De La Costa

Doesn't Recommend

isu888

Joined 4 years ago

Motivation to stay in for pizza every NYE!. Okay, let's be honest De La Costa's atmosphere is superior, but their New Years Eve execution was a train wreck. We sat down at 9:30 for 9:00 reservations, fine no big deal....We did not receive our 6th course until 1:15am!! We waited over an hour for one course, which honestly we weren't really hungry for at that point. The worst was the finale, smoked chocolate truffle with poblano ice cream. Sounds fabulous, but the smoked chocolate was the worst desert I have ever had in my life. I have also been physically ill now for two days and keep smelling and tasting the smoked chocolate.

This place has a great location, atmosphere, even the wait staff, but the key to a great restaurant is the food...so this place will not stay afloat.

Doesn't Recommend

curtcha

Joined 4 years ago

Worst NYE Dinner ever. we were seated at 9:30PM for a 6 course dinner seating. it took over 90 minutes between course 2 and 3 (i am not lying) and the sad thing was the 3rd course was SOUP!!! when it came it was cold. At this point the whole meal was over in our minds due to the fact of the long wait. We did not get done w/ our meal till 1:10 AM. The dessert was the most dissapointing. Smoked chocolate that tasted like smoked Salmon (left a bad taste in my mouth for the next 3-4 hours). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not go to this restaurant it give chicago a bad name. Worst restaurant experience i have ever been too

Recommends

JennaV

Joined 5 years ago

Wow this food has flavor!!. This has to be one of the best additions to the Chicago dining scene. DeLaCosta is easily one of the best Chicago restaurants out there. The experience id totally complete. They have amazing food with great flavors that is so completely different than all of the the other fine dining places that are out there trying to compete to see who can make the best science experiment out of their dinner!! The atmosphere is also very fun (not stuffy at all), however all the times I have been there, the service is on point. You have to snag a seat in the back dining room that overlooks the River. My favorite dishes are the Fire & Ice ceviche, the shrimp appetizer and the adobo rubbed seared tuna. Moy mouth is watering just thinking about the food.

Doesn't Recommend

ovalerie5

Joined 5 years ago

Would Never Go Back for Dinner..... I had a large group and we tried about 12 items on the menu. I prayed they would get better as the night went on, but overall a huge disappointment! I would never return for the food - only for drinks. Service was good and atmosphere is great.

Recommends

alphachiomega

Joined 6 years ago

Beautiful restaurant and dining experience.. There are few places that excite my tastebuds like this place does. De La Costa is my new favorite restaraunt in Chicago. When money is no object or when a freebe is thrown your way, order it up and try the Lobster Xim Xim. A delicious 8 oz lobster served over 'shredded' coconut chicken with a bacon wrapped banana on the side. The flavors are spectacular and is by far the most delcious entree I have ever had. A close second is the chorizo encrusted Halibut. Generally, I like my fish; fressh with lemon or lime and wouldn't dare order it any differentely. The Halibut took about 5 seconds to be completely eaten..yes it was that good! Now to back track a little, the ceviche. I like ceviche to be very delicate with more citurs then spices. De La Costa's was not what I expected, but was none the less tasty. I would highly recomened the Hamachi, but the other two were just a little too "meaty" for my liking.

Ok, back to the best parts of the meal. Entree's were... FAB U LOUS. We decided to order the chocolate flan and the coconut and lime. To my dissapointment they just discontinued tres leches(grr), but these desserts were phenomenal. I do not know which one I liked better..they really were that good.

If you go into this place wtih an open mind you will be pleased, if you go in thinking "ick, that sounds gross," it probably will be. De La Costa is not for everyone, but for those with an adventerous spirit this is the place to go.

Decor=5

Food=5

Ceviche-3.5

Entree-a billion

Dessert-5

Waiter=5

Recommends

christycumbo

Joined 6 years ago

Modern and sultry ambiance...innovative, Latin-inspired cuisine. Great decor -- the artwork reminds me of Tim Burton's style. Ceviche is one of my favorite things to eat.... this place has a good selection of Ceviche -- just get the Ceviche Sampler if you're not sure what to choose..and ask the waiter for recommendations....

Dessert was wonderful! Try the "Quinoa"...

I had the Lobster for my dinner.... it was good and it came with an interesting grapenuts-like side-dish...somehow it worked well with the Lobster....

Recommends

bd1234

Joined 8 years ago

What a difference nearly a year makes!. For $28 an entree, I at least expected my fish to be cooked all the way through, esp. since two measly pieces of snapper I had in front of me were the size of golf "orbs" (apparently Citysearch doesn't like the b-word and censored my review). There was a sprinkling of about 10 fava beans between the two pieces and some mashed up luke warm grapefruit sections mixed in as well. Sound yummy? Not at all. I'm all for quality over quantity and I am by no means unversed when it comes to seafood but I was pretty UNpleasantly surprised when I cut into my little bitty snapper to discover that it looked more like a raw, partially microwaved chicken breast. Talk about unappitizing! The music was so loud and monotinous, my friend and I could hardly carry on a conversation. Ironically, it was quieter in the bar area than the dining room. It's a great place for cocktails but go anywhere else for dinner!

***UPDATE 3/6/08: What a difference a few months makes! I went there on a date for the first time after my last horrible experience and the place was transformed...not as dark, not as loud and the food and service were great! I'm glad to see they turned things around over there!

Recommends

terrips

Joined 6 years ago

Awesome!. We had a girls night out and loved it! Great food and Le Reve Champange is on the menu and that's a big plus!! Everything was great, no wait, cute server, tasty food. A great place for a girls night out. Lots of eye candy! Club dinning.

Recommends

jk220

Joined 6 years ago

Best I have been to in Chicago. By far the best restaurant that I have been to in Chicago. Great food, great music, great atmosphere and awesome service. Definitely for a more hip crowd that does not mind spending your money on good food and a cool experience. Our waiter was friendlier than I have seen anywhere else. I am going back ASAP! Make sure you try the taco appetizer.

Doesn't Recommend

sharontip16

Joined 6 years ago

Too hip for its own good!. This restaurant is very hip, very cool and very fun. The drink menu is terrific and the bar is nice and big. But the chef is way to focused on ingredients rather than taste and the service is truly below expectations. We have been there 4 times, hoping that it will improve...but it remains the same. Could it be that they hire based on looks vs. actual experience?