One Sixtyblue

Hub and I returned for our four year anniversary and were delighted to find the restaurant to be every bit as wonderful as we remembered.
The staff was incredibly accommodating — they all seemed to know that we had booked our intimate family dinner in their private room on our wedding day and hadn’t been back to the restaurant since our indulgent first anniversary. The hostess, the bartenders, the servers and even the pastry chef all went out of their way to wish us a happy evening and to congratulate us on our marriage. It gave the elegant restaurant a very warm, friendly feeling.
Last night’s experience was worth every penny. We ordered the tasting menu and accompanying wine flight. Each course was delightful but the duck, the squash soup, and the gnocci were perfect. There is true artistry in the preparation and presentation of each dish. The combination of flavors and delicate balance of layered tastes made me want to savor and scarf at the same time. Our server, Mike, was thoughtful about his wine recommendations and had more than a superficial knowledge of the wines’ origins and strengths.
What I COULDN’T believe, was that the restaurant wasn’t packed. I recommend you take advantage of this pronto.
If you’re looking for a place to impress your guests or simply treat yourself, One Sixtyblue is it.

Love this place!
My boyfriend’s sister and I were taking a class at Bespoke Cuisine last week and were very early. We decided to wander a bit and find a place to have a drink. We came upon One Sixtyblue and I’m SO GLAD we did!!!
We walked in and were immediately greated with friendly, kind service. I was a little apprehensive about walking in as we were both dressed casually and it appeared to be a very nice place — swanky décor.
We told the maitre-​de that we were only killing time before a cooking class and were only in for a drink. They were happy to accomodate us and even sat us outside with a waitress (i was sure we’d be relegated to the bar area).
Our waitress was ADORABLE. I wish I could remember her name. She was blonde and had perfect Marilyn Monroe make-​up and was so sweet & helpful. Both my friend and I ordered an amazing champagne drink with blackberry. lime & ginger. The waitress also brought us out a bread basket (on the house) that came with amazing flat bread, yum-​tastic ciabattas and butter with pickles in it! YUM!!!
My favorite part of the experience was not only being outside in Chicago on a gorgeous summer evening, but also that the flower boxes next to which we were seated were loaded with fresh herbs that smelled heavenly and created a very relaxed atmosphere.
i’d love to come back here again. BRAVO!!!

One Sixtyblue is a nice space and a nice idea, but the food is just ok. I went on a Wednesday night for their blues, Bourbon, and barbecue special. To summarize, the blues was pretty good, I don’t drink Bourbon, and the barbecue was mediocre. The barbecue sampler plate is only $ 12, but you get what you pay for. All the cuts of meat were chewy and hard to eat, and there wasn’t any of my favorite standbys like pulled pork or regular old ribs. The sauce was good, but I had to ask for extra, and the cornbread and coleslaw were just ok.
I think if I came back here, it would just be for drinks.

I was very pleasantly surprised by one sixtyblue. I was a little put off when I saw Michael Jordan’s name attached to the restaurant, thinking this was another case of a celebrity opening a mediocre restaurant. In fact, one sixtyblue was a delightful experience and I would highly recommend it.
We went on a weeknight and the restaurant was empty — no need to make a reservation. After our waiter raved about the vegan caesar salad I had to give it a try — the mix of seasonings in that dressing were spot on for anchovies. It was very nicely done. The pan-​seared skate just fell off the knife in a beautiful way, and was truly delicious. And I have to give praise to the hash brown, cooked in shallots and duck fat. Very tasty!
We had a very charismatic waiter, excellent cocktails, and we were close enough to the kitchen to watch the chef in action, which is always fun. The portions were ideal sizes as well. Overall, I have absolutely no complaints about one sixtyblue — I think you’re in for a wonderful meal if you go there for dinner.

Great date spot!
I visited One sixtyblue last year for restaurant week for my first visit. I really enjoyed myself. The food was fantastic and service was superb. I will say that the room is a bit ‘sterile’. I think the tables are set too far apart — perhaps in an effort to make the spot romantic, but I think it takes away from what could be a romantic, livey spot.

