Sawtooth Restaurant and Lounge

If you are looking for a great place to get shot… please come to Sawtooth!!! Yet ANOTHER SHOOTING at Sawtooth on 3÷29÷2015. This place needs to be shut down. They are bad neighbors and the place is filled with loser thugs.

This place gets one star for the type of demographic that is allowed to rent at night and cause havoc. Many times have fights broken out, shots fired because a certain group can’t exercise restraint, conflict resolution skills, respect for themselves, respect for the law and respect for life. Business must really be financially hurting when they allow this type of unruly group to rent. I feel sorry for the workers and I even feel more sorry for the valet (dealing with such animation).

This place gets zero stars. This place is discriminatory towards homosexuals so if you support gay people u will not support this place. My friend was told by a security guard named mike «ur a girl?» Girls have to wear heels? Clearly they have never met a tomboy. I will be reporting this mike after he not only said that and said we could wait on the corner like we were garbage, while we waited for a manager that never came. I made a police report cuz this is a hate crime. And I need to speak to management about them being against homosexuals. Please dont go to this ratchet establishment. Its 2014 not 1969. I have never experienced something so hateful in my life. It wasn’t right, it brought me to tearS to see someone treated like that. DONT GO HERE EVERR

I am a neighbor and I am making it my mission to get this place shut down. I hear people screaming every weekend as a result of fights or shootings. There is always fights and or shooting and it makes our quiet neighborhood dangerous. I am afraid to go out at night cause I will be probably shot by one of their customers.

My girls and I came here after we left Taste of Randolph, which was amazing, by the way. Anywho, Saw Tooth. We arrived around 8:40 or so. It was free admission and no dress code. This one girl had on a bathing suit and a cover up, majority of the guys looked as if they just finished playing basketball because they had on basketball shorts, shirts and gym shoes. The waitresses wore little booty shorts and very low cut tank tops. The one waitress, bent down real low to talk to her customer’s and take their drink order and as she got up she took BOTH her hands and dug her wedgie out then came over to my party and asked us if SHE could get us anything, I politely said no thanks, we left shortly after that! Besides that the music was good, the staff is super friendly, the crowd was a bit young for my taste, we probably won’t be back, but only time will tell.

I had bought some sort of deal and was excited to try a new Asian place in the west loop (this was a couple years ago). All I remember is overpriced underwhelming food. Head over to Chinatown if you’re in the mood for Chinese food. Also, I do recall that our server had attitude.

I can’t even comment on the food because we never even made it in the door. We tried to go for dinner around 6:00 and the doors were locked (and their hours say they open at 5:00). Ok no big deal, maybe they had a private event or something. However, the thing that really sent me over the edge is that the staff just stood in their floor to ceiling windows staring as us while we tried to get in. A simple acknowledgment instead of blank stares would have been enough to bring be back. However, this sub-​par customer service will keep me away from ever giving Sawtooth a try.

I want to give it 5 stars because I had such a good time, but the reason I had such a good time is because I always do with my girls and this place had nothing to do with it. Lol
I came here for a day party and the dj’s were good and great music. The thing I don’t get is why they always try to charge people to come to a dead empty establishment. This place is always empty when I go but they always looking for $ 10 to $ 20. Lower your drink prices and maybe I wouldn’t mind paying that much. With all that said the house sangria is excellent. Lol This wouldn’t be the first place to go on my list, but once in while I would stop by if I was in the west loop and carried cash on me.

Another overpriced restaurant that people go to because of location. Its 50 restaurants along Randolph in the West Loop and Sawtooth is easily at the bottom of my list. Admittedly Im not a fan of Vietnamese cuisine but for the price, I expected it to be better than it was. Drinks are overpriced as well.
I’ve been to Sawtooth for private events that were somewhat better. Drinking outside in the courtyard makes the experience a little bit better. I also went on a Monday for MNF where they had $ 3 dollars. That experience was great. Needless to say as great as that experience was, I went 1 week later for MNF and without informing me, that same beer was $ 6 dollars. In fairness to Sawtooth, that probably was a promoter thing not the restaurant itself. But it would have been nice if they would inform you the specials they had were no longer active. Also advertising free food during a football game leads you to believe food will available the whole time, not only till exhausted which happened in 20 mins. Again most likely a promoter issue.
Overrated. If you do go, go in the summer.

