I took my wife to Chicago and had several phenomenal meals, the best of which was Oriole.
We had a table on Sunday for the Salon experience.
I hesitated to post this, but it was honestly one of the worst dinner experiences I’ve ever had.
I can’t tell what I’m missing, if it was just an off night or if everyone is just appealing the historical authority of Alinea because of its fame.
I can separate what I know to be just Alinea (no cocktails, for example) from my own preferences. It’s fine. I don’t care for the decor, the music, etc but it’s their show and that’s fine.
The food was simply not good. Overly salty, thick and cloying sauces, wagyu cooked to nearly medium well, chicken that was tough, etc.
My intent with this post isn’t to slam Alinea, but to honestly just try to understand.
I’ve been to other 3 star restaurants that aren’t my favorite (e.g. Per Se), but they’re without any real flaws. This was flawed, and I don’t get it.
What am I missing here?
by WatchYaWant
41 Comments
I found Alinea to be very underwhelming in 2016.
I think some of the “flagship” *** restaurants have been coasting off their reputation for a long time. I had a similar experience at Le Bernardin.
Thank you for this. These are the reviews that are necessary. Not all high end fine dining experiences live up to their expectations. I had a similar experience at Momofuku Ko NYC before they closed.
The food in those pictures just looks so sad and depressing.
Doesn’t look great.
oof this is rough lmao
I haven’t been but I will say the general word in Chicago is that Alinea is kind of coasting on their name and you’re not the first person that has said it was very disappointing.
These pictures are fairly shocking, especially that horrible white chicken dish
Sorry to hear that. I had an amazing time at Alinea back in 2021 and my dishes looked much better than that. I loved the surprises and the unconventional presentation style I experienced. I’d say of the seven 3-star restaurants I’ve been to, Alinea is my #3.
Photo 3 is a car crash of a course, genuinely unappetising.
Did Alinea in 2019, service was rude and a couple dishes were too salty and just not good. They also ruin the surprises of each dish because you can see what is next by looking at the table next to you that has an earlier booking. Poor 3 star experience for sure.
So happy to hear i’m not alone. Summer 2022 it was pretty bad for me too, squid was so overcooked i couldn’t even chew it and multiple dishes had zero or odd flavors. I literally gagged from one of them.
Paid like $3000 for 4 people at 11 Madison and was vegan….so skeptical about 3 star Michelin restaurants now
Cost?
Went in 2019 and also found it quite underwhelming, especially for the myriad of better/more interesting options in Chicago.
Yeah Alinea is a lot worse now. I used to love that place. Food is worse – no innovation. I really don’t care for the bare metal tables – why did they get rid of the tablecloth? The service is also worse – last time I was there the server lost track of my courses and asked me if I already had this course. Same balloons and “painting” desserts except the painting is less smaller and contains less varieties now.
I went last year, traveled from the UK just to eat here, I was absolutely fascinated with the place that I was actually hoping to stage there after I ate but luckily I didn’t have a work permit in time because God damn is that also the worst dining experience I have ever had, every course more sickly than the last, I thought it was just an American thing and my pallet wasn’t up for it but my American friend who I went with, after the truffle explosion, she had to go to the toilet and actually threw up, honestly I almost had to do the same, it just never got any less sickening, so overly rich every single course, such a shame I was really looking forward to it and it cost me a lot of money for that trip.
This makes me sad. Alinea has always been on my wish list and I have yet to go bc have not been able to get reservations when I could make the trip to Chicago. Makes me question if it should remain on my wish list.
I relate with your experience sadly… Went to Alinea a couple years ago, one of my top bucket list restaurants… almost everything was too salty throughout the meal and didn’t taste good or harmonize. Not what I expected at all. I liked dessert and the service though.
I used to love Alinea, but I have been twice since Covid and I was greatly underwhelmed both times. This looks awful, and I’m sorry you experienced it.
I see you also went to Oriole, though, which is quickly becoming one of my favorites!
