Valhalla — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

After reading all the reviews and watching various TikTok’s about this place, I was so excited to try it. From the seasonal tasting menu, to the unlimited dessert, all at a relatively affordable price-point (for fine dining) this place sounded beyond amazing.

Frankly, due to my excitement, my expectations were quite high.. and unfortunately, reality hit very fast when I was told on a TikTok that there were 40 different desserts within their unlimited desserts, but when I called in, the hostess said 15-20… and when I got there, there were even fewer.. (12) Which is fine. It’s not about the quantity, but the quality, and although the desserts were not bad, what they don’t tell you in those TikToks and reviews that hype this place up is that you have to eat every dessert to its entirety before moving onto the next one, and they are quite strict about that.

There were some desserts I was not a fan of, which is not anyone’s fault, but at the price point, with desserts to infinity as the advertisement, I thought I would have some sort of say in my dessert preferences, as there are only a few desserts I really cannot eat. There were 12 desserts that night, and I got to 11… I wanted to keep going, but I couldn’t because they gave me a dessert I absolutely despised, and I am not necessarily a picky person.

Atmosphere was weird. A fine dining restaurant within Time Out Market where people are talking loudly just felt off. The “intimate setting” means being placed by a wall by some plants, secluded from the chefs.

Food is mid at best, nothing to really rave about at the price point. The only memorable dishes in my opinion are the chicken wing stuffed with this yummy sausage and the Chawanmushi. To top it all off, I unfortunately ended up with a terrible stomach ache after my meal at Valhalla, and I would only recommend this experience to people who want a nice meal and want a heavy quantity of dessert but are not...

Amazing! My friend and I wanted to try the tasting menu at this new restaurant located on the second floor of the trendy and hot Time Out Market. The service, from beginning to end, was top notch.

The 11-course menu was tasty from beginning to end. Here are a few of my faves: the kushi oyster was a fabulous start. The light and airy buttermilk batter made the oyster taste like a complete delicacy but then, the brine hits you with that one perfect bite, deliciousness! My weakness, the pastry basket. There were 3, a parmesan puff, truffle biscuit and a corn madeleine. Oh, savory madeleine, why do I love you so? This came with a side of chili paste of some sort? I probably could have eaten a dozen on the pastries, no wait, Maybe two dozen and a tub of the chili goodness.

Another favorite was the crispy lubina (seabass). The crispiness of the fish was ultimate, and the lime sauce was a nice, bright surprise to the dish. This was served with pieces of razor clams and delish fregola sarda pasta. Can I just say that this dish looked stunning on the sexy plate? It would definitely win 'best dressed!' Arroz caldo always reminds me of snuggling in front of the tv with my onesies on, inhaling and slowly eating a bowl of the fragrant bowl of, well, rice soup. This version with crab made me want to do the same scenario, except it was an elevated version so I would probably wear my stilettos and drink it with a glass of champagne.

By the time the lamb was served, I was getting full but that didn't stop me from enjoying the perfectly cooked chop. I alternately used both sauces, but preferred the gingery sauce over the tomato butter. And finally, the dessert! Pineapple over pineapple over pineapple! The pineapple rum sauce over the pineapple ice cream and the pineapple croutons, I was in tropical heaven in this windy city! There are more surprises, I can't wait...

Pros: Food was delicious. Every dish was enjoyable. If I don't count dessert I would easily give 5 stars. At some point I was all I normally don't like returning to tasting menus but I would love to come back here. Then I got to dessert. Dessert will be covered in cons.

The Everything but Wine pairing was great. Each one was different but delicious.

Service was friendly. Nothing too much to say. Expect they did not explain to me about dessert.

Cons: The atmosphere is interesting as already mentioned elsewhere.

While the service were friendly I think there is some issue with pacing. We only got one drink for the first couple items and then too many to keep up with a little while later.

However, the biggest con and why I took off stars was the dessert. As one of the most heavily talked about and a major reason why I chose to come here I was highly disappointed. I think something got lost along the way because nobody asked us for our preferences or what type of dessert we like which other commenters are stating they did.

We don't like chocolate, but 2/3 desserts came with chocolate. One was a cookie and another was some dough thing covered in chocolate. To me it tasted bad. I obviously did not finish and when I said I was done with that dessert they brought me the bill. I might have forced myself to eat it to continue if they had explained that to me.

Ultimately, we paid over 300 a person to experience unlimited dessert and got one good dessert, a cookie, and something we couldn't eat more than...