Pathetic.
I, along with 6 other people showed up for an open interview shortly before New Year’s Eve 2014. There was not a single soul inside that building. We had all gotten the same email response confirming our interviews from the restaurant yet no one seemed to know what was going on and why they were closed. I personally called about 4 or 5 times over the course of about 45 minutes (I had gotten there really early) but no answer. Others were doing the same and we all finally decided to give up and leave.
Honestly, I don’t know anything about the actual restaurant as far as prices or menu selection goes, but I DO NOT recommend this place because if they can’t even get their interview process down, how can I be sure they have employees that are savvy with sanitation regulation or cooks that even know how to cook? NO THANKS!
Just a note: If you, like others, read this and thought I confused the terms «reservation» and «interview» I assure you I meant interview. I wanted a job, just like the other 6 people I mentioned before. I can make food. But I can’t make money because that would be counterfeiting. I have to earn it.

I gotta remove a star. We still like this place but it may have been our final time there. The service was fantastic. Our person was almost too attentive. I think maybe b/​c the entire place was empty except for us. Not good for a Thurs night (although in their defense no TV and it was a Blackhawks payoff night)
The cocktails are still interesting and refreshing. They change enough to remain seasonal. My boyfriend ordered the pork chop which he really liked. The only rub there is that you get a regular knife and that’s not enough for a chop. He asked for something sharper and she said it was their steak knife. I went for the sea bass. The sauce it comes in is great. The fish however was too tough to cut with a fork and I wasn’t offered a knife. That’s probably b/​c usually bass should be like butter. I couldn’t do it. She very kindly offered to try again so I said sure. The second fish was just as tough. She could tell that I wasn’t into it so offered to remove it from our bill. Super nice!!! But we were there on a Gilt City deal so I needed to get more food. I tried the veggie spring rolls which were very nice and the chicken salad which I really liked but it needs some kick to it. Maybe crunch and a little spice and acid.
I hope this place makes it. I know we’ve had other seafood and chicken dishes there and they were great.

The food here is actually superb — too bad the place is a little empty and sends off mixed signals with it’s lounge-​club approach.
What we ate:
Bo Bia — Wonderful vietnamese summer roll
Cha ca la vong — crispy catfish with a great dipping sauce. The «salad» is more like leaf lettuce an chunks of veggies, so you could make lettuce wraps with this. This was delicious
Eggplant sidedish — smoky and tasty

Fried calamari, how I’ve missed you!
I was stoked to hear that their calamari is made with tapioca flour, not glutens, so I could actually eat it! It was so good I’d be tempted to go back and just order that.
Their cocktails were great too. Really nice service.
I also had the chicken curry which left a little to be desired but overall, not a bad place.
Great for a date night!

Somehow I’ve never heard of Sawtooth, but a friend in from out of town picked it out for a late Fri night dinner res. Great atmosphere — very nicely decorated.
Before I get to the food — beware that this restaurant turns into a club on some (or all??) weekend nights. We had a 9:15pm reservation on a Fri night. The restaurant was pretty quiet when we came in. The server told us before we ordered that she would have to close out our check at 10pm since it turns into a club. Ultimately she didn’t close it until10:30 which we appreciated and we were never rushed. That said, the club crowd started coming in and the music was starting to «bump» so the atmosphere shifted. The clubby’ish crowd was very young, early 20’s and scantily clad. I am fairly sure we were about ½ inch away from seeing the cha-​chas of a few ladies. The bouncers appear to aggressively manage the crowd, ensuring there is a line out front (even when it’s not crowded inside).
The food… The shaking beef is a real star — and take their advice to dip the beef in the mixture of lime/​salt/​pepper. I would probably go back just for that dish (keep in mind, I’ve had limited exposure to Vietnamese food). I also had a salad that had shrimp, orange wedges and a citrus vinaigrette. The salad was «the bomb​.com» to quote the words of a RHoOC shady boyfriend. Cocktails were good, I loved the cucumber gin one.
Service was fine, friendly and sufficient.
I’ll probably go back at some point, but on a weeknight.

Excellent service, cocktails and food. Food may be a bit expensive but I’ve been here multiple times with Bloomspot or Gilt City deals so my bill has been very affordable. Shaken beef is excellent, and I absolutely love the green papaya salad with beef. The ambience of this place is great, but sadly, it’s never crowded – regardless of what time or day of the week. It turns into an all-​black club on Friday nights after 10pm… or at least it has on both times that I’ve been there on a Friday.
Would be a blast to come back here in the summer and take advantage of their outdoor patio seating.

