Wollensky’s Grill

Reservations were at 8pm. It is now 9:10pm and we just placed our order. It took 45 minutes to get our drinks and the restaurant is not busy. Beautiful view, but terrible service. ***Update– manager Kevin came over and ended up taking great care of our table. Terrible start to our dinner, we ended up cancelling our food, but we are appreciative that the manager was attentive. Great manager!

Me and my fiancé made reservations here for a romantic dinner on a Saturday. We didn’t quite get seated by the window, which is where we were hoping to sit, but still visible through people’s heads. I loved the relaxed, chill atmosphere. Everyone was super nice being that we were a young couple here and everyone else seemed middle aged to senior couples. Our waiter was very nice, but he seemed very busy and rushed. He accommodated is very well but still felt bad for him. I guess they were short waiters for a Saturday night? We ordered the bbq beef egg rolls which were delicious! For our meals I got the buttermilk fried chicken with cornbread on the side and my fiancé got the steak frites. Both were delicious!!! We would definitely come here again, hopefully by the window with the river view!!!

Brunch is served 11am-​3pm at The Wollensky’s Grill which is on the lower level of the Smith & Wollensky restaurant. The Brunch Menu is standard and pretty darn good for $ 39. Filling entrees with Bottomless Mimosas (until 3pm) or Bloody Mary’s and bottomless Drunken Donuts which are delicious! Great setting on a nice fall or summer day overlooking the Chicago River.

I wish I could give Wollensky’s Grill a better review because they did really try, they just missed the mark. Instead of ever asking what we wanted, they just assumed incorrectly. The service was very slow. It took maybe 10 minutes to order a drink, maybe 20 for food. They were not busy at this time. My drink, the «L» car, said it had a ginger sugar rim but arrived with a cinnamon rim and float. Strange. It was average, I didn’t taste any ginger (there was also to be ginger liqueur.) We ordered an appetizer, the bbq beef spring rolls, which were the best thing we had. Filled with beef, the sauce was good, and very filling, we couldn’t finish them and still have room for entrees. After we had been seated an hour, we asked about our entrees. The server said they wait until the appetizer was finished before bringing them out. (One would think if we were sitting with the appetizer untouched for awhile we might be done.) He then asked if we wanted our food and we said yes. 20 minutes later our food came. My burger (med-​rare) was completely raw beef pulp inside, and my boyfriend’s chicken was extremely salty. Given that we had about 10 minutes to eat and were relatively full from the spring rolls (I had ½ roll,) we didn’t eat much. The manager asked how everything was and we told him average. We told him the service was slow and about the chicken (I didn’t even mention my burger or the wilted and mostly brown asparagus.) He graciously took the chicken and our drinks off the bill, and said they wanted to keep a customer for life. I appreciate that and his efforts, and he is the only reason they get 2 stars instead of 1.

A very special thanks to Kevin Dillon the General Manager at Wollensky’s Grill for making my husband’s 50^th birthday dinner there so special. They made us feel like VIP’s and could not have done more to make the evening more special. Add to that our wonderful meal and service, and it made for a perfect celebration.

The bus boy had no service manors. The waitress was about average. Like she worked at Denny’s and just wanted more tips. The guy that brought our food however had proper serving manors. If your wondering what I mean by that. How you place and remove plates or glasses on the table in a respectful manor. Aka running into your guests and not acknowledging that fact and apologizing, eight times. I was literally grinding my teeth it frustrated me so much.
The back of the house on the other was on par from the guy bringing out the food. To the flavor of our various steaks we all ordered. They were all cooked to request and were fantastic. I had the filet mignon, medium well, and like a good steak It did not require sauce. I was very happy with the food side.
So if they are reading this. They should work on the front of there house. Their face of the company.

We only each had two drinks and an appetizer. The appetizer was pretty on point. It was the Cup O Bacon… really that sums it up. We had two Moscow Mules which were decently tasty and strong. The bartender was nice and we even enjoyed a Little show… Some drunk business man fell off his chair.

Cocktail and bar area downstairs is fine and service is good. Actually, its so-​so and a little pricey. The waitstaff really want to be «upstairs» and that’s a problem since downstairs appeals to a very different market segment. Get your act together folks!

Nice alternative for lunch to the more formal Smith & Wollensky menu upstairs from the grill.
Portions are large, staff is friendly, food is delicious.
Valet parking available. The views from the dining room are really great.

