Sabor Saveur

Another questionable total on Unilocal.I’ve been here twice and ordered it in on Grubhub a number of times and have always found the food to be interesting and excellent. I think the food is a 4, bordering on 5 but if you combine the fact that both times I ate there I didn’t have a reservation and didn’t wait, or that you can have it brought to directly to your home, it easily makes the top grade.
They always offer a bunch of interesting salads, I usually get the walnut one with ground meat and round out my starters with a 3-​lot of the Tamals. For the main course, I’ve enjoyed the Veal Medallions and some sort of Rabbit pot roast that was delicious but does not appear to be on the menu any more. My absolute favorite however is the Pineapple Rice Pudding.

Review from visit in 2011
Delish, one of a kind food. Would highly recommend the filet and the rice pudding dessert. I’m not usually a rice pudding fan, but this one had a better consistency and the cinnamon that was plated with it was delicious. We had a travel zoo voucher and they tried to slip in a 20% tip, which was definitely NOT mandated by the voucher. Also, they charged us tax on the pre-​discount amount, which I don’t think is right, but I’m no sales tax expert so we gave that one up. Overall, unique eats at upscale restaurant prices but BYOB slightly makes up for it– just check your bill thoroughly!

My star-​rating is based on 2 dining experiences. The first time I would have given them 4 stars. This last time, I wanted to give them 2, maybe even 1 star. Similar to what others have said, the quality of this place has drastically fallen.
Both times we went, my fiancé got the fillet. The first time, it was cooked perfectly and he was so thrilled. The second time, as always he ordered it medium rare, and it came to him rare. He didn’t want to send it back even though I kept protesting.
The first time, I had the lobster enchiladas which were pretty good. It was a solid dish, nothing extraordinary, but done in a way that almost everyone would like it. The second time I had the asparagus soup and beet salad. The soup was way too salty. And the beets were undercooked and nothing was special about the salad.
Both times we got the cheese fondue which is the best thing on their menu. Both times it was a very good fondue.
The service was fine the first time, and the second time it was so obvious our server was new. It took forever for him to get to us and he didn’t check on us very much either.

All my love for this restaurant completely evaporated in one night.
I had been here 4 – 5 times in the past (2009 – 2011) but it had been about a year since my last visit. Wow. What a difference a year makes. The fact that they are no longer on Open Table should have been all the clue I needed.
For one, it’s no longer BYOB. And if you do bring you’re own, I was quoted $ 10 corkage fee (other Unilocal reviews are saying $ 15) and also told that my party of 3 could only bring one bottle. Fair enough IF you have a full bar and/​or adequate wine offerings. (They have less than 10.)
We were one of two tables, yet had 2 – 3 waiters at any given moment. One was training and I totally get that, but none of them could read our table at all. We were 3 friends catching up. We wanted food, wine and conversation. I was the «host» of the dinner and all of the obtrusiveness really made my friends uncomfortable. Constant hovering but then disappearing after the food came out.
The pumpkin taquitos were served with refried beans and strawberries and dry. The bocoles were dry and tasted nothing like the waiter described. Thank goodness the sea bass and lobster enchiladas were tasty, but they weren’t enough to save the dinner. In fact, we couldn’t wait to get out of here.
In the past, Yanni would visit the tables but there was no sign of her on this night. I have no idea how they are staying in business since we never saw another table.
It’s too bad. There is lovely light and potential in the space and I have some very fond memories of previous meals and warm interaction with staff.

If only stars and awards were given for a cool name, modern interior design, a menu of French and Mexican blend that sounds intriguing, and a plating style that looks like art on a plate. Maybe they do, but in my world you only get praise for good food and good service of which Sabor fails at both.
Granted one guy to take care of 6 tables of two sounds insane but this guy didn’t even try. At one point I found him chatting in the back with a co-​worker. I even had to ask for water. Just kind of makes you want to shake you head.
A Mexican/​French menu sounds golden but the Chef must have had the night off. I understand that Chefs get upset with Unilocalers stating that we don’t know what we’re talking about or that it’s just our opinion but when I say that a little salt and pepper would have gone a long way, I think it’s pretty clear. I don’t mean to be insulting since I know what that statement means to a Chef but when I say it’s going to get much worse, I hope that they at least take another look. We had the scallop special: rubbery (which says something about the freshness), it was presented as a dish that had a good heat to it… it had none. I’m saying not even a bit, it was bland and oily. The salads?!? Eh, have had much better and more fresh. The stuffed chicken? Talk about a total disaster, bland and even the lentils were undercooked. For a $ 20 chicken dish you should be ashamed.
Unilocaler or not something is very wrong here and I hope they fix it.

