and I don’t get it.
What am I missing here?
by WatchYaWant
18 Comments
I found Alinea to be very underwhelming in 2016.
I think some of the “flagship” *** restaurants have been coasting off their reputation for a long time. I had a similar experience at Le Bernardin.
Thank you for this. These are the reviews that are necessary. Not all high end fine dining experiences live up to their expectations. I had a similar experience at Momofuku Ko NYC before they closed.
The food in those pictures just looks so sad and depressing.
Doesn’t look great.
oof this is rough lmao
I haven’t been but I will say the general word in Chicago is that Alinea is kind of coasting on their name and you’re not the first person that has said it was very disappointing.
These pictures are fairly shocking, especially that horrible white chicken dish
Sorry to hear that. I had an amazing time at Alinea back in 2021 and my dishes looked much better than that. I loved the surprises and the unconventional presentation style I experienced. I’d say of the seven 3-star restaurants I’ve been to, Alinea is my #3.
Photo 3 is a car crash of a course, genuinely unappetising.
Did Alinea in 2019, service was rude and a couple dishes were too salty and just not good. They also ruin the surprises of each dish because you can see what is next by looking at the table next to you that has an earlier booking. Poor 3 star experience for sure.
So happy to hear i’m not alone. Summer 2022 it was pretty bad for me too, squid was so overcooked i couldn’t even chew it and multiple dishes had zero or odd flavors. I literally gagged from one of them.
Paid like $3000 for 4 people at 11 Madison and was vegan….so skeptical about 3 star Michelin restaurants now
Cost?
Went in 2019 and also found it quite underwhelming, especially for the myriad of better/more interesting options in Chicago.
Yeah Alinea is a lot worse now. I used to love that place. Food is worse – no innovation. I really don’t care for the bare metal tables – why did they get rid of the tablecloth? The service is also worse – last time I was there the server lost track of my courses and asked me if I already had this course. Same balloons and “painting” desserts except the painting is less smaller and contains less varieties now.
I went last year, traveled from the UK just to eat here, I was absolutely fascinated with the place that I was actually hoping to stage there after I ate but luckily I didn’t have a work permit in time because God damn is that also the worst dining experience I have ever had, every course more sickly than the last, I thought it was just an American thing and my pallet wasn’t up for it but my American friend who I went with, after the truffle explosion, she had to go to the toilet and actually threw up, honestly I almost had to do the same, it just never got any less sickening, so overly rich every single course, such a shame I was really looking forward to it and it cost me a lot of money for that trip.
This makes me sad. Alinea has always been on my wish list and I have yet to go bc have not been able to get reservations when I could make the trip to Chicago. Makes me question if it should remain on my wish list.
I relate with your experience sadly… Went to Alinea a couple years ago, one of my top bucket list restaurants… almost everything was too salty throughout the meal and didn’t taste good or harmonize. Not what I expected at all. I liked dessert and the service though.