Eivissa

Great location in Old Town, fantastic sangria, lousy service.
Kind of pricey, but worth stopping by for drinks. They opened just last year, if I remember correctly, what is there to remodel?!

This review is a little late, but I thought I would throw my experience out there anyways. I went to this place last October. I believe it had been only open maybe a week or so. A friend was visiting from CA and wanted to try out a one of the new Chicago restaurants. She had read about Eivissa and suggested it for a quick dinner.
We went on a Monday night. The place was not crowded at all, but it wasn’t empty. We sat towards the back and there were about 3 other tables (two small w/​about 2 – 3 people and one with about 5).
We decided to try the pintxos (appetizers) combination plate which was half-​off that night. We had the «entrecôte, cabrales, aioli», «asparagus, marcona almonds, aioli» and «pork loin, cebolla, riojana salsa». Each item was on a small toasted bread. They were good. I would recommend trying all three items, but not for sharing since they are small portions. The combination plate was priced to my expectation.
We wound up ordering a magrana (half-​off that evening) and a pumpkin spice sangria. The magrana was just OK. The pumpkin spice sangria was a risk. Unfortunately, it was a bad risk. It was sweet and had an aftertaste of cough syrup.
We shared «patatas al aioli» (cold tapas) and «solomillo cabrales» (hot tapas). Both were very good. I would definitely recommend both.
The food overall was quite good. However, the service was extremely slow. All the employees were very nice and courteous, but considering the number of diners at the time, they could have been more attentive. We sat there for a while before our drink order was taken. We had another wait for the food to come out. If you factor in the the time it took to come out, what we had ordered and how not busy they were, it was really slow service.
I chalked it all up to just being a new restaurant and having the need to iron out the intial kinks. Based on some of the recent reviews, it doesn’t sound like they have done much to improve service. The food was good & the staff was very nice (just slow service). I may give this place another shot, but maybe on a weeknight again in case service is slow.

Long story short– decent food, crappy service.
The drinks are definitely worth going for, the menu is hit or miss. I always get the goat cheese with tomato sauce and the pallea is good as well. I probably wouldn’t go back if it weren’t for the drinks/it’s super close to my apt.

Good tapas. Bad service. Love the décor.
Food was good. Menu’s assortment was not overbearing, made it easy to pick and choose. Also, a few things on the menu give you the option to order as a tapas, or entrée, which was a cool feature. Would recommend the dates, the empanada de carne, and the grilled beef tenderloin served with potatoes.
On another note, our waitress couldn’t have possibly been less interested in performing her job that evening. Made for a long dinner, but hey, we had nowhere to go I guess. The restaurant was also extremely warm in temperature, made the long meal a lot uncomfortable. Oh, and when we got there, they informed us that it was cash only, as their cc machine was broken…
Great location, was really a nice restaurant. Had a guitar player upfront by the bar, good lighting, very cozy!

I had never had tapas before, so I was eager to try Eivissa one Saturday night at the suggestion of Ginger D along with Howie M.
I love tapas! I discovered my love for aioli sauce (yummyful), my favorite dishes were their patatas bravas, tortilla de espinaca and manchego (a yummy flat bread). Howie M. thought his sangria was some of the best he had tasted, the fruit was fresh and crisp, as if they had sliced it for that particular glass. My two friends split the catalana paella, which was supposedly for two, but looked to be enough for four persons. Yes, yes I ordered the flan because I love flan but never seem to run into it on my restaurant adventures– the portion was small for $ 7 but I acknowledge that I am a US American who is used to gigantic everything.
The atmosphere of Eivissa is quite sexy– perfect date place with lots of red/​brown, low lighting, vases of faux flowers and chic silverware. Our service was good, not great, but commendable. Granted, this place is not cheap, I would consider it a «special occasion experience’, once every couple of months, but I would recommend it to others looking for tapas in Chicago.

Fantastic tapas, sangria and overall atmosphere. This place gets very busy on the weekends, so definitely call for a reservation. I have been here twice and both times had an awesome dining experience.
First, there are something like 6 different sangria options:3 red and 3 white. I have tried at least 4 of them and all were great in their own ways. Also their other drinks are excellent as well. The bartenders are well trained and friendly.
The food was also outstanding. The dates wrapped in bacon, stuffed with almonds are a hands down favorite, but we have tried a number of other dishes and all were spot on. Some interesting and welcome twists on traditional favorites.
I also really enjoyed the atmosphere both times. The exposed brick is warm and inviting, the giant mirror hanging over the bar is a nice touch and great for inconspicuous people watching. The upstairs has an intimate laid back feel.
Although some people complain about their service, we experienced only minor service flaws. Highly recommended.

