Went to Valhalla shortly after they opened. I had gone to their previous TimeOut market location several times before their move. In terms of the ambiance, the new place is small and cozy (with only around ~15 seats). The decor is gorgeous and gives it a much more luxurious feeling compared to their old location. There are only chef’s counter seats and there is a small lounge that you can hang out and drink in after the meal. I will say that for only counter seats and a group larger than 3, it may be difficult to talk to each other. For my group of 5, they placed us at a corner so we could face each other, which was a nice touch and worked for us, but may be still cumbersome for people with hearing loss.
For service, it was excellent and very personal. I had to email them to get a table of 5, and they were very quick to respond and accommodate. Every time they served our dishes, a chef or the head waitress would take the time to explain each dish and chat with us. By the end of the meal, we had pretty much met with every chef, letting us get familiar with the restaurant team. They were always attentive, even opening up conversations with us on the whim when they noticed we were interested in something.
For food, in addition to their excellent new dishes, they took the best dishes from the previous menus and vastly improved them. Pretty much every dish was spectacular and well executed, often paired with well thought out ideas and stories. The highlights were probably the trios of beef and seafood, the crab and rice dish, and the pineapple seven ways. The seafood bites in particular were a great start to the meal, packed full of flavor and texture—no bite overshined the other. The crab dish was lighter than their previous iterations but had more depth and balance with the crab flavor. The pineapple dessert is probably on of my favorite desserts that I can remember. The only critiques I have were that the lamb dish was slightly lacking some umami or salt, and the lemon dessert was a little too sour and could have used some more sweetness or salt for balance. Otherwise, they were still good.
Overall, Valhalla is probably my favorite restaurant in Chicago, is well worth the money, and will be a place I return to. It beats restaurants like Ever and Alinea, and slightly surpasses Oriole due to the dessert being better (although I only went to Oriole prior to their revamp). They were trying to make a more well rounded experience with their new space, and they achieved it, even surpassing my expectations. Definitely try it before it gets too busy, because it deserves and will gain traction and stars.
P0ster_Nutbag
This really looks like one of the interesting and assuredly delicious meals I’ve seen on this sub. It looks like a ridiculous amount of food overall though! Would you say you left rather full?
Gatsbeaner
I wanted to eat here so bad their opening month when I was in Chicago in May. Sadly they had no space available. Top of my list for next visit. Looks fantastic.
3 Comments
Went to Valhalla shortly after they opened. I had gone to their previous TimeOut market location several times before their move. In terms of the ambiance, the new place is small and cozy (with only around ~15 seats). The decor is gorgeous and gives it a much more luxurious feeling compared to their old location. There are only chef’s counter seats and there is a small lounge that you can hang out and drink in after the meal. I will say that for only counter seats and a group larger than 3, it may be difficult to talk to each other. For my group of 5, they placed us at a corner so we could face each other, which was a nice touch and worked for us, but may be still cumbersome for people with hearing loss.
For service, it was excellent and very personal. I had to email them to get a table of 5, and they were very quick to respond and accommodate. Every time they served our dishes, a chef or the head waitress would take the time to explain each dish and chat with us. By the end of the meal, we had pretty much met with every chef, letting us get familiar with the restaurant team. They were always attentive, even opening up conversations with us on the whim when they noticed we were interested in something.
For food, in addition to their excellent new dishes, they took the best dishes from the previous menus and vastly improved them. Pretty much every dish was spectacular and well executed, often paired with well thought out ideas and stories. The highlights were probably the trios of beef and seafood, the crab and rice dish, and the pineapple seven ways. The seafood bites in particular were a great start to the meal, packed full of flavor and texture—no bite overshined the other. The crab dish was lighter than their previous iterations but had more depth and balance with the crab flavor. The pineapple dessert is probably on of my favorite desserts that I can remember. The only critiques I have were that the lamb dish was slightly lacking some umami or salt, and the lemon dessert was a little too sour and could have used some more sweetness or salt for balance. Otherwise, they were still good.
Overall, Valhalla is probably my favorite restaurant in Chicago, is well worth the money, and will be a place I return to. It beats restaurants like Ever and Alinea, and slightly surpasses Oriole due to the dessert being better (although I only went to Oriole prior to their revamp). They were trying to make a more well rounded experience with their new space, and they achieved it, even surpassing my expectations. Definitely try it before it gets too busy, because it deserves and will gain traction and stars.
This really looks like one of the interesting and assuredly delicious meals I’ve seen on this sub. It looks like a ridiculous amount of food overall though! Would you say you left rather full?
I wanted to eat here so bad their opening month when I was in Chicago in May. Sadly they had no space available. Top of my list for next visit. Looks fantastic.