West Town Tavern

Review is way overdue. West Town is great — it’s got a nice atmosphere for date night, and yet you can still bring the in-​laws in for a good meal.
Great Beer List, and the waiters are usually able to reccomend beer pairings with your meal which is nice, plus it speaks to their knowledge of the food and alcohol.
I’ve had multiple entrees… the Fried Chicken special is wonderful, and not really large but I can usually only finish half of it, as it is so rich! I have also had their Duck, which is a Mallord Leg and it’s roasted so well… the meat just melts off the bone. I’ve also had a few fish entrees which have been good.
Overall, it’s consistently good food, service and I always reccomend it to friends visiting the city.

Great fried chicken & pot roast!
The bartender whipped up some awesome cocktails too.

If you go to the WTT web site, this is what comes up. Same information reported on the Chicago Tribune online @ 4:15pm today
” July 22, 2013
To our guests–
West Town Tavern has closed its doors. Thank you for all of your support, encouragement and downright love. We are proud to have been a part of Chicago’s vibrant dining scene for the last eleven years and now it’s time for us to explore other opportunities. Look for a change at 1329 West Chicago Avenue.
All the best,
Drew and Susan Goss“
Not good at all. Even though my last visit there was only adequate, I have had some truly pleasant evenings there as well. Whatever the Goss’ do next in the restaurant business I’ll be there.
** Its getting 1 star only because it is closed.

This place is what I consider a «gastro/​astro pub» — gastronomically adept while astronomically priced. The gnocchi and fennel mushroom salad were great, but everything offered was overpriced. If you don’t mind spending quite a bit at a «tavern» for dinner, then I certainly recommend it. I would definitely stop by for a drink, but likely won’t be back for the full courses.

This place is understated from the outside but wonderful on the inside.
SERVICE: They’re definitely on top of it. My fiancé and I ordered a bottle of wine and we never, not even once, had to pour our own glass. Every time we got even close to the bottom, our server was there and pouring us more. It wasn’t the best service we’d ever received… but it was definitely a top notch service level.
FOOD: Wonderful and well prepared. You can tell that they have carefully selected dishes that will allow them to be efficient in their «small» kitchen. My fiancé had beef tenderloin and I had pork tenderloin — both were wonderfully soft and full of flavor. The food is, for the most part, well proportioned, giving you enough for fullness but not so much that you are left with a huge amount of food on your plate. We also tried the special appetizer for the night, I believe it was a sausage ravioli, that was delicious.
WINE&SPIRITS: They have a pretty extensive wine list. We went with a $ 44 bottle of red that had undertones of blackberry and smokiness (at least, that’s what I remember). They’re also pretty flexible. When my fiancé asked for a couple of white russians for us to drink with our chocolate cake, they didn’t hesitate, despite it not being on the menu. Even better, they sent us stiff ones.
PRICES: Don’t fool yourself, it’s not cheap. Despite having «Tavern» in the name, this isn’t a pub-​priced joint. That said, it’s up to you how you order. Our meal was around $ 140, but we did order a fairly expensive bottle of wine, an appetizer, and dessert.

We went here for a birthday and had a nice time, although we probably won’t be back. It was good, but it seemed a bit too overpriced.
Although the online menu showed they had tacos, they did not. We had beef tenderloin and a pot roast. Both were good. The best course was the squash soup. The service was pretty good. Parking was a pain and we had to drive around quite a bit.
If we lived in the area and it was 20% less expensive, we’d eat here weekly.

I’m surprised at how long it’s taken me to stumble upon such a gem in the city. The comfort food paired with a very nice selection of wines in a setting of exposed brick and intimate booths — love it! So many good options to choose from on the menu so you really can’t go wrong. We started with the pork belly spring rolls which were delectable, melt-​in-​your-​mouth good. I had a mahi mahi special, while my companions had pork tenderloin served with cheesy grits and a BBQ lamb on a polenta cake all of which were tasty, good sized portions. Perfect place to take out-​of-​towners to get away from Michigan Ave or to go out with a few friends for a relaxed and classy meal. Big plus is the available street parking for those that are taking the opportunity to get out of the bubble and try something new.