Hmm… Eivisaa is an interesting place. Beautiful and creative menu. I really did appreciate the twists on tapas classics. Going to Emilo’s or Café Baba Reeba both have similar menus and tasting food. so I was intrigued and delighted on trying the flavor combos on Eivissa’s dishes.
the sangria was delicious. perfect summer drink.
the atmoshphere is nice and upscale. Made me want to hang out more in Old Town, since I don’t really hang out in this neighborhood.

If you’re looking for some place to just get deliciously hammered, this is it. Went with a group of six and we ended up spending an insane amount of money while ordering pitcher after pitcher of Sangria. Then moving on to carmel whiskeys (simply delighful!). The drinks are mighty strong and the Sangria with a maximum order is definitely worth a taste.
The wait staff is great and very informative when explaining the different tapas and provide great recommendations for your order.

Went here for the Rioja pre-​fixe special in November on a week night. The place was packed because they were celebrating their grand opening, though I don’t know why since I believe they’d already been open for months.
Even though they were packed, I can’t say enough how horrible the service was. They should have realized it would be crowded b/​c of the ‘grand opening’. I don’t know what the problem was because there seemed to be enough servers around. I got there 10 minutes later than my 3 girlfriends and they hadn’t even been greeted at the table yet. Luckily they had gotten drinks at the bar before they were seated because it took at least another 10 minutes before we flagged down a server. This server said that the other server had our table but was kind enough to take my drink order. I guess our ‘other server’ decided he didn’t like our table because we had to flag down someone again and finally we got back the original server who finally took our order. And I think we even got our first course before I finally got my drink!
The food, well… it was good. Not great but good. And not good enough to overlook the horrible service. All 4 of us agreed that the service was terrible. I would not go back.

This place… not good.
Sure, it’s in a good location, it’s sexy, why the one star? Hell… even the food was ok.
Service was so bad, I wrote «none» on the tip line of my bill. The friend I went with didn’t put anything on the line. And then more than what her receipt read showed up on her credit card statement. Which is fraud.
Food…eh. Sangria, wasn’t what I asked for, and when I told our server that it wasn’t a «sweet» sangria like she said, she said «well do you like it». I said «yeah, it’s good, but don’t tell people it’s sweet because if they only like sweet wine, they won’t like this.» She then rolled her eyes at me. She was bossing around the busser, and was just an awful person.
Overall, an awful experience. Probably would have gotten three stars with ok service. But I will never go back.

Came here on a Friday night to celebrate a friend’s freedom from the corporate grind and had a lovely time. Tapas were half off from 4 – 6, an added bonus. I tried the ensalada de betabeles; patatas bravas; datiles en jamon; chorizo, morcilla al vino; and queso de cabra. Some of the chorizo was a little tough, but otherwise everything was pretty good. The best dishes for me were the pintxos: serrano ham, house smoked salmon; pisto manchego, shrimp, piparas pepper; and the pork loin, cebolla, riojana salsa. My friend had the entrecôte, cabrales, aioli pintxos and enjoyed it as well. The nabiu sangria was nice and light. Except for one glitch where the bartender/​server forgot two dishes we had ordered, service was fine (and I give them a little leeway because we were sitting at the front window tables, not in the dining room).
They have a lot of good specials and since it is in my hood, I would go back.

We stopped in for an early lunch because Eivissa was new and only a couple blocks away from our condo. The place was empty but the hostess/​waitress was extremely friendly. We decided to sit outside and our hostess (which I later realized was also our waitress) gladly sat us wherever we wanted.
I was a little discouraged when the waitress told us that they were out of numerous items, including a lot of fish which we would have most certainly tried. We decided against the tapas (a crime, I know — but they were out of so much!) and just went with individual sandwiches. We split the beet salad which was unusual but delicious. I chose the beef sandwich which was very tender and flavorful. It was large and very filling. Tim had the ham (I don’t remember the actual names of the sandwiches and I’m not seeing them on the online menu) and his was also very tasty. We were given the choice of soup or salad and we both chose the white bean soup which came out on the same cute little plate as our sandwich. Don’t be like me and want to ask «Where the heck is my soup?» — it comes out with the sandwich.
We’d definitely go back to Eivissa. The service was friendly, the ambiance and décor was nice and the food was very good. Hopefully next time they’ll have everything in stock so we can try some of their tapas!

