Dragonfly Mandarin
Chicago, IL 60607
Phone: (312) 787-7600
Message from Dragonfly Mandarin
Best of Citysearch 2007 Winner: #1 Chinese Restaurant in Chicago
- Exquisite Chinese Menu
- Outdoor Dining Patio
- Restaurant + Lounge
Instant Offers
Paid advertisement by Dragonfly Mandarin.
Editorial Review for Dragonfly Mandarin – by Alice Van Housen
The Scene
Trendy West Loop diners are discovering this lounge-y, bi-level space on Randolph Street, whose straightforward dining scene gives way to a nightclub atmosphere on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights. Decor highlights include a sweeping staircase and two-story wine display, rich red walls and light fixtures, and gold foo dogs at the door.
The Food
For authenticity, a Chinese cooking crew creates high-quality, pricier renditions of regional cuisines encompassing Mandarin, Szechuan, Hunan and even some Cantonese, plus upscale seafood specialties (lobster, Dungeness crab, etc.). Divinely garlicky tofu is crispy-skinned with a silken interior; shrimp puffs are wrapped around crab claws which double as handles. Spicy, slurp-worthy Dragonfly noodles are rife with all sorts of shellfish; "dreaming roast duck" is a lovely variation on Peking duck with puffy bun wraps instead of pancakes; and tender, zesty orange peel beef puts those dry, stringy mystery-meat versions to shame.
Editorial content is independent of paid advertisers. Any expenses are paid for by Citysearch.
Insider Tips
Save MoneyEvery Wednesday, if you spend at least $70 in food and drinks, you'll receive $40 off your bill with a coupon printed from Citysearch.com.
Know Before You GoWednesday, Friday and Saturday, Dragonfly becomes the Flybar lounge, with full menu, DJ and smoking throughout.
What to DrinkTry a lychee martini (made with fresh lychee juice), juicy rum drink or coffee concoction.
The ExtrasThe restaurant delivers 11am-11pm, daily, to the area bounded by Diversey to the north, Roosevelt to the south, the lake to the east, and Green to the west.
User Reviews for Dragonfly Mandarin
11/23/2008 Posted by Britcrit
Soft shell crab not crispy and hot but like fish that had been cooked in old batter. Satay were OK but peanut sauce creamy. Fiery curry hot rice with chicken ugly mess of a lot of rice , cheap curry powder and no real heat. Fillet of snapper an insipid vague fish flavour. Fish was staemed but still watery in a salty cheap sauce. Bathroom no soap and no atmosphere. Won't survive the recession and ought not to. Sauvingnon by the bottle aws cheap, no lemony grassy tones. OH why go on...dreadful
09/16/2008 Posted by Westloopkid
A group of us ordered lunch from Dragonfly on a Tuesday afternoon. We were sorely disappointed, both with the food and the price. They should pay people to eat the food. Fiery chicken was slimy, had no taste or "fire", and left a disgusting after taste in our mouths. We thought we would be safe with Orange Chicken as that is breaded and fried. We were wrong. I have never had chicken so dry. It tasted like dried soup chicken, if it really is chicken. How breaded and fried food is dry on the inside is a mystery I don't want solved. Tasteless brown or what they call fried rice was just terrible. Hard, chewy, and no good flavor to mention. Eggrolls had so much pepper and garlic we wondered what we had ordered. We hope nobody wastes their time or money on this place. The service was fine, the food (the most important part) was TERRIBLE.
Cons: Everything
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