Found Kitchen & Social House

Cute atmosphere and attentive waitstaff. Most prices are not too high because plates are small. I liked the small, shared plate idea. It allows patrons to try several dishes with the added intimacy of sharing. I was not happy with being squished against a wall with half of the table in a walkway after making reservations several days in advance. One of the dishes we ordered was good, one was bland. The drinks looked interesting on the menu, but in reality were expensive and didn’t hit the mark. I was expecting so much more. It didn’t feel comfortable or relaxing and the food was OK. Disappointing.

I really like this place. I took my parents here for a celebration dinner and they liked it too. One of my favorite things about Found is the atmosphere. They decorated the place with vintage items they «found,» and it feels so homey and inviting. We went on a Saturday night so it was crowded and the service was a little slow. That was the only downside, but even that wasn’t so bad. Our waiter was extremely knowledgeable about the food and my parents can be a little picky so she helped them find something they would like. I would recommend trying Found for lunch to see how you like it.

I had an absolutely stellar experience at lunch here today — great service, lots of choices on the menu, and the food was amazing.
One thing in particular I appreciated was that the menu includes a lot of preparations and ingredients you don’t see very often — for example, the pork belly sandwich includes celery root, which works beautifully.
Their bar also seems pretty generous — I had a hot toddy (aside: their preparation includes a slice of candied ginger, which was a clever way to sweeten the drink), and the bartender sent along a bonus shot of the (ginger?)-infused burbon on the side.
I’m looking forward to returning to Found just for drinks and desserts at some point this month — we went a little nuts ordering three mains, so we were pretty stuffed. Really good value for the money though — $ 70 for two with drinks is a steal for the level of quality they’re offering.

Tried to give this restaurant a 3 star, but that indicates «A-​OK», and it was more like «Meh. I’ve experienced better.». Have tried to get res here for so long, so we were so excited to finally be able to get into this popular spot. Of course, that was because we had concert tix at 7pm and dinner was at 5:30.
While the venue itself is great, the front desk hostesses & waiters were just ok. But, it was the food that prompted me to write a review. Obviously we were expecting some really wonderful tastes, but wound up sorely disappointed in every single thing we ordered. The lamb meatballs were touted as one of their best. Although they were flavorful, they were served cold with a sauce which we were told to mix up to get all the flavors mixed in. Unfortunately, since the meatballs were so cold and hard, nothing mixed with it. Not good. The very popular chicken wings were oversized (bigger isn’t always better) and were served whole. I guess that’s because that makes it different than the typical bar food chicken wings, which I get, but they were impossible to break apart and eat without making a mess. Had to ask for wetnap. (Maybe they should bring these and the wings together?) The «Found Favorite» chicken liver mouse was wonderful, once you got under the ½″ thick bacon fat that topped it. Oh… and a thick bacon marmolade (tasted like beef jerky) was served on the side. Did not compliment the flavor of the mousse one bit. Creative? Yes. But sometimes a better version of tried & true, aka a wonderful country style mustard and, maybe a cornishon or two? At least we won’t be wasting phone calls for future res.

I went there after seeing so many great reviews and was totally disappointed.
My parents and I went for lunch. The atmosphere and décor were amazing so two points for that, but the food was terrible. I don’t know if it was this specific lunch that they messed up, but I won’t be back again.
We had the chicken salad and the roasted vegetables, both was just sad and not filling, and the beef and mushroom burger, which was the best part of the meal but not brilliant.
To me it felt like a lot of buzz around nothing.

I visited this restaurant on a Saturday night. There was a slight wait despite making reservations.
Décor: I loved the interior of the restaurant. It has a rustic/​eclectic vibe. Perfect place for a date, especially if things go wrong because at least you will have something to talk about.
Service: Service was a bit on the slow side. That said, we were seated at the bar and had the opportunity to watch the chefs in action, which was really exciting and impressive. It almost looked like they cook everything outside/​at the bar instead of an actual kitchen.
Food: Instead of the typical appetizer and entrée, the restaurant encouraged sharing plates. Between two people, we ordered 4 dishes, which was enough (almost a little too much). The food is slightly different from what you would traditionally expect at an American restaurant. They do have a wide variety of things to choose from (e.g. chicken wings, flat bread, fritters, cheese plate, etc.). We got a kale and swiss chard salad, lamb meatballs, celery root and the striped bass. I highly recommend the striped bass if you like fish.
Will be happy to make a repeat visit, but would not go out of my way to do so.

