Adorn Bar & Restaurant — Restaurant in Chicago

TL:DR - Adorn is searching for its identity, and the current iteration is terrible.

My wife and I stayed at the Four Seasons for the weekend and ate at Adorn on Saturday night. The "ambiance" is that of an unused conference space hastily converted into a dining room. The music was intolerable. They had a guest DJ that was blaring 120 BPM techno for the two hours we were there. According to their website, this is a regular occurrence Thursday-Saturday, so beware. I could barely hear my wife when we were talking. Maybe they were trying to make it seem busier than it was (only at ~ 40% capacity at 7:30 on a Saturday)? Our waiter was disinterested and didn't seem to understand how loud the music was as he mumbled the entire night. He also spilled diet coke right into my wife's new purse while pouring it from the can, and knocked a quarter of my cocktail out of the glass when he set it down (without acknowledging anything or attempting to right it). Speaking of cocktails, Adorn brags about the superior bartender they have on staff. Apparently in order to be superior you only need to know how to make four...yes only four...craft cocktails. I can make five at my home bar. The food was bland and uninspired. I was curious about their carrot appetizer. For $13 you get four two-inch carrot sticks in a "broth" made from carrots and turmeric. The poutine was made from seemingly frozen fries, bland gravy, and came out lukewarm. The main dishes were just as bad. I had the fried chicken (how can you mess that up?) and my wife had the eggplant. I'll admit the chicken was juicy and hot, but the seasoning was all clumped together on the breading so that some bites were almost inedible while some were bland. The eggplant dish's texture was that of a loaf of bread that had been soaked in water for an hour. By that time we were anxious to take off to get away from the music, but it took our bumbling waiter TWENTY MINUTES to get our check after we asked every member of the waitstaff for it. Had we known the entire meal would have been a bad experience we would have spoke up and canceled the rest of our order, but we were optimistic that things would get better at every course...this is a Four Seasons after all. Oh how wrong we were. By the end of the meal we couldn't wait to leave. I've eaten at several Four Seasons' resort restaurants across the country and this was by far the worst...

We stayed for a week at the hotel recently and enjoyed Adorn's many dishes, including lobster roll, beet salad and chicken wings. SO tasty. Also delish is the wagyu potstickers. The bar has an extensive list of spirits and the bartenders are super talented mixologists. When we visited, I could not decide on a drink so I picked the base and the bartender made a custom cocktail. So good!! I loved how the team customized my vision.

Our favorite of all time is the pastry department. Chef Juan is a true artist and his creations are both beautiful and delicious! His custom desserts are so good, we ordered the entire menu! Highly recommend!!

For breakfast, the French toast is a winner. We also recommend the Avocado toast and pancakes. Everything is always fresh and just like at the bar, if you have a certain preference, the team accommodates. You get the feeling they want you to have things just the way you like them! For dinner, we had the Salmon and flash fried Brussels sprouts with a nice Thai glaze - it was outstanding. We also had the beef short rib which is a must - while also being photo worthy.

Ask about the private dining area where you can reserve a table for 6-8. The personalized attention and quiet space is perfect for a family gathering or a romantic dinner. We used it for both and its luxurious!

Highly recommend this place! We will...

I grew up in Cleveland, and had visited Chef Sawyer's restaurant there on a trip home. I also followed the career of such a notable chef from my hometown. Needless to say, I was excited to hear that he was bringing his talents to Chicago, and Saturday night my wife and I visited for an anniversary dinner.

First off, the service was exceptional. We have been cautious due to covid, and no restaurant has made us feel as safe as this one. Despite the distance, there was no lack of warmth from the staff. Everyone seemed genuinely excited to assist us from the moment we entered until the moment we left.

On to the food, there's really not much to say other than it's phenomenal. Chef Sawyer's elevated and technique-focused takes on comfort food are a little bit subversive for the posh Four Seasons space, but that makes it even better. The 3-day process to create the chicken wings comes through from the first bite, and the truffle poutine is as good as poutine gets.

Being a steak enthusiast, I was please to find the harder-to-find Picanha cut on the menu. It was butchered, cooked, and presented beautifully. My wife's Halibut was rich, sweet, flaky perfection.

It's a challenging time to be opening a restaurant, but if you want a safe place to get out and enjoy the work of an incredible chef and team, you can't go wrong...