I came here with a 30% off deal from Savored. The server was absolutely wonderful and so helpful with all the food that was on the menu. The salmon/​mango cerviche was served so beautifully, though the flavors were slightly strange and not traditional. The kicker was the Sea Bass; possibly one of the greatest seafood dishes I have had at a restaurant EVER. Before the main entrée, our server even provided us with each with a cleansing palette sorbet, which was unexpected and a delightful treat.
The food here is definitely memorable and some of the best I have tasted. Definitely worth the price, but because I’m a penny pincher, I probably won’t be coming here again in the near future unless it is for a special occasion. Wonderful example of a fusion restaurant done right!

I really enjoyed the food, but it took a while for our food to come once we ordered and that’s what knocks this down to a 4-​star review. I also agree with some of the other comments about the hostess. Not that friendly.
On to the food. I started with the cheese and tequila fondue, and it was good though it’s hard to go too wrong with melted cheese and bread. My entrée was the sea bass, and I think that dish changed my life. It was amazing! The fish was cooked perfectly and the Latin influences worked very well on this dish. I had a groupon, but I would be fine with paying regular price for the sea bass.

We came here with friends from Belgium on a double date. They are used to great European food and Michelin Stars so it was a tall order.
It was great that they offer BYOB — we bought three bottles between all of us. We enjoyed all three.
We had the bread they provided and two starters. The ceviche was well done and fish was fresh. The fondue with Mexican cheese was stretch for fusion and not well liked by our group.
We each had a different dish. My dish was less than memorable — a chicken Mole dish. I’ve had better Mole at Caesars. Our friends had a chile rellano dish — she enjoyed, and the sea bass — he raved about it. We don’t even remember what my date had.
We skipped dessert as we were stuffed. For a rainy night it was great that this place was close to bars!

Went on a Saturday night with my husband for a nice meal in Wicker Park, and really enjoyed the food here.
Highlights:
— Food: preparation was really top notch with great combinations of flavors. We found ourselves enjoying every bite, mmm good.
— Service: our server was attentive, friendly and the pace was just right despite the number of large parties at the restaurant. We were also seated promptly when we arrived for our reservation.
— BYOB: Love that you can bring your own wine, however it’s worth noting the corkage fee has increased to $ 7/​bottle.
Lowlights:
— Noise: There were several large parties at the restuarant which made it quite loud and made us feel out of place. To one side of us there were ~20 people for a birthday and on the other side ~12 people for another group dinner. We were seated at a large round table for 5 – 6 people, but since it was just my husband and I, we felt a bit awkward.
— Décor: Interior design is very simple, neutral tones on the walls and silver/​pewter candelabras. This place would really benefit from local artwork or something that helps bring together the french-​mexican theme.
We’ll give it another try, perhaps with a larger group.

We came here this past Saturday for a friends birthday and we had a great experience! Our server was excellent and did a great job of describing the specials and any questions we had on the menu. We were a larger party and that didnt seem to be a problem for him at all.
We started off with the Baked Goat Cheese and it was good. It was served on a banana leaf (not sure if it was baked in that or not?) and a few white pieces of bread for the dipping. I personally would have preferred toasted bread, but it was still good! My friend and her BF got the Fondue, and that was delish! It was a spicy cheesy blend with tons of peppers and once again served with white bread for dipping.
For my main, I got the Chile Relleno and it was amazing. The pepper was stuffed with cheese and walnut and then wrapped in phyllo dough. There was a red sauce served on top and I loved it. It added so much flavor to the dish. There was a side salad, which cut the heaviness of all the cheese as well as a side of potatoes, which I didn’t eat. My friend got the sea bass and she thought it was good. I had a bite and it was good, but I liked mine better.
The restaurant is laid out in an interesting way. Its a very long narrow space and then opens up in the back with the kitchen open for all to see. They also had a live band (or one guy) playing music in the back, and that was nice. Its BYOB, but they do charge a $ 5 corkage fee for every bottle you bring that was a little annoying as we had 10 people and 12 bottles of wine. I definitely recommend checking this place out. Its great for group and a cute date night spot.

