So I went to Oriole (**) and Smyth (***) in Chicago…
by sup12october
7 Comments
sup12october
Oriole (**) has a reputation on this forum for being strong, reliable fine dining. On the other hand, Smyth (***) has been quite divisive–some love it, some hate it, maybe it was better pre-Covid. Given this tension, I booked a reservation at both, and well… here are my brief thoughts to add to the conversation:
* **Oriole** — “classic” American fine dining focusing on luxury ingredients (foie gras, uni, truffle, king crab, caviar, wagyu, etc.) * **Food**: Honestly, I found the food largely underwhelming. Nothing was surprising; nothing had much personality. I was waiting to have even the slightest “wow” moment, but it never arrived, except maybe the pre-dessert. I was super bored with this meal unfortunately, and I was surprised by how bored I was! I wanted to like it so badly! I would maybe recommend this restaurant to a person who hasn’t had the opportunity to try fancy ingredients like wagyu, but otherwise it was meh 🙁 * **Pics**: First two — Their famous foie gras dish. it was totally good! But not great! And the caviar course, a play on Thomas Keller presumably, this was just fine! I’m truly the least picky eater ever, but nearly every course was just “good,” never great. * **Service**: A little bit cold and rehearsed, pacing is slow, but they became more playful/warm when they realized I was relaxed/chill about the whole experience. Nice overall.
* **Smyth** — experimental, fermentation-oriented, umami-driven * **Food**: So many “wow” moments, so many layers of flavor, nearly every dish was surprising, nearly every dish was outstanding, and every dish was delicious. I was trying so hard to see why this restaurant could be so divisive, but everything was just so damn good! Based on this meal, I truly don’t understand the hate (but of course, I recognize that restaurants can be variable!). I can easily see why this has three stars. It was just incredible. * **Pics**: Last two — Their current caviar dish, so much fun, so weird, so engaging, many layers. And a pine cone for dessert, cool! * **Service**: Immediately warm, relaxed, friendly, playful, funny, engaged, attentive. Every server and sommelier was great. They made sure we had a great experience.
tl;dr: Oriole was surprisingly very underwhelming. Smyth was awesome and deserves three stars.
FatherEsmoquin
An oysters and pearls knockoff? Really?
Taiwanese-Tofu
Oysters and Pearls?!?!
Independent_Inside23
Such a well written contrast and key points. Love it.
bill2070
I was just in Chicago and had the exact same experience as you. Loved Smyth but was fairly underwhelmed by Oriole. Although at Oriole we did know our server from a previous restaurant so that made the experience a little more enjoyable service-wise.
I would 100% go to Smyth again. Oriole would take a little convincing to get me to return.
Tolkeinn1
I had an amazing meal at smyth a couple weeks ago so I am always going to be a fan of it. Definitely weird, sometimes confounding, but the food was just so interesting. They’re doing things no one else is and some of it just soars. That lamb dish is a 2/10 though. Wasn’t enough to ruin the meal though
Barbie_and_KenM
Having been to both as well, I still prefer Oriole. You are right that they play it a little more safe and don’t push the envelope on any of their dishes; but to me there were many strong dishes (truffle capellini, wagyu, to name a couple) that are just flawless in taste and execution. I have returned several times because they always deliver a fantastic meal and the service is on point.
Compared to my experience at Smyth, while their desire to really create bold flavors with a heavy emphasis on fermentation does result in some outstanding courses, this experimentation also ends up not being able to please as many people on a spectrum, hence being very divisive. The black garlic dessert I had there was actually revolting.
I would be hesitant to return to Smyth just not having a clear view of how my experience is going to be based on seasonality; whereas Oriole is just consistently stellar.
7 Comments
Oriole (**) has a reputation on this forum for being strong, reliable fine dining. On the other hand, Smyth (***) has been quite divisive–some love it, some hate it, maybe it was better pre-Covid. Given this tension, I booked a reservation at both, and well… here are my brief thoughts to add to the conversation:
* **Oriole** — “classic” American fine dining focusing on luxury ingredients (foie gras, uni, truffle, king crab, caviar, wagyu, etc.)
* **Food**: Honestly, I found the food largely underwhelming. Nothing was surprising; nothing had much personality. I was waiting to have even the slightest “wow” moment, but it never arrived, except maybe the pre-dessert. I was super bored with this meal unfortunately, and I was surprised by how bored I was! I wanted to like it so badly! I would maybe recommend this restaurant to a person who hasn’t had the opportunity to try fancy ingredients like wagyu, but otherwise it was meh 🙁
* **Pics**: First two — Their famous foie gras dish. it was totally good! But not great! And the caviar course, a play on Thomas Keller presumably, this was just fine! I’m truly the least picky eater ever, but nearly every course was just “good,” never great.
* **Service**: A little bit cold and rehearsed, pacing is slow, but they became more playful/warm when they realized I was relaxed/chill about the whole experience. Nice overall.
* **Smyth** — experimental, fermentation-oriented, umami-driven
* **Food**: So many “wow” moments, so many layers of flavor, nearly every dish was surprising, nearly every dish was outstanding, and every dish was delicious. I was trying so hard to see why this restaurant could be so divisive, but everything was just so damn good! Based on this meal, I truly don’t understand the hate (but of course, I recognize that restaurants can be variable!). I can easily see why this has three stars. It was just incredible.
* **Pics**: Last two — Their current caviar dish, so much fun, so weird, so engaging, many layers. And a pine cone for dessert, cool!
* **Service**: Immediately warm, relaxed, friendly, playful, funny, engaged, attentive. Every server and sommelier was great. They made sure we had a great experience.
tl;dr: Oriole was surprisingly very underwhelming. Smyth was awesome and deserves three stars.
An oysters and pearls knockoff? Really?
Oysters and Pearls?!?!
Such a well written contrast and key points. Love it.
I was just in Chicago and had the exact same experience as you. Loved Smyth but was fairly underwhelmed by Oriole. Although at Oriole we did know our server from a previous restaurant so that made the experience a little more enjoyable service-wise.
I would 100% go to Smyth again. Oriole would take a little convincing to get me to return.
I had an amazing meal at smyth a couple weeks ago so I am always going to be a fan of it. Definitely weird, sometimes confounding, but the food was just so interesting. They’re doing things no one else is and some of it just soars. That lamb dish is a 2/10 though. Wasn’t enough to ruin the meal though
Having been to both as well, I still prefer Oriole. You are right that they play it a little more safe and don’t push the envelope on any of their dishes; but to me there were many strong dishes (truffle capellini, wagyu, to name a couple) that are just flawless in taste and execution. I have returned several times because they always deliver a fantastic meal and the service is on point.
Compared to my experience at Smyth, while their desire to really create bold flavors with a heavy emphasis on fermentation does result in some outstanding courses, this experimentation also ends up not being able to please as many people on a spectrum, hence being very divisive. The black garlic dessert I had there was actually revolting.
I would be hesitant to return to Smyth just not having a clear view of how my experience is going to be based on seasonality; whereas Oriole is just consistently stellar.