Niche

This place is one of the best places I have been to in some time. Our experience was perfect.
I met a colleague for dinner on a Thursday night.
One of the highlights of the night was service. It was simply perfect. Our waiter cared, was observant without overwhelming us and really made our experience perfect.
I started the night with one of their «unbelievable selections» of bourbon. I had a «tasting pour» of the Jefferson 21 year old. It was wonderful. A tasting-​pour is 1 ¼ ounces, while a full pour is 2 ounces. It was really good.
My colleague had a glass of Cabernet. It tasted a bit off, almost jammy and we almost thought that was the way it should taste. The waiter noticed that I also tasted it and came over to ask about it.
He insisted that he take it back, they opened a fresh bottle and it was a really good cab. I ended up having one with my dinner.
For appetizers, we split the Scallops and the Seared Scallops with buffalo fried oysters, and the Steamed Buns with sweet and sticky flank steak.
They were both fantastic. The buns were really fantastic, great texture, soft and just the right chew, while the stuffing was really GREAT flavor, just enough kick. They were served in a taco shape (check the photos) and were great.
The Scallops were really good as well. They were served with some crispy rice which was an interesting texture. Really enjoyed that dish.
For dinner with actually split the Cornish Hen Roulade. We wanted to stay with a small-​plate theme so we could try different dishes. They actually brought us 2 plates, each with our portion beautifully arranged. You wouldn’t have known we were splitting a dish. How awesome was that. And it was fantastic. The flavor in every part of that dish was really great.
For dessert we tried the BlueBerry Fritters and the Pineapple Crisp. They were also a hit.
We will be back (even with the 90 minute travel time to get here). This place is a hit.

Excellent food and service, does not betray its high Zagat rating. Love the whiskey selection. Only disappointment is apparently the ownership seems to not care what customers are wearing. We checked and dressed appropriately for the dining experience. Most clientele wore business casual or respectfully dressed down except for one bearded gentleman who was wearing shorts, flip flops and a tank top at the bar. It was Swedish Days, and it was humid, in the 90s, but why go out of your way to create an elegant dining experience if no standards of dress are to be enforced. I am not a snob, I just expect a certain amount of decorum when spending over $ 200 on a romantic special occasion event. The restaurant is Niche, not Portillo’s, you would not see this happening at similarly rated restaurants downtown. Irritating and a shame.

Back again to say that it has me again. Maybe I jumped the gun before but I’ll admit it when I’m wrong. Food has come a long way back and the ambience is always welcoming and enjoyable!

Read great reviews on Niche and have been really excited to try since moving to the area, so made reservations to take my boyfriend there for his birthday. 15 minutes after being seated had to let someone know that we had yet to be spoken to, brought water or had anyone offer to take a drink order. After that, food was mediocre at best… The Turf Room’s flatbread is much better! Sticky buns did have good flavour and the fried chicken and biscuits were fine. Only two servers and the kitchen was extremely slow. Do not know if it was just an «off night» but a huge let down after hearing such great things. Unfortunately, do not plan on returning.

Ambiance — upscale on the relaxed side, I guess.
Drinks — The beverage program is very competitive with today demands. There is a cocktail with Elderflower and sparkling wine, what?! Get it
Food — Awesome!!! You wouldn’t believe you would get a killer fried chicken here! Well, you do and you better get it!

My husband and I were underwhelmed with our experience at Niche. The evening started strong with a friendly greeting and sparkling wine at our table to celebrate our anniversary. The cocktail menu is extensive for bourbon, whiskey and craft beers, along with a decent wine menu. Options were limited for people who are gluten-​free with both the alcohol selection (outside of wine) and the food menu. We really enjoyed the pork tamale starter (only GF starter option), but the rest of meal was so disappointing that we will not return to this restaurant. The cornish hen roulade had great flavor, but every item on my plate was cold. My husband ordered the soft shell crab special for the evening. The only flavor was fried breading to him, and he quickly lost his appetite. He didn’t any of his meal, and thankfully the restaurant was kind enough not to charge him for it. We didn’t bother with the dessert menu. A sorely disappointing dining experience.

