Sink | Swim

I was on the fence on actually trying this spot, since the menu didn’t really jump out to me. But they were part of Restaurant Week — sowhynot? Best surprise ever.
Adorable look, felt like you were on a boat, without the overload maritime look. more like a cool yacht.
For my friend’s bday, we started w/​the garlic panisse. Interesting, but I would’ve preferred something of a firmer consistency. The torchon was a great second bite, not too salty. The skate wing (a la sting ray) was phenomenal. Tasted buttery & melted in your mouth w/​o being soaked in stuff. Now I can cross that off my bucket list. Ended w/​the custard. Simple sweet ending.

Smells uncannily like wet cat food when you walk in. Uncomfortable chairs. Tiny, weird food. Save your money for somewhere pleasant.

The Scofflaw Group consistently kills it, and Sink | Swim is no exception.
I know it’s almost sacrilegious to say about a seafood restaurant, but their beef and broccoli dish was so good it was by far our favorite dish. It came highly recommended from our friendly server. The beef was just as good as any steakhouse could prepare. The fermented black beans put this dish over the top.
You are probably not as gullible as me, so don’t order the shrimp toast expecting giant prawns laying on bread. It was still good though! The garlic panisse was odd and quite tasty. Drink list is great, but that’s what you come to expect from the Scofflaws.
They have a $ 1 oyster happy hour on the weekends and from 10-​midnight everyday, so I look forward to taking advantage of that in the future. There is also a 3 – 4 course prix fixe option that we took advantage of. The price escapes me, and it’s not on their website, but I feel it was around $ 40. Not bad.

I was really excited to go to Sink Swim for restaurant week as I had heard great things, however I was left feeling disappointed. If my rating was based on food alone, I would have given Sink Swim a 3 Star, however the service brought my view on this restaurant down quite a bit. I went with two others so we were able to try the majority of the restaurant week menu and some dishes were hits and others misses. The fish and chips were delicious as well as the monk fish liver patte. The tuna Bolognese was undercooked to the point where the noodles were almost still hard. The custard desert was laughable as it looked like someone plated the dish but forgot the actual desert. Overall, the food was pretty good with some definite high points. Where the experience really fell short was the service. Our server only came to our table twice without us having to hunt her down — once to greet us and once to drop off the check. We had intended to order cocktails prior to dinner and then a bottle of wine during dinner, however our server never came back to take our bottle order. I had to stop another staffer walking by to even get a glass of wine. As a past server, I understand that you get busy and if I see the server running around between tables I’ll still give my 20% tip, however she would just disappear from the floor entirely. I struggled to even give 10% this time around and wished I could have just tipped the food runners and busser because they were on point. All in all, service makes the experience and therefore I do not plan on going back. Shame because I love seafood and really wanted to love this place!

This place is wonderful. The food is delicious and the drinks are great. The only thing keeping me from giving it five stars is that I feel like the portions should be just a little bit larger. The eggs en cocotte are delicious and unlike any other breakfast food I’ve had in the city, but I feel like they don’t give you enough bread to soak up all that delicious broth. Likewise the carbonara is fantastic, but I think it’s maybe 20% too small given its price point.
Despite the small portions I’d recommend this place to anyone.

Came here as a quick stop before dinner in the area and the place is super cute. You get the nautical feel the minute you step in with blue booth style seating and a long bar with attentive bartenders.
I had a few glasses of the Pinot Nero and this was a perfect selection to go with the garlic panisse. The fried chickpea bites were packed with garlic goodness and paired really well with the wine.
I’m not a very big oyster fan but the other fish selections have intrigued me to come back for brunch very soon!

I had a really solid meal here for restaurant week. The caviar was very good. It was fun to try something new with the monkfish liver torchon, but I probably wouldn’t order it again. The tuna bolognese was delicious. I also had the grapefruit sorbet and I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I thought the grapefruit flavor was too strong.
The restaurant has a great atmosphere. I really like the open kitchen.

