Esmé — Chicago’s “Artistic” One-Michelin-Star Experience 🎨

Lucky to snag a standard table with the white tablecloth ❤️! If you’re here for the ambiance as much as the food, definitely book a larger table. The interior is bright, colorful, and full of artistic flair — a feast for the eyes. We tried their Restaurant Week menu (4 courses). Food-wise, my favorites were: 🥩 Wagyu — incredibly tender and rich. 🐟 Fish — the biggest surprise! Three distinct layers: vegetables, salmon, and mushroom broth — each flavor stayed separate yet complementary. 🥣 Soup — intriguing but puzzling. We guessed sour plum, crushed peanuts, and rice cracker bits, but the broth itself was quite salty and tangy. 🥗 Salad — unique with mushrooms and cashews dusted with something like chili powder. Best eaten with the sour cream, though as a first course it was quite bold. 🍰 Tiramisu (extra order) — covered with a thin edible film (looked like chocolate but wasn’t). Portion was small, and the mint leaves inside were a bit overwhelming if not removed. Overall, the dishes leaned salty — if you’re sensitive to salt, this might not be for you. But the artful presentation and conceptual play were memorable. They even have over 30 types of custom cutlery — bent spoons, whimsical forks — and change them between courses. Service was attentive and well-paced. 💡 To fill up, consider adding a pasta course ($26) or truffle to the Wagyu (+$65). My friend and I each had a drink plus the tiramisu — total per person was around $110, including the fixed 22% service charge. #ChicagoEats #Esmé #RestaurantWeek #EdibleArt #MichelinStar #ChicagoFoodie #ArtisticDining