Fried chicken and champagne!
This is one special I have been very excited to try and they nailed it. For $ 8 they put 2 pieces of chicken, a quarter of a waffle, slaw and fries in front of me. And for a little more moolah, I absolutely got the champagne to wash it down.
This was a stellar way to kick off my evening. My only complaint is the location. It’s on the stretch of Randolph that isn’t very public transit friendly. Not a cab in sight either — and this was 7pm! Lame.
The champagne (2x) made up for it.

I would say this place is in my top 5 restaurants in Chicago.
On this last occasion, the rolls came out so piping hot, that I felt like I burned my fingers. That is a good thing. Our waiter was also knowledgeable, helpful, and attentive. Great thing!
Went with the shrimp and grits appetizer, which definitely got the stomachs roaring. Both of us ordered the duck entrée, and the meat was tender and juicy. My only gripe is that the veggies accompanying the course were a little salty. But the perfectly poached duck egg took my mind off that! The parting goodies on this trip were a warm apple cider shot (with tapioca), chocolate cookie, and passionfruit gummy.
Also, you can snag a $ 25 (for less than $ 2, if you’re lucky to catch the right sale promotion!)
certificate.

«Let’s pop into One SixtyBlue», said I after a party at a nearby bar.
«Where?» said my friend.
«One SixtyBlue. It’s practically across the street»
«Strange name», said he.
Strange name, indeed but great food and service.
As for that name, while many associate this with Michael Jordan as it is one of the restaurants he owns, the name actually comes from the old address of this refurbished pickle factory as the parking lot used to be Loomis Street and the address? 160. As for the Blue-​the building used to be colored bright blue, thus the name.
History lesson complete, One SixtyBlue has gone through a renovation since my last visit and now is much more contemporary in its approach.
We had dinner in the bar area which turned out to be a huge value for on Wednesday and Thursday nights– they have amazing specials. On Wednesday nights– it is a fried chicken deal for around $ 8.
And on Thursday (the night we were there) they had $ 4 burgers. We ordered the crab cake appetizers to start and a burger and fried pickles to share.
The crab cake appetizers, while good, were a little salty for my liking, but the presentation was lovely. Instead of one large crab cake, they served up 8 mini crab cakes beautifully presented each with a dollop of sauce on them.
As for the burger, it was great! Served on a chewy pretzel roll– there are a variety of toppings that you can add and it came with french fries.
I have to say, that One SixtyBlue did fine by it’s heritage as a pickle factory with their fried pickles. No small slices here– these are full sized garlicky pickles deep fried and served with a sort of pickle relish aioli sauce. We also asked for some regular aioli sauce and their chipotle sauce which were also good choices. Delicious although I was a little skeptical when my friend suggested we order them.
The beer list is full of craft beers (the only domestic light they have is Bud Light so try something new!) and the servers are knowledgeable about them. Speaking of servers, Mary took great care of us making sure we had everything we needed in a pleasant and professional manner with none of the pretense that I remember from the last time I was at this place.
Dinner for two with drinks was only about $ 40 (cheap by any standards!), parking is easy– either in the lot or on the street and the dinner menu looked great as well (note to self– go back and sit in the restaurant soon!)
Love that an old staple on this far end of Randolph is still rising to the challenge each day to serve great food in a contemporary environment by friendly servers.

