11/06/09

S&W Porter House is beyond delicious.

by NYGPMD

I've been at all the top Steakhouses from NY to Texas.

Peter Lugers is delicious, they are in Brooklyn and Great Neck (Long Island) New York.

The steak at Smith and Wollensky's, comes to the table sizzling and popping, at which time the waiter starts slicing. The taste was better than sex, the evening was a spiritually moving event. Five stars.

I couldn't recommend a better steakhouse.

• Pros: Location, service, atmosphere.
• Cons: Price.

06/18/09

Do not order the stuffed lobster!

by debbiejean

We ate at Smith & Wollensky for our anniversary.   We ordered the stuffed lobster which is displayed on their website as a special.  We also ordered the lobster corn soup.  The soup had very little flavor to it.  We are not sure what was in it. The lobster was suppose to be a 2.5 pound lobster.  It was not.  The waitress and waiter stood at our table cracking crab legs and placing the meat on top the lobster for about 15 minutes.  By the time they were done, the side of potatoes and the side or corn were cold.   I don't know why they call this stuffed lobster.  It was a big mess on a plate. Our bill was almost $200.00 for this mess.  Very dissapointing.

• Pros: Good Wine
• Cons: Overpriced for what you get>

10/08/08

Give you car to valet parking if you want it screwed up

by nychitown

Had dinner here recently, valeted the car. After I got it back, the battery was about to die and the hood was open. Apparently the passive alarm system on the car sent the workers into a panic, which led to them trying to jump the car at some point. I wasn't sure what that had to do with anything; maybe they left the lights on and forgot to mention it. In any event, cost me $100 to replace my battery. The valet manager was a good guy and apologized and offered to buy me dinner, but the manager at the restaurant had an attitude and little interest in hearing my complaint. Offered to buy me a bottle of wine the next time I'm there. Thanks. As if they weren't responsible for screwing up my car.

On top of it all, the steaks here are average at best - just like the overrated Smith and Wollensky in New York. Skip this place and the aggravation, go to the Chop House.

06/25/08

A top Chicago steakhouse...not

by chgofoody

The three of us were promptly seated on the riverfront outside as per our reservation. The sunglass-clad waiter appeared and took our drink order to the bar. Is it appropriate for a server to wear sunglasses, especially in the shade of tall buildings at 7:30 p.m. at an up-scale restaurant? We waited for a long period of time with empty glasses for our server to return to take our order. We were only given one menu which we passed around. The wine arrived and was graciously and professionally presented and poured. The beer and cheese soup and split-pea soup arrived hot and were tasty. We had to reach to the vacant neighboring table to get a third set of utensils; our table was only set for two people. I ordered a med-rare filet mignon which was actually med-well, just the slightest bit of pink. I brought this to the servers attention, he instructed me to cut through the center were it would be more rare...it was not. The steak was returned to the kitchen; a different person returned with the new. She found it necessary to tell me that the returned steak was inspected in the light of the kitchen and was indeed, found to be over cooked. Did they think I was trying to pull something? My replacement steak was cooked as ordered but lacked any kind of seasoning or grill flavor. After generously sprinkling it with salt and pepper I was able to enjoy it. The other two people said their steaks were "ok". The truffle macaroni and cheese was full of flavor but suffered from pools of oil (not truffle oil) and had the look of a broken sauce. The hash brown potatoes were swimming in oil as well. The several accompaniments to the baked potato was a nice touch. We skipped dessert. No bread was offered at our table. Our $450 tab (incl. $115 bottle of wine) for a meat and potatoes meal was excessive considering we ordered no appetizers or dessert. A good value is a long stretch; not up to par with the service and food at competitors.

• Pros: On the river, nice atmosphere, large wine selection
• Cons: service and food not meeting standard for up-scale restaurant

06/18/08

HORRIBLE!!!!!!!!!!

by melikakay

This restaurant was absolutely horrible. Poor service, poor atmosphere and the food was awful. We had to ask three times for water, napkins and silverware. One of the steaks at our table that was ordered medium came completely raw, another that was ordered med. well was totally burnt. All three of us have lived in Chicago for years and have never had such a bad dining experience. This is definitely a tourist trap restaurant that unfortunately we tried. I wish I had something nice to say about it but honestly can't think of one good thing.

03/02/08

Stay away from this tourist trap!

by hungryalexander

In a nutshell this place S___ks... 3 of us had steaks (2 filet's, 1 rib eye), they were overcooked compared to what was requested. we found the steaks average at above average prices. now, the fires? you will get much better fries at McDonald's, less greasy, and definitely warmer. The place was very noisy and the average age of those present I would say was somewhere in the high 60's. On the plus side, the service was very good.

07/26/07

Maggots anyone?

by foodie_lincolnpark

I've heard and seen reviews that raved about how good the food was. I was impressed also that they won awards in the past. But my experience was far from an experience I would rave about. The service was poor and slow and the food starting with the complimentary bread all the way up to my main was, to use a four -letter word, s_ _ _! The "market price" for the dover sole that was on special, which the server completely sold me on it ("We only have one left!) was not worth $50.00+. In the server's sales pitch he neglects to mention that it is twice the price of any of the other fish dish on the menu. I can handle the price if only it was worth it. Which it was not, to put it simply.

The server left it on the tray while he served another table. Needless to say, it was sufficient time for a fly to lay its eggs and for the maggots to infest it. As for the quality of the meal, again I'd have to resort to the 4 letter word to aptly describe it, s _ _ _!. It may seem that I 'm exaggerating but you get the point. My friend's meal was also wanting - flavor, texture, presentation. Would I ever go back? Hell no!

11/13/06

GREAT STEAKS THAT TASTE LIKE PRIME BEEF ARE GETTING HARD TO FIND

by msch1

A GROUP OF FOUR DINED AT S&W AND HAD WONDERFULL TABLE, GREAT DRINKS, PERFECT LOOKING STEAKS THAT WERE COOKED JUST AS ORDERED. THE PROBLEM WAS AN ALMOST TOTAL LACK OF

PRIME BEEF FLAVOR. THEY WERE TENDER, JUICY AND PRESENTED WELL BUT ALMOST NO FLAVOR OF BEEF. A TRUE DISSAPOINTMENT.

MSCH1

10/24/06

Great Steaks

by sbrady

This trendy chain does a great job with their menu. Expectations are high going into the restaurant where menu is pricey. Food is top notch, although pricey. Service is very good with staff not stuffy as you find in other local steak houses.

• Pros: Great steaks, great service
• Cons: Very busy, usually loud restaurant

08/09/06

Chicago's Best Steaks. Hands Down.

by mtshakerjr79

This is the place to get the best Dry Aged Steaks in the Chicago. I used to go to the Chicago Chop House, Gene & Georgetti's, and Gibson's until i had Dry Aged beef. The Chop House, Gene & Georgetti's, and Gibson's only Wet Age there beef, which is a shame. The taste doesn't compare to Dry Aged beef. So my advice is to go to Smith & Wollensky's and try what a real steak should taste like. Real steak eaters know what i am talking about. You will not be disappointed.