Not the biggest fan. I grew up on vietnames food and I like american/​vietnamese places like Hien Yien and Simply It. However, this was a bit of a disappointment.
Price) Way too expensive for what you get. Small bowl of phở was $ 7 and catfish in claypot was $ 15. In addition to those we got the salmon eggrolls and passion fruit torte. Total was about $ 60.
Quality) The crispy salmon eggrolls were my favorite, but the other stuff I would say you could find better on Argyle.
Quantity) Very tiny portions for the amount you pay
Atmosphere) If anything, this is what you are paying for. I personally don’t like shelling out money for «ambiance».
Staff) Had to wait a bit to get the waitress’s attention.
I don’t think I’d go back… no phở-​king way

I must admit, I didn’t have high expectations of Sawtooth. I’ve been invited several times to dine here and I’ve passed on each occasion. For Vietnamese food fix, I always go up to Argyle. However, on a Saturday, my boyfriend took me out to dinner and I obliged.
He made reservations for 7:00PM, although they weren’t necessary at all. There were plenty of open tables. They sat us at the table furthest north, which was possibly the worst table in the restaurant. It’s located in front of the entrance and also next to a large side door. I didn’t know what was going on, but it seemed like they were setting up an event upstairs and people had to enter from the side door. During our time at Sawtooth, I was pretty cold from people coming in and out from both doors.
Yes, the restaurant is very swanky. I loved the sleek, minimalist décor. No doubt Sawtooth is a date destination with its dim lighting, low to medium noise level, and hip vibe.
However, if you expect to get you and your date drunk, don’t. The drinks, while yummy, were very weak. I had a muddled strawberry cocktail and David an Asian piña colada-​like concoction, both very good drinks but with almost no alcohol. We had three appetizers: banh xeo (seafood crêpe), chicken salad (with tofu instead of chicken), and bun thit nuong cha gio (tofu instead chicken with vermicelli). David ate his dish right up, but I thought my appetizers were average. The bun thit nuong was the tastier of the two appetizers, but the accompanying dipping sauce had no flavor. The tofu had the most amazing texture. It was chewy with a light, crispy crust. So good. The tofu salad reminded me of Thai larb gai, but the flavors were just not there. It was quite bland.
The entrees came around, and David had the shaking beef (cubed filet mignon with lime sauce) and I had the smoked eggplant. Nay on the eggplant. Don’t bother ordering it. It was so bland that I couldn’t finish it. David enjoyed his dish. It looked and smelled good for having meat. Yeah, I’m skeptical about the other vegetarian entrees. The very few vegetarian entrees that they have. We skipped on dessert, as they didn’t seem all that appealing. I agree that prices are a bit inflated for my tastes, but it’s Randolph Street.
I would not return to Sawtooth, unless someone invited me. I would say that I would go there for drinks because of the atmosphere, but the location is not very convenient and the drinks are not strong. I would give it a try but not expect too much.

BEWARE! Do NOT purchase any deals/​vouchers for Sawtooth as they will NOT give you the FULL amount of unexpired voucher. Sawtooth will find ways to only give you food that is close to the amount you paid. SCAMMER!
The business method is deceitful. The voucher fails to mention NO SUBSTITUTION.
Sawtooth runs deals to get people IN, NOT good deals to purchasers.

This is the tale of three homigos (homo amigos) who gather at least once a month for boys night out.
Homigo #1 has been worked to the bone by the government. Homigo #2 has been worked to the bone by his museum. Homigo #3, on the other hand, has been wandering around with his man across different countries, eating a lot, and getting chubby… almost to the point of his «vain homo» card being revoked.
It just happens that Homigo #3 also had a birthday in May. So, homigo #1, being the generous friend that he is, decides to take #3 out for dinner. We finally find a date convenient to all three of us and decide to go to a place we have not visited before. Sawtooth with its allure of modern Vietnamese food and a trendy lounge-​like space seemed attractive. Scored 8pm reservations for a Saturday night.
The cocktails are quite delightful, but they ran out of ingredients for the ones we were drinking. My Mekhong Mojito — made with splash of Mekhong liqueur is quite outstanding and deadly. Mekhong tastes light going down, but it can get you drunk pretty fast. I saw the effects next morning.
The food: everything we ordered was excellent. The Banh Xeo — saigon style crêpe with shrimp, pork, fresh mint, and lettuce has a great medley of flavors. We ordered another appetizer — ground beef wrapped in vine leaves and grilled. Both apps were excellent.
Homigo #1 ordered the clay pot catfish while homigo #2 ordered chicken curry. I ordered the Cha Ca La Vong — my test dish for Vietnamese cuisine. The clay pot catfish simmered in a deep caramel sauce and served in a clay pot with rice is a must-​have dish if you like catfish and semi-​sweet caramel sauce. The chicken curry was great as well. However, the winner is Cha Ca la Vong — Hanoi-​style grilled catfish with turmeric, basil, and dill. Served with rice noodles and a salad, it is definitely my favorite of the lot.
Since I’ve given up on being skinny after all these travels and delicious food, I ordered a dessert. We split the mango mousse cake, which was more like a mango cheesecake. Perfect ending to our great meal.
Service was attentive even though it was a bit slow. We didn’t mind because they were busy on a Saturday night, and we had a lot to catch up. Who did what in these two months, who «did» who in the past two months, etc. You know, the regular guy talk, only with a homo twist.
A great place for boys night out… or girls night out.