«Let’s pop into One SixtyBlue», said I after a party at a nearby bar.
«Where?» said my friend.
«One SixtyBlue. It’s practically across the street»
«Strange

I’ve been to One SixtyBlue twice; once for Restaurant Week, once for burger night.
My restaurant week meal was tasty, some kind of mushroom pasta. The dessert is where the meal really peaked, it was fantastic, panna cotta, if I’m remembering correctly.
Burger night was… well… a disappointment. The burger is $ 4, yes, but all the toppings are extra, so, okay, no cheese for me thanks, this was supposed to be an inexpensive weeknight meal. Then, criminy! The wines by the glass are exorbitant! This is a major pet peeve of mine; I don’t care how upscale and fancy your restaurant might be, find something to offer at $ 35 a bottle and $ 6 a glass, its not that hard. Then, after the wine list shock, the burger arrived. With fries, but not the duck fat fries listed on the menu. They actually make two different kinds of fries just to be cheap on the burger night plates. Anyway… the fries were fine.
Now: the criminal offense. The burger was bland and dry. Now I’m not much of a meat eater for ethical reasons, so when I splash out for a grass-​fed burger, that sucker had better be worth it. I actually had to ask for salt, which I hate doing. Unfortunate.
My friend and I did end up ordering dessert, some kind of key lime tart. That was fantastic, citrusy and complex and utterly delicious.

Best burger deal around in Chicago!!!
We stopped by on a Thursday night hoping to take advantage of their burger night bar special. Its apparently very popular because the bar was filled with patrons around 6pm. The bar area opens at 5pm and the dining area opens at 5:30pm. We got there early which was great for me because I was starving and ready to eat!
We walked in and were immediately greeted by the host. We were allowed to choose any seat in the bar area. They have seats at the bar, and regular high tables with chairs. The burger special is a burger, fries, and fried pickle for $ 4! Its a steal!!! If you want toppings though, it’ll cost you an additional $ 2. Still pretty good for the size of the meal.
Service was friendly and timely. They didn’t talk down to us just because we came in for a burger. I LIKE THAT!!! If you like chicken, they have a chicken and champagne special on Wednesday nights for $ 8.
Parking in the area was relatively easy. Street parking is free. They have valet for $ 10 and a CTA train stop is close by.

I visited this restaurant with my mother a few years back when we participated in a wine tasting. The selected wines were exquisite and the cheese pairings were perfect. The sommelier was very educated and accommodating.
Our evening was wonderful and I look forward to having a few courses here when I visit again.

I am going to back off my previous statement of «best fried chicken ever» but it’s still very good, and a hell of a great deal for $ 8. This time around, my white-​meat piece was very dry and my dark-​meat piece was moist but quite oversalted. Fries, slaw, waffle – all fine, but the chicken is still the star.
A beet dish on their «Sides» menu caught my eye (only five dollars to boot), so of course I had to try it. There were chopped almonds, a sherry vinaigrette, and a few haute little greens (sorry, I don’t know the names of these things) complementing the wonderful bars of roasted beets. I gobbled up the whole dish; it wasn’t one of the best that I’ve had but was well worth ordering.
We had a rookie bartender who needed some coaching from the veteran on how to mix the drinks. He also denied any beer specials, when the menu indicated Bell’s Oberon for $ 4. In the end I didn’t mind, but it might have annoyed me another time. Declining to pay $ 8 – 9 for a bottle of beer, I tried two of their specialty cocktails. The Spice on Ice – 10 Cane rum, jalapeño peppers, and red lemonade – was creative and tasty, but I didn’t care for the sugar rim which quickly became a wet, sticky goo all over my face and hands. The Sublime Chill – Hendricks gin, cucumber juice, and «orange» (whatever that means) – was the blandest $ 11 drink that I’ve ever tasted. I typically love Hendricks cocktails, but this tasted merely like cucumber-​flavored water. I detected nothing orangey whatsoever, not to mention any gin.
Next time I will insist on the beer special or drink water. Makes for a cheaper meal anyway, and isn’t that the spirit of the $ 8 fried chicken special?

