price : $1400 total for three people, that included the $325 pp tasting menu, and 5 cocktails (plus tax and 20% tip)
winners –
* the carrot cocktail is a MUST, it tastes like liquid carrot cake. The other cocktails were .. meh, fine.
* smoked quail egg
* potato and cacao ice cream
service – felt just okay
Overall it was delicious with inventive flavors, but I felt both the space and overall experience didn’t match with my other 3 star experiences, and that the price was a bit high
by MrSpiderisadomme
8 Comments
None of this looks like food.
I miss the Chicago fine dining scene of the early 00s. Am I *that* old in my mid-40s that I just don’t get contemporary modern cuisine? It looks unappetizing and no fun.
$325 is kinda high? That’s pretty much cheaper than any other 3 stars in the US.
Smyth is one of our fave fine dining experiences we have had. We loved the food, wine pairings, and the staff was phenomenal.
My wife and I went when it was 2 stars about 3 years ago and it was one of our favorite meals ever. Really memorable. Also cheaper back then!
So sorry to hear you didn’t have a good experience – I was at Smyth a month ago (with what looks like 2/3 menu overlap) and had a wonderful experience. I felt like the service experience and food were exceptional (and had Atelier Crenn + Alinea in the last 2 months to compare it to), and the wine pairing was inventive and balanced – I had everything from Rinaldi Barolo to a dessert wine so limited it didn’t even have a back label (real shout out to the somm who was incredible and helpful). The food was beautiful and the flavors, which relied heavily on fermentation, were good and had a consistent voice throughout. Am commenting not because I doubt you, but because I want to give a second opinion to the folks considering the restaurant and hope they have an experience like mine. Cheers!
How did you get it to just $1400? $325, then their 20% back of house service charge that isn’t a tip, then a 20% tip already gets you to $455/pp before drinks.
Which is what I’m worried about at Smyth – that’s a LOT, even though I’ve admittedly heard almost nothing but good things.
Smyth is really good but their older more focused/condensed menus were still the best meals I’ve personally had at the restaurant, all hits and no misses. The longer tasting menus always feel like theyre stretching themselves quite thin – many good ideas but weird execution or slight missteps on pared down dishes that have little room to hide. Still love the place personally though
I ate at smith and then Alinea and the one I don’t ever need to go to again is Alinea. I would go to smyth any chance I could.