Wildfire Chicago

Wildfire more like campfire cooking. Friday night reservations, seated on time, very noisy, small table off the main dining room. Service was pleasant but far from exceptional. The rotten fish smell coming from our mussel appetizer actually made adjacent dinners turn there heads to locate the source of the stench. Thankfully our server eventually returned to remove the rotten app from our table and our bill. Our entrees (petite filet and prime rib) were average in taste and slightly below average in texture. Completely disappointed we passed on a free dessert and made our exit. Overall C-…

Best steak in Chicago. Let me start with the best part: I ordered the filet medallions oscar and I COULD CUT IT WITH A BUTTER KNIFE! I have had meat that tender only one other time in my life. This was one of the best steaks I've ever had. Okay... now from the beginning...

We made reservations with 3 hours noticed and were seated at the time of our reservations. There wasn't much space to sit or gather but the host staff was very friendly and did offer the bar area for seating early. Our table was around the border of the dining room, which is square in shape with a raised border section over the lowered middle. We had a nice view of the bar and our table was perfect for 'people-watching'.

We each ordered flights of wine. I had the progressive and my fiance had the whites. The amount of wine in each glass was very generous - about a half a glass - and much more than the "shot" of wine that I have had in flights in the past. One of us had the barbecue chicken dish and the other had the filet medallions oscar. The medallions were SO tender and the portions were perfect. The filet was ordered rare, and a truly good rare seems to be hard to come by. Wildfire got it right. Other restaurants give you meat slightly well done and others seem to hand you something that isn't even warmed and somehow still frozen. This was a truly enjoyable cut and cooked filet.

The service was prompt. Nothing spectacular, nothing terrible. Just good, courteous service staff.

For me personally, I will go back again for one of the best steaks I've ever had.…

Outstanding Chicago steakhouse. My colleague and I needed a great steak to celebrate the end of a long week. I picked Wildfire because it was close to our hotel on State. St. I made the reservation through Wildfire's website for that same evening. In fact, I did it with less than 2 hours' notice. I'd go back again, regardless of where my hotel is in the future. I love a good steakhouse, and Wildfire is among the best I've experienced. The ambiance is classic upscale steakhouse. It's busy, but you can hear dinner companion without shouting. The service is prompt, professional, helpful and of a level I'd expect at a great steakhouse (think Morton's, Capital Grille, Smith & Wollensky...Wildfire is at least equal to any of those) The wine list is excellent, but it's really all about the food. My colleague pronounced her filet medallion the "best she's ever had, anywhere, anytime". My NY Strip was excellent, and the parmesan crust (Wildfire's trademark is their interesting seasoned bread crumb crusts--6 varieties) gave it an added flavor unlike i'd ever had before. The sides are shareable and terrific. The key lime pie for dessert was sublime.

Wildfire is outstanding, from the moment you enter until you stagger back out onto the street. If you're in downtown Chicago and you want a terrific steakhouse, Wildfire stands proudly with all the other better-known competitors. Give it a try. You'll be happy you did.…

Great steak and a value for steak. Haven't been to Wildfire in a while and after this weekend, I'm wondering why I don't come back more often. In a town of great steak, it's not easy to say "highly recommended" to just any chop house, but Wildfire does a great job and at a very good value. We had the cold plate with shrimp, lobster, mussels, ceviche which was a safe but good choice, not the best, but for the main course I had a 10oz prime rib with a side of au jous and horseradish which were great! Perfectly medium rare and warm by the time it was served. I had a side of button mushrooms which were perfectly seasoned and paired well with the meal. My date had a full rak of ribs which he enjoyed thoroughly. For dessert, we had the chocolate chip/pecan cookie baked in the pan to order with a dollop of vanilla ice cream which was a perfect, comforting end to a great dinner. Portions were large enough for left-overs which was even great a day later. Steaks average 20-high 30 dollars which is great for a steak -- compared to the other steakhouse down the street. Again, like every downtown/river north hot spot, make reservations a few days ahead.…