Everything was delicious but I love love the beef bacon and the lobster corn dog. Great atmosphere overlooking the Chicago river.

This review is for a dinner I shared with my daughter January 23^rd, 2015 — sorry it is late! We were in town for one night. Drove in from Minneapolis for an audition or my daughter. Wasn’t sure how audition would go, and I know she loves a good steak more than anything in the world (except maybe her phone and her boyfriend, but I could be wrong there), so I knew that even if the audition bombed, a steak would cushion the low. I was right. Steak was so good, she didn’t even care about the audition! Service was impeccable — no one looked down on a mom and her daughter. Wait staff so attentive and helpful and friendly — but not overly so. Seated at a great corner table by the wall of windows. Worried we might’ve been cold (January in Chicago, ya know), but not the case at all. They have an awesome wine list, and I was thrilled to see they had an extensive list of half bottles. Rewarded my long drive with a Chimney Rock cab –yum! My daughter declared the steak te best one she had ever had. Still talks about it. Can’t wait to go back. I also had a steak — with chimichurri sauce and a side of Brussels sprout and potato hash. Wow! My only prob was that the hash had a fried egg on it, and I don;t do eggs. Oh well: I ate around it. And when the meal was over, I asked the waiter if he could save my leftovers, but remove the egg. No problem, he said. We kept our food carefully packed in ice on the long drive back to Minneapolis the next day, and we happily ate it all as soon as the car was unpacked. For sure going back in fall when my sn graduates from navy boot camp!

I have gone to Smith & Wollensky’s about 20 times this past year and I must say that I absolutely love to see the update to the downstairs bar area. I’ve always been a huge fan of sitting outside on the river during the summer months to share a bottle of win … or two but avoided the cave like downstairs bar until now. I have been 4 times since the remodel it’s a great meeting spot for a quick beverage before heading out for the evening.
When you visit … make sure to say hello to Mike. He is the friendliest bartender that I have met in River North in a long time.
The menu has my new favorite shishito peppers, just ask for light salt!

I have been going to S&W for many years and was very pleased to see the current incarnation of the lower level. The bar is twice the size and almost every table has a view looking out over the river. What a refreshing change! And the menu is all new as well. There are smaller plates at more affordable prices. The duck & chicken liver mousse as well of the choicess of burrata plates are outstanding. The drink and beer selections have really brought Wollensky’s grill into Chicago’s restaurant scene. You must give it a try.

Decent drought beer prices for the city and the bar tender was pretty attentive. I didn’t get to sample their fare, but the kitchen stays open late into the night if you need some food before heading back to your home or hotel.

There for conference event. Nice view. Food fine.

The service was flawless – drinks were filled, food came promptly, the hostess even came over to ask how our meals were. But the prices for this late night tourist trap* are exorbitant. I’ve never seen a $ 20 salad, but you’ll find it here. And $ 5 sodas, $ 15 desserts… you get the idea. Nice, but I wouldn’t do it unless I was desperately hungry for filet mignon after midnight and everywhere else was closed.
*The entire Loop & River North area turns into a food desert after 10 or 11 pm, so you’re sort of stuck with this place since they’re open until 1:30am.

Went to the restaurant for lunch on a Tuesday afternoon. It was during the time that «Transformers» was being filmed in the area. The waitress had interesting stories about the action near the river and bridges. The space was nice and we got seated at the window.
My wife ordered a crab cake sandwich, which the server recommended and it was served cold, one of the cakes had exploded (lost its shape) the waitress noticed and commented but did not offer to take it back.
I ordered the steak sandwich with Gorgonzola sauce. The steak was excellent I didn’t like the cheese sauce, personally. The other thing is it was called a sandwich and it was served open faced. I wasn’t expecting that. I really wanted a sandwich that I could hold in my hand so I was disappointed.
Both of our meals were served with fries and they were greasy and cool. We were there at the open of business and maybe being the first customers is a bad position to be in, obviously the fryer wasn’t up to temp and the product suffered.
We have eaten at the restaurant upstairs and I have never had a better steak anywhere. The Grill is a whole other thing. Expensive and not worth it.

Wollensky’s Grill is as expensive as their main restaurant in Marina City. But I guess all good steakhouses do not come cheap.
The filet mignon au poivre was served as ordered. Great flavor. Our waiter was very attentive and explained all the dishes.
Spectacular river views especially at night.