We have enjoyed Niche many times in the last three years. While the menu may change, the quality is always very high. The staff is friendly. The food is unconventional but always delicious. The beer list is the best around, although my wife and I are usually wine drinkers, our friends have praised the beer list. For food, you will love the steam buns (always on the menu), and we love the Arctic Char, and the steak, which is often available as a special. Definitely can’t miss this plac, and we can’t wait to go back.

This was our 1^st night out just the 2 of us since we had a baby. Our server asked us right away if we were celebrating anything, so we told him. He brought us sparkling white wine on the house. I wish I remembered his name because was fabulous. Our food, drinks, service, & whole experience couldn’t have been better.

I had a delightful dinner at this excellent restaurant. Loved the ambience and the general vibe of the restaurant. The service was attentive and the waiter seemed very knowledgeable. We got the cod entry which very well balanced with capers and presented beautifully.
Dessert was their take on a peach cobbler instead of peach, it was pineapple. I liked it.
I would describe the experience as upscale. The added perk is that it is located in downtown geneva, one of my favorite suburbs in chicago, after dinner, take a lazy stroll around the downtown area and stop by some of the neighborhood coffee shops

A hidden gem if you are a fan of craft beer. Selection here is curated with impeccable care. You will find stuff on draft here that youd never find in the city. Fantastic wine and whisky list as well. Even better are Wednesdays when drafts are half price.
Doesnt hurt that the food and atmosphere are amazing as well. Im still dreaming about the steam buns.

This place is hands down fantastic. The service was impeccable and there are so many options for drinks. I was cold the
night we went and without missing a beat our waitress asked if I wanted a shawl.
Talk about awesome especially for cold people like me. It’s the little things that tend to stand out for me. The food was very good, we really enjoyed the sausage platter that we ordered as well as the pork belly fried rice. I was very pleased with the whole meal and would eat here again in a heartbeat. I urge everyone to try this place at least once!

Went with four friends for dinner and I’m a very picky eater so I was very nervous but the food was amazing! I had a NY strip that was on special. Everyone I was with loved their food and drinks! Will definitely go back and service was great too

On a getaway weekend, my partner made reservations at this place, and I was taken aback at how much I liked it. This is the sort of place you don’t really figure finding in the suburbs: an inventive menu of new American expertly prepared, a fine atmosphere with no intrusions, a terrific drinks menu with a highly extensive whiskey selection and some well-​thought-​out cocktails, and a staff that was tremendously helpful, going out of their way to advise and serve us. If Niche was in the city, I’d be a regular; as it is, I hope to go again soon.

Had a great evening dining at Niche. It’s been redecorated since my last visit, and it feels a lot more hip, yet comfortable. The food was great, the service, really fantastic. Great wine, unhurried service, overall a wonderful night out.

We were not impressed. We were expecting a more casual atmosphere and more entrée selections since «Open Table» had it rated at $$. Their prices compared to Ruth’s Chris and from what I could see, it was not warranted. We did order appetizers and salad and both were sub par and overpriced for what you get. The pear salad was too small, not fresh and nothing special for $ 10.50. The flat breads were like eating burnt crackers. Plan to order everything A La Carte and plan on $ 50 per person to eat a meal without any drinks.
My husband ordered a light Pinot Noir and it was so awful, he had to send it back. It was bitter and tasted old. Good luck!

We went there for drinks and desserts. Everything was delicious. We got there 90 minutes before closing and weren’t rushed at all. Our server was beyond excellent!
Can’t wait to go back for dinner sometime!