In complete agreement with your experience. Went to Chicago this past summer and dined at Alinea and Oriole. Oriole was one of the best meals of my life. Alinea was completely forgettable, other than the dessert course, and for the wrong reasons, unfortunately. I loved the balloon but can’t tolerate banana, which of course made up a large part of the dessert. They were unable to offer me any sort of substitution (even a small cake or cookie would have been appreciated), so my wife had to eat the whole thing herself. I was shocked that they couldn’t be bothered to offer anything. Maybe that’s just me being entitled, but it left me feeling very disappointed by the service in addition to the food.
I’m with you. Oriole is the best restaurant in Chicago IMO. I’ve been 3 times. It’s a visit anytime I plan on going to Chicago. And Alinea was incredible meh…. theatrics was okay… the taste was very meh. I chalked it up to the menu I had. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes… you get a dud menu.
Was blown away in 2006 but that was a long time ago! God I’m getting old. In general I don’t think this style of food has aged well.
My friends were there in the last year and also said they had an extremely disappointing meal. Perhaps their time has come and gone.
We went in 2019 and it was our least favorite Michelin experience by far. The flow of the service just seemed very disjointed and the food was forgettable. They had us get up in the middle of the meal and go down to the kitchen, and when we came back there was another course on the table. It was so strange. I was actually really thrown off by how not great it was, but we just figured maybe we had an off night?
Went in 2016 & it was magical, went back last year & it didn’t measure up to that 1st time. The people in our party who hadn’t been before were still blown away though.
For better or worse they continue to develop new items vs cycling through the hits. But I think to some degree they are victims of their own success. They’ve raised the bar. They’ve trained many of the chefs they now compete against. They revolutionized reservations for fine dining.
It’s like the movies of quentin tarantino, they are still good, but they no longer blow your mind because his 1st two films changed movies forever, he’s now competing in a world he created. Alinea changed fine dining in America, no one stays on top forever.
Oof, I enjoyed Alinea when we went (pre-covid) but those photos look horrible.
Yikes! Just looked up what cloying means…really hope nobody ever uses that word when describing my food lol
I’m so sorry to hear it wasn’t a great experience for you! My partner and I went last month and really enjoyed the experience (tasting menu in the Gallery); however I agree with you that not all dishes knocked it out of the park (eg the sea urchin dish tasted rancid). FWIW that 3rd dish in your photo looks… unappetizing.
All in all I thought the Gallery tasting met my expectations, considering how long Alinea has been at it. I really enjoyed how interactive and dynamic the entire experience was.
Oh this is absolutely brutal wtf
Where else did you go while there? We go twice a year to indulge.
We are heading to Chicago next month and I was already pretty set on skipping Alinea, so thanks for this.
Oriole is on our list, what other spots do you recommend?
As a chef de partie at a Michelin-starred restaurant(and therefore as someone who is obviously poor), seeing this sort of shit makes me so sad. If I save up for half a year and I’m incredibly frugal I may afford an experience like this, and while it may not be a huge deal for people who make an all right income, I’d be incredibly sad to get something like this. But it also motivates me even more to cook the best I can. This is simply sad.
Sorry you had to experience this shit show.
Reasons why I’m glad Houston doesn’t have the Michelin guide.
Oh gosh. Is alinea hitting their EMP phase where they’re experimenting with no color/ bland food? Makes me sad I never got to experience Alinea at its peak
It’s what happens when investors get involved. They tell the chef to buy cheaper meat and sell it as wagyu. Yes, they do this at Alinea. Back in the day 2006-2014 is when this restaurant was mind blowing and chef had full control. That and Mike Bagale was the creator of half of the dishes. Once he left it wasn’t the same. Even Simon couldn’t operate that kitchen like Mike did.
I went in October and was SO disappointed. It had no magic, no enthusiasm, it was tired and played out. next, however, was incredible! Going again for the Julia Cuild tribute later this month.
The presentation on the plate looks terrible. Not that it should matter, but was this the restaurant portion of Alinea or the bar that they