Graham Elliot Bistro

Just got in town and one of my first stops was Graham Elliot Bistro. The food was incredible (of course). I was especially impressed with the service. From the host to the waiter, manager and everything in between, each person was amazing. Everytime I come to Chicago I will be making reservations to Graham Elliot Bistro.

Be prepared to leave hungry unless you order a first, second, third and dessert for each person. We started with the mussels and they were fantastic! Next we had crispyy salmon and hanger steak. Both were good but the portion size is a joke. Ordered 2 desserts, cookie dough and peanut butter cup. The ice cream with the peanut butter cup dessert was the size of a golf ball. Glad we went but will never return. I can think of a restaurant a few blocks away that blows this place away in food quality, portion and price.

Wow wow wow! You MUST try GEB. What an experience.
I made reservations for 2 on a Friday night and was sat within 10 minutes of checking in. Valet is easily accessible from the front for $ 12. We waited at the bar and I had a delicious hard cider. Nothing is on draft here.
The restaurant is small and cozy and the kitchen is open and an interesting part to the room to be able to watch the chefs work while talking.
The menu is broken up into 4 sections. First, second, third, and dessert. The server informed is that it’s designed to have one from each. So we did.
I ordered the deconstructed Cesar salad (the Twinkie croûton with mascarpone cheese OMG!), Wisconsin Cheddar risotto (home made cheese-​its and pork belly!), and crispy salmon (amazingly crispy and still perfectly cooked & roasted leeks and kumquats!), and finally for dessert we shared the peanut butter cup with homemade buttercream ice cream (YUMMY!).
The atmosphere isn’t crazy and doesn’t have a «theme» but rather let’s the food and presentation of food do the decorating. Everything dish is picture worthy and colorful as it is tasty.
This isn’t a place for huge party’s I was would but 2 – 4 person groups is perfect. It’s not spacious, you are close to other people but it’s fairly dark inside so it doesn’t seem as close and never get uncomfortable.
I would definitely return and try 4 new dishes. As for the sizes and portions they aren’t big but they aren’t small. Definitely for one person but just enough until your next course comes. Each course arrived in perfect order. Once you finished your first, they cleared everything away and reset the flatware and within 2 minutes the new course was up. And at each course someone was there to ask us how everything was. Which is kind of a dumb question because everything was EXCEPTIONAL!
You’re not rushed in or out and the courses are timed well. It was a great place to come and have a couple hours over dinner to talk and enjoy some of the best food I’ve had in my 7 years since living in Chicago. Bravo Graham!

Loved this concept! I didn’t know what to expect from this restaurant because it’s so small and casual liking on the outside. Once inside, the atmosphere was nice and so was the décor. All the appetizers and entrees we ordered were just «good». The banana split was superb. Would I frequent? Probably not but I’d recommend.

Lovely atmosphere and space. The truffle parmesan popcorn was spectacular as a starter. My fella had a rich cheesy risotto and a beet terrine of some sort as an entrée. That was an unusual spin on an old classic that we both enjoyed. I had the mussels, which were plump, but a couple of them had sand and had a somewhat fishier flavor than many other mussels dishes I’ve had. We demolished a chocolate peanut butter dessert that smartened up a Reese’s cup. Overall, I loved how they took some basics and upgraded them to another level.

We’d never been to one of his restaurants before, only watched him on TV. I have to say we were completely blown away by the texture, depth and complexity of the food. To say it is incredible does not do it justice, it was beyond description. The décor is a little dark and grungy so maybe not for everyone’s taste, but at least it’s not over the top stuffy like other places.
We started off with raw oysters and muscles, both extremely fresh and really good. My wife ordered the crispy salmon and after that initial crunch it simply melted in your mouth, I only wish I could cook salmon like this. After reading all the reviews I had to order the stroganoff. It was so good, it has so many layers of flavor it is indescribable. It is that good. If you like meat, you absolutely must order this dish.
To top it all off we finished with a pecan torte with bourbon a la mode. Not a single drop of anything was left on any of our plates. I’m not kidding, it was that good.
Graham made his way to most of the tables talking to guests, taking pictures with everyone, and imparting culinary knowledge like nobody I have ever met. He was both friendly and funny, quite the entertainer and master chef. It was really cool to watch him mentor his staff in the open kitchen right before our eyes. This guy loves what he does and it shows. Highly recommended.

