Quay

CLOSED AS OF JAN. 24, 2016 — was notified by email and confirmed by walking by this evening

Worst experience ever. The «management» there is horrible! The server (Alyssa C.)lost our receipt so the «manager» made us wait outside until he printed a new one. Once we got tired of waiting and started to walk home, the «manager» came after us and started to yell at us. When I asked for his name he walked away. I went into the place and asked him for his name again. At that point he started to yell and told us to leave. The «manager», who wouldn’t give me his name, was a chubby guy who works the door I believe. This is definitely the first and last time we will be going here. Stay away!!!

I will never do business here again! The owner scammed me for my bday celebrations about a year ago. I called in advanced, worked out a price to purchase a table for roughly 200 bucks, and gave him a head count. It was the same night a halloween party was allegedly supposed to take place. I brought my friends and family in early thinking we could eat and party in the same space since I was bringing a lot of people to the venue. Dinner was fine but half way through, the shady s.o.b. told me that our table reservation price was changing to about 500 bucks. It was my bday and I had already told people to meet here, plus had already had a few cocktails per my bday celebrations so I begrudgingly agreed to continue with the table reservation. It was still pretty early and not too many people had shown up yet, but they were all too eager to sit us at our table and bring out our bottle service, before the party had even started. I had a big party with me so said, sure why not.
BIG MISTAKE. We were given a table in a room that had NO PEOPLE. Turns out, the Halloween party was a complete bust and people were only really hanging out in the bar area where there was a second dj playing. What a joke. Still I had a bunch of folks come out to celebrate my bday so I decided to brush it off and have a good time. Come to find out, they just wanted to make sure they had served us our alcohol so that we were locked in and they could charge us. To make matters worse, one friend got sick so my cousin offered to drive her home to the hotel and return. Mind you, we had all been at Quay now for about 2 hours at this point. When he returned, the door check hostess would not let him back in without paying $ 20 bucks for the $#@! party they were charging new customers to enter. I walked over to her and told her that he was with my party, and she proceeded to give me and him attitude and stated, she didn’t care and he would have to pay. Why in the hell would you be so rude to customers who were willing to spend 500+ dollars at your establishment. My final bill ended up being just over $ 650 (not including dinner)…a good $ 400 more than the original price quote. Clearly I was taxed since their party was $@%!.
I requested the manager come over and that prick treated both of us just as poorly as the hostess and threatened to kick my cousin out if he didn’t pay. I guess he saw that I’d already spent my money so there was no need to be a decent or honorable businessman anymore. He is very, very, lucky I didn’t tap into my south-​side self and take the appropriate next steps for people who are so utterly disrespectful and shameful. The manager/​owner is a shady snake and their management is crap. If you want to do anything more than just stop in for drinks and food, think twice. Super shady business practices with asshole employees and they will never get my business again.

We keep coming here for the Sunday brunch because it is a pretty good deal. The food is fresh and there is a nice variety to choose from. The service is ok considering all they do is pick up the plates and refill the water glass.

Stay clear of Quay. Food was fair to be kind. The place was empty on a Friday night, only 2 tables and I now know why, what a waste of money. We had a party of 9 people and I did not hear one positive about dinner, the mussels were all over cooked and were rubbery, the pasta was also over cooked and mush. Flat bread pizza was actually under cooked and the scallops were a huge rip off at $ 29 for 4 scallops.
Service was okay but the waiter could not remember who had what dish and checked his notes constantly.
There a few people at the bar, probably wondering why they wasted their money on dinner.
Too many great resturants in Chicago and this one should be avoided. Walk another block to anywhere else.

The big plus: no line for brunch. Quay seems like a new bar, and not many know about it yet. And, the drinks were good — I had a drink called a Red Gingham with rum, watermelon juice, cucumber and lime juice — my new replacement for orange juice on the weekends!
The food was fine, but not memorable. Service was fine.
I’ll be back.

The food was warm and portions generous but that is best thing I can say. My nachos were so greasy they were shiney. The fries with the burger were limp with the gease. Won’t be coming back.

Everyone that works here is rude. Not welcoming at all and the place is always empty. I found the food to be a huge disappointment too and so not worth the price. I’d steer clear of this place moving forward.

Third bad experience now at this place. Since it is across the street I gave it two more tries, and each time the food took forever, their service was poor, and the manager was less than helpful. I do not recommend. Local Root, Volare, or Pinstripes are better options and all are around the corner.

I loved the food here, and the atmosphere.

