🍽️ After | Chicago Restaurant Week Review

Located next to the two-Michelin-starred Ever, After is a stylish bar with a dim, artistic ambiance — perfect for dates. 🕯️🎨 🍸 Non-Alcoholic Pairing We chose the non-alcoholic pairing (same names as the cocktail pairing, just without alcohol 🍹). Forgot to snap the menu, but I remember: LILIKOI MARTINI – sweet and savory MUSHROOM PENICILLIN – hawthorn + herbal notes One with Sunchoke – a unique Jerusalem artichoke flavor 🤔 Interesting and paired surprisingly well with the food! 🐂 Cold Appetizer: A5 Wagyu Tartare – 10/10 ❤️❤️❤️ Absolutely blew me away! The wagyu was sweet and tender, balanced with refreshing yuzu and savory egg yolk. Each bite felt like fireworks in my mind — truly Michelin-level. ✨ 🥟 Hot Appetizer: Chestnut Cappelletti – 9/10 😌 Black truffle-forward, super creamy but not heavy. Only downside: just three tiny ravioli — I wanted more! 🍚 Parsnip Risotto – 8/10 😋 Classic, well-executed risotto. Nothing groundbreaking, but delicious and comforting. 🥩 Main: Braised A5 Wagyu – 3.5/10 😰 Yes… 3.5. This was hard to swallow. How could A5 be this dry? Tastier than Costco’s chuck roast?? The seasoning was like a pepper shaker fell in — overly salty and oddly pungent. From heavenly tartare to this… heartbreaking. 🐷 Grilled Pork Belly – 7/10 Fine, but forgettable. Not bad, not great. 🍮 Dessert: Milk Stout Semifreddo – 7/10 🍫🍺 A “grown-up” dessert: sea salt dark chocolate crunch + beer-infused frozen cream. Complex layers, but after still feeling hungry, the bitter notes didn’t quite hit the spot. 🌊 Overall, a strong start that fizzled toward the end 😔. Portions were small — left about 60% full. Final rating: 7/10 •ᴗ•💧 #AfterChicago #EverRestaurant #MichelinDining #ChicagoRestaurantWeek2026 #TastingMenu