I’ve always wanted to sample this place so that i did. Starting with the drink menu, i opted for the Honey Ryder. This Vodka based drink went down smooth… very smooth.
Now dinner is offered with the concept of three courses with a recommendation to try each if them. Of course going with the recommendation is more food than you need, but what the heck, I Wasn’t paying for it, so lets try as much as we can. Pricewise, the first 2 courses are around 15 a piece and the final one is about 30 to 40.
And then there are «snacks» like truffle popcorn etc… I sampled the Chorizo Meatball with whipped ricotta… Excellent.
Next, the first course we split 2 different ones. A «deconstructed caesar salad» and a Brussel Sprout salad with apples, blue cheese etc… Wasnt crazy about the Caeser salad, the anchovies ruined it for me, and their wasn’t much else to that. They had a fried «twinkie» that was a twinkie in look only (thats a good thing), not sure what it was made of but tasted like polenta with some marsapone cheese inside. That was better than the Caesar part.
Course 2 was a cheddar ricotta… We split and i would recommend splitting this one if you want to save your appetite for course 3. Very good.
Course 3 i had the Sea Scallops with a brussel sprout hash… Excellent, but not sure it was $ 35 excellent, still… Tasty.
Dessert was the banana split. Not the supersize. Good. Lots of pretzels and other fruit like cherries made for a nice ending…
I would come again.

I bought a living social deal for this restaurant. For 66 $, I got 1 starter, 2 entrees and a bottle of wine. Sweet deal!
The food is quite good. We had the chance to try the mussels, good and pure taste, maybe just a little portion :-)
Then, we got the monkfish, which we agreed was the star of the night. The monkfish is rolled in lard. Yes, lard! and it is amazing!
Then, for popular choice, we got the shortrib stroganoff, I thought it was very very good. Although I think it needed a little more salt for my taste.
Finally, we got a coffee panna cotta. I like it although I am not sure it really tasted like a panna cotta.
Overall, the food is good and worth. The ambient is spacious. Not a big fan of the décor though.
Overall, I would go back but not sure I would be willing to pay the full price for it. But, definitely worth if you have a deal.

Food poisoning is the main reason why Graham Elliot Bistro dropped down to a one-​star review for me.
I have been here several times and had good experiences before, so when I saw the gilt city voucher, I quickly bought it. I came last night with my mother and the experience was no where near as good.
We started with the truffle popcorn which was a favorite of mine all the way back to the Graham Elliot days. Still good. We also had the chorizo meatballs and the meat tasted fine – BUT – there was a white sauce on top that didn’t taste right to me and I suspect was the source of my later troubles. My entrée was the crispy pork over grits and it was good but not great. My mother’s steak was cooked well but under seasoned. Given the price point, when we left, I questioned whether I’d come back.
Fast forward a few hours to 1 a.m. when I wake up because my stomach was… to put it mildly… upset. I will spare you the details but it was not a good look and I was awake for about 2 hours in the middle of the night. Needless to say, I’m not coming back.

From the starter to the entrée to the dessert everything was impeccable!
We began with the Wisconsin Cheddar Risotto and then had the Rainbow Ribeye Steak and concluded the meal with the banana split and the peanut butter cup with butternut ice cream!
I will definitely be returning!

The service is ok and the food is ok. We tried the mussels and duck as starters and we got duck breast and sea scallops for third course. The mussels were sandy for few of them. The scallops are paired with an interesting sauce that I couldn’t appreciate. It was a weird combination.
Probably I had higher expectation for a Michelin 2 star restaurant.