The skinny on our experience for dinner.
You should know that Groupon does not apply to their price fixe menu :-(We found this out AFTER the fact and was not communicated by Groupon to the best of my knowledge.
Byob works well, $ 5 cork fee per bottle. Bottle can be anything, wine, martini, etc.
We both did price fixe menu thinking it was a savings, but I did the math on my three choices and I think I saved a dollar over ordering off the menu, so not sure what the point is unless they include higher dollar items on the price fixe from time to time, but no savings for us.
Wife had soup of the day and it was wonderful:
Clarified Consommé
served with cacti & chorizo dumplings, drizzled with sherry
Salad was average, have had better, would not repeat. It was bitter, no flavor and the shirmp was tasteless.
Shrimp
shrimp, avocado, peanuts, pistachios, orange reduction, balsamic vinaigrette
entrée
vegetarian lasagne — I actually enjoyed this one and would repeat, LOVE the fact that it was pasta free.
lobster enchiladas — a glob of useless sauce, was mushy, so so,
no flavor
dessert
Nothing bad to report about the desserts that we had, they were very artsy in presentation and light on volume, so no guilt, but not sure how much satisfaction either. When I do dessert of this nature, I like for it to be so rich and satisfying, that a little goes a long way because of the lack of volume
fig and coconut
fig and coconut ante, lemon, blueberry cream
Mousse
chocolate mousse, ricotta goat cheese mint quenelle, orange rum reduction
Hits were the soup, byob, and vegetable lasagne
Misses were the lobster enchilada, shrimp salad, and desserts
Atmosphere — very spartan and purposefully downplayed.
Service — was good and attentive.
Crowd — we arrived at 6:30pm and the crowd continued to pick up as the evening wore on. It was noticeable compared to the neighboring eateries that were not as busy.

Everything we tried here was delicious. I came with 7 other people and all of us cleaned our plates during every course. For starters we had the fondue, ceviche and baked goat cheese. We actually considered ordering another order of the fondue it was so good. For the salad course we all had very good salads, but the standout was definitely the soup of the day, which was a white tomato soup DELICIOUS! For our entrees we all agreed that the lobster enchiladas were phenomenal! Luckily that was my dish! The flavors just meshed so well together, and the sauce on top I could put on everything I have ever eaten.
Seriously the only problem we had the whole night was that parking on Saturday in that neighborhood is pretty hard, but other than that everything was perfect.

After reading through the reviews on Unilocal!I was excited to visit Sabor Saveur, as the most recent reviews have been great.
The topline review is that the food was excellent, but it seemed like the kitchen was having a hard time keeping up with the night. That said, the restaurant came forward with a make good that we greatly appreciated! We also had a very nice server.
I’ll start with the positives. Inventive combinations of flavors! We had an excellent shrimp appetizer. The pumpkin taquitors were pretty good too. The beet salad was fine, but was not as «beety» as we expected. If you really like a beet salad, I suggest taking a pass on this one.
2 of us ordered the filet and loved it! Another friend really enjoyed the sea bass.
The disappointing portion of the night was the delays to be seated (it seemed pretty common to wait well after reservation time last night) and the wait for our food (very. long.). We voiced some frustration and were surprised at the end of the dinner when a manager brought out a gift certificate for a return trip.
The food was good enough that I will go back and gift it another go, hopefully they can improve the kitchen speed (or seat fewer tables) so tables can turn more efficiently and people aren’t kept waiting.

