Community Tavern

Oh my just lovely! Who knew fried chicken and champagne went so well together! The champagne cut the fried and cleansed your pallet … Just amazing… And during the week they run a shared special with a bottle of champagne for $ 14., and good champagne too!
Oh yes we will be back!
Bradley was attentive and it made for a perfect dinner !

I loved The Portage so when I was in the area of Community Tavern, I was super excited to try it out. Unfortunately, our experience was only OK.
I will say the ambiance is nice and the service was great despite it being a busy Saturday night.
Our food was what made our experience «meh». We had the charcuterie platter, which was good but nothing outstanding. We also ordered the tuna appetizer, where things started to go awry. The tuna was of OK quality and just covered in way too many ingredients. We wanted something light and refreshing on a hot day and instead got a borderline gross hodgepodge of flavors piled on top of a mediocre cut of fish.
I had the burger which was basically inedible. In the sauce on the burger, there was the very distinct and overwhelming flavor of fish sauce. It was all I could taste. I attempted to scrape some of it off but the damage was done, it was really an odd choice for a beef burger and not enjoyable. The fries were cooked well but also had strange flavoring… either cinnamon or nutmeg? My husband had the chicken which he described as «OK». He finished it but said he wouldn’t order it again.
We both walked out agreeing that we wouldn’t return. Maybe we would visit the bar? The beer list was pretty good, especially the drafts. But the food was an overall disappointment.

What an amazing place. We had their fish (hawaiian wahoo/ono)special, it was perfect. Topped it off with raspberry cheesecake (OMG), it was out of world. Thanks to amazing hostess, Jamie, bartender (sorry, forgot his name) and server Sammy. You made my retirement celebration so special!!!

We went for a birthday party with a bunch of people and the food was tremendous (new york strip, scallops, lavendar dessert stood out). The drinks were terrific and the atmosphere good. What tips the bar in this place is the service. GREAT service! I had to change our reservation (no problem) then the number in our party (no problem) and our bar to table timing (NO problem). Our bartender and server were friendly, and our server was hilarious. We will definitely go back. So happy we have this place in the neighborhood.

Sat at the bar with a group of 4 and just ordered burgers and beers. The burgers were legit, one of the better Chicago burgers I’ve had, service was good, and atmosphere was solid. Would come back, sit down and try a steak.

Quick! Run over there before the ramps are gone!
Been there a couple times now, and we were impressed on both occasions. The 16 Oz. aged ribeye is my favorite: so flavorful and tender. The bone Marrow appetizer is a must: two nice bones served with really wonderful sourdough crostini and a side of shallot jam. I wish it was a «canoe cut «because I’m lazy like that, but well worth the digging .
They have an imaginative drink program with all the beers, wines liquor and mixed drinks you can imagine.
On our last visit they had a rabbit/​shrimp budin (sausage) served with asparagus, and pickled ramps. Ramps are only in season for about 5 minutes in the spring, so I hadda try it: omg — incredible. Total grand slam. We were talking about that dish all the way home.
Anyhow, not cheap, (dinner for two can easily run 150 bucks) but worth it for the quality of the meats, imaginative specials and excellent service.
Community Tavern checks all the boxes.

Love their service specially or server Pete the is the second time we go and remembered us which is awesome since they are pretty busy. The only thing I wish is that they will stay open a little longer than 10 or 11pm. Can’t complain about this place by so far the best.

Amazing. Impeccable execution. Stunning favors. Clean, modern plating.
Chicken liver mouse that was better than anything I’ve had before! Everything on our table, and it was quite a bit, was flawless. The bone marrow was a bit of a let down, in context, by being nearly sublime. That kitchen obviously does NOT fuck around. next time I can get back out of my kitchen and come back to Chicago, there will be a bee line back here.
If you’re reading this; thank you. Stunning.

Our first time dining here. We were a little early for our reservation so we had cocktails at the bar. We were impressed with the selections available.
We sat at one of the high top tables. It was a busy Friday night so it was a bit bustled in between servers and people making their way through. But we didn’t mind.
Our appetizer were escargot and the beef tartar. Both were delicious!
The waiter helped us pick our wine, we for a blend which was nice.
I ordered the flank steak and by boyfriend got the ribeye. Both were cooked perfectly and flavored very well.
I definitely want to go back and try more items for the menu! It’s a top recommend for a great dinner out that has a nice welcoming neighborhood feel.

I really enjoyed thus restaurant a lot. I travel a lot. All over u s. I pride my self on finding fantastic places to eat. Also in surprising locals in spots they may not know about.
Community tavern is one if those places. Just outside the city 15 min. Just a cool area. Cool vibe great food. Very accommodating.
I had to have one of their aprons. I collect them
Really the food and service are outstanding.
Thank you. I received my apron.

