08/31/09

Fantastic Meal

by kelly103

I went to the Publican Friday night with a group of friends. Everything was perfect. We were seated right away, the service was great and the food was wonderful. I will definitely be back!

• Pros: great food, good scene
• Cons: noisy

06/02/09

Troublette from Belgium!!

by mobservateur

Nice concept!! Great beer list!! Might work a little on the menu... but otherwise a nice place. And hey, what a location!! Good job opening a place like this!!

• Pros: Great beer list....
• Cons: They don't serve Grey Goose vodka...

04/11/09

Pork, pork, porky and best

by ciao29

Ate at the Publican for the first time Friday night. It was packed but we had a reservation and were seated immediately. Great selection of wines from strange lands. Try the Valdivieso Caballo Loco. Deep red, full body, a meritage I think but could be wrong. Possibly the best mussels I've ever tasted. And, wait for it. a pork belly that was so succulent and jiucy on the inside, but crispy on the outside. Mmmm. We also ordered a whole roast chicken so that we could take some home to savor in the morning. They do some mysteriously good marinating when roasting the chicken and the skin comes out crispy and delicious with a spicy tang to it. I will return next week to try some of the many other tanatalizing dishes on the menu. This place rocks and is certain to become one of Chicago's best reataurants for hearty food.

• Pros: If you're a pork lover, this is for you
• Cons: none

03/03/09

Love it!

by CSMobileUser

Ive already been here 5 or 6 times since it opened just a few months ago. I've enjoyed it everytime and I've gone with everyone from clients to friends to my wife. While I have been frustrated at times with the slow service, the food and beer r well worth the slight wait. And now that they take reservations the wait for tables shouldn't be as bad. But hey, u can't fault a place for being crowded and popular. Once the get the service down this place will be one of the best in the city.

02/20/09

Love it!

by CSMobileUser3

Ive already been here 5 or 6 times since it opened just a few months ago. I've enjoyed it everytime and I've gone with everyone from clients to friends to my wife. While I have been frustrated at times with the slow service, the food and beer r well worth the slight wait. And now that they take reservations the wait for tables shouldn't be as bad. But hey, u can't fault a place for being crowded and popular. Once the get the service down this place will be one of the best in the city.

12/29/08

poor service and attitudes

by krish008

We showed up at this restaurant with high expectations, given the quality at Avec and Blackbird. Unfortunately, we were sorely disappointed. We were told we would either have to wait for 40 minutes for a table (on a Monday night), or stand at the bar. We chose the bar, but it still took the waiter a half an hour to take our beer order, and then they would only offer a very limited food menu at the bar. By the time we actually got our beers, we had been there about an hour, and noticed several empty tables throughout the restaurant that they could easily have seated us at. finally, we had to ask for our bill three times. I think there are plenty of other restaurants in Chicago I'd rather spend my time at.

• Pros: nice beer selection
• Cons: horrible service. needs a new restaurant manager.

Pork, fish and beer get their due at this restaurant from a celeb chef in the Fulton Market district.

by Jennifer Olvera

In Short
The Fulton Market restaurant stirs attention on the simple fact that its sisters are Blackbird and Avec, and no wonder: It's another production by executive chef Paul Kahan. A wall of windows welcomes diners to this minimalist-chic space ; the inside mimics European beer halls and brasseries with numerous beer steins on display, cafe tables, walnut chairs and high ceilings. A near-dozen oversized wooden taps behind the bar further the beer hall feel. Menu-wise, everything is seasonal, and seafood and meat (pork in particular) gets a lot of play. Grilled sardines are served with green garlic salsa verde, while a shrimp boil is redolent with dill and super-sweet corn. Jarred pork rilletes are offset by rhubarb jam, and pork shank gets graced with cane sugar are cured rapini.