I’m really surprised by the mixed ratings for Found. This is one of my favorite dinner spots in Evanston — by far.
First off, I love the ambiance! It’s like a mash-​up of a fancy cocktail bar inside your quirky grandma’s living room. I think this place is great for date night as well as a big group dinner. I’ve recently had both here — my birthday dinner included me and 15 of my closest friends and our waiter handled the logistics of such a large group masterfully.
If you’ve read my previous reviews, you’ll undoubtedly know that I’m gluten intolerant so I can’t vouch for a few of the famous Found dishes such as the flatbread and the lamb meat balls. I have really enjoyed everything else I’ve ordered including the french fries (duh), the steak, the crispy porkbelly and the cauliflower! You have to get the cauliflower!
Minus one star for the lack of knowledge of the wine list. I’ve asked questions about the wine list a few times and was disappointed by the lack of detail in response.
All in all, I’ve been to this place multiple times over the past few months and I will definitely be back soon.

My boss took my coworker and me here for a holiday lunch. It was my first time here but I definitely plan to come back. I appreciate that it’s so vegetarian-​friendly, and the food is very fresh. We ordered a cheese plate and sweet potato/​roasted root vegetable flatbread, and my coworker also had the salmon tartine sandwich that looked very impressive. The flatbread was AWESOME and the cheese were all very unique. The presentation of the food and the vibe of the place were on point.
Also, the housemade ginger beer is incredible.
I do wish their website was a bit more updated — I had looked at the lunch menu online before going to the restaurant, but they were very different (which made me a little sad — I was looking forward to the vegetarian squash/​lentil soup they had online but wasn’t on the menu in person).

Came for dinner, and we ordered the creamy polenta, chicken liver, chicken wings, roasted brussel sprouts and the fries. While everything was extraordinary, the portions were small and ridiculously overpriced! The seating was horrible; big armchairs and sofas grouped around low coffee tables. It wasn’t comfortable. My drink, aptly called «violet beauregarde,» was fantastic.

If you’re wanting a nice dinner with a nice ambiance and great service, highly recommend Found. Our waiter was highly knowledgable and knew when to come at just the right times. The décor is very classy and cozy at the same time, with lights up for the holiday season.
The food was okay, not as good as I had been expecting. I’m vegetarian, so this may be a slightly biased view for the meat eaters. We ordered the sweet potato hummus flatbread and roasted Brussel Sprouts. The sweet potato hummus flatbread was definitely unique and good to try once, but it tasted slightly bland. The potatoes kept falling off and seemed a little too firm. The Brussel sprouts were great, but they had more pumpkin than Brussel sprouts.
The dessert was the highlight of the night. We ordered the dessert tasting plate — loved the pecan mouse and the chocolate dry fruit pieces!
I wouldn’t recommend for the vegetarian food, but if you want to get drinks /​dessert, highly recommend for the ambience and service.

I’ve eaten here two more times since my first review, and I can see why other Unilocalers reviews are all over the place. The experience is different each time you come, depending on where you’re sat, how crowded the place is (and how slow or fast the service is) and which items are on the menu. On this last visit, we were sat in heavy high back chairs by a antique drum table, which made it hard to sit down and get up, since the chairs were so heavy we couldn’t easily slide them. And the spot we were in was so dark we could barely read the menu, much less see the food. I had to use the flashlight on my phone to see which dish had arrived.
The menu on that day was somewhat disappointing from a vegetarian perspective. There weren’t as many choices that could be considered a substantial vegetarian dish besides a ricotta wheatberry salad. I’m not much of a ricotta fan so we skipped that and ordered a couple of beers and, the masala fried cauliflower, roasted brussels sprouts, french fries, and creamy polenta. I’ve had the polenta each time I’ve been there, and it really is a stand-​out dish. The brussels sprouts and cauliflower were really too similar to each other in texture and flavor. I couldn’t taste the masala, basically both tasted like roasted cruciferous vegetables. The best part of the brussles sprouts was the butternut squash pieces mixed in — I wish the dish could have been all butternut sqaush, since it was so much better than the part that was presumably the focus of the dish.
And then there were the fries, which were wonderful, if only they could have come earlier in the meal. I get the idea of small plates being sent out at assorted times, but of the four things we ordered, I’d think the french fries would be seen as something to eat at the beginning of the meal, especially with beer? The two vegetables came right away after we ordered, then about 15 minutes later, we asked the waiter if he could bring the fries so we could have them with our beer. He said the kitchen was working on them, but it was over 20 more minutes before they came — after everything else had been served and eaten. The restaurant’s charm is it’s randomness — you get to sit on random furniture, order somewhat random things off the menu, and they’re served at random times, which means that sometime all those random things line up in a way that isn’t the experience you want. I get why it happens, but it would be nice if Found could tweak some of the randomness so customers can request to have things the way they’d like — like fries with their beer or a choice of where to sit. Maybe next time will be better.