This restaurant is fantastic. You won’t find better service anywhere. I was so impressed with the staff. The menu isn’t as big as some places, but the dishes that are on the menu are cooked impeccably.
We started with the gnocchi appetizer, which is some of the best gnocchi I’ve had. I could have eaten a whole plate of this. I had the pork entrée, and it came in a white wine reduction sauce that was delicious. My companion had the special which was skate fish, a fish we had never heard of. He thought it was so soft and tender on the inside, nice and crispy fried outside, not very thick — and absolutely delicious. We finished up with the pecan pie which was pretty good.
I can’t say enough about the service here. This place really «gets it».

Never knew this little gem existed in my ‘hood, but am so glad my friend recommended we go there for dinner Saturday night.
On entrance, we were seated by one of the owners (a fact explained to me by my friend who has been here many times)…a nice touch considering hosts/​hostesses can sometimes care less about your experience. The overall look and feel of the place is one that puts you at ease — would be a good date spot for sure, there were plenty of people there, but it wasn’t so overwhelming that you couldn’t focus on your conversation.
Now for the important part, FOOD. Started off with two appetizers, the gnocchi and tried the grilled calamari which was a special that night, and both were extremely good (gnocchi is always just a little carb-​bomb of goodness, and this was no exception). For the main course I ordered the sea scallops which came with bacon bits mixed in (obviously gaining points for any inclusion of bacon) and asparagus which was perfectly done. Wine list was good, nothing exorbitantly priced at all, had the Chenin Blanc which went well with everything. I’d definitely go back to this place again!

I live down the street and am eating my way around the neighborhood on a circular path– stopped in for fried chicken Monday and were greeted by owner– always a good sign. Girlfriend and I waited ten minutes for a table. She had a delicious dry cider and I had iced tea at bar. We sat in the back and I had a view of whole dining room. The waiting team was like 3 superheroes in black– a shaggy haired sheep dog guy, a Shante You Stay pompadour guy, and our waitress in round owl glasses. They were a cool trio.
The busser offers wheat or white bread and the butter is terrific. We ordered and shared the anti pasti plate– cured meat, olives, pesto, goat cheese, toast, it was a perfect starter. We also got fried calamari from Rhode Island. I got to talk about Point Judith where the fishing boats haul in the squid. There’s a seafood restaurant there with a pirate’s treasure chest full of stupid toys. Its a stupid childhood memory.
The fried chicken had crisp and deeply flavorful skin– always a good sign. The chicken meat was moist. There were traditional fried chicken sides but the most important takeaway is the fried chicken itself. And we did take some away, because we’d gotten full. And it was good later too– the drumstick.

I called ahead because nothing on their menu was vegan.
I actually spoke to the chef, who asked me whether I ate starches (I don’t) and promised to have a vegan, healthy special ready for me when I got there.
When I say I called ahead, I mean I called two hours ahead. That’s all the time I gave them.
Everything was perfect — steamed vegetables with a delicious reduction on the side. And our server was SO NICE.

Have lived in the general vicinity of WTT for over ten years but have only been to the place four times. That in itself is sort of a crime bc it is so damn good. I honestly think it’s impossible to *not* love this place… at least for me :
Contemporary Comfort Food done to perfection… my food nirvana
Beautiful interior space housed in a late 1800’s building that matches to a T the food they serve… the only place that pulls this off better is North Pond but that has more to do with NP’s exterior setting than anything.
Excellent, highly informed service.
Excellent, reasonably priced wine list.
Located a bit off the beaten path so you’ll save $ 10-​$ 15 bc street parking is a breeze.
We went on a Monday night for the highly lauded fried chicken special. For $ 17 you get a generous amount of perfectly breaded fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes with wild mushroom gravy and a buttermilk biscuit. Whoa! This lived up to its expectations, very very good.
We started with the mussels as an app and they were quite good too… not sure what the sauce was but it had some garlic and bay leaves in it and a bit of citrus kick. The mussels themselves were huge.
We also ordered the Pork Tenderloin which was perfectly cooked and topped with a
Pear-​Cranberry Relish. It came with caramelized brussel sprots and creamy cheese grits… the recommended Cab Franc was a perfect match for this dish.
In sum: West Town Tavern is an easy 5-​star player in Chicago’s dining scene. Will be back soon.