I must say, I am befuddled as to why it took us so long to try this place. It was always on my list of places to go, but after a number of years, never went. Finally pulled the trigger, and boy am I glad I did! One of the best restaurants in the suburbs. First thing to strike me as amazing, is their beer and wine selection. You will not find a better beer selection at a restaurant. There were so many high end premium craft beers (think Sam Adams Utopias, Deschuetes The Abyss kind of stuff), that I felt like a kid in a candy store again. They won’t come cheap, but then again, you can’t get them anywhere else either.
My wife and I shared the meat and cheese plate to start, which was top of the line. Very large and probably could have fed four if needed. Next, we had the Duck special of the night. Duck was cooked perfectly. We finished off with their dessert trio of the night, consisting of the Shot & a Beer cake, Crème Brulee and Caramelized Bananas (ala Foster). The entire meal was amazing! To cap it off, the service was impeccable! Not overbearing, not inattentive. Our waiter had a ton of suggestions, some that we followed and some that we passed on. He was great though, and we really appreciated his service!
It is a high end, classy, restaurant and the main seating area has limited hours (5:30p to 9p). Bar stays open until midnight though with a limited menu, so if you are in the area late night, feel free to stop in. This place is perfect for a special date night, birthday or anniversary celebration. Make sure you make reservations though, especially on the weekends. We arrived at the 5:30p opening, and by 6p, the restaurant was packed. So good and we can’t wait to come back! Might come back just for some more dessert!

Took the wife here on Valentine’s for dinner and we both loved it. I had steak (which was prepared perfectly: medium rare. I also had a great experience here on a different occasion with a friend when the bartender hooked us up with some amazing bourbon. They have a great bar, with rare beers and bourbons. If the times I’ve been here, always had great service.

I moved here two months ago and have already been to niche three times! I love that you can stop in and eat at the bar if you would like. The staff is beyond amazing! They are very helpful with suggestions and we’re always spot on, they make the experience even better. When your reading the menu sometimes I thought «those can’t taste good together» BUT trust me the cook does amazing things and I haven’t had anything I didn’t LOVE. My go-​to restaurant when I have guests in town.

Went there for a wedding last week and the food was off the hook. Even the salad was ridiculously good. The dish I got was presented well and tasted great. If I was in the area I’d go here to dine regularly based on that experience.

Venison, venison, venison!
Did I say that I love venison and Niche not only has a kick-​ass venison app but their venison tenderloin was delicious.
I’ll break it down. The app was the meatballs and it came in a little skillet with a purée that was delicious but with this pomegranate syrup that didn’t seem like it was glorified POM juice and the little pomegranate seeds helped round out the flavor.
Steam buns. STEAM BUNS?! Yeah, and honestly? They were great. I’m a little wary of fusion type buns-​some of them are just super overloaded but this one was stuffed just right with steak and veggies.
For dinner I of course, got the venison-​if you hadn’t picked up on that already. Cut to the perfect thickness, with the kale, onion and the jus. The naturally lean venison was balanced by the buttered kale and the rich jus.
On top of that, their beer selection is top notch. Our group of four went through 3 or 4 different beers all hand picked and it seems like they consciously matched their beers to the food. I couldn’t have had a better meal there.

Since moving to St. Charles my boyfriend and I have been trying to eat EvErYWhEre. We were walking around downtown Geneva with no plan when we walked pass Niche. I was immediately drawn in by the chorizo flat bread, while my boyfriend was drawn in by the Gumballhead Beer on draft. SOLD.
This place in NICE. Cleanly decorated and laid out, with splashes of color and very elegant, yet they achieve a semi-​casual feel which is my favorite.
For drinks; my boyfriend got the Gumball Head (a three floyds beer we rarely find on draft because places are always out) I ordered a drink with Vodka, Elderflower Liqour, Honey and Guajillo pepper oil. It was delicious. (I had two, which wasn’t cheap, but Oh Well!: P)
The waiter was nice enough but throughout the meal he was barley present. Just thought I’d mention that. It took us a while to get everything and not that they weren’t busy, but he rarely checked back. He also called me a hipster for taking pictures haha. The service was the reason for me not giving this place 5 stars!
Okay– service will not deter me from returning because the food is great. As usual we split some appetizers; Niche Burger, Steamed Mussels and Chorizo, pepper, queso fresco flat bread. Everything was wonderful. And, this way we kept the price down. I would recommend all three.
Unsure if I was still hungry, I looked at the dessert menu, when I saw them, my favorite dessert despite not being a HUGE dessert person, Cream Puffs. Cream Puffs– with Strawberry mouse, white chocolate granache, strussel, macerated strawberries and BASIL. OMG these were amazing let me tell you. If you like strawberries, cream and basil you must try these.
Good place to go for a special occasion or for a nice evening out! Enjoy!