Community Tavern is a wonderful place for food, drink and atmosphere.
I really feel taken care of at Community Tavern and enjoy it for special occasion as well as everyday. I have loved everything I’ve tried and keep going back.

It was date night, and my guy is pretty picky and he chose Community Tavern. And after driving around a bit, we got rockstar parking out front.
It’s cute from the outside (love the signage) and really nice on the inside — the way the side tables are tucked under the ceiling, the pretty chandelier in the front. the wrought iron light pieces over the bar (they each have a little bird on top). It felt like I was in Austria or Germany.
While the meal was not bad, it was not great. I won’t go out of my way to go there again. Well, maybe to try some red meat. (But I am not much of a meat eater) Those plates looked awesome and could feed a Viking!
We ordered the escargot, which I had high hopes for as it arrived all bubbly at our table. It was good, but bland for what I was expecting. It had enough butter, but not a lot of garlic.
He ordered the fish of the day, which was beautiful. . with all the veggies and all, it looked like it was a food design for a magazine. They didn’t overwhelm it with any flavors. Beautiful.
I just ordered the mussels & clams. It did say the word brie in the listing of ingredients, but I was expecting it on the side. The sauce was a creamy tomato sauce (the brie was obviosly in the sauce). On the mussels and clams. I was looking for a light meal. It was good, but not what I was expecting. I was planning on giving the brie to my date to eat (I try to shy away from daily as my body doesn’t like it).
If it was in my neighborhood, I would probably try it again, but it’s not my hood.
Service was perfect — there, but not overbearing. Our female server was very enthusiastic — overall and with describing the special meat of the day. She described the whole half an animal (I can’t remember if it was a cow or pig), and when we didn’t order any it (we don’t really eat meat), I could see her spirits fall. I bet the dish was fantastic. Based on her description, it sounded great. :)

Being a fan of The Portage, I was really looking forward to checking out their sister location. I started with their cheddar muffin and enjoyed that almost as much as anything else that night. The cauliflower soup had great seasoning and was probably my favorite dish of the night. That was fortunate because it was about a 30 to 45 minute wait until our entrees.
Jesse was our server and while personable, totally disappeared during the kitchen backup with no explanation as to why the long wait. This would have been forgivable, however, the entrees were more like appetizers. I had the seared sea scallops. At $ 28 a pop, i was expecting a bit more than 3 large sea scallops with little garnish (like tiny pieces of lobster and shrimp). Honestly, it would have made a great appetizer for $ 13, but this was just disappointing … I was more filled up by the $ 2 muffin than the main course. Particularly after the long wait. Maybe its because I had recently been to some great tapas restaurants, this dish would have blended in fine, but as a standalone meal, I left hungry.
My friend had the sirloin filet and it looked equally small. Tiny portion of mashed potato under the steak on a large plate just didn’t cut it for him. The manager/​owner stopped by to ask about our dinner and although i mentioned, the long wait, I got the feeling like he couldn’t wait to get away from the table and talk to people who were 100% happy. I could be wrong, but didn’t get the feeling their was much concern.
Anyhow, we all agreed that while a nice place to visit, very loud atmosphere but not worth a return visit.

I am deducting a star due to a run in with the blonde hostess on a Sunday we came in for $ 5 burgers. She was snippy with us and wouldn’t let us go sit in vacant seats at the bar until she said so. Very unbecoming…
Otherwise, Community is a 5 star restaurant. Our meals have been really good. Community is relatively small. Make sure you have reservations. I recommend mushroom soup, short rib and the steak is really good. Street parking is usually available. The restaurants set up is not family friendly.

Alright so this little spot had one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. Go here and eat the Braised Short Rib. It’s over this insanely delicious creamy risotto that could stand alone as a meal (if given more of it that is). SO. GOOD.
Had the charcuterie which was delicious, though I had heard rave reviews about the chicken liver pâté, but I’ve had better (it was still good)!
Excellent service, really friendly staff, adorable little place, excellent food!

They seated me right away, but at a bar table. I hate bar tables, so if you’re like me, be sure to request a regular table when reserving. While awaiting the rest of my party I saw a man walk in with sunglasses on the back of his head followed by a man wearing a sweater over his button up line a John Hughes villain while a guy in an 8″ tall fez walked by outside. Portage Park is an interesting neighborhood.
The bread appetizer was very good, though the butter accompanying it was cold and hard as a rock. My dining companions liked the bacon and cheddar muffin, while I found my pumpernickel to be a little bit more of a standard rye. We all agreed the shaved squash salad was outstanding, and for me the highlight. The entrées were pretty good. One of my party enjoyed a filet. The other and I liked our gnocchi, but they did need a bit of salt. The fingerling potatoes, however, were both cooked and salted to perfection. We ended our night with the banana cake, which I enjoyed as well.
It’s a nice enough place, very cute, and this area really did need a nice restaurant like this, but I prefer it’s sister restaurant, The Portage.