I’ve been coming to West Town Tavern since they opened a decade ago, not as often as I’d like because I live in Edgewater, but I make the trek because I KNOW I’m going to have a great meal with excellent service at an affordable price point. It doesn’t matter what you order; the food has FLAVOR (and the reviewers who say it doesn’t, well, if their palates are like their spelling, that explains a lot … end snark).
I make every effort to come to WTT’s special wine dinners; they are spectacular. Drew and Susan are among the BEST in the NATION at food and wine pairing, and while I may not always agree with the pairings, it is always an exciting intellectual and gustatory experience. I have learned so much about food-​wine compatibility from this talented dynamic duo, and their culinary creations.
I’ve probably tried much of what is on their regular menu. In the past decade, I was only disappointed by one meal (when neither Drew or Susan was in the house), but with that track record, I will keep on returning because of the wonderful culinary experiences I have had and will have. It’s rare to find a place that offers such consistent excellence.

We came here on a Tuesday night (it was the week after Christmas, so that probably has to do with why it was so busy), and we called the day of to make reservations for just two of us… and the earliest we could get in was 8:30. We got there about an hour early, and it was weird at first– the host didn’t acknowledge us at all, spent about three minutes on the phone… then she said hi to the group that came in after us, and then she disappeared for about (no joke) five minutes. Then she came back, and talked the the group that came in AFTER us, walked away again, then talked to us. It was odd– but she ended up being incredibly nice and helpful the rest of the time.
After the debacle of getting our name in, we sat at the bar and had a drink and were seated quite a bit before our reservation, which was nice. I had the rainbow trout, it was pretty good– but the sauce and the potatoes that came with it were amazing!!! The fish wasn’t so good the next day when I had it left over, but oh well. My friend had the duck, which he said was also great. They gave us some bread in the beginning and service was excellent. I saw some sweet potato chips that looked wonderful, I’d come back just to try those!

A friend and I dashed through a late-​summer down pour to share some yums at West Town Tavern. We had just made the circuit at another friend’s art opening at a gallery next door, so we ran for it.
We sat at the bar for wine and antipasti. I have to say that while the restaurant had a lovely atmosphere and service was good, I probably wont be back. The antipasti was merely ok. We were hungry so we ate everything (except the country ham, SOooooo salty). When our server came to clear the plate, she saw the mostly untouched ham and asked if it was ok. I commented on the salt level, and she agreed. Then, strangely, she proceeded to give us a recommendation of a restaurant in Lincoln Park with amazing antipasti and house cured meats. It was awesome that she shared this nugget of chicago restaurant navigation, but a little strange that she basically steered us away from coming back.
I might stop in for a glass of wine if I’m in the neighborhood randomly, but I wouldn’t make a special trip.

I went to West Town Tavern because I was CRAVING steak and potatoes (we all have those days). My friend took me here because it just so happens to be his favorite restaurant in Chicago (I’d say that’s a pretty big deal considering the selection in Chicago).
We went there on a Saturday night and unfortunately, they were quite busy so we had our selection of seats at the bar. Luckily, we managed to snag the two end of the bar seats which gave us plenty of room. We ordered wine, had some bread, and when our meal arrived I dove right in.
I ordered the Pepper-​Crusted Beef Tenderloin with Cheddar-​Garlic Scalloped Potatoes and Zinfandel Reduction. I received a perfectly cooked, medium Pepper-​crusted beef tenderloin. Every time I order steak I am a bit underwhelmed when they set my plate down in front of me, I always think, wow, that’s a small amount of meat. But in this case, it definitely wasn’t; it was perfect. I received two appropriately sized steaks accompanied by a very very tasty square of cheddar-​garlic scalloped potatoes. The Zinfandel reduction was a spectacular addition, oh I almost forgot, and there were a few brussel sprouts on my plate as well, but I ignored them throughout my entire meal, they weren’t important enough for me to pay attention to them.
For desert, we shared the Gala Apple Turnover with Caramel Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. Pure comfort food at it’s finest.
Despite being at the very busy bar the bartender/​our waiter was wonderful. Very attentive and very friendly. I definitely enjoyed our visit but I think when I go here again I will try to make reservations beforehand so I can actually sit at a table.