I’ve got my eye on you. Those were my thoughts when I initially heard about this new place coming to Old Town a few months back. The google inducing name intrigued me.
Fast forward to 9÷5÷09. I came in for a late dinner with a small group of girlfriends. We rode in on champagne and second city fueled happiness ready to continue a great night.
All seemed well. Eivissa was quite sexy. Loud but sexy.
And then we were seated. Too close to the kitchen and near the most obnoxious bunch of people I’ve ever come across. The tapas all sounded great but to make things easier we all decided to order our own selections and share as desired (due to dietary restrictions, etc). Our waitress showed up and although we made it clear that the 8 of us were going to order multiple items each she didn’t feel the need to write anything down. Even after she tried repeating the order and got it wrong we urged her to please write it down. She refused and it was then that the evening went to hell.
The sangria she suggested (and dared call awesome) was not even sangria and more like cheap red table wine with fruit chunks. The tapas started coming out and the servers didn’t know what it was they were bringing out. This was a problem because as I mentioned we had some dietary restrictions and that is the main reason we ordered individually. After finally figuring out what things were we were still missing a ton and when our waitress finally came back to check on us we let her know how much was missing. I saw her go over and put the order in which means she forgot the first time.
I could go on about the poor service but I think you get the point. The manager stopped by our table and I had to be honest with him. I could tell that he was very sorry and embarrassed. He comped our entire bill and gave us his card to contact him on our next visit. I highly doubt their will be a next time. I picked this place for my friends and I to celebrate and I was completely let down.

Beware, this place is in da’ hood… da’ hood of Old Town!
I like this place. I’ve been meaning to come here since I first saw the sign go up and I was finally able to make it this past Thursday. We were able to sit outside on the patio which is sectioned off with a wide enough space so you don’t have pedestrians bumping into your table or almost touching your food.
I didn’t get the sangria with the foam, but did do the original… yes, my alcoholic cravings were satisfied!
The tapas themselves were decent, but not too memorable. However, price wise, I did not feel it was any worse than any other tapas restaurant. The flan dessert and the churros dessert was okay; once again, decent, but not memorable.
My take on the place? Decent, fun, lovely sangria, service was good, great place to sit and chat with friends., welcomes those who dress up or those who dress casual…
Yes, I’ll be back to chill with good company in a relaxed atmosphere.

Average food and WAY overpriced for what you get. Expect to pay about $ 30/​pp and not eat enough to fill you up. I’d suggest eating beforehand and coming here for a few tapas and drinks.
Good location on Wells Street but I don’t see this place doing good in the long hall unless they change something. The tapas were presented very nicely so I give them credit on that.
Service was okay, rude waiters trying to rush around quickly and bumping into you. Took a long time to get drinks that we ordered and the restaurant isn’t that big. We had our waiter mention very clearly when handing us the bill that «The tip was not included in the bill». A little too forward, don’t you think?
Save your money or take it somewhere to actually feel like you’re getting something for it.