I’m a big fan of The Portage and was excited to visit Community Tavern. Overall, the food and ambiance were wonderful. I stuck with wine from the bar as my friend had some iffy cocktail experiences. (I’m sorry, but if you need to ask your guests how to make a French martini, there’s a problem.)
For food, I started with the cheddar bacon muffin, which was baked to perfection and had a nice subtle flavor to it, though I wish it had been a bit more pronounced. The butter it was served with was practically frozen, but fortunately the muffin itself was so toasty warm that the butter melted right away as soon as it made contact with the bread. Next I enjoyed the shaved squash salad, which was heavenly. I opted for the filet entrée, which was very good (and an extremely good value). My friends had the Paris gnocchi, which I sampled and very much enjoyed. We shared sides of roasted fingerling potatoes (excellent) and the glazed seasonal vegetables, which happened to be broccoli that night (okay but nothing spectacular). We ended the night sharing the banana cake, which was pretty good as well.
So overall, the food was very good. Nothing really blew me away besides the salad, but it was all very good. I like the ambiance of the place (and the chandelier hanging at the front of the restaurant is just stunning). I was not very impressed with the service, which was friendly yet disorganized and inattentive at times. Our entrees were served about 10 minutes before the side dishes arrived. At one point, three of us ordered drinks and only one of them made it back to the table: the other two followed about 15 minutes later. I also felt like the server was rushing us at the very end, even though no guests were waiting for a table.
Another issue: the bathroom. It was nice and clean, but the mirror over the sink in the ladies room is Barbie doll size. Seriously?! How am I supposed to reapply my makeup? That kind of thing bothers me.
Overall, I had a good meal here. Pricing was borderline for me. I don’t mind paying a lot for a good meal and compared to most Chicago restaurants, I think pricing here is a good value. However, I don’t think I fully got my money’s worth tonight. I will definitely give it another chance, though.

Here to upgrade from my original review.
All things still hold from the first review but after a few more visits I am completely sold on this experience. It is truly a breathe of fresh air to have such an establishment in the Portage Irving area. The attention to detail and genuine care shown by owner and staff here is more than apparent. They must do some type of staff rotation because from «bus boy», to waiter, to hostess, they all know their stuff. Menu items are hand crafted and phenomenal.
Since my first visit, I’ve had the salmon, the burger, the potatoes and vegetables, the oysters, and beef tartare. All great!
So happy for CT and this is no doubt a guaranteed good experience.

So there we were. strolling through Portage Park and thinking «wouldn’t it be nice if we could find a French styled Steakhouse somewhere around here?»
Yeah, so that’s not exactly how it happened…
Ok, our besties read about Community Tavern and we decided to give it a try. Glad we did.
Lisa and I were with our foodie buds, Adam and Janet… and were determined to take advantage of the menu.
The décor is a conglomeration of styles. from industrial to French. But it works and will hold your interest. well, at least. it held mine.
The service was top notch throughout the evening.
For appetizers we shared the Short Rib and Oxtail Terrine (don’t miss it! kind of a fancy meatloaf with an egg on top), King Crab Legs (small portion, but a taste for everyone) and the House Charcuterie Plate and because we just wanted to try them. we ordered a side of the Breakfast Radishes as an appetizer too. One of the things we love about our friends is that if someone suggests something they are always like. «sure, why not?» I’m the curmudgeon but they all put up with me anyway.
We almost forgot to order the Cheddar Bacon muffin, fortunately, we recovered in time to have one before the meal was over.
I had the bone in Berkshire Tomahawk Pork Chop, cooked perfectly. it was delicious. in my opinion only eclipsed by Lisa’s order of Braised Short Rib on Risotto (OMG!) which was not only delicious but surprisingly not at all fatty. that’s what I’ll get next time.
Or maybe I should get what Adam ordered. the Steak Delmonico. I didn’t taste it, but it looked delicious and his discriminating palate thought it was pretty terrific. Or. maybe Janet’s Dry Aged Rib eye… she loved that, so…
All of the food was excellent!
We were stuffed but shared a Brownie Sundae, just because.

We came here last night for apps and cocktails tonight and it was an excellent experience! While we were at the bar, we spoke with Jose, the bar manager. He is clearly invested in his craft – he personally created many of the cocktails on the drinks menu.
The major winners of the night were:
* the basil-​infused vodka martini with a twist
* the wedge salad
* the french onion soup
Overall, their menu is fantastic – you cannot go wrong!