My friend made the reservations here and I am honestly not sure where she read
good reviews for Quay — you’d think the place would reflect the definition in the menu and the ambiance. The ONLY mention appears in a graphic above the ladies room mirror– surely there has to be a BETTER way to implement the theme in the food, drink and décor.
Quay means: a structure built parallel to the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place. I guess the landing place most people make it to is a bar stool. The front bar is prominently in view when you enter — TVs everywhere, loud music and noisy ambiance. While there were banquettes and other tables, none were filled.
When offered a choice of that or something else we picked Door Number Two and were taken/​seated in the very empty middle dining room behind the bar where not a soul was to be seen. Are we in the same restaurant???
Our waiter was attentive, but please remember: just because there’s two of us ladies dining together, does not a date or ‘couple’ make. ACKWARD! We joked about it but really… there was absolutely no need to dim the lights to a level only a bat could appreciate.
Menu choices online do not align with the printed version handed at the table. The extensive drink menu is pared way down… disappointing. Beer seems to be the thing here. The custom cocktails offered weren’t anything special. We ordered beverages and got them promptly
Meal options also don’t seem to be very creative either. A pre-​visit reading the reviews on Unilocal had me convinced that the Pork Chop was the way to go. She picked the Salmon. For a starter (aka Appetizer) we steered clear of anything ‘pizza’ and instead agreed to attempt the Steak and Tots. Reviews here didn’t lie: More Tot than Steak for sure. Two small skewers of meat, cubed into 5 dice-​size pieces each skewer, and 20 tots drowning in some cheese sauce. I would have taken a photo but the place was so dark, my camera had no chance of focusing! Dinner was so-​so with our attentive waiter, who must have been very bored, ready to help at a moment’s notice.
Midway through our meal, our conversation was interrupted by an unseen woman screaming in pain/​fear/​throes of passion (?) her voice carrying all the way to the dining room. «Was it the menu choices?», we joked. Looking to get the attention of our waiter we discovered at that moment he was no where to be found.
Dirty plates were promptly removed and dessert and coffee ordered. Flourless chocolate cake still cold from some refrigerator someplace was humungous for two to share although tough to get a fork through because it was more like fudge than cake because of the temperature.
On an early Saturday evening, for more than two hours, only one other threesome was seated. An extremely large boisterous party joined about thirty minutes after that.
Bill was $ 109 for two cocktails, one starter, two entrees, one round of coffee and one piece of cake. I could spend a bit more and have a quality meal elsewhere.

Hmmmm… ate here with large group of people on a Monday night and it was completely dead/​empty. We were all traveling for work and maybe unfamiliar with the area, but it was eerily quiet. The service was good though and to my knowledge, everyone enjoyed their meal. I ate the crazy large, 16 oz steak and it was pretty good — although only seasoned with salt and pepper, so nothing special. It definitely has a sports bar feel and not the best ambiance if you’re having a one-​on-​one meal.

Cool place to chill before hitting up a movie at AMC (right down the street)
Good beer selection. I recommend the macaroni and cheese.

Naval Pier is two short blocks away —
The Quay is a world away!
Great food terrific bar and beer. Friendly AND helpful wait staff. Spotless rest rooms.
More than fair prices.
Ya gotta Dock at The Quay,

Came here with some friends after a Beer Fest so as you cam imagine, we were very drunk and very hungry. Quay did not disappoint. The food we ordered was good, the waitress was fast and friendly and our group was seated in the perfect location. Right by the bar.
The kale and artichoke dip was amazing.

I rarely give poor reviews, but I’m afraid this place merits the One Star. I’ve actually visited this establishment twice, because of its location (literally a stone’s throw from my apartment building) in the hopes of that it could serve as a «go to» spot for comfort food and Sunday Night Football. But here’s why I will steer clear of this place going forward.
The first time I went to Quay, my Diet Coke was flat, flat, flat. When I asked for a replacement, though the server was nice, the soda was still flat. The burger I ordered was sloppy and nothing spectacular. Overall, the experience was a Solid 3-​Star. As a result, I was hesitant about giving it a second chance, but, like I said, its location persuaded me to try again. What a waste.
On my second visit, we walked in and were seated promptly. That is about the only good thing that happened. We ordered an appetizer – a flatbread. It came out stone cold – the cheese hadn’t even melted. It took about 20 tries to flag our server to alert him to the problem (which, in itself, is annoying). He finally came back with a properly heated flatbread. It then took another 30 minutes for the rest of our food to come out, which meant that the kitchen basically ignored our ticket until after the SECOND flatbread had been served.
I ordered a short rib grilled cheese sandwich. When our food finally arrived (we’d been there for at least an hour at that point), I took one bite into my sandwich and got just cheese. I took a second bite into my sandwich and again just got cheese. Before taking a third, I opened my sandwich up to find that my «Short Rib Grilled Cheese» had no short-​rib, as advertised. I tried flagging down my server again – in vain – and ultimately, ANOTHER TABLE had to flag him down FOR ME. He offered to re-​fire my meal, but at that point, having been there for over an hour with a FLAT diet coke (AGAIN!) and barely any food, I just wanted to get outta there and never ever come back.
What particularly irked me was the fact that despite so many errors, I was not visited by a manager even once to apologize. This place is sub-​par on so many levels and quite frankly, that is so disappointing. Streeterville is in desperate need of quality entertainment venues that live up to the demographic of its residents and Quay misses the mark by several miles.

