Boka — Restaurant in Chicago

Reading about this restaurant and looking at the pictures, I was excited to dine here with my husband during our 30th anniversary getaway. I am sad to say that it turned out to be an expensive disappointment. I abhor giving negative reviews, yet I do want fellow diners to know my true experience in case it would be helpful to them. I reserved our 5:00pm table well in advance, with the request that we be in a quiet spot far from the kitchen. The table we were offered was right by the kitchen, which was a tad noisy. We asked for a new spot and were seated by the front window. The menus we were presented with said, "Happy 30th Anniversary." How lovely and thoughtful! Wine and food were ordered. The Summer Cucumbers were nothing to write home about. I enjoyed the top portion [round cucumber slices], but the bottom portion [long cucumber slices] and the crunchy filling in between, not so much. My husband ordered the halibut and asked our server if it had any dairy as he does not eat dairy. Server said she believed there was no dairy, and I mentioned that he is vegan by choice, so it's not an allergy. Server then asked if my husband was okay with Gelatin, and my husband then asked, 'why would there be gelatin in this?' A valid question that seemed to make the server defensive. Server did not know if the halibut had gelatin or not, but explained that it is used as a stabilizer in some sauces. In the end, my husband said it was fine, but we never did find out if it had gelatin in it or not. Eventually our entrees arrived... the halibut was a very small portion for my husband, with no added veggie or grain/potato. He said the taste was good but nothing special. As to my chicken... here was the description in the menu: Black Truffle Roasted Chicken - tarragon, summer squash, Banyuls. I was thrilled at this offering! Tarragon is my absolute favorite herb and it is underused in my opinion. What I was served was lukewarm chicken coated in a crunchy fennel crust that absolutely overpowered every other flavor - I could barely taste the chicken, let alone the banyuls sauce. And I tasted zero tarragon, which is no match for a heavy use of fennel. Fennel was not mentioned in the menu, and I would have avoided this entree had I known it had fennel in it. Initially, it was unclear to me what was between the chicken meat and the skin; later clarification was that it was chicken sausage, hand-formed to sit between the skin and the meat of the chicken. I also got clarification later that the meat was brined, so serving it lukewarm was a safe, albeit not appealing, choice. Lukewarm chicken with an excessive coating of crunchy overpowering fennel and lukewarm banyuls sauce was nothing like the steaming, delicious chicken with tarragon and banyuls that I was anticipating. I was really disappointed. After dinner, I asked for the dessert menu, and there was nothing there to entice me at first glance; the server did not ask if I had questions about the dessert offerings, most of whose ingredients are not well-known to a layperson who is not in the world of haute cuisine. In the end, we spent $200 for a disinterested server, two glasses of wine [nothing pricey], one passable chilled appetizer, one small portion of halibut, and one lukewarm chicken entree that was nothing like the menu description. While for some, $200 for a small meal for two may be acceptable, for me, it is not. I expected better, particularly from a former Michelin rated restaurant. We left and went to an Irish pub to reclaim our evening and to lament the waste of $200...

TLDR: We came for the Michelin star. We left with a bit of disappointment.

Overall, a 4-star experience (I was really hoping for a 5-star experience).

Food: This was really really important for us (perhaps for majority of the restaurant visitors too 😉). If we were to rate the restaurant solely based on creativity and uniqueness, Boka would have knocked it out of the park. Every menu item (from the selection of the ingredients to the presentation and the cooking method), you can see that the chefs have put in a lot of clever thoughts in what they do and how they can be different. I honestly felt that I wouldn't be able to taste any of their menu items if I were to dine in other restaurants. So if that's their master chef's goal and if that's what you want (to have some unique culinary experience), this is the place for you. However, for me, the definition of "good food" is more on the taste, the presentation and the aroma (in this priority order too). Uniqueness, perhaps super important for the restaurant to stand out from the crowded business, comes at a far distant second priority for me, as an eater. Putting it another way, I wouldn't trade off any of my "good food" definition for the sake of being creative or unique. From the taste of the food, I'd probably give my experience a 3.5 stars (out of 5), and the presentation a 4-star rating, and the aroma a 3-star rating. Overall, the food segment is the most disappointing dimension for us. We came with a fairly high expectation given their Michelin star rated reputation, but left with some regret.

Service: Top-notch. This is absolutely 5 out of 5 stars service experience. The staff (from the front desk to all the waiting staff) is excellent and the service is super attentive.

Atmosphere: I gave this a 4-star rating, since the interior does seems a bit dated, the room between tables is pretty tight (you can hear other tables noises / chattering pretty clearly), and the parking situation is a bit challenging. There seems to be valet parking service, but I don't know if this was in any way associated with the restaurant so I didn't inquire. If the valet parking is indeed offered by the restaurant, I'd recommend the reservation staff to explicitly inform the customers so that they are aware of this option.

Cost: It's not cheap. Definitely as t the 5-star restaurant range, if not at the top end of it. Plan for $100/person, at least.

The bottom line: will I be back to this restaurant in the future? I'm not sure. I'd be back only if I'm to experience or invite friends to experience some unique culinary experiences. But it's not on my list of places where I'd pick to dine out for my...

TL;DR: If you have the money to spend and want to be adventurous, this is a good spot for you. If you're saving up for a special occasion and don't normally go to $$$ restaurants, skip this one and opt for an RPM or other place where the menu is predictable and you're sure to walk away with a satisfied palate and be treated like a 5-star customer.

Pros: Lovely ambience. The restaurant had a lively feel and sitting at a two-person table, I was able to hear 95% of what my coworker was saying and actually see the food I was eating. Cannot say the same for other high-end restaurants where the music is too loud or lights dimly lit. This had a lovely vibe (albeit very, very small entrance area that would not be comfortable for waiting in the winter, summer is fine). Our server gave an air of expertise but also made us feel incredibly comfortable--as if we were long time friends visiting him at his workplace. When our last dessert course left us with a sour taste, he brought us a banana chocolate creme that was much more satisfactory to end the night on. He even sent us home with several loaves of green tea bread so that we (and our significant others) could have some Boka-taste to share. Very unique dishes and beautifully presented. We did the 8-course dining option with no alcohol pairing (opted for non-spirit drinks instead).

Cons: Food was 2/5 in my opinion. The meat dishes were overpowered by the salty sauce pairings. The desserts were unique, but ending the night on a rhubarb was far too sour. For such a highly rated restaurant, I really hoped to love every dish... but most of them I truly didn't care for. The Tuna Taco was overpowered by the shiso leaf. Hiramasa and Arctic Char both carried sauces so salty that I could barely taste the rest of the plate. I was glad this was a work meal comped by my company, otherwise I would have been very disappointed to have spent the money out of pocket with my spouse or friend for a special occasion. Besides our waiter, the rest of the service we received was mediocre. The hostess at the front treated my coworker and I as if we didn’t belong in the restaurant… the original reservation was made in my boss’s name (Sumanth); but when I arrived, I let the hostess know it should actually be under Natalie instead. When we were taken to our table, they called me Samantha. Close, but also for a Michelin starred restaurant and for one that I had barely, minutes before, told them the correct name… seemed like a very sloppy mistake. Typically I book large events and business dinners for my executive and their teams, but this is one place I’d skip...