Tru Restaurant

03/30/08

The Emperor's New Restaurant?

by nyc2chicago at Citysearch

Wow--my husband and I couldn't believe our good fortune getting a table at what is supposedly one of the best restaurants in Chicago. It was our first dining experience in Chicago after moving here from New York. We both LOVE amazing dining experiences, but this one was TOTALLY off the mark.

The evening we went was cold--it was snowing and blustery. The appetizers and the "amuse bouche" that came out were all tiny, cold little blobs of what I can only describe as tasteless gelatin. The rest of the meal was also very disappointing, and the service, which has been described here as impeccable, was actually comical, as you could almost see the two waiters who were synchronized in removing and setting plates on the table counting as they did so--very stilted--it made us both uncomfortable.

Having spend $700 on our meal, we thought we would have one of the most memorable evenings of our lives. Four months later, I'm still fuming at the amount of money we spent at a restaurant that obviously is resting on its laurels (we were told Rick Tramonto no longer works at the restaurant, and that a new chef has taken his place).

We were sorely disappointed.

05/20/07

Overrated food and oppressive service

by mindthegap76 at Citysearch

I have been using this site for years, but this is the first time I have been motivated to post a review.

Food: Mostly unimpressive. While hardly a die-hard foody, I've been to a fair number of high end restaurants in Chicago across a range of price levels. The food at TRU, while appealingly presented, was almost uniformly disappointing. At this level of price and sophistication, I expect food that is not only well-prepared but also interesting to eat. Of the 9 courses, only a small handful met the latter goal, and shockingly, a few even failed the former. Emblematic was a lobster dish smothered in some sort of broth that rendered the entire course a monochrome of bland.

Service: Obnoxious. A stark contrast to the warm service I have received at other high (and low!) end restaurants, the staff at TRU was cold and seethed with a sense superiority. I constantly felt like I was being judged as a diner. For example, waiters repeatedly stopped by the table to adjust wine glasses so that they were perfectly in line. In one particularly irritating display of condescension, a drop of wine rolled down the side of my glass onto the tablecloth. The waiter who came by to micromanage my glasses glared at the spot with disdain. He returned a few minutes later and?while I was eating!?lifted up my plate to put a napkin over the spot in the manner of putting a piece of newspaper over doggy doo on the carpet.

Overall: Based on the food alone, I would have given the restaurant three stars. But the offputting service and exorbitant prices have resulted in an overall "Not Recommended" review. Shortly after my visit, a friend went for a business dinner and had similar comments. I now warn away anyone I can.

Alternate suggestions: For about the same price, Moto is a much better way to spend your time. For less than half the price, Spring does a wonderful tasting menu.

• Pros: Cheese was excellent, and the restaurant itself is attractive
• Cons: Everything else (food, service, value)

02/21/07

Management isn't hungry any more.

by sedler948 at Citysearch

My husband always treats me to an extraordinary restaurant for our anniversary and my birthday. After experiencing Charlie Trotters, Everest, Trio, and Avenues, I looked forward to Tru.

After we were into the first course, another patron wearing far too much scent was seated near me. I could no longer taste my food due to the perfume. I saw no open tables, so I just dealt with it.

When I got home, I emailed customer service suggesting that the staff be trained to seat people wearing obvious scent in a designated area as I was sure that the staff had been trained not to wear scent. I did not ask for anything but acknowledgement of my idea.

I have yet to hear from anyone at Tru. This was nearly a year ago. Tru will not see me again.

We had the tasting menu. The courses that I could taste were good. The staff is a bit pompous. The atmosphere is a proper setting.

Spend your money with Charlie Trotter or Avenues. Those establishments care about their patrons.

• Pros: ambiance
• Cons: staff is overtrained in some areas and oblivious in others

06/09/06

Kitchen staff needs lots of training

by deubler at Citysearch

After my one and only dinner experience at Tru, I'm baffled how it managed to receive so many positive reviews. My wife and I both had the three course menu which offers about 8 choices per course. On paper, many dishes sounded tempting.

The amuse bouche was a selection of small tasters, e.g. a little braised beef or a soup in shooter glass. Nothing was bad but nothing was good either, I certainly wouldn't have wanted more of anything from the selection. All in all a very, very average greeting from the kitchen.

From then on things only got worse. The black truffle and lobster risotto was a nightmare, the rice kernels were completely overcooked and mushy and had the size of a small pea. I've had black truffles many times in the past and I can guarantee that as hard as I tried to find it, there was absolutely no taste of of them in this mush. The lobster part of the dish consisted of a few slivers of very overcooked meat. Overall it tasted like a very bad tomato risotto.

Main course was black-striped seabass with foie gras. Again, the fish was completely overcooked and bone dry as was the foie gras which should be crisp on the outside and moist and tender in the inside.

Desserts were OK, not great. Service was fine if a little pretensious, the synchronized water pouring is simply ridiculous. The wine list is impressive if you're a label drinker, just buy anything which has a high Parker rating and in as many vintages as possible. With that method, my teetoller spinster aunt could do the same job as the sommeliers.

The couple running Tru must have some talent to have gained their excellent reputation but apparently they weren't working on the day of my dinner. In any case their chefs are completely incapable of producing anything even close to a decent meal. I was expecting a 2 Michelin star/18 Gault Millau points experience. In reality, for the meal we were served, they'd be lucky to get 11 points from GM.

I've been to many one, two and three Michelin star restaurants in Europe, many which were less expensive than Tru and the level of cooking skills displayed in all of them was universes away from what Tru had to offer. I wouldn't return to Tru, if dinner were free, it was that bad.

• Pros: Central location, nice bar
• Cons: food cooked by incompetent chefs

04/13/03

i like my money in my wallet

by JonasB29 at Citysearch

i feel like i was mugged coming here...spent $400 for two people and food plates were the size of a penny....definitely not worth the cash.