312 Chicago

04/03/09

Wonderful Meal and Dining

by JoyL at Citysearch

We had dinner after the Mary Poppins matinee at the Cadillac Palace Theater. My four year old daughter was excited to be in Chicago and we were staying at the Hotel Allegro. My daughter was treated like a princess and had a wonderful time. Her food off the Children's Menu was nothing to write home about, but our meal was phenomenal We had an eggplant and portabella mushroom appetizer and the 4 Cheese Risotto special - both were amazing.

Once the restaurant filled up, the service was a bit slower, but we enjoyed ourselves and the atmosphere!

07/22/08

You've Got to Be Kidding Me..

by nolachitown at Citysearch

My boyfriend and I came here to celebrate our anniversary and were completely put off to find this place was a "hotel restaurant". The place was nearly empty at 8 PM on a Saturday evening! I was shocked.. to say this place is a "Top 50" restaurant would be an exaggeration - the decor is antiquated and hokey, and the food was average at best. Even the service was slow for the few tables that were actually occupied. I was more impressed with the hotel upstairs than I was with the food and ambiance downstairs. I was completely underwhelmed. Oh - the "icing on the cake" - I specifically requested a nice dessert to be brought to our table - they charged us for a ROCK HARD chocolate mousse which we barely tasted. It was completely inedible. NEVER AGAIN!

• Pros: the wine was cheap
• Cons: hokey decor, weird location, poor service

08/07/07

Very nice upscale dining.

by northshorefoodies at Citysearch

My partner and I found this place by accident on a Sunday night when everything else seemed closed. We had a lovely experience. Even though they were closing in 15 minutes, we never felt rushed or unappreciated. We shared a delicious scallop appetizer and a salad. My partner had a seafood dish that was conspicuously missing the advertised blue crab - but it was really nice nonetheless. I had seabass that was extremely flavorful and beautifully prepared. EXCEPT that it came topped with a huge pile of very roughly chopped parsley (mostly stems!). The service was very attentive. We feel lucky to have found this place in the loop on a Sunday night.

05/15/07

READ THIS REVIEW.... The best place in Chicago!!!!

by flutiefan56 at Citysearch

I am new to reviews but I had such a wonderful experience at Chicago 312 that I had to tell as many people as possible! My husband and I were on a getaway in Chicago to see Wicked. (Our last trip away before he is deployed to Iraq again.) We made dinner reservations late and the staff was very accommodating. There were not any reservations for a table left but they said they could get us in at a side bar area. We were thrilled the staff was so helpful. We had to take a Taxi in from the airport and with traffic we were almost 30 minutes late for our reservation. When we arrived the manager Mike Avella (remember his name folks!!!) came right up to us. When we told him we were late for our reservations he said "let me see what I can do" and before we knew it we were on our way to a table. Before we sat down he said "you know what, if we are going to do it lets do it right" and escorted us to a very quiet, romantic booth! It was so much more than we expected!

Our waiter was wonderful and very helpful. We were just finishing our appetizer, soup and salad when it came to me! I left our Theater tickets at the hotel. With the show starting in one hour and the hotel an hour cab ride away I felt sick. I just got my main course, a fillet Mignon to die for and I couldn't eat it. I went to the staff for help. To get a number to the box office or anything!

Again Mike came up and offered help. He offered to again see what he could do. Before I had time to work myself into a full panic up walks that wonderful man and he lays down two tickets to the show and says, "I don't know what your seats were but I'm sure these are better... on me!" Two 90.00 tickets just given to us!!! When I asked how I could thank him enough he simply stated "...please just relax and enjoy your fillet." Then he reappeared with two glasses of highly recommended dessert wine and asked us to please relax and enjoy. I will tell this story for years to come! Thanks again Mike Avella!!!

• Pros: Everything!!!!
• Cons: Can't think of any!!!

11/20/06

Good service, great before theater dining

by ufkitty79 at Citysearch

We were running a little late for the Pirate Queen at the Cadillac Theater and had to cancel our reservations at China Grill due to the massive amounts of people downtown for the Holiday Parade.