Out of the ruins of once was Salthaus, comes Sawtooth.…a restaurant serving contemporary Vietnamese cuisine in a cool, contemporary environment. Open only a few days at this writing– they are obviously still working out a few of the «new restaurant blues», but the model seems to be set for success.
First of all, the space. I have a lot of fondness for the old Salthaus space as I had some really memorable times there. The basic shell remains the same– although some of the opulence that was Salthaus has been brought down a level. Gone is the granite bar to be replaced by an under lit bar. Gone are the wood chairs, replaced by more contemporary plastic chairs that look like something out of the 70’s but that seem to work in this space. Gone is the wall divider between the bar area and restaurant.
All the rest is still there though. The floor to ceiling windows, bringing in light from Randolph Street. The outdoor patio (occupancy permit still pending as of this writing), the cool second floor with the lounge like feel and window to the city view and now a new third floor for private dining. So the ambiance is still terrific whether you are stopping in for dinner or for a night cap on your way home.
The service was also quite nice. From the time I walked in– I was greeted, fawned over and made to feel like they really appreciated me coming in. It may have helped that I recognized the GM from another restaurant that I used to frequent, but whatever the reason– my friends were impressed with the attentiveness.
If you go to check it out– check out the drink list. My friends were raving over a gin drink (it can also be made with vodka) that had cucumbers and lemons in it. Ben (the sommelier) will do wine pairings with your food, and talked up quite a few of the whites that he has on the list that would complement the food beautifully.
So why only three stars? Sawtooth still needs to shore up a few things to make this the place that I am sure they are envisioning it to be.
The biggest issue is that some of the food is not quite right yet either in taste or presentation.
We tried a wide range of the menu items– from the spring rolls, calamari, filet mignon, red snapper and chicken wings (all quite good). To the shrimp sugar cane skewers, beef salad, and pork rolls (not so good). The conversation at our table was around the fact that usually in a place that we are going to frequent time and time again– there are things we cannot make up our mind about on the menu causing us to come back to keep trying other items. Not the case here. Not sure if it was the descriptions on the menu or what, but some at our table had problems choosing anything that sounded good so they defaulted to a salad.
There were also a couple of service issues– the red snapper comes as a whole fish– head and tail on. And while delicious, it was served upside down and without a fish knife. If I am going to filet my own fish– the proper utensils should be provided. Or maybe the staff could offer to filet it for me. Also– the plate needed to be rotated for the right presentation. Again– some growing pain service issues that can easily be rectified.
As an aside– I also thought the chop size on the vegetables was too big on this dish and the filet. The peppers and onions overpowered the taste of the proteins.
I have been to Vietnam and tasted real Vietnamese food. Missing for me here was some of the Yin and Yang (mixing of hot and cool flavors) attributed to this style of cooking although maybe that is how they «contemporized» it. I did like that all the food came with fresh lettuce leaves to wrap the food in to eat and that the chef grows many of his own herbs to use in the food. Fresh is a big key to Vietnamese food as well. I would say that maybe we didn’t order the more traditional items– but we certainly tried enough of the menu to get a feeling for it.
Valet parking is available out front ($ 9) although you can usually find free parking on any of the side streets in this area. Drinks run about $ 9 each and the entrees were in the $ 20 range.
I loved the space and the concept. I just think I am going to give Sawtooth a little bit of time to season the staff, and play with the menu before I’ll return to check it out again. And maybe at that time– the patio will be open and you will see me out there– vodka and cucumber drink in hand.