Came here for Restaurant Week with my boyfriend. We hail from NY and CA and this was one of the best meals we’ve had in Chicago. It was such a pleasant change from recent, disappointing experiences at overhyped places like Charlatan, Piccolo Sogno, or Girl and the Goat.
Pros:
— Service (attentive without being disruptive. When we noted that the wine pours were short, waitress went above and beyond by topping us off)
— Food (solid and above all, NOT over-​salted like 70% of Chicago cuisine. Loved the restrained portion sizes; I was still very full without feeling gross and took half my entrée home)
— Ambience (avoided another Chicago pitfall – the room was lively but not too loud, like so many cafeteria-​style establishments here. Lovely low lighting, no TV above the bar, great date spot.)
Cons:
— Only thing I can even note is that the food was not exceptional. It was very tasty and clearly well-​thought out, but I’ve had more exciting and surprising flavors at similar price points.
Food Items:
— Caviar Brioche — tasty but if you’ve ever had ikura before, this was just ikura on buttered brioche. Nothing special.
— Garlic Panisse — yummm… one of my favorite dishes. The flavors were unusual; herbal with a touch of citrus.
— Monkfish Liver — another great dish. Loved the contrast in textures between the creamy pâté & soft bread and the crunchy, crisp pickled veg and potato.
— Beef and Broccoli — the steak was a tad overcooked for me, but I bet if you get this item on a regular day instead of Restaurant Week, they probably ask how you’d like it cooked. Still, this is more of the non-​seafood option, not what you’d come to Sink | Swim for.
— Tuna Cavatelli Bolognese — interesting mix of flavors, firmly ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ tuna from a can and bacon. Sounds gross but it was actually really lovely. A touch on the salty side but the marinara was tart enough to balance it out. Pasta cooked expertly al dente.
Thank you, Sink | Swim for a great break in an otherwise overportioned, cacophonous, lipid-​heavy and oversalted food scene!

Sink Swim is a great nautical themed seafood restaurant in Logan square. The menu mostly consists of a lot of seafood favorites that our perfect for seafood lovers. The place is cozy and ideal for small groups of people, but doesn’t seem ideal if you are coming with bigger groups (just a heads up), but they do accept reservations, which is helpful.
I started with the oyster and steak tartare, which was fresh tasting and had a good flavor. My main dish was their fish sandwich, and I was satisfied with it. I liked that they used an avocado purée on it, because it actually was a great addition to the sandwich. My boyfriend had the fish and chips, and he says that the fish and chips here are the best he’s had in logan square so far out of the maybe 3 or 4 others.. The «chips» part of his dish were thick potato wedges, and they were nice and hearty. The service wasn’t bad, but wasn’t impressive either. The waitress was okay, but not that attentive during our visit. I kind of suspect the restaurant was a little short staffed that night, so maybe future visits will be a little different.

A very young seafood restaurant-​bar. Modern-​nautical themed with a chill vibe. Portions can be small or large, but I recommend small because they can really fill you up. Didn’t have dessert when I first when there, but plan on returning soon to try it out. Beautiful bar, a great place to have drinks with friends or a date.

Came to Sink/​Swim on a busy Friday night and the place was hopping. Everything we tried was exceptionally well prepared, from the oysters we started with to the entrees, to dessert.
They have an excellent wine selection and a variety of other beverage selections. Service was consistently helpful and attentive.
The price point is high, so it’s not an everyday dining option. However, if you’re in the mood for a special treat on a special occasion, I’d recommend it.

Really great ambiance — the décor is really cute and aesthetically pleasing, with large booths that could seat six comfortably, seats along the bar, and a few tables in the back. I brought my sister here for a birthday dinner, and the waitress brought her a birthday prosecco on the house while we were deciding what to order, really cute touch. Our waitress was super friendly and attentive the entire time we dined, which I really appreciated.
The food was fantastic, we started with two dozen oysters (dollar oysters for their Happy Hour from 5−6PM Friday through Sundays) — they were from the East Coast and fresh, medium saline, and delicious. We then ate our way through the garlic panisse (yum! creamy textured cubes of fried deliciousness), beef and oyster tartare (great flavors and the chips added some good texture), and the monkfish livers (delicious — the flavor is similar to lobster tamales, rich and succulent).
For our mains we shared the pasta alla chitarra and the rainbow trout. The pasta was flavorful with al dente springy noodles and a decent amount of smoked octopus. Although I want to say it didn’t come out that warm. or it cooled off quickly because the dining room was rather chilly… by that point we were slowing down a bit on our feasting. The rainbow trout was AMAZING — cooked perfectly and the flavors were fantastic. The trout was my favorite dish of the night. Overall a really great dining experience — will be back!