Eh, just found this place to be okay and was disappointed especially after all the rave reviews. It’s a tapas type of style of dining and with a large party, its nice to have a variety but you don’t have a chance to really try everything the way you should. Even though the dishes are meant to share, I think it’s more for 1 – 2 people to share not a large group (just my opinion). Atmosphere is nice, casual but hip at the same time.
Lots of the dishes were very heavy so was let down about this place.

5 stars all the way! Our entire group loved our experience here. We wandered in during happy hour time, and just wanted apps and drinks so all 8 of us popped a squat up at the bar. Our bartender was incredible. He was polite, provided great suggestions (drinks and food!), had a nice sense of humor and obviously mixed a great drink.
Most people got martinis and there were no complaints. Myself and my aunt got Moscow mules and we loved them. The ginger beer was strong and flavorful and it was without a doubt one of my favorite drinks I’ve enjoyed in a while. It was strong too!
Apps were all on point. The bartender suggested the cauliflower which immediately caught my eye as its my favorite veggie. It was perfection – perfectly cooked with a very flavorful sauce. The fries were amazing too! Highly recommend. They had a smokey /​spicy Harissa sauce served with my favorite dip – ranch!
If your ever in Evanston definitely check this place out. It’s definitely not a casual menu for dinner so might be good for a special occasion if you are going for more than drinks and apps.

This was a major let-​down. The food was good — locally sourced, nicely presented, but nothing stood out compared with other small portions/​tapas places nearby. (Example:
I can cite several dishes we had last month, but can’t recall any from our more recent visit to Found. .
It seems to me that what’s special here is all from the point of view of restaurant management. You buy old furniture instead of matched tables, you serve small plates, and you charge high prices. The assortment of furniture means that some patrons (not us, thank goodness) eat from coffee tables. The small plates mean that the kitchen has no worries about timeing or coordinating presentation of dishes. The high prices mean — or I hope they do – that the pay their staff well. (They deserve it; we had as warm and friendly a welcome as I can remember, and a very enjoyable waiter).
My wife says if the price was cut in half, she’d come back. I wouldn’t — and not because there was anything wrong with the food, just that it was good but nothing wonderful. (The delight of living in this area is that you can expect wonderful meals! What a blessing!)
GIven the other reviews, I was perhaps expecting too much. I suggest reading the other reviews and if you’re tempted, have dinner there, select what others have liked –and then write a review yourself. If we were there on a bad night, we;ll go back again. Otherwise,
I suggest the nearby tapas place, where we recently had a meal in which — honest to goodness — everything was great, and we paid half the price.

Great service, despite previously written reviews. Obviously they hired the right staff. Very trendy, pleasant atmosphere, with nice mellow background music. Eclectic furniture pieces, nice patio, very inviting, classy place. Plates meant to be shared, you get to try a little bit of everything. Heirloom melon salad is absolutely amazing, crispy pork belly was great .
Definitely be back.