I really love West Town Tavern!
I’ve been here numerous times and I have always had a great experience!
The bar is at the front of the restaurant and has a wine list that is separated by ‘new’ and ‘old’ world wines. The menu is great — and will satisfy anyone. The menu ranges from comfort food (meatloaf) to beautifully prepared fish dishes. I’ve tried many items and have enjoyed each one.
The exposed brick lends a warm feeling to this space. Tables are generously spaced so that diners do not feel crowded, yet the room has an energy nonetheless.
Service is attentive, but not overwhelming.
This is a great spot for a group, a date or any visit in between.

I was jonesin’ for my weekly fried chicken fix and suggested this place to Keri H when we discussed where to go for dinner. She’s had this place bookmarked for awhile, and me, well, it had a fried chicken special on Mondays. That’s all I needed to know.
We got there and were able to score a table outside on one of those rare perfect weather evenings. Our server was cute and very sweet. I saw tons of plates of fried chicken go by being served to other tables so I already had a good feeling about this place.
Keri was vacillating between the tilapia and pork entrees and looked to our server for suggestions. She recommended the pork tenderloin and I of course, ordered the fried chicken with no hesitation. To that we also decided to split an order of gnocchi to start.
The gnocchi was good, but it was a little gummy and I prefer a straight-​up pesto sauce to a pesto cream sauce. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t think either of us would order it again.
My fried chicken was three big pieces and served with garlic mashed potatoes, sauteed swiss chard, a buttermilk biscuit, and some mushroom gravy. The chicken was most excellent, as were the sides. I pushed the gravy to the side as I didn’t think it needed it and I didn’t want anything adulterating the chicken in its natural state. It was so flavorful and crispy, and good friend that I am, I gave Keri a taste. She liked it a lot and I could tell she had food envy. Can’t blame her.
I was excited for her dish; I especially wanted to try the cheddar spoonbread. The pork was good, but it was a little dry, as pork sometimes has a tendency to be. The spoonbread was good, but nothing on her plate could hold a candle to my fried chicken. This special is priced at $ 16.95, which is what I paid for chicken at Kroll’s last week. There’s no contest that I got my money’s worth at WTT. It actually made me feel slightly raped by Kroll’s.
We both enjoyed WTT, I, a little more, but that’s only because she didn’t get the fried chicken. I’m sure I can convince her to come back so she knows what she’s been missing.
West Town Tavern serves delicious comfort food done in a contemporary style with reasonable prices and great service. Their wine list is also first-​rate. Unfortunately we didn’t get wine because we were still feeling the effects from the previous evening’s festivities.
I highly recommend. At the very least, if you’re a fried chicken connoisseur like I am, you won’t be disappointed.
Side note: as I was parking, I couldn’t help but wonder if West Town Tavern used to be a restaurant I used to frequent back in the day called «Jim and Johnny’s». If anyone remembers, can you please tell me if my flashbacks are correct?