Enticed by the $ 8 fried chicken special as well as the declaration of «best fried chicken ever», I finally made it here last night.
I arrived ahead of my friend and sat down in a virtually empty bar. Where was everybody?
Anyway, due to my newly discovered love of gin, I ordered a cocktail called the Sublime Chill: Hendrick’s gin, cucumber juice and «orange». I wasn’t really sure what they meant by «orange». Orange juice; orange simple-​syrup; orange segments? The drink was pretty, I’ll give it that; a lovely shade of green. And you could definitely taste the cucumber; the orange, not so much. It was a nice summer cocktail but it should have had more balanced flavor.
My friend arrived and asked about beer specials and he was told there weren’t any, so he ordered a something or other off the cocktail menu but was dismayed to get the drink and find powdered sugar all over the rim which quickly turned into a sticky paste from the condensation on the glass. Then, after looking at the menu again, he noted that there were in fact, beer specials. We had a bartender-​in-​training so perhaps he wasn’t aware, but he should have asked the other bartender there, who clearly was a veteran.
Since the fried chicken was the main reason for coming, we both ordered it, and to that, my dining companion also added a beet salad. He’s all about the beets.
The food arrived and I was a little disappointed. For $ 8, I wasn’t expecting half a fried chicken or anything, but I did expect at least a breast would be part of the equation. Instead we got a thigh and a wing, but at least the wing was a good size. It also came with fries, a waffle, and slaw on the side.
The chicken was good; it was definitely not the «best ever». If I’m going to eat dark meat, I’d rather have a leg than a thigh, so I didn’t eat much of it; the wing piece was better and oddly not as dry as the thigh. The crust was crispy and well-​seasoned. My dc thought it too salty, but I am a salt fiend, so it wasn’t an issue for me. The waffle was decent; it added a sweet component to the savory/​salty chicken, but the fries were kind of blah. I was there for the chicken anyway, so it wasn’t a deal breaker by any means.
He offered me a taste of his beet salad, but knowing his predilection for beets, I declined so he could have them all to himself and I’m unselfish like that. Besides, that salad was crawling with almonds and I no can do.
We finished up and declined dessert because greater sweets awaited us elsewhere.
Would I go back? Sure. I love fried chicken, and the price is right. Maybe it was a bit of an off night since it was far from the best I’ve ever had, but I’ll give it another shot.
Side note: Helena, how come you got three pieces of chicken? Geez, way to play favorites, one sixtyblue.
3.5 stars.

We first came here for Restaurant Week. Left impressed and decided to come back for their $ 4 burgers on Thursdays.
Yup, $ 4 burgers on Thursdays at the bar. They come with fries too. If you want add-​ons e.g. mushrooms, cheese, foie gras, etc, there’s an add-​on charge. My fiancé and I ordered the burgers straight up and they came with pickles, onions, tomato, and lettuce. Each order of a burger also came with deep fried dill! Mmmm.
The Skinny Lemonade cocktail was meh. It tasted like unsweetened sprite with a squeeze of lemon juice– definitely wasn’t worth $ 10. Their Pom Delight maritini was good though. Our bartender was really attentive.

We went there during the restaurant week, and we were fairly disappointed with it. We had pork belly carbonora and stuffed squid with squid ink pasta+ pesto. The stuffed squid was ok. Pork belly carbonara was nothing like we expected. we could barely sense any taste of potato in gnoochi. I felt so much like eating a dough that the chef didn’t bother to cut in pasta noodle shape!
My entrée was the salmon with mashed potato + black trumpet mushrooms. My bf had the chicken dish with sweet potato purée. Both dishes were just ok, nothing memorable.
We were anxiously waiting for desserts as we were wondering whether desserts could turn-​around the dining experience. We had key lime panna cotta, and chocolate cake. My panna cotta was awful, awful. it was way too sour, to almost the inedible stage. The sourness was the only thing we could taste. The chocolate cake was rich. and that was the only pro i could find from it.
The service and the restaurant ambiance was nice but given the food taste, we definitely won’t go back. It didn’t worth the money at all.

