river roast

terrible place for a vegetarian. the beet salad is a joke. a few pieces of beets and tomatoes and pretty much it. i had to have lunch after this lunch.

for our last meal in chicago, we had brunch at river roast. it was saturday and our flight wasn't until later in the day, so it worked out nicely. this restaurant is located along the chicago river and has some nice views while you dine on the patio. they are known for their hand carved meats and they have live music inside. we were seated outside on the patio and i loved the views of chicago's buildings and the river. there were also a lot of boats and even kayaks going by.

a great place for outdoor, riverside dining, even when spotty rain showers sow up, as on this visit. if you like roasted meats, go here. had a great lamb pastrami sandwich, but was envious of the roasted meat entrees others nearby were enjoying, and that are carved table side. also had the cumin spiced roasted cauliflower, which was also great.

the place

river roast is located on the chicago river off of lasalle street. the views of the river are nice and there is both inside and outside seating available. the facility has many large, medium and smaller sized rooms for social and business gatherings. best to call for reservations. there are several parking garages in relatively close proximity to the restaurant. interestingly decorated and a unique dining experience...

the food/menu

the menu for dinner was very limited but quite interesting. several healthy roasted items to chose as well as some very good but not so healthy offerings... we began our experience an appetizer of deep fried olives. we ordered a big fish fire roasted, mediterranean chips, whole chicken wood smoked & juicy, rr potatoes, asparagus, roasted carrots and a beet plate. our food overall was very good. many flavorful seasonings. our fish was a little disappointing from a flavor and presentation perspective.

the value/experience/service

best always to have reservations. the host/hostess were pleasant yet unsure of themselves. our server was friendly and helpful but there were long droughts when we didn't she her for 15 or 20 minutes. service can make or break any restaurant... add help! overall it was a fun and enjoyable meal. rated a 3 mainly for service.

fios was great. hostess are terrible. the rest of staff was courteous.

we had the rack of lamb. good for two. recommend get a salad or some greens with it.

nice atmosphere and book ahead of you want a balcony table.

roast chicken. moist throughout and cooked to perfection. too much for our two top but it worked as a great leftover.

hold back on the salt!. great location and environment with an interesting menu. the small plates and sides were wonderful, albeit the chopped salad was way overdressed. when our beef arrived it looked amazing-juicy and perfectly cooked, but with the first bite we found it entirely too salty, almost to the point of being inedible. as we were very hungry we ate half of it before our server returned (10 minutes?), so opted not to send it back.

as i write this review i regret not sending the beef back. i actually like salt but this truly was almost inedible, and i paid $68 for it!

we will definitely go back as everything else was very good, but we'll try the whole chicken next time-it looked terrific-or maybe stick to small plates.

lastly, the dish that made the table groan for mercy was the savory tart. "it's a quiche, surely?" brandy questioned when she laid eyes on it. "oh, it's more than a quiche," the server said, "this is more cream than egg, really." the filling had been swirled with swiss chard and dotted with cubes of bacon lardon, giving it a beautiful, yet rustic appearance. the tart was so tender that brandy found it difficult to cut and lift a piece from it's dish, and so throwing all decorum aside, she simply dug her fork into the thing and scooped up gobs of the creamy, fluffy filling and the flaky, buttery crust. the filing was indeed more indulgently creamy than a typical quiche, as it had a good deal of sheep's milk cheese m