Smyth — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

A little context to set the stage. I had been looking forward to this meal for 3 months. My parents almost never allow me to take them out and treat them. We were coming into town from Oregon and Arizona and I finally talked them into letting me take them out. All this to say this meal meant something to me and my expectations were high going in.

I’ve been to single Michelin star restaurants before and many fine dining restaurants in general as have my parents. We have no dietary restrictions and generally pretty open minded palettes. We booked the wine pairing with the meal and were ready for an experience.

Upon arriving, we were about 10 minutes early for the reservation and they sat us in a little waiting area. We were sat at our table about 5 minutes after our scheduled time which wasn’t a big deal, except that for that 15 minutes plus the first 10 minutes we were sitting at the table we were offered only still water. We would have appreciated some kind of palette cleansing drink like cucumber infused water or a before dinner cocktail to acknowledge our arrival as something I’ve experienced multiple times at other establishments. The first 2 entry courses are also served without a wine pairing so the first drink we had apart from water was about an hour after arrival. At $500 per plate I would have expected more.

The entire restaurant was very small and intimate seating maybe 30 people at a time and the kitchen is open like a home kitchen attached to a great room but on steroids. There seemed to be almost as many staff as diners. Unfortunately, even with all that staff they checked all the boxes of excellent service folding napkins when someone went to the bathroom pulling out chairs when they returned etc. but despite the attention the experience felt cold. It was missing the elements that Daniel Meyers describes as enlightened hospitality which again for the price point felt like a miss. We did not feel special for making it to one of the premier dining establishments of Chicago at any time during the meal.

The wine pairing was the highlight of the meal for me. It was well thought out and explained in a way to make it approachable and understandable as to why it was paired and what to look for while eating and drinking. The food was good, it was not great, the courses nicely continued from one to the next with flavor profiles that evolved over the course of the meal. Highly produce focused (which I expected having read that as Smyth’s expertise) with some seafood intermixed and a course of squab, there was no red meat served throughout the meal. This wasn’t a detractor just to set expectations. The lobster courses were the table’s favorite. Overall the plates were served simply and elegantly once again with little to no pageantry. By the end of the meal it felt like a meal I would have expected to pay about $200 less per plate in other cities. After dinner there were no coffee add on or after dinner drinks, once the experience was over it was over.

Finally, the item that took this from 3 stars down to 2 was the final dessert course which was such a big miss it detracted from our after dinner activities. A chocolate bar with raspberry and cocoa powder dusting all good so far but then with GARLIC. And I don’t mean seasoned with, as an interesting and exciting twist, it tasted like we were going to do battle with a local vampire army. We were still tasting this 2 hours later at after dinner drinks. This coming from a family that likes to spread roasted garlic directly on toasted bread.

Chicago is such a wonderful food city, I would recommend going elsewhere for your special occasion and I will not be...

My overall grade for Smyth is: C

Before I get too much into this, I am comparing this restaurant to places like: Ever, Alinea, Everest, Daniel and French Laundry. (Yes, I've been to these restaurants and am using that "benchmark")

A 2 Michelin star restaurant means: “excellent cooking, worth a detour”

We plan our anniversary dinners every "Friday after Thanksgiving" so that we can dine on a Friday night when restaurants are at their best. We visit a new restaurant every year and this year, Smyth was chosen.

Ok - let me be specific - the food in general, was exceptional except for a couple of courses. Mussels, oysters, lobster, etc. all delicious and very well presented. The 2 courses we actually did not finish (a first for us) was the venison main and the dessert courses. The venison itself was delicious, but mine had what to me was an inordinate amount of connective tissue that made it difficult for me to enjoy the protein. But for both of us, the sauce on top of the venison we could only describe as "off-putting". I know it's not a fair or specific statement, it was just something that we both did not enjoy. We did let the server who took away the plates know so that the chefs could get some real-time feedback. The dessert for both of us was also, meh. I don't love chocolate - ok maybe that is why, but my wife loves chocolate and she did not finish her dessert either - sooo.