Back again for a post opera meal, and I’m going to stick with my 5 stars, again, benefit of the doubt for what I want to rate a 4.5. This is not, however, to take anything away from one sixtyblue.
I started with a house cured salmon, which was good, but salty, served atop hash browns, which were good, but salty, and sprinkled with capers, which were salty — yes. The dish had a little too much salt, but was nicely balanced by some lemon curd, and what appeared to be almost a lemon jelly. Without those moderating elements, I think we would have been in trouble, but the salty sour was a good combo, and the salmon was tasty. Maybe even more lemon curd (who would ever wish for *more* lemon curd) next time. Others had the same salad I enjoyed last time (but now with pomegranate seeds) and a salad of apples and crab. An interesting combo, but really quite good.
My entrée was ravioli stuffed with a nice ricotta and topped with chanterelle mushrooms and all atop sauteed spinach. The mushrooms were in a tangy sauce, which I thought was a great touch, not something I had expected at all. The only knock here is that the ravioli were a tad more al dente than I would have preferred. Another diner’s aged sirloin steak was good — flavorful, but maybe a bit chewy? It was supposedly aged dry 31 days, so I would expect the flavor, but not necessarily the tooth. Her sides were traditional — a cute twice baked potato and some very good creamed spinach.
And for desert — goat cheese filled, fresh fried donuts dipped in granulated sugar, served with lemon and blackberry dipping sauces, and with a side of what I think was an olive oil custard — odd, but good in context. The rich melty goat cheese with the hot donuts and cold tangy sauces were a great combo.
I cannot end without mentioning that this was another Thursday night, which means good looking (and cheap) burgers in the bar, plus… yes…duck fat french fries served with smoked tomato ketchup, among other things. Thankfully, our server was willing to «break the rules» and bring us an order of fries from the bar, even though we were in the dining room, and man, were they good. Fresh cut, skin on, and while I couldn’t have told you they were fried in duck fat specifically, I could certainly tell you that there’s no vegetable oil in play here. The house made smoked tomato ketchup had a nice depth to it — regular ketchup would have been unfortunate for fries this good.
So, as I opened saying, this is probably a 4.5. A lot of tangy in my meal, but maybe my fault — and I’m so close to the «oh my goodness» moment but not quite there… but I give one sixtyblue benefit of the doubt for great service, creativity, and what I feel is pretty reasonable value for an excellent meal.

I love when an upscale restaurant makes an effort to draw in customers who may not be able to otherwise afford their regular menu. And I love it even more when they still treat you with respect and give you good service even though they know you’re only there for the dinner special. Such is the case with One Sixtyblue.
A friend and I decided to go here one Wednesday night after I found out about their Wednesday night special: a 3-​piece chicken dinner with potato wedges, cole slaw, and (a surprising twist) a piece of waffle all for $ 8! And you can pair it with a glass of champagne for another $ 8. The chicken was cooked perfectly and everything was delicious, even the waffle was a nice touch and went great with the chicken and the champagne.
Our waitress was super nice and provided great service. The restaurant has a small but cozy bar area with modern glass décor. Great spot to grab dinner and a drink before heading out for the night. The one thing I didn’t like was their location, kind of far away from everything there in the West Loop. But I may be tempted to go back for their dinner special on Thursdays: $ 4 burgers. Who says you can’t eat on a budget downtown?