You Unilocal people… I was paralyzed with fear thinking that I would be underwhelmed by every dish in this restaurant, but I ended up enjoying myself.
We ordered a dozen oysters (good, fresh); the gin cured salmon; bacalao tamale; monkfish pâté-​type thing (forgot what it was called) and two orders of fish and chips. We skipped dessert.
We also got the 114 Old Fashioned, Vintage Spoke, and a couple of other drinks I don’t remember the names of (the menu on Sink|Swim’s website is out-​of-​date, alas). Our first round of drinks was just decent; second round was superb – that was the Vintage Spoke and another drink that was super bitter.
I liked every dish. Monkfish and fish and chips were the best. Gin cured salmon, though a favorite of reviewers on here, wasn’t really a standout for me. It tasted like normal sashimi with maybe a tiny hint of gin if you really chewed on it for awhile.
The service was good, but the restaurant was also half empty, so who knows what it’s like at peak times.
The meal ended up being pretty pricey, hence the four stars. But I’d still recommend this place.

I was torn between a 2 and 3 star review for this place because there were definitely positives and negatives. First off, super excited to try a new seafood place that had received rave reviews. I can appreciate the décor and design of the space… especially the bright teal leather booth seats that are pretty roomy. The service was great from the hostess to the waitstaff. Also glad they have a $ 1 oyster happy hour daily, including 5−6pm on weekends which we took advantage on our Friday date night.
The oysters were the most memorable of the dishes we tried. We were disappointed they didn’t automatically come with cocktail sauce, which they make fresh, but they should have told us that at the time we placed our order. The menu is divided into «small» and «large» plates to share, but they should rename them to «tiny» and «small». For the small dishes I think we tried the smoked parsnips, shrimp toast, and a broccoli dish and split the poached sole as our large dish. Nothing that stood out or was memorable as I’m having a hard time remembering even while I’m looking back at the food photos! I did enjoy the oyster stout that perfectly paired with the food.
I think what pushed it over the edge was the fact that we were both still hungry after dinner that we had to make a stop at McDonald’s on the way home to supplement. I also regretted spending an expensive and not so satisfying dinner night away from our 4 month old daughter.

We suck at planning.
We do a lot of it at our respective jobs and try to do very little with our personal time. Sometimes this conflicts with our desire to try popular eateries. Sink Swim is a such a place; we used this as an excuse to reserve a table and enjoy a proper date night.
We started out with drinks and small plates. I enjoyed a vodka splash ghost; a fruit, but not fruity drink. To eat, we got the gin cured salmon and the bbq fish collars. Both dishes, while quite different were delicious in their own right. Of the two, the fish collars were our favorite; never having had the cut of fish, the staff explained how to eat it. The fish was tender and delicious. I highly recommend it.
I can’t recall what the manfriend got, but I ordered the pastrami-​cured shrimp. For the pescatarians out there, no pastrami are harmed in the making of the dish; they’re simply taking the flavor profile of pastrami and applying it to the shrimp. While I quite enjoyed the dish, this feels more like a winter dish than a summer one. While not a large portion per se, it’s a hearty dish with carrot, potato, and fennel.
Overall, we enjoyed our meal at Sink Swim. Service was knowledgeable, attentive and friendly; drinks were well made; and the food quite tasty.

Came to Sink /​Swim last weekend and was very pleasantly surprised! The only thing that was disappointing — there were only 2 of us and we couldn’t try everything that I wanted on the menu. Nice and delicious drinks, but that’s not surprising based on the owners. Gin cured salmon was delicious, I have even recreated it at home this past week, that’s how much of an impression it made. Monkfish liver torchon appetizer was also very good, a nice complement to the salmon appetizer, since it was a bit heavier with the brioche toasts.
Pasta alla chittara had great potential and flavors, just disappointed a bit with the amount of smoked octopus for $ 18. Fish and chips was so flaky and wonderful, but the humongous chips were just a little too big to munch on. With the sauces that I saw the chef’s making in some of the earlier dishes, they should definitely make their own ketchup/​cocktail sauce and not just plop a bottle of Heinz on the table.
I will definitely come back to try many more things, especially their Sun — Thur $ 1 oysters!

Came here due to a spontaneous craving for oysters. We mistakenly thought their dollar oyster special started at 9 but it actually started at 10. But we didn’t mind bc there was other stuff on the menu we wanted to order. We tried the shrimp toast and the beef and oyster tartar, both were great. Purposefully small portions to leave you wanting more, but another order would probably be too much. We then tried the pastrami cured shrimp. It was just okay. Then it was time for oysters! They bring it out in a big tray of ice with lemon, mignonette and hot sauce. They were a bit big and some were a little slimy but for a dollar, who cares?!?
The décor is a cute maritime theme with high ceilings. The lighting is dim and there is seating at tables up front, and bar and booth seating behind. They play all kinds of music from beach boys to wu tang, which is a little weird but all in all I’d def come back for their late night special.