We had a nice dinner here after a cubs game in May, 2015. While it doesn’t have the buzz of other restaurants in the neighborhood, you won’t be disappointed with a visit to GEB. The Diver scallops and Beef stroganoff were good. I would not order the ‘egg in a hole’ thing again. Overall, We were very satisfied with our selections.
Finding a reservation was not difficult, even on a weekend. We were not rushed by the friendly and helpful staff and we had plenty of elbow room.

My friends and I came to Graham Elliot Bistro on a Tuesday evening and surprisingly the place was 40% packed. However, being that I was a hungry hippo, I didn’t mind this because it sped up the ordering process and the receiving of our food. We enjoyed pretty much everything we ordered and the fact that my friend got a picture with Graham Elliot made the dining experience that much more special.
Food
* Mussels — after tasting the mussels at Angry Crab these just pale in comparison (2.5 stars)
* Steak Tartar — tasty and worth a try (4 stars)
* Crab Risotto– delicious (4 stars)
* Pork Chop — amazing and definitely a MUST try (5 stars)
* Salmon — fresh and flavorful (4 stars)
* Short Rib Stroganoff– tender and mouth water (5 stars)
* Banana Split — inventive and enjoyable (4 stars)
* Cookie Dough Flight — order two it’s that good (5 stars)

I’d like to preface this review saying I want to give 3.5 stars for this review. Between A-​OK and being a fan of the place. Graham Elliot Bistro was one of the restaurants I was most looking forward to when my girlfriend and I booked our trip to Chicago. Unfortunately, the Masterchef Judge’s bistro left a few things to be desired when it was all said and done for my group of 6 but it was.
We were escorted to our table upon arrival on a back patio that was outside. It was a really nice setting. One thing that confused me though was the chairs. They were plastic chairs like you’d see in a daycare. I’m not sure if I just missed the whimsy about it but they just seemed out of place and strange.
We started off the night with everyone ordering a different cocktail or wine. There’s a pretty decent list of cocktails, beer, and wine so everyone was satisfied with their picks there!
We ordered a couple firsts and sides to start. The burrata came first. It was served with baby arugula and raw honeycomb. I liked the dish for the most part aside from the honeycomb because of the crazy sweetness. I think it would have been better if the chunks of honeycomb weren’t so large. It had an off putting texture about it while eating a large chunk with the arugula and burrata.
The next thing that came out were the frites with bacon mayo. Holy salt. A liiiittle too much there. Thankfully we were able to ask our server to bring us another plate which she was very gracious about. The second plate we received was ridiculously good. Super crunchy and straight out of the fryer. Definitely recommend those little guys. The tempura fried cauliflower followed and was sort of meh. Nothing too special about it.
The two winners of the night for me were the crab risotto and the shortrib stroganoff. My girlfriend got the crab risotto and loved it. It had a really good amount of crab lumps in it and the corn it was served on top of had a nice kick to them. Really good. My favorite was the shortrib. It was served over spatzle with some crème fraîche on top. The shortrib was falling apart every time you put your fork near it. Probably one of the best shortribs I’ve ever had.
Although there were some high notes to the meal, it was not without its lows. I would be willing to go back and give it another whirl maybe when the menu changes up a little bit. If you’re a Masterchef fan, though, this is a great spot to support a chef, get a bite and enjoy the atmosphere.