I came here for a birthday gathering the other night, I was excited because I have been wanting to come here for awhile since they opened. Now, Old Town not being my favorite place to be, I know new places don’t open up here that often, so this can be a big deal.
The place was jumping on a beautiful summer night, rare this year so one must soak it up while one can, The scene is what is keeping this place bumping. Lovely ladies with pitchers of sangria and martinis and other tropical drinks are all around here. Men smiling and laughing and everyone having a good time. Good signs, yes? Hmmm slightly deceiving in my opinion. No, not that they aren’t having a good time, just will I?
The inside is woodsy, in the tropical sense, floor, walls, stone, it really is a pretty good looking space, but quite loud. In fact quite I am yelling at you while you are three feet away from me, loud. The drink list is long. Plenty for everyone. Good amount of wines, tropical, various and colorful. In fact it feels like the number of drinks out number the number of food dishes two to one. I think that is and will be the big draw here, the drinks. No one at our table had a bad drink. No one had one that said, «Mmmm this is crap.» «Wow, this sucks.»
Now to get one of those drinks… well… I do have to say our service at the start was great. Very attentive and making sure we were enjoying everything. Always smiling, very friendly… and then it got busy and we saw our waitress, I tried flagging her down three or four times and was denied. Its okay. I really didn’t want another glass that badly.
What I did want, was some better food. Tapas can be a hit or miss. We got some of the basics and I’d be scared to have anything beyond them here, because the basics were meh… okay. The sausages were great, no denying that fact, the empanadas were okay, though a little too flaky and with no bold flavors. In fact most dishes felt like they lacked any punch, pizazz, that bold hit of flavors that I think of with tapas. It feels like so much of what was missing was just that, no hit of flavor, no real seasoning, so much was done with sauces and not the actual item. The chicken was okay but better with the sauce, I hoped not to get an aioli free one. The potatoes brava was good, but missing something, the flatbread was, well flat.
We had a good time because we were all in good company, many good friends and new ones surrounding each other, smiling, laughing and imbibing a bit, sharing stories and that made this night more fun. I hope they can work on the menu a bit, through some unique excitement in to it. I looked at the rest of the menu and really, not much made me want to jump back here. For drinks and some good friends, I’d return, for good tapas, I’d probably look else where.

This place is definitely authentic because when I had tapas in Barcelona they were actually all somewhat bland and lukewarm. They’re very similar here! They do try to put their own spin on everything, which I can appreciate, but it fell just a little short. We tried:
–Croquetas de jamon: ok, but not traditional and not enough sauce
–Pulpo (octopus): really chewy and not enough garlic
–Secreto de cerdo (pork): this was by far the best tapa we tried… grilled pork tenderloin, semi-​spicy with lentils and sweet potatoes
–Empandillas: mini empanadas with beef, too much cinnamon or nutmeg
–Sausages: these were all very good; chorizo, blood sausage and one more I can’t remember
–Artichokes: served with peppers, onions and foam, not too bad
–Chicken with pears (can’t remember the name): this was also pretty good, served with wild mushrooms and some kind of fruit sauce
–Flatbread: I don’t remember what was on it, but it was ok… kind of dry
The sangria is excellent, not too sweet and not too dry. I’d definitely like to go back and try the paellas. The service was very friendly and attentive. And the décor is beautiful. The downside to this space is that it’s very noisy. It wasn’t very busy and we could barely hear ourselves and we were seated at a cozy table.
The last positive is that you know how when you go to Iberico and no matter how much you eat and drink, it’s always about $ 30 – 35 per person? Similar story here… we ate and drank quite a bit and it was just over $ 35 per person.
So, go back for the pork, sausages and sangria and give the paellas a try, then write them up on Unilocal

Where to begin with this train wreck?
How about that they lost my reservation for Saturday night for my friend’s birthday? When we arrived I was told that the reservation had been canceled however they did accommodate our party of 10 in short order so no harm no foul there. Mostly just confused.
However when seated it wasn’t clear who our server was as one guy was taking our drink orders (but not really listening) then passing them to another server who in turn had to come over and ask what we ordered again. And then got the drinks wrong, more then once. However she was nice and definitely trying but under-​trained and perhaps inexperienced.
Speaking of the first server, perhaps not the best idea to twirl across the dining room with two glasses of red wine on your tray. Yeah, you read right, twirled, through the dining room. With two glasses of red wine on the tray. Hey buddy, flying red wine and stains do not happy customers make.
These things might have been overlooked (ok, not the twirling server) if the food was any good at all. It just plain wasn’t. And the portions were ridiculously small. Even for tapas. I was starving when we left but we just wanted to get out of there.
And the prices weren’t much better. The piquillo relleno turned out to be not only tasteless but closer to an amuse-​bouche then tapas (although there was nothing delightful or amusing about it) And at $ 8 bucks a pop it pretty much blew. Oh, not to mention it looked like, well just not an attractive presentation; not even a little.
But let’s talk paella. At $ 64 bucks for a 4 person serving I expect to be blown away. I’m talking mouth dancing, feet tapping, loving life sorta way. It might have been one of the worst things we had. We tried the catalana paella which was supposed to be a mix of pork, monkfish, shellfish and octopus. I had a random piece of mushy fish and a piece of pork with the bone still in. The rice was crunchy as it was seriously underdone.
We had a few other random things hardly even worth mentioning. Asparagus with red form-​whatever. Croquettes of some sort-​whatever.
And again our server was nice but the service was slow and she wasn’t getting much back up.
On a good note after a completely underwhelming and disappointing experience we did talk to the manager and had some items removed from our total bill. Along with a sincere apology from our waitress. But she wasn’t responsible for what was coming out of the kitchen. Or for the twirling server. However that’s the ONLY reason I’m giving it two stars. Otherwise it would be a one.
Generally I don’t try places this new. Now I remember why. It would take a beau-​coup number of good reviews to get me to try this place again.