Ladies and Gentlement, Meet Quay. A «man in a mid-​life crisis suffering from the consequences of his arrogant former glory meets Hooters» concept in Chicago’s River North neighborhood.
A once fabulous mid-​end restaurant with stunning service and interesting dishes. A rustic dimly lit bar still greets you when you enter Quay. You’ll have plenty of time to take in it’s ambiance as servers and the bar stare at you while you wait for the host to kindly escort you to your table. Or perhaps a server will have to do this for you. And no, the wait isn’t because there is a line out the door. Quite the opposite.
The restaurant used to be filled with nice white shirt waiters in black slacks but has since been replaced with women wearing the brand across their chest and a logo at the bottom of the back of their t-​shirt. Enter the Hooters component of the new rebranded Quay.
The one thing Quay always had an issue with, even in the days of its excellently thought out concept, was in the preparation of the food. While the dishes are delicious expect to send your burger back for a remake as medium rare suddenly becomes medium or well done.
Quay used to be one of my favorite casual spots for decent food, excellent service and a stunning experience. Now it doesn’t even cross my mind as existing.

I’ve been to this place a few times during the spring/​summer/​winter months. So I’ll break the review in 2: the front room/​bar and the docks
The Front Room/​Bar: Me and my dining mates had dinner here before heading to a special event in the docks. I started with the kale and artichoke dip which was amazing. My friend had the gumbo and said it was delish. For the main: amish chicken, lamb, and blackened catfish. Everyone said it was delish. The only downside was that it took a RIDICULOUSLY long time to get our food and the entrees are a wee bit overpriced to be mostly a main and no sides.
The Docks/​Pation: This a great space, especially if not overly crowded. It has great views and a wonderful view. The unfortunate part is that the drinks poured are pretty pitiful and I mean less than what you would get if you were on a «measured» system and I think the bartenders are not really ready for primetime. I kept saying. they don’t want to make any money else they’d move a little faster. I guess I get spoiled by those bartenders that can work entire crowds and not break a sweat. These on the other hand had the nastiest attitudes and would be pissed if you told them they messed up your order which was PRICEY!
Understand what it is and have a good time.

For a few years when a person went out in Streterville, there would have been many choices.
If you have been trekking through here or live in adjecent hoods you know what I am talking about.
I like the place because you will meet a diverse group of people of different ages who are over 26 who know how to have a good time.
My favorite section is the back lounge section.
I was here recently with a group of my friends after Millenium park concert on a Saturday Night.
The service is great and attentive. The various powers that be basically make sure that if you are ordering a mixed drink or a cocktail that there is a good amount of alchahol (I e vodka etc) in it.
and not like other places where they are watering down your drinks. They definitely do not do that over here.
On this particular night which was on July 4^th weekend we stepped briefly into the outdoor area to watch the navy pier fireworks for a few minutes.
They also have another area which is to the extreme right of the bar area where people can just chill out and have a cocktail outside.
On the whole this is a good experience. The only thing I would change is maybe having the sound on for a hockey game or the bears game. Maybe they do put it on for a bears game but I have not been here just yet for that.
Just for the sake of posterity I have brought groups of people for private events in the back and people do like it. It was with the 312 Social/​After hours meetup that I run. Shameless plug I know but its the truth.
Good for dancing when they have a DJ
I may write an article sometime about it on Unilocal.Who knows.

Very rarely can I say that I’ve been to a Chicago restaurant twice within a month.
Also, it is not so rare that I might mispronounce a restaurant name, and this held true here. It’s not «kway», it’s pronounced like «kee» and means a landing place aside water. You learn something new every day!
First occasion here was brunch. Both bf and I ordered the Amish chicken hash and were pleasantly surprised. The chicken portion reminded me of a Scottish egg, in that we were presented with this batter fried, crispy egg shaped mound made of starchy potatoes and chicken. It was interesting, and I would recommend it. The dish also came with 2 eggs prepped your way, bacon, and a hearty side of seasoned potatoes.
While we were seated up front by the floor-​to-​ceiling open windows for brunch, for dinner, we got a table in the elegant, dimly lit back room. Our group tried the roasted Amish chicken (yes, again) with pumpkin polenta and kale, bacon wrapped scallops, beet salad, honey pear salad, and duck pasta entrée. The chicken was 2 ginormous chicken breasts and could seemingly feed a small village. Everyone enjoyed the flavors of each of the offerings, esp the pumpkin polenta, which was extremely comforting.
Friendly service, unique bar and dining atmosphere, and great location next to Navy Pier!