Kindling | Downtown Cookout & Cocktails — Restaurant in Chicago

Hold onto your taste buds, folks, because Kindling is lighting up the culinary scene in Chicago! Located on the first floor of the northeast corner of the iconic Sears Tower (Willis Tower), this restaurant is a smokin' hot destination that will set your senses ablaze. As you step through the door, you're greeted by the mesmerizing aroma of delicious smoke swirling around the amazing wood-burning fire grills. It's like a heavenly BBQ party in your nostrils!

Now, let's dive into the dishes that had us licking our lips and begging for more. We started our flavor expedition with the freshest of fresh oysters, the kind that could make Poseidon himself jealous. These briny little gems tasted like they had just performed a synchronized swimming routine before landing gracefully on our plates.

Next up, the house-made burrata salad. Oh, dear cheese gods, how we adore you! This creamy, dreamy creation was like a fluffy cloud of cheese heaven, drizzled with the finest olive oil and sprinkled with bits of culinary magic. One bite and we were transported to a cheese utopia where all our worries melted away.

But hold your forks, because we're not done yet. The Hamachi Crudo made a grand entrance, with its delicate slices of fresh fish marinated in flavors that made our taste buds do a happy dance. It was like a fancy sushi roll took a vacation to the beach and decided to sunbathe on our tongues.

Now, let's talk about the stars of the wood fire show: the HillBilly Riviera Style and NOLA Style Oysters. These bad boys were fire-kissed to perfection, their flavors exploding like fireworks in our mouths. The HillBilly Riviera oysters had a delightful Southern charm that made us want to put on our cowboy boots and do a little square dance. And the NOLA Style oysters transported us straight to the streets of New Orleans, where the jazz was swingin' and the flavors were finger-snappin' good.

But wait, there's more! The main courses at Kindling were a meat lover's paradise. The Horseradish Crusted Celery Root Steaks were a vegetarian's dream come true, giving us a taste of the herbivore high life. And for the carnivorous connoisseurs among us, the 16oz NY Strip and 16oz bone-in ribeye were juicy masterpieces that could make a T. rex shed a tear of joy.

Oh, and let's not forget about Mrs. O'Leary, the filet steak that came smothered in a tart red wine sauce. It was like a love affair between the tenderest cut of beef and the most seductive wine, creating a flavor symphony that had us serenading our plates with sweet, sweet compliments.

And then there were the side dishes. The Beef Fat Glazed Hasselback Potato was a showstopper, with its crispy exterior and fluffy interior, all glazed in a charred onion ranch sauce that had us licking our fingers and contemplating a potato-inspired dance routine. And the Mashed Potatoes with brown butter gravy were a comforting embrace, a velvety blanket of carb-filled delight that made us feel like we were floating on a cloud of culinary happiness.

Now, let's sweeten the deal with dessert. The flapjack short stack - a maple butter pancake stack was a revelation, a fluffy tower of joy that somehow resembled the most amazing moist cake. Each bite was like a sugar-coated hug from a maple syrup fairy, leaving us in a state of pure pancake bliss.

And the traditional parfait? Creamy, dreamy, and downright heavenly with granola crumbles nestled within. It was like a chorus of angels singing in perfect harmony, with each spoonful delivering a burst of creamy deliciousness that had us wanting more.

Overall the experience was great and recommend you check it...

We had pretty high expectations for this place so perhaps that is why we were not blown away. Everything was good but not great. When we arrived we were asked to wait about 15-20 mins even though we had a reservation. They said we had time to order a drink from the bar but we just felt like we were in the way of people passing through quickly. The amaro sour was excellent but the Belmont Blue was a bit weird in a bad way. Our server was kind, but when we asked he did not recommend anything specific and when we asked for an explanation of an item it seemed like he wasn’t sure. We ordered the Mac and cheese with chicken added. When it arrived and it looked like there was no chicken he promised to fix it right away, but then he brought it back quickly bc the chicken was mixed in, it just didn’t look like it was there. He was right and we were wrong, there was plenty of chicken stirred in there, just kind of weird that the server didn’t know what it should look like. The dish was good but not great. Our friend ordered the rotisserie chicken with “endless gravy” and was disappointed that the gravy container was less than half full and he was never offered more gravy. Our other friend ordered the Italian beef excited about the “raclette cheese whiz” but couldn’t find any cheese in his dish. On a positive note, the onion brûlée was incredible. Great flavor, fresh greens on top, and a crunch in the nuts. The hasselback potato was great as well. For dessert, we decided to try the maple flapjack short stack and the s’mores cake bar. We were quite shocked at the size of both…they were huge! We all kind of wished the waiter had warned us that our table of four would have been just fine with one of the two desserts. The short stack was the better of the two. The atmosphere of the restaurant, the side dishes, the decor, the location, all great. But for the price, the food and service need to step it up a notch to compete with nearby West...

Just so you know this restaurant has a long way to go. From the menu conflict, logistic to serving food and taste of food. I would not return. The staff is friendly, but that does not make up for the experience.

This restaurant was chosen because it was new and seem to have a cool approach that we wanted to experience. Before dedicating our evening to this restaurant, we reviewed the menu to plan what items we were going to enjoy. Once we arrived, we noticed that the menu was different from what was online. So we asked about the potstickers and nachos that was not on the in-house menu. Our waitress told us that the Chef pulled those items off the menu. After dining here, he should have done that to a few more items. Then we asked about having the short rib and that was also not available. Before we could get to our first bite, our evening was spoiled. So we managed to work with what was available. We were told the chicken wings were rated the top 10 in America. NO WAY….they were the worst 10 in America. It had a sour taste and taste like nothing we ever experienced. Not to mention we love chicken and eat it multiple times per week from various places. So we sent it back. Also, the taste of the Nola oysters was just nasty. It was an insult to all of the oysters I tried personally in New Orleans.

Also beware, their menu is a la carte. BUT that is not the issue. It is the fact we ordered our main meal and our sides did not come until after we were done with the entrée…..Can you believe, we brought this up to the manager and NOTHING was done to accommodate us.

One more thing, the bus boy dropped a used folk on my expensive shirt from moving too fast.

If a restaurant is going to appear to have a high-class approach, they should have been willing to take the blame for their shortcomings.

We can say that the burger and brussels sprots were good, but we went to another restaurant afterwards because of the blah experience to make...