I really love the concept of Found! Although some may roll eyes at how it feels like all the trendy concepts rolled into one restaurant (farm to table, local, tapas style, vintage furniture/​décor…), my husband and I really enjoyed our evening there.
First of all, bonus for getting a table right away at 7:00 on a Friday! We were seated in what felt like a slice of someone’s living room (settee, coffee table, rug, chairs), which was interesting but a lot of fun! It has an intimate feel, and is great for date nite — which we do a lot.
One complaint — our server was frequently NOWHERE TO BE FOUND. He literally looked like a college kid that had walked in (cargo shorts, sports polo, sneakers, no apron or anything), but I noticed that so did the other servers. The bummer was when we weren’t ready to order right away and asked for a minute, he gave us at least 15. Not too happy about that wait, I had finished my cocktail before he even came by again.
The food we ordered was pretty much us taking a shot in the dark, but ended up being AMAZING:
— French fries with hot sauce and ranch: Delicious! The hot sauce and ranch were both not what you would expect, but the flavor combo is one of my favorites.
— Baked ricotta: Also not at all what you’d expect, but amazing. It came with a side of french bread and was in a little pot with a sqash blossom.
— Sole: Yummy, but I can’t remember more than that because…
— Steak: OMG so delicious. I am not a huge meat eater, esp when its rare, but this turned me onto it. Creamy (can meat be creamy?) and amazingly full of flavor. Cooked to perfection. Mouth watering now…
Overall loved the restaurant! Will definitely be returning (maybe tonight?) and hoping that the mediocre service was a fluke. Go now!

I’m not sure I completely understand this place. So I do like the eclectic surroundings and the farm-​2-​table concept using local ingredients, but gad man, how about some food for the money?! I had the Masala Fried Chicken and convinced I had a mere boneless chicken thigh. One. A chicken thigh with a little bit of greenery below for $ 18. The meal brought to both my kids were much larger. I have no idea how much they were, because those menu items were announced, not printed. So since it was Fathers Day, I didn’t see the bill, but bet it was at least $ 100 for four and we left hungry.
One measly chicken thigh for lunch/​dinner. Apparently the food we wanted was never FOUND.

Unless you are a bird, one entrée will satisfy your tummy.
Fortunately, I ate a snack before coming here, and I was filled. My friend and I shared the polenta dish and the lamb meatballs and we were delighted by the care put into the presentation and the taste of the food!
It’s definitely Girl and the Goat style, but frankly, I like the intimacy and café-​like ambience of Found better. They seat you in adorable couches or chairs– you feel like you are in an elaborate 19^th century/​modern apartment, and you feel relaxed and elegant.
I am actually craving the polenta dish at this minute; thus, I am writing this review at 4:21 a.m. It’s a spectacular dish using a protein that not many people have tried or want to try. The poached egg on top creams beautifully into the dish.
I don’t remember too much about the lamb meatballs. I remember thinking eh? 5 small meatballs– these better be good! I just thought. they are spectacular if I paid less for them.
I hope to come back to try more dishes and update my review!

Found is cute and the food is good. This would be a cute place to take a first date. It is just down the street a few blocks from Northwestern.
I started with the mocha pot de crème. It was incredible. Those little cookies that came with it was so good.
The waitress said everything was big enough to share but I disagree and we did not share (except my dessert which i regret).
They like to pickle things here. The soup was okay. The pork was good and the burger was good.
The décor was the best. So cute. Prices were too high. Waitress was awkward. I would come back.

I really wanted to love this place, but honestly the food was mediocre.
The concept of the place is nice. I love the atmosphere sitting in a cozy library or in the over-​sized plumped up chairs and it was nice being seated at the time of my reservation.
The waiter and service was impeccable. They warned of food serving times were according to how long it takes to make the dishes so our entrees came at separate times and so did the appetizers but we liked the sharing aspect of eating so this was no problem.
I started off with the watermelon salad (the fruit salad of the day) and it was so so. I liked the feta cheese with the watermelon, but there was a spice or herb added that didn’t agree with me and the watermelon.
The wings were fantastic and very crispy. I would definitely order this again.
The next entrée to come out was the pork chop and although it had great flavor I found it was too fatty.
The shrimp came out next and it was underwhelming. Flavor was just okay and very tomato-​y. I felt much more could have been done for this dish. I didn’t mind it being served whole for better fresher flavor.
We tried the chocolate mousse and lemon pound cake desserts and again it left me wanting for something more. The chocolate mousse was rich but had the salt added that I didn’t like. The lemon pound cake had a delicious lemon ice cream that was perfectly tart but the pound cake was a little dry and I wish it were more moist. The blueberry sauce was a nice touch to the dessert but didn’t cover up the dryness.
I might go back again but with hesitation… just to give it a second chance.