Came here for our anniversary and also because i am a huge MasterChef and MasterChef Junior fan! Like how some others have mentioned, we also used a groupon as well. The groupon was $ 80 which included 2 dishes from 1^st and 2^nd and 2 dishes from 3^rd. It also comes with wine/​beer of your choice.
On a 7pm Wednesday night, GE was pretty full. Parking was a nightmare to find. Luckily, we were lucky enough to find one right across the restaurant after circling around just two times. 1.5hrs of parking is roughly $ 5.
The atmosphere is semi romantic and dark. The high ceiling and dim lights sets a nice ‘date night’ tone. The restaurant is not big by any means but can seat quite a few people comfortably.
Besides the hostess, the waiters are dressed in flannel button downs and jeans. A very laid back feel. Very attentive, yet not overly done. Water is always refilled and plates were always cleared when finished. Its nice how they give you new sets of silverware after each dish.
Anyway, we ordered Frites as our appetizer (not included in groupon). These were SUPER delicious! The mayo and tiny green onions sprinkled on top of the fries was very complimentary of each other. Definitely recommend!!! These are probably some of the best fries i’ve had that i liked. The great thing about them is that they don’t come off super greasy. It was very crispy and fresh cut.
For our next dish, we ordered MILK and HONEY and CRAB RISOTTO. I loved the honeycomb in my salad. I ate everything but the big lump of cheese in the middle. Not a huge cheese fan nor arugulas but the dressing and honey made it easy to eat lol.
Crab Risotto… I wish it was a lot hotter. The food came out just kinda warm and i usually like my hot food HOT. Very rich, creamy and has a strong seafood smell. Don’t get this if you don’t like crab/​seafood smell. Like how the others have mentioned, this dish was just OK for us. Very filling though.
For our Third and final dish, we got the GrahamBurger and Sea Scallops. Oh… that Burger was SUPER delicious!!! Garlic aioli was a HIT!!! I could easily eaten two of those! $ 16 for a burger was well worth it! I’d recommend you giving it a try! As for the scallops, not so much. 6 scallops was not worth $ 36 if you dont have a groupon to use. Really, it’s not worth it. A lot of restaurants make the same seared scallops at a waaaay cheaper price. As many have mentioned, it is really not special at all. And the price was just too high for 6 seared scallops. Nothing memorable about this plate, sadly. I think other dishes like the whole fish, or grilled chicken might’ve been a better choice.
Even though dessert was not included in the groupon, we decided to get something as well. Although we were so full, we got the Panna Cotta. GREAT CHOICE! I loved it!!! Super creamy and rich… very refreshing for the end of a good meal. The only thing i did not like was the pink peppercorn. The peppermint taste just didn’t suit my taste buds.
All in all, we had a great time. Although we were hoping to see Chef Elliot, we weren’t as lucky as some of the diners who went earlier that day. Maybe next time =) Ill definitely be back for that $ 7 small Frites and $ 16

The crab risotto was delicious the Berkshire pork chop with creamy grits, pear jam and fried green tomatoes was amazing and the flavors really work well together. You can’t go wrong with anything you order.
If your looking for amazing flavor in every bite, this is the place.

Graham Elliot is a West Loop bistro that easily meets the bar set by other Randolph Street restaurants.
I was here with my wife for a date, and we had a Groupon I bought a while back when I knew we’d need a night out later in the year.
Because I could, I got two different fish dishes; the hamachi sashimi, and roasted salmon with a dill sauce. My wife got an endive salad with goat cheese and the grahamburger. At the end of the night, we had the cherry torte a la mode.
These are small plates that still manage to leave you filled. I liked the contrasting textures of the sashimi – fish and plantain is certainly original. I was a fan of the passionfruit seeds. And, for what it matters, it just looked really pretty, and tasted good too. The hamachi tasted like it could’ve just been pulled out of the ocean.
The salmon was tender and moist, and absolutely covered in sesame seeds. The pearl onions were nice and soft, and overall it went great with the creamy dill pesto.
My wife’s dishes were also well balanced. The endive salad stood out for having particularly great dressing.
We finished it off with a cherry torte, which had an absolutely fantastic crispy, buttery crust. I was a fan of the ice cream made with real vanilla, as well.
Overall I thought GEB hit it out of the park on four occasions, and the burger honestly was pretty good too (I was a big fan of the onions). I came looking for a good date night, and I wasn’t disappointed.