312 was right next door to the theater, so we said....why not?? We were seated immediately, but warned to tell our waiter that we were attending the show so he could give us recommendations on what would be ready on time. The waiter assured us that everything takes about the same amount of time, so to order what we wanted.

The wine list was extensive, but I didn't have much time to peruse it. My eyes caught a Cusumano Nero D'Avola/Syrah and I made my choice. My partner had the potato leek soup for app. I had the heirloom (more like beefsteak) tomato salad with buffalo mozzarella, basil and red onion drizzled with olive oil and a little vinegar. The salad was good, and unlike some restaurants that try to pass off Flor di Latte or other cow's milk mozzarella for buffalo, this was the real thing. Although there was a slightly hardened skin around the cheese suggesting they were not storing it properly, or perhaps it was shrink wrapped in shipping without being stored in liquid. But still..the flavor was there.

For entree I had the appetizer grilled maine lobster with avocado relish. Now, I really don't understand what this new trend of calling guacamole avocado relish. It's guacamole. Tastes exactly like guacamole.

And the 'grilled maine lobster' was the size of a large shrimp.

But it was still very tasty. My partner had the lamb risotto with manchengo cheese. Sooo tasty.

The restaurant was a bit crowded, with a crying baby behind me. (NOT a way to get me to come back). And a very close/very large table of loud middle aged women sitting about 1 foot away from us. They shoved the two tallest people in the restaurant (us) in the smallest booth in the back corner. And the man behind me kept pushing on his seat, lurching me forward into the table.

• Pros: Quick service
• Cons: Cramped atmosphere. Nothing special.

05/25/06

Happy Diners

by hblume1 at Citysearch

We had dinner at 312 before going to Spamalot next door at the Cadillac Theatre. They were extremely busy with theater goers but everyone was so friendly and helpful. We especially enjoyed the halibut and the rhubard tart.

01/19/06

MONEY WASTED

by cholansky1 at Citysearch

WE WENT TO SEE A PLAY AT THE CADILLAC PALACE AND FIGURED WHY NOT EAT NEXT DOOR AT 312.....BAD MISTAKE. WE WERE SAT AND GIVEN BREAD AND OLIVE TAPANADE. WE WAITED ABOUT 20 MINUTES BEFORE SOMEONE CAME TO OUR TABLE AND SAID "YOUR SERVER IS TAKING A BIG TABLE AND WILL BE WITH YOU SOON". I TOLD HIM THAT WE WERE READY TO ORDER AND I GAVE HIM THE ORDER. THE WAITRESS DID NOT COME TO OUR TABLE ONCE TO EVEN SAY HELLO. WE ORDERED SIMPLY THE FRIED SHRIMP AND VEGETABLE APPETIZER AND A FILET MIGNON. THE APPETIZER HAD NO FLAVOR AT ALL, NOT EVEN ANY SALT OR SEASONING. THE FILET CAME OUT RARE WHEN WE WANTED MEDIUM. OVERALL, THE WORST UPSCALE DINING EXPERIENCE I'VE EVER HAD IN CHICAGO. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND SKIP THIS PLACE.

• Pros: LOCATION
• Cons: SERVICE, EXPENSIVE, FOOD

03/10/04

Hotel Allegro Italian restaurant delivers comfortable fine dining to theater visitors pre- and post-show.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
An ideal location in the bustling theater district plus traffic from Hotel Allegro guests equals a perfect date spot before curtain call. Mahogany and marble appointments complement modern light fixtures, while floor-to-ceiling windows peer out to the street scene and skyline. Dishes embrace classic Italian fare. Rustic stick-to-your-bones meats like rabbit sausage marry with local apple mostarda and watercress; pastas follow suit with hearty accompaniments like pork ragu and crab meat. Desserts arrive rich and sweet, from Sicilian pistachio cake to maple mascarpone semifreddo half-frozen mouse.

• Pros: comfortable atmosphereinspired Italian fare