Armitage Alehouse — Restaurant in Chicago

Sunday, 8/17/25. 2-top walk-in around 8:50pm.

FOOD My sister is a vegetarian, and we wanted to share. We ordered the charred naan with whipped feta, spinach & paneer samosa, chickpea & potato tikka masala, bombay potato, daal makhani, and truffle mafaldine. For desserts, the sticky date cake (ofc!) The savory food was good and well-executed. Flavors of the dishes were good. The charred naan was pillowy, soft, well-seasoned. The whipped feta and the bombay potatoes were saltier than what we anticipated, but not bad. The paneer samosas were a unique take and made with a flaky pastry that we enjoyed as well (Greek spanakopita vibes). As everyone has already mentioned, the sticky date cake was amazing: the sweet and salty crumble really brought a nice texture component that balanced out the soft cake and ice cream.

ATMOSPHERE We were seated at a table with a good view of the first half of the restaurant. The armchairs were large and comfy. Cozy and interesting layout. We really enjoyed the artwork and the overall vibe of the restaurant! Even though there were lots of people moving around and lots of stuff (chairs, decoration, tchotchkes, etc.), it did not feel cramped or constricting. Really great vibes.

SERVICE The service we received from Ramon G this evening was bad; he was just very, very absent. We were seated around 8:50pm at the table to the left of the entrance. By 9:10pm, the only person who had greeted us was the backwaiter to fill our glasses. Our food order was taken around 9:13pm, and he told us that he would be right back for our drink orders (which were actually taken probably 10 minutes after that). The food came out very fast (which was amazing) with our drinks following suit 5 minutes after that. We were starving, so we dug in. A couple bites in, we noticed that we never received any linens to wipe our mouths and hands. We wanted to wait till we saw Ramon or the backwaiter to ask for a linen, but we did not see him for a while. Eventually, I got up from our table and asked the bartender for some linens.

At this point, we really noticed how absent Ramon was. He never checked in on us during our entrees, but he did check in with his other tables. When he took our order, he told us that the truffle mafaldine would come out after our first round of food, but there was no way that he would have known if we were finished eating or not because that would require him to come back to the table. We stopped eating the first round of dishes around 9:35pm to save some room for a couple bites of the pasta and desserts, but for about 10 minutes, no one came to refill our waters or offer takeaway boxes (even though we were very clearly done eating).

At 9:45pm, we flagged down a host to ask for boxes and asked her to box the mafaldine that was coming out next as well. After a few minutes, the backwaiter came out to the table, refilled out waters and took the dishes away to pack it for us. When he returned, I asked for the dessert menu to which he brought us the brunch menu. I tried flagging someone down again, but no one made eye contact with me. I stood up to ask the bartender to swap for a dessert menu. While at the bar, Ramon comes around the corner and goes to our table and drops check. No offer for desserts even though I overheard that he offered desserts to another table in his section. I asked if it was too late to order desserts, and he looked surprised. He asked if we knew what we wanted to order, and I responded shortly, "We would if we had the correct menu to look at." We ordered desserts at 9:55pm and devoured the date cake by 10:10pm. When he finally (for the first time) checked in on us mid-cake, we asked for the check. When he dropped it, he said that he would be "close by". It then took about another 10 minutes to fully close out. We left the restaurant around 10:25pm, $170 poorer, tired and annoyed.

My sister and I went for the first time tonight, and we were really excited since this place was so highly recommended, but after the dinner that we just had, I would be hard-pressed to...

Yesterday we made it to Armitage Alehouse for brunch. It's been on our list of places to try for a while, but never worked out due to either a lack of planning ahead far enough, or an unwillingness to risk being able to get into bar seating without a long wait. We live a ways out of the city so timing things can take some planning, or willingness to be patient trying for walking tables at spots that are tougher to get into.