The best part of this restaurant is the lovely outdoor patio they have in the back. On a good Chicago summer, it’s really a great place to have dinner. Unfortunately, the service and the food are subpar, and the splendid patio wasn’t enough to redeem it.
I ordered the lobster risotto and the salmon. The lobster risotto was so watery and flavorless it felt like I was eating old rice porridge. Blegh. The salmon was better, but the seasoning had a very unsettling aftertaste that reminds me of the packets you put in your cheap college ramen. It was also plated on a slice of tomato and lettuce with this weird sauce that tasted awfully like mayonnaise.
What really bugged me was that it took nearly 30 minutes for our waiter to bring our table our drink orders. We saw two other tables arrive after us and get served food and beverage before we even got our drinks! To top it off, the waiter mixed up our wine orders among the table. Sigh.
Definitely wouldn’t recommend. With the price of each dish, the mediocre food, and the abysmal service, I think you could do to spend your money other places.

I was really excited to visit this restaurant because, well, Graham Elliot is on MasterChef and I really like watching MasterChef. (HAHAHA) I was pleasantly surprised to see how empty the place was. I had an early reservation and we sat right by the kitchen, so I could semi-​watch them cook.
I thought it was kind of cute that they all wore flannels and jeans, very casual and laidback, but I wished the hostess wore the same thing… I thought her attire was a tad inappropriate (leggings and a vest). The laidback attitude could due with a little more friendliness and smile, there were only 2 other dining groups there…
I started with the White Gazpacho. It was a hefty portion size. Deliciously cold and creamy. It had just enough pepitas for crunch. Next I had the Steak Tartare with the quail egg. Gosh that was so mouthwateringly good, though I’m not a fan of those chips. The real star of this dinner went to the Grahamburger. I love me some brie, but never thought to put it on a burger. I highly recommend this burger. There was so much food, I could only eat half of this. It still tasted good when reheated the next day. Ended the evening with the panna cotta, which was light enough where I wouldn’t explode.

I would give 3.5stars because of the great service and reservation was easy to make. The food overall was good, but it wasnt amazing for me. It’s possible that the menu was not as creative as previous ones I saw on Unilocal.Overall food was quite average. Props to the homemade whip cream, the sauce for the burger, the foie gras holladaise sauce for the ribeye. The sauces were really good and added flavor to the entrée.
Fries with bacon frites $ 6 — fresh cut thick potatoe fries with bites of bacon. I didn’t felt like it was worth the $ 6.
Graham burger — FAVORITE! It came with double patty atop with special cream sauce and fried onion string. The bun was warm and toasty. This is one of the better burger in Chicago!
Chicken Pâté liver with blueberry jam and almond — LOVE IT! I’m pretty sure the blueberry jam was gourmet or house made, it wasnt too sweet. The combo was delicious atop
Spring chicken with ramp — It was okay. It wasnt dry, but the flavor didnt stand out. I didn’t really enjoy the ramp, not because of the way it’s cooked. It’s more because of what it is.
Ribeye steak with foie gras hollandaise sauce and roasted potatoe/​spinach — Market price for $ 59. The rib eye was cooked as requested, medium rare. The steak was good along with the foie gras sauce which provided a smoky taste. The steak alone didnt quite have the grill taste, but it was still a good steak. Seasoning is not quite heavy, which was good.
Steak tartare — came with salted chips. Steak was fresh, but it was okay.
Banana Split — We ordered the regular size $ 9 which can be upgraded to $ 15 for supersize. It’s not your typical 3 scoop banana split. I think it probbaly comes with 1.5scoop of vanilla ice cream? The bottom part of the glass cup was generously filled with candied pecan/​nuts. The whip cream was possible house made and was delicious!
Strawberry rhubard crostada — honey butter was delightful and good job on the crostada which is more like a rhubard pie.
For a michelin rated restaurant, the restroom could be a little cleaner…
Been here and done that. Time to try another restaurant.