FLAVOR, FLAVOR??? Are we talking about FLAVOR-FLAV…where are the clocks? And Bridget???
JK.
Actually headed here for a bday party on Sat… the place was packed. We had reservo’s for 9PM and had to wait about 15 mins before getting seated. It was a little awkward because there is no where to go… no bar because its BYOB and no waiting area so we just stood there… wanting to crack open our bottles at the hostess stand… we were losing our buzz.
Once we got sat… there was actually another bday right next to us so they offered us shots… of course we couldnt say no to sauza warm tequilla. FANTASTIC! The bad thing was the temperature in the place was super hot, followed by freezing air blowing around… it was one extreme to the other.
Our server was nice and helpful in giving lots of suggestions, however not that attentive… the annoying thing was that half of his suggestions ended up being 86’d in the kitchen so we had to chose other choices… slightly annoying. As an app, we ended up having the shrimp ceviche and the tamal. We tried to get the salmon ceviche that he recommended, but they were out Both were pretty good. Entrees we split the sea bass and the chile relleno. Again, first choice was the enchiladas that he suggested but was no longer available.
Rounded out by some bread pudding… definitely nothing exciting and would not suggest it.
We booked the reservo via villagevines so we had 30% off the bill so it was CHEAP, but overall just an A-​OK dining experience… however, the scene was definitely busting on a Sat night full of people getting their beer goggles on… including us :)

I hadn’t been to Sabor Saveur in some time and was shocked to see my friend and fellow Sabor Saveur lover take it down to two stars recently. It made me nervous as I just made reservations with some folks who had never been and I was singing Sabor Saveur’s praises to the moon.
Happily Sabor Saveur didn’t fail me.
Service: friendly and impeccable as always
Ambiance: same great feel
Food: still fantastic! I was perhaps a little less wowwed but nevertheless still wowwed. And should death greet me with my face down in a vat of those chipotle mashed potatoes, I could live with that… well, not live but you know what I mean.

What a strange place! Keep in mind that my star ratings are based off of price point and expectations.
Aesthetic: Did I just step into a sleek 90s restaurant? Why is everything black and white? Why are the lines so… straight??? Why is there NOTHING on the walls? The restaurant is an echo chamber, oddly laid-​out, and the only bit of ornamentation are the candle sticks, which are garish. The chairs look like I would rent them from a catering company for a summer garden party.
Service: The waiters were very, very nice, and also very very clueless. When the entrees average above $ 20, please:
–be able to recite the special list without referencing your notes.
–not fill my wine glass to the brim every 5 minutes
–give a suggestion when I ask for one, not just a run through of each item on the menu, highlighting the most expensive
Food: Interesting, but it was interesting for interesting sake. What does this mean you ask? In the same way that modern art can beat you over the head with its meaning before you have a chance to carefully interpret and pour over it, the food at SaborSaveur can be random concoctions that somebody pulled together.
Taquitos: very good — well done
Guava /​Mint Palate Cleanser — probably the best thing we had
Enchiladas: was there actually any lobster in there? Still, pretty tasty
Chocolate Salmon: good, but wouldn’t anything be with chocolate sauce on it? I was expecting charred cacao or something more gourmet — this was more like Hershey’s.
Try it out, but please, do it with a Groupon.

I wish this place were better since it’s so close to home, but I won’t be back.
We arrived at 7:00pm, the place was empty, and their prix fixe menu wouldn’t be honored (it ends at 7:00pm). Fine, I get not bending the rules, but it was so close and would have done wonders on my initial impression of this place.
Open kitchens in restaurants are cool, when they are DESIGNED kitchens. This kitchen didn’t look much different from the one at Super Burrito, which is a place I frequent at 2:00am on Saturdays, so instead of being a showcase it was more like an eyesore (that stunk up my hair and clothes throughout the meal).
The space is cool, I’ll give them that.
Food was average at best. Sure, they made an investment in some trendy plate presentations like the big white squares you can find at CB2, or a glass block for the ceviche, but it’s really just the proverbial lipstick on a pig. If what’s on those fancy plates doesn’t taste good, then I don’t want it.
I had veal which was bland and lacking flavor, especially when poblanos are supposed to comprise the dish. I had a soup that required me to dodge pieces of bay leaf to keep them from getting on my spoon. WTH?
The straw that broke the camel’s back: $ 3.00/person corkage fee at a BYOB!!! Charge me corkage if you have a wine list, that’s fine, but nickel and dime me when the fanciest thing you can offer from your bar is an over-​hyped cylinder of Voss? Get real.
I left smelling like I walked out of a cheap teppanyaki joint, and for my group of 3, each of us having a starter and a main, our bill was $ 130 pre-​tip and no booze.
Skip it and go to Mexique.