Checked out the newest addition to the Old Town lineup this past Friday night. If you like tapas and interesting drinks– Eivissa may be your new favorite place. Eivissa is named after a town on Ibiza (a Spanish island with ruins southwest of Majorca) and did a nice job of making me think I was in my favorite little restaurant in Spain.
First of all the ambiance. Eivissa’s contemporary environment spans two floors. On the entry level– is the bar area with exposed brick walls, cool lights hanging over the bar and some seating in the back. The place was loud, packed and had a really good energy about it.
We were seated upstairs in a similarly decorated room although the noise level was much more conducive to dining. There is also a bar on the 2^nd level where you can wait for your table.
Our server was great! (Thanks Miriam. All of your suggestions were spot on!) She came up and immediately got us going with some fancy cocktails (I had something with plum vodka and cranberry juice that was garnished with Majorca edible pearls) Odd but tasty! She actually warned us off of one drink as it had so much alcohol in it– it comes with a limit right on the menu!
We started with a meat and cheese course with some of the best Serrano ham and manchego cheese I have had since I was in Barcelona, Very good. Next up– grilled octopus in a spicy sauce. I only wish that it had come with some bread to sop of that sauce. We then shared a piece crunchy bread topped with herbed cream cheese, tomatoes and sardines. Sounds like a crazy combo but it was delicious!
Finally– our paella arrived. Wonderful aroma– we had gone with the seafood version which had shrimp, mussels, and clams mixed with peppers and rice. Very good and just the right amount for 2.
While the bar had a couple of issues with making the drinks– our table service was top notch, and the owner came over to greet us and it was a great evening overall. Dinner for two with drinks and dessert came to about $ 100 which didn’t break the bank either.
Outdoor seating will be available in about two weeks as they wait for their permit from the city.
If you are looking for a little touch of Spain right in the neighborhood– give Eivissa a try. I need to go back just to try a couple of the other specialty cocktails on their list and to try some more of their unique tapas.

Went for the soft opening of Eivissa. They provided a glass of complimentary sangria, duck pinxtos, and the bill was 50% off which was a huge plus.
The tapas had a flare of molecular gastronomy with hints of French technique. One thing I have to say is that Eivissa really knows how to cook pork! The cerdo secreto was just excellent including the sweet potatoes.
Jamon serrano was mediocre in my book. It came with 3 slices of jamon, two pieces of bread, some olives, nuts. But I’ve had better in Barcelona.
The paella valencia with chicken, sausage, and pork was too salty and undercooked. They rushed the dish because even the waitress said it came out earlier than expected. This was our least favorite dish of the night. Sadly enough, I liked the paella at Sangria much more which is such as shame. But once again the pork in the paella was maravilloso.
The herb rack of lamb was nicely done. However, I was only able to cut two small bite sized morsels off the rack, and the bone did not have enough to even chew. Also I’m not too sure if I fully agreed with the reduction sauce, maybe too sweet perhaps. The quince ravioli had a really subtle taste and a very interesting texture. Almost like asian fruit jello.
The barramundi was cooked nicely as well. But I still have to question the portion size. The fish was 2.5×4 inch piece with a few scattered vegetables and regularly it was $ 20. This was our second favorite dish, but I don’t think I would pay $ 20 for it.
The duck confit was agreeable, but the sliced pork hidden underneath the leg stole the show. I believe the confit was supposed to be accompanied with sweet potato, but instead we got pork loin. A-​ok with me though.
Since they still haven’t officially opened yet, they still have some kinks to work out and it is too early to give an accurate rating. But, if I do come back, I’m definitely coming back for the pork dishes. Since we received complimentary items, the bill was half off, and I was amazed with the pork, I’m gonna give it four stars for today’s experience. If I had this same experience maybe 3 months from now at $ 74, then I would give it a 2.5 to 3 stars. Eivissa is definitely one the most skillful and cutting edge Tapas restaurant I’ve been.