Dorian’s — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Cool atmosphere and good music, but felt a bit bait and switched by the "complimentary welcome cocktail" that was advertised. I'd assumed it would be one of the cocktails listed on their menu, but instead, the drink ticket was only good for a Lemon Drop or a Miller Lite. A Miller Lite is not a cocktail. This should have been clearer- the poor bartenders had to keep explaining themselves to annoyed customers. (I started a tab instead, because I'd come both for music and good drinks- if I wanted an easy cocktail or a mediocre beer, I would have just stayed in.) That said, the band was great. I think the venue would have been a lovely little date spot if it hadn't been so crowded- there was nowhere to sit, and it felt pretty packed. My drink (the Baby Boomerang) was alright- I was excited to see that they had some cocktails with Träkál. That said, Träkál is a spirit that can easily overpower subtler flavors, so I felt that the red clover and peach bitters were almost entirely lost.

Overall, a cute concept, but I don't feel compelled to go back based on my experience there with so many other options in the city, especially since the "complimentary" "cocktail" options were so underwhelming, and since the place...

Overall Thoughts: Fantastic live music and good vibes (though can get really crowded on Fri/Sat nights), but I wasn’t a fan of their cocktails. The bartenders are quick and efficient though, and we didn’t need to wait too long to order and receive our drinks. There’s no cover if you arrive before 8pm— which is actually ideal for busy nights, to snag a seat/table before it gets busier. When I arrived at ~7:45pm on a Friday, it was packed and it only got more crowded as time went on. The band started playing around 9:15pm and they were fantastic— super soothing and melodic.

Drinks I tried: Ooh Baby (3.5/5): This drink looks beautiful, but didn’t taste like ube at all or any of the other ingredients in it.

Frondly Gayle (3/5): This one has 3 different types of alcohol in it, and I personally don’t think it worked— it just tasted strange, like the flavors didn’t go together at all. Overall, at least with these 2 specific drinks, I think that they’re trying to do too much with too many conflicting ingredients and flavors. —

Price (relative to peers): 4.2/5 Drinks: 3.7/5 Ambience: 4.5/5 Service: 4.5/5 Overall...

dorian's is a favorite weeknight neighborhood haunt for me. Provides the vibe I'm usually after. (Wish I could make it in more often, but I'm moving soon!) You can bring your own vinyl on Tuesdays for the DJ to play from. 👌 Drinks are quite decent, even when you can't decide from the menu --no worries, they'll put together something a bit simpler using your choice poison. So yep, love the bartenders. You can def tell they work hard but still enjoy what they do. When there isn't live music, it's nice just to sit and chat with them. Easier to find seats the later it gets... I just generally avoid anywhere during popular times and I'm instantly happier esp with dorian's drawn out low-price specials. (When you can see there's a line out creeping toward Milwaukee, your speakeasy ruse is broken). If you're reading these reviews as a 1st timer, my advice is to wait until the bar area clears out a little when the musicians are done and into nightcap mode. If you like it so far, come back again at like 7pm to skip any cover charge when other normies are usually out having dinner elsewhere....