Chicago Valhalla｜Delicious Onion Soup 🧅

Tried Valhalla this week — a mixed experience overall. The tasting menu follows a temperature progression and leans heavily into Asian fusion. The first three courses basically form a surf & turf concept: 🐟 Surf section — Since we had the latest reservation, the kampachi felt a bit cold. The ceviche, though, tasted good. 🍜 Second course was a white curry noodle with mussels — the basil lime oil was overpowering, masking other flavors. 🥩 Turf section was solid — horseradish with beef rib katsu felt very Japanese, and the meat was satisfyingly hefty. 🦞 Next, a yakitori-style lobster skewer — the yuzu sauce was way too tart. Without dipping, the flavor was already strong enough. 🥘 Main course: Thai-style beef brisket — I really enjoyed this. It captured Thai flavors well, topped with loads of jalapeño and cilantro. 🧀 The best savory dish? Onion soup! Cheese foam paired beautifully with the broth — even someone like me who doesn’t usually like onions was impressed. 🍰 Desserts were okay: Sesame meringue with lychee-raspberry filling. White chocolate truffle dessert. (I’m not big on sweets, so my opinion here isn’t super reliable 😅.) 🍫 Petits fours were six types of chocolates to choose from — I liked the Earl Grey one best. 🍷 The wine pairing was almost as expensive as the meal, so we ordered a bottle of Roussanne blend from Pape… which I suspect was oxidized (storage issues, maybe?). We didn’t order a second bottle, but tried a Trebbiano orange wine — nice. Also sampled a cocktail — gimlet with salted rim — pretty impressive. 👩‍🍳 Service was a bit rushed (we were the 9 PM seating), and the pacing felt off, though other staff were fine. 💸 With tip, it came to ~$400 per person — not quite worth the price for me. Interesting for Southeast Asian-inspired fine dining, but nothing memorable enough for a return visit. #Chicago #ChicagoRestaurants #ChicagoMichelin #Foodie #ChicagoFood #NoCompromiseDining