Went to Sink | Swim on a thursday night for dinner. Our service was great. Their food and drinks were both equally delicious.
Appetizers:
Oysters — Started with the original oysters. Very fresh and tasted great. I prefer east coast oysters over west coast, but I even loved the west coast oysters they served.
Garlic Panisse — just order it, really. Order it again and again. It’s that good, I promise.
Gin Cured Salmon — super fresh and tasted awesome. Good amount for the price and the quality.
Sides: We had the smoked parsnips, crushed cucumber salad, and charred broccoli. All great. The dressing on the cucumber salad made it my favorite and everyone else loved the parsnips (especially with the squid ink purée the dish is served with).
Entrees: We ordered the fish & chips, pastrami cured shrimp, and poached sole. The fish & chips were tender and crispy. The poached sole dish was just okay, but the fish itself was great. My favorite was the pastrami cured shrimp. It was packed with flavor.
Dessert: Ended our dinner with the gjetost custard and pecorino cake. The pecorino cake was okay but the grapefruit it’s served with is delicious. The gjetost custard comes with chocolate, pretzel, and hazelnut so it almost has to be amazing. It was.
Drinks: Would suggest the harpoon fizz and the splash ghost. Really enjoyed them both.
TLDR; GO HERE. The food is amazing, you won’t regret it.

Oysters– Very fresh, I would get it again even if it’s on the pricier side.
Garlic Panisse — Very good. I think they use the same batter as their Fish n Chips. It’s very fluffy.
Shrimp Toast — Skip it. Single noted, I’m positive they forgot the squeeze of lemon to it. It did not capture the texture of shrimp goodness.
Charred Broccoli — Very good. the sauce made it great.
Fish n Chips — Skip it. Literally nothing special. 3 pieces of fish nugget size bites. I can name a dozen place that does it better.
Spaghettone– Very good. It look simple, but the sauce and pasta were perfect. Wished there’s more than 5 clams in this $ 18 entrée since it’s literally 25 cents each piece of clams at the market.
Pecorino Cake — no good. Cake texture was very dense and cheesy.
Gjetos Custard — no good. The custard itself had NO taste besides pure fat/​crème. Every bite was like lard. The chocolates & garnishing on top were the star.
Cocktails were good & special. Bartender is very knowledgeable and friendly. In summary– I would go back again.

Oh man… I’m such an easy reviewer and I hate to be the first one to say they didn’t knock it out of the park, but alas, here we are.
Let’s start with the basics:
Décor-​Awesome. Great tones, welcoming, clean, open, unique… basically everything that we’ve come to expect from a great Logan Square eatery.
Location-​Great! A few doors down from Scofflaw and not far from the square. Plenty of parking. Easy bike ride. Will be great to walk there from the square in the summer.
Host stand-​Awesome, helpful, friendly, accommodating.
Off to a good start…
We choose to start at the bar because we’re big believers that the core of a great establishment is a passionate bartender. I grabbed the first open seats. The bartender, although proficient and friendly enough, wasn’t what I would call particularly warm and hospitable. I would say she was nervous. New place, new gig… I get it… but we made it pretty clear that we were the router that say at the bar because we’re wanted to chat up the bartender. She wasn’t having it too much, so we enjoyed our AMAZING oysters (goddamn they were ridiculous) moving onto the table.
We had a great, friendly server who knew the menu well. The food was awesome and flavorful. I get what they’re trying to do with the prices, but, honestly, I’d rather spend $ 4 more on a dish and not leave hungry then ending up buying a lot of dishes to be satiated. Menu:
Garlic panisse — Awesome and I highly recommend.
Smoked trout — Flavors are out of this world, but super small dish.
Spaghettone — Also amazing, this one was slightly larger and could pass for a main.
Then we ordered the Fish & Chips because, well, you have to try it once and Adam was still hungry. It was great and could probably pass for a small main as well.
Then we got the custard dessert which was amazing and we loved it.
I’m kind of at a crossroads with this place. I so very much loved so manythings about it, but I kind of fell misled and that brings me to the 3 stars. Was it flavorful? YES!!! Will I go here again? For sure! Was it what I was lead to believe? Meh, not so much.
I don’t mind the portion size or pricing at all… but let the wait staff know that they should advise accordingly. FYI: IF YOU’RE HUNGRY YOU NEED OYSTERS, AN APP (or two), A WARM AND COLD, A MAIN EACH, AND DESSERT. The whole under $ 20 thing only works if you’re not hungry going in.
Despite my initial frustrations, I hope to revise my review up soon. I believe in this group and their ability to get it right. I know sometimes the first time is really off, so I guess stay tuned for the final verdict!