Friday night I went on Resy and did the "Notify Me" on Brunch reservations for Saturday morning/midday. We had an errand to run in River North that had some flexible timing on it, so we figured it might be a good opportunity to try to get in at Armitage Alehouse. Sure enough, shortly after I woke up I got an email saying the reservation was possibly available. When I clicked in, basically EVERY time was open if I was willing to take the Patio seating, so I grabbed a time. Incidentally, I repeated the exercise last night, and again this AM every time was open for seating for today's Brunch if you'll take a patio table. My guess is that they don't release outside tables until the morning of, either to make a chance for last minute folks, or (more likely) because they decide that morning based on the forecast if they are setting them out or not.

We were able to grab parking a block or two NW of the restaurant and walked in a bit early. They were able to seat us right away. The tables on the patio are really just sidewalk tables, but they were comfortable and enough out of the way that it never felt crowded. Service was great the entire time, our waitress seemed a bit quirky in a cool way, and did a great job. My wife ordered the avocado toast w/egg appetizer as her entree. The waitress asked if she wanted one egg or two (she opted for one), so if you wanted to throw two eggs on there for a heartier meal or a nice big appetizer to share with four people, you can. My wife also got the 'Citrus Ritual' a mocktail with a tequila alternative, blood orange, lime, mint, and club soda. She loved it. I had the Wagyu Double Cheeseburger w/egg and bacon and the special sauce on the side. It was delicious, per the usual HogSalt Wagyu burger you expect. I'm not huge on Thousand Island, so the special sauce on the side was the way to go for me, I put some of the garlic aioli on it and it was perfect.

Overall it delivered exactly as expected, was a very pleasant brunch, server was great, and it looks like there is a little hack to get brunch reservations if you are willing to sit outside.

tl:dr - Brunch availability PSA, hit ‘notify me’ and outdoor tables seem to be released early the morning of. Food and service delivered, would visit again. Forgive the weird egg yolk on the toast, the table leaned a little and the yolk slid to the edge of...

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Enchanting Atmosphere & Memorable Meal

Alehouse Armitage truly impressed us—not just with the food, but with one of the most stunning restaurant interiors I’ve seen in Chicago. At first, we thought we’d be dining in the bar area, which felt a bit cramped, and honestly, we were slightly underwhelmed. But then we were led to the other side, and it was a total transformation—upscale, warm, and absolutely enchanting. The space set the tone for what turned out to be a fantastic dinner.

We had been eyeing this place for months, and finally made a reservation for a late Monday dinner through Capital One Dining. Even on a weeknight, the place was packed like it was a weekend. While the Capital One Dining experience didn’t seem to come with any explanation, we did end up with an extra dessert on the house—something I wish we’d been told about in advance, but no complaints there.

As for the food—every course brought something to the table (literally and figuratively).

We kicked things off with the Spinach and Paneer Samosa, and it was a standout. The pastry was light and crispy, while the filling had this rich, spiced depth that really hit the spot. It came with a green herb & yogurt chutney that was a little too minty for my liking, but it didn’t take away from how good the samosa was.

Next, we shared half portions of the Alehouse Chopped Wedge and the Smoked Trout Caesar. The wedge was hearty, and the bacon bits added great texture and saltiness—but I’m not a fan of blue cheese dressings, so it wasn’t for me. The Smoked Trout Caesar, on the other hand, was absolutely flawless. Crisp romaine, sharp parmesan, and those genius salt & vinegar chips—just an excellent dish all around.

For entrées, we tried the Chicken Breast Tikka Masala and Peppercorn Steak Frites. The tikka masala wasn’t the best I’ve had, but it was pretty close—smooth, aromatic, and served over perfectly cooked aged basmati rice. The steak frites, though, completely stole the show. The peppercorn cognac sauce was rich and punchy (fair warning—it’s got some heat!), and the fries were crisp and addictive. It was a dish I’ll be thinking about for a while.

Dessert was unexpectedly generous. We had been encouraged to try the Sticky Date Cake, and thank goodness we listened—it was warm, moist, and covered in a dreamy caramel-like sauce. Absolutely mesmerizing. The butter gelato we got as a surprise extra was also delicious—creamy, indulgent, and the perfect finish.

All in all, Alehouse Armitage offers more than just great food—it’s a full experience. From the gorgeous dining room to the thoughtfully crafted dishes, it’s the kind of place that makes you want to come back before you've even left....