Wow! What an improvement in service!
I visited Sabor Saveur again with a group over the weekend and there was such a huge improvement in service that I had to update my review.
Though we were a bit late for our reservation (I will blame this on the extreme cold, though, I guess we were just slow…). We were seated right away and immediately greeted, water and bread provided, wine glasses given to us, wines opened… all in the span of a few minutes. We looked over the menu for a while, and our extremely helpful server came back to help us with some of the menu items.
We had the fondue and shrimp ceviche for appetizers — which were delicious. For dinner, I tried the filet (fantastic) as did a few others. there were also a few orders of sea bass and one other order which I now can’t recall. I tried almost everything and everything was equally delicious!
We had consistently good service all night. It was a completely different service experience than during my last visit.
Excellent work Sabor Saveur — for the major improvement!

I came here for my birthday and it was above and beyond my expectations.
I can probably recommend anything off the menu b/​c the chef is fantastic.
Standouts include the «special» ceviche (served on a glass block! w/​strawberries!)
White Chocolate Sea Bass (another off-​menu item) OMG it was one of the best things I have EVER tasted.
The Steak dish is also fantastic, as is the veal!
you MUST MUST MUST get the mojito-​style drink they serve (it’s BYOB so no alcohol… but bring your own to spike it up!!). It’s a proprietary blend of ingredients like tamarind, guava, and others that are not disclosed… something like $ 5 for a carafe!
Used a
gift cert and it went to VERY GOOD USE.

Sabor Saveur is a new addition to this busy stretch of Division. It is French Mexican fusion (even my friend raised his eyebrows at this when I suggested we go here) that somehow works together to create great tasting foods.
On the night we were there– we were the only ones in the place. Seriously. There was supposed to be a party of 13 in the back but there was a date mix up so we had the place to ourselves which was okay by me, although a little more activity would have created some energy that the place was missing.
Given some things I had heard about Sabor Saveur– I had asked to be seated in the front of the restaurant which is more intimate, with white table cloths, sectioned off areas with only 4 tables to a section and flickering candles on the tables. In the back (where the larger parties sit) there are higher ceilings which lends to more of a club feel. If you go as a couple– ask to sit in the front. Trust me.
Sabor Saveur is still BYOB as of this writing (a liquor license is in the works though so check when making your reservation). Our wine was opened promptly (no corkage fee) and items on the menu described.
We decided to sample a couple of the appetizers and then split an entrée. The appetizers were quite good and very creative. The baked goat cheese came wrapped in a banana leaf and was delicious spread on the bread and herbed butter that is on each table. The shrimp ceviche was different than expected– it came in three individual servers and was made on a base of apples and drizzled with a flavorful sauce.
As for the entrée-​we went with the stuffed pork loin that comes sliced over mashed potatoes. The server did a great job in describing it for if you like your pork done less well– this is not the dish for you. It is stuffed with beef and to get that beef to cook– this is more of a well done piece of meat. The chipotle mashed potatoes that come with this are delicious.
The service left a bit to be desired. Since we were the only ones in the place– you would have thought that people would be falling all over us. But there was one lone server who kept going outside and he was MIA most of the night. I mean, I get that it’s BYOB– but I expected my wine to be poured, my glass of water filled and not to have the long pauses between seeing him. The chef herself came over a couple of times during our visit which was nice (even gave us 10% off our next visit) but even that didn’t make up for feeling like we were in a «self serve» restaurant and not the nice place that this could be.
Two appetizers and an entrée ran about $ 45 which was a steal given it’s BYOB. Parking in this area is always a challenge but several places along the strip offer up valet if you get stuck and can’t find anything.
So all in all– great food with mediocre service in a place that lacked a certain energy that I like to feel when I go out to eat. Even my dining companion commented on the missing «vibe» as he called it. Can it be fixed? The service, for sure. But sometimes what makes a restaurant great is a chemistry between it and its patrons. And Sabor Saveur has some work to do in that department.