01/31/09

Yum

by gaudi1916

I had never been to a vegetarian restaurant before so I had no idea what to expect... despite the fact that I was a vegetarian for 9 years. I guess I was used to being a vegetarian in a carnivore's world. I went here for my birthday and it was fantastic. The food was great and the waiter took the time to explain what everything was as I was used to eating pasta and fruit back in my veggie days. We had this egg thing, I have no idea what it was but I kinda crave it now and then. I would definitely go back again adn I recommend it to anyone

• Pros: Can make even the biggest meat lovers go veggie
• Cons: Prices are a bit high

01/29/09

You Must Go Try!

by tomrothman

I went to the Green Zebra twice and both times were a great experience.

The menu is very creative,staff was wonderful and the food was delicious!

01/21/09

attentive staff, good food presentation, tasty dishes....not a lot of parking, make sure you have change for the meters!

by SarahBL81

Our waitress was very kind, knowledgable of the wines and all the dishes and was able to explain the different ingredients in one of my dishes. I found the wine to be very good even though I'm not one who likes to drink a lot. I had the 3 course plan and then had the poached pears for dessert. I gotta say that was the best dessert I've had in a long time. Until I got home and checked the restaurant out, I never would have known it was vegetarian, so being a vegetarian was definitely a perk. Even if your not a vegetarian, there is something that you'll find on the menu that you like and if you don't, well then your taste buds need a little changing. I highly recommend trying at least once. It can be expensive so make a sporadic occassion.

• Pros: ambiance, decor, lighting, dessert, service
• Cons: parking

12/09/08

Damn good restaurant

by januarytheking

The previous reviewer slams this restaurant for ethical issues because the owner has another restaurant that DOES serve meat dishes. If you are vegetarian for ethical issues, then that may bother you. However, do NOT disregard this restaurant - it is FAN-FLIPPIN-TASTIC!! I am not a vegetarian, however my boyfriend is - so I like to find cool places where he can order whatever he wants off the menu and not have to think about it, but where we can both find unique and clever dishes. This place has it!!! You order 3 or 4 small plates - 3 is ENOUGH - cus you have to get dessert!!! They have put much time and effort into creating a creative and unique menu that I doubt will be found elsewhere in this city. In conclusion, the Green Zebra is a bad-ass, hip, vegetarian place to stuff your face with LOTS of tasty dishes. ENJOY!!

10/11/08

Ethics and compassion are not on the menu at the Green Zebra in Chicago

by JackNugent

Gotta let you guys know: If you're a vegetarian or vegan, eating at the Green Zebra is not ethical.

A funny thing happened to me the other day. I met the owner of the Green Zebra, MrsSue Kim-Drohomyrecky. She was over at one of her other restaurants. It's called Custom House and it's on Dearborn.

I don't usually like to publicly whip people but I gotta say: How the hell do you own a Veg restauraunt and a place across town that serves veal and foie gras? WTF?!?!

Don't eat at the Green Zebra for ethical or compassionate reasons. Voting with your dollars has zero effect when it goes into the coffers of the Drohomyrecky clan; who would cut up and serve a baby Koala Bear's spleen if it had a good profit margin.

In the interest of full disclosure I'll let you know I've eaten here twice. Never again.

Testify: businesspov. com/article/101

• Pros: nice staff
• Cons: A veg restraunt owner that also serves foie gras and veal. What's up with that?

09/14/08

Favorite restaurant in Chicago

by beggie

This is my favorite restaurant in Chicago. I love the small plate concept because there are so many phenomenal things on the menu and you want to taste them all. The Thai spiced carrot soup is outstanding. I also had the Shiitake mushrooms with crispy potato, delicious. Presentations are great and the small plate portions are perfect. And for dessert, the Valrhona chocolate trifle with raspberries was divine!

10/18/07

Awesome

by mmmm5

I feel like a broken record--this place is great! My family and I went here for dinner and had an outstanding experience! The service was out of this world--very friendly and knowledgeable. The food was great and I can't wait to go back and try the tasting menu!

10/18/07

great time

by ssll

My husband and I went in and had the tasting menu, what a fun way to experience the wonderful menu. We both got different dishes and had a great time. The wine pairing was spot on and our service was excellent. Very attentive and friendly. We have already told our friends to go here and we can't wait to get back! Thank you to the whole staff!

10/02/07

Horribly Disappointing

by leader25

As way of introduction, I am a foodie who happens to work as a consultants, which allows me to dine at some of the best restaurants in the country 100-150x/year. I've been looking forward to going to Green Zebra since it opened, and have had many reservations over the years which have fallen through. Well, I now live a few blocks from the restaurant, so I was extremely excited when my wife booked this for my birthday. Sadly, this was the only bright spot of our dining experience.

Our waitress didn't offer us a pre-dinner drink and we had to hunt her down to get one, yet they still brought our 1st course while we were enjoying our martinis - even though we had asked for the pairing.The wine pairing is $35, so $70 for the two of us, which is about $15 greater than about 80% of the wines on the menu. $35 is still a good deal, unless all you are poured is about 2 oz for each of the 5 glasses. Even 2oz isn't too bad, unless they don't bring the food until15-30 minutes after they've poured your glass of win. The wine was gone for 3 of our 5 courses prior to receiving our food (we would have drank water, but that was empty as well), and we were never offered an additional pouring of wine.

They even brought my birthday dessert while my wife was away in the bathroom. At least the patrons around me were kind enough to sing.

So, my overall opinion. Service and timing SUCKED. I have experienced all sorts of service, but this was in a league of its own. Not to be cruel, but our waitress also had horrible, gum-disease scented breath, which is the last thing you want to catch whiff of prior to dining at an upper class restaurant. As for the food, it was good but not necessarily memorable. If you're a vegetarian looking for a nice restaurant, the you may want to try Green Zebra. If you're looking for an upscale dining experience, then I'd go to one of the other 100 better restaurants in the city.

• Pros: Evolved vegetarian cooking
• Cons: Horrible service. Horrible timing.

08/11/07

So good we went twice in one week!

by pjs2780

Green Zebra is amazing -- delicious, gourmet, vegetarian food. No Boca burgers here, each dish is fresh, innovative, beautifully presented, and phenomenal. The chef lets each ingredient speak for itself -- this is a place to enjoy the taste of food, not to have huge portions that you scarf down. The menu changes seasonally, I think, which is awesome. My only complaint is that the tables are small and close together.