800 reviews!!! And it’s fitting that my 800^th review should be about such a fabulous restaurant because without Unilocal I would have never discovered this amazing gem!
My fiancé and I arrived for an 8:00 Saturday night reservation and to my surprise the restaurant was half empty… but by 8:30 this restaurant was absolutely packed so make sure to make reservations ahead of time! Now on to the details of this fabulous meal…
The Atmosphere:
Homey and Romantic… the type of place where you want to sit for a very long time and enjoy your meal, followed by a few drinks at the inviting bar. For those of you who have visited May Street Market (one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago) this reminded me of it, but West Town Tavern is a bit more casual.
The Menu:
My fiancé commented that he thought it was somewhat limited and while there weren’t a ton of choices I think they covered it well. Fish people like myself: a few different options such as tilapia and scallops. Carnivores: plenty for you too choose from as well whether it be duck, a porkchop, or beef! Vegetarians: noticed a pasta or 2 for you too!
I started with the roasted tomato soup, which had shrimp in it… and it was absolutely delicious! My fiancé doesn’t like tomato soup, but after trying it he admitted it was pretty darn good! He had a salad (can’t remember which one), which he seemed to enjoy as well.
Now on to the main entrée… scallops for me (if they are on the menu there is a 98% chance I’m going to get them) while my fiancé went with one of the specials of the evening– some type of cod. Both the scallops and cod were cooked to perfection and with the delicious sides they came with (the risotto served with my scallops was pretty terrific) we had no problem cleaning our plates.
As for dessert… i could have ordered anything off the menu! The devil chocolate cake was calling my name, but since my fiancé isn’t a huge chocolate fan (I’m working on that :)) we shared the apple turnover instead served with caramel ice cream and caramel sauce… so good that I almost forgot how much I wanted that chocolate cake!
The service:
Elias was our very attentive waiter and while we were unable to understand his heavy accent (I think I asked the poor man to repeat the specials 5 times) he served us with a smile throughout the entire meal!
The Price:
You’re probably thinking that a meal this good with excellent service in a fabulous atmosphere is pretty expressive… wrong! For the quality of the food and the experience we found it to be pretty reasonable. Our meal came out to about $ 100, but this included salad, soup, 3 drinks (forgot to mention they pair each entrée with a wine selection… love it!), 2 entrees and a dessert. Not bad at all!
If you haven’t given West Town Tavern a try yet you must go… and look for us because I think we’re about to become regulars!
PS– For those of you worried about parking situations at restaurants you’ll be happy to know there are plenty of metered spots available outside this restaurant!
Edit 1÷28÷08:
Another delicious meal at West Town Tavern! This time I ordered the tilapia– delish, although I think I prefer the scallops. But I also discovered their homemade chips– oh my goodness! I broke my weight watchers diet for these chips and it was so worth it…

The menu of West Town Tavern reads American comfort food. Michelin endorsed it with a Bib Gourmand status. This could be good. Few people in this town are doing comfort food at a high level.
The meal started with a strong bread service. The white bread, which was Americanized baguette, was adequate. The real star was the wheat bread. It had the perfect crust and the most inviting aroma from the multi-​grain. That, paired with a wonderfully whipped butter accented with citrus zest and mustard seeds, was pure joy.
I had the mushroom chowder for appetizer. It was a good chowder that perhaps could be thickened a bit more. The blue cheese, which I suppose was meant to brighten up the chowder, was distracting and unnecessary. For the main dish, I had pot roast. I was kind of hoping that it would come out in a small cast iron pot, with chunks of potato and pristine baby carrots. Instead, it came out on a plate with caramelized Brussels sprout and garlic mashed potato. The pot roast itself was braised to perfection. It was incredibly tender. Obviously much TLC was put into this meat. It brought me back to the American childhood I never actually had. The Brussels sprout, while good, was an odd pairing. And the garlic mash was way too garlicky to be pleasant. I also found a small piece of bone (from chicken?) in the mash. Didn’t know what to make of that.
For dessert, I had the pecan pie. Pecan pie can be way too sweet sometimes, but WTT’s pecan pie was flavored just right. The dollop of Bourbon whipped cream was subtle and paired well with the pie. The pie itself, though, was just okay. The pie crust was not tender /​flaky enough, and the pecans completely lost their crunch. If you got through the tough crust, you won’t need to bring teeth to this dessert…
I got the recommended 2009 Villa San-​Juliette Petite Sirah that was supposed to go with the pot roast. It was extremely fruity with a intensely fragrant, potpourri-​like nose. It was a bit too sweet (lacked the acid to stand up to the pot roast), but it had a smooth and silky finish, and the sweetness did go with the raisin and the overly sweet vinegar sauce in my entrée.
Décor was warm and cozy, with exposed brick and duct. Service was adequate and wicked fast (perhaps a bit too fast). Don’t get me wrong, I don’t like to wait too long for my food, but this place put Chinese take-​out to shame. Moreover, with such a rustic menu, I was expecting an effusive old lady with a southern accent as my waitress. Instead, I got a young hipster who was too cool and miserly with smile.
In the end, WTT offered competent home-​cooking, but not a complete comfort food dining experience. While there were flashes of genius (such as the bread service and the meat in the pot roast), many aspects of the meal were merely ordinary if not sub-​par. If you are serving comfort food at a high price, you better make sure everything’s spot on — execution, presentation, service, the whole nine yard. Well, WTT’s food wasn’t quite there. It was not American comfort food at its best. That, combined with the aloof service, made me feel that the overall experience was, ultimately, that of disconnection and dissatisfaction.