Here is what really disappointed us: For a 2-star place, there was really no personality coming from the service, nor could we get a hold of a human to answer a couple of questions we had about the dinner prior to arriving. My wife tried several times to call without success and left several voice-mails and no one every called her back. Quite the disappointment for this type of establishment.

We also "expect" valet service available when we are about to spend 4-digits on 1 meal for two. Yes, 4-digits - more on that in a bit. The web site has a link that says: Parking and directions. When you click on it, all that comes up is directions. There are not instructions on parking and nothing that tells you the that there is no valet service. Really? No valet service? Wow.

Great point about the meal: The wine pairing. The wines were all excellent and completely appropriate with the courses for which they were paired. But once again, the sommelier (I'm making the assumption that he was the sommelier because he didn't introduce himself). He came over with the bottle and recited a very informative bit of information about the wine, but literally sounded like he was reading off a wine card. No banter, not back and forth, no asking me what I thought, no conversation. We asked for the highest level of wine pairing which of course played a part in the expense, but please know, we only purchased ONE pairing. Not two.

For me here are the things that factor into my decision for not recommending this place to my friends should they ask and also for my decision to not come back.

Web site - fix it please.

Phone - please hire an answering service to actually speak to a human. Or at least please call back the people that ask for a call back - no bueno.

Food - Mostly good - but missed on the main course - hmm.

Service - on par with an artificial intelligence robot - no personality.

Valet parking - get it.

For the money - I just don't think this restaurant merits a...

I just got back home to Colorado from my trip to Chicago. My wife and I met a couple of friends who live north of that city and we had dinner at Smyth.

Our reservation was at 8 PM. Later than I would have liked, but you get what you can find. We met at 7 PM at a nearby pub called The Press Room. It is a dimly lit, warm and friendly pub where I didn't realize that you need a reservation. We managed to sit down for about a half hour to meet up and enjoy a drink prior to the meal. It was the perfect beginning.

After a three block walk over to the restaurant, we were seated and treated to an impeccable wait staff in a beautiful and comforting environment. Lots of wood, leather, rich textures and fantastic smells. I really wanted to grab some vinyl and spin a tune on the beautiful turntable.

The orderly kitchen Was not too loud and the folks who work back there had a great disposition running the evening. That attitude bled over to the staff and provided for a wonderful potential on an amazing night.

A dozen courses. Nine wine pairings (if I recall correctly). Each morsel was a beautifully crafted piece of edible artwork. Every presentation was as beautiful as it was delicious.

Having eaten at several Michelin rated establishments, this is what I expected. These meals aren't cheap, but I have found that they are always worth the cost.

The staff was thoughtful, kind, fun, and careful to never step on our conversations when presenting. There were a couple times I shut down what I was saying because I wanted to hear with the Sommelier had to tell us about a particular pairing. (I didn't want him to politely pour and then walk away!) I am familiar with almost every type of wine out there, but the pairings surprised me. In a good way.

Aside from the fact that I probably drank too much (I found myself at one point with five different classes on the table because I was forcing myself to keep my wits about me until the end of the evening), everything about this experience was absolutely perfect. I was comfortable, my wife was happy and enjoying the evening, and my friends were duly impressed by the attention to detail and quality.

If I were to be critical at all, I would bring up the compulsory 20% fee added to the meal. In post-covid times, I feel that I have given my 20% plus (over and over) and it's time to go back to the old ways of sticking to strictly 15%. That being said, I found it a bit imposing to make it compulsory. if I am trusting them to provide me with a meal at this level, quality, and cost, then they need to trust me to hand out a gratuity in accordance with my satisfaction.

But please don't let that point diminish from the quality of the meal or the service.

My wife and I used to do this about once a year. We would visit a different city in America and eat at the best restaurant in that city. City Zen (D.C.), Menton (Boston), Per Se (New York City), The Herb Farm (Woodinville/Seattle), Coquette (New Orleans)... These gems are always our favorite part of a trip to visit an amazing city. Smyth is a valuable addition tot hat list.

We will likely turn our sites towards...