VERY GOOD FOOD and the portions are huge for a place like this.
Service: They were able to seat us right away, they were very attentive the whole time. Carlos was our server and he was amazing! Both him and another waiter were very helpful in explaining all the food, making sure we were okay. The manager came by to introduce himself and walked by another time to make sure things were going well. The chef came otu to talk to the table next to us about their tasting menu.
I made a 530pm RSVP and told them I needed to be out by the game and they were great about timing everything well and taking care of us.
Decoration: There is a modern wave like theme thru the entire building and it is very beautiful with the private room seperated but flows well with the bar and main eating area. The bathrooms were great near the bar and had door you went thru before going thru the gender doors to the specific bathroom. They had nice mini bowls of mints placed thru the building. The kitchen was an open area space off the main dining room and very well run.
Food: you order all your food at once and then they timed it perfectly. The food came out super fast and in great order. The white wine came out right away and the red one came out with the steak as ordered.
The bread bowl was very original with regular bread, then cheese and herb thin pita bread, and then also cayenne pepper other type of pita bread. The butter was a great texture and was pickle butter. That came out right away and within 10 mins the appeitizers came out. We got the scallops (seared maine scallops with baby carrots, carrot cardamom purée, and sea beans) and the pork belly (pork belly carbonara with potato gnocchi, caramelized red onion, cracked black pepper…). The scallops were great large, and came with a wonderful sauce (2 large ones per order) than the pork belly was perfectly cooked. It was a bit salty for my taste but the potatoes and sides on it made it great. All the veggies came out well!
Main course came out few mins after we finished the appeitizers (we were aiming for a 1.5 hr dinner). One of us got the 31 day aged steak (31-​day aged new york sirloin: truffled twice baked potatos, matsutake mushrooms, and creamed spinach) which was a huge slab of meat cooked medium rare as we ordered. The double cooked potato was very good with the steak and creamed spinach. The steak was a bit chewy on the ends but in the middle was melt in your mouth meat. Since the slab was huge it didn’t matter that you needed to cut the outside out and we both didn’t finish all our food. J thought his steak was 12ozs…
We ordered a side of squash which came out with a creamy and very sweet texture that was not stringy at all. I ordered the special that day which was a steak with mashed potatoes (AMAZING) and was crispy on the outside and great on the inside. It came as three huge pieces and I def did not expect it to be that big. If it had been one piece it would have been okay for a place that was that nice.
We didn’t get dessert but they had amazing little take aways. They gave us a dessert amuse which was pretty tart on botttom but a nice vanilla foam. It looked like a citrus mini boba drink with the seeds on the bottom. We got 2 caramels (melt in your mouth and you don’t want to put wrapper anywhere) and 2 pieces of gingerbread (okay.not the greatest) desserts to take away.
Parking: the parking lot is not connect to the other buildings in the area and it is a bit hard to catch a cab since its the end of the street and semi odd place for cabs to pass by. The people at the place def went out in the freezing cold and got us one in time for the game.
Overall: great place to eat!

If it’s Thursday and if you’re on a budget, then this is the place to be. $ 4 burgers & fries, $ 6 kobe dogs, and $ 4 beers. What’s not to love?
Ok, the burgers are slightly undercooked and I get a little squeamish when my medium rare ground beef is so bloody that the bun is soggy red. Ask for it a cooked level above what you would normally like. The big Chicago kobe dog was excellent though — excellent snap to the casing and super juicy to boot. I am also a fan of their fried pickles. I was less of a fan of the shoestring fries as I prefer meatier fries, but my friends seemed to like them.
All in all, a great value for the quality. Service is decent considering how busy it was. Seating is comfortable. Would definitely go again!

A beautiful summer night.
and…
My four bestest friends.
and…
A Veev Southside (perfection over ice)
and…
$ 32 Chef’s Table Prix Fixe (Thursday):
–Gazpacho (super cold, but refreshing)
–Amish chicken with morels with corn flan (delightful)
–Sticky pecan, bite of chocolate souflee (heaven)
–Bonus goodies at the end, a brownie and carmel to go. (mmmm!)
and…
Lovely service, attentive, quick.
and
Beautifully tucked away in the West Loop
and
A mature, classy crowd of minglers, barflys, diners and dishers.
and
I’m a fan. Obvs.
Their beer and a burger promotion is also quite enticing (from website):
BURGERS, BEERS & BEATS
Every Thursday, 6−10pm @ Blue Bar only.
$ 4 signature burgers, $ 4 craft beers and a live DJ starting at 6pm.
A nice excuse to return. I was wholly impressed… not quite 5-​stars just yet, but definitely potential after a few return visits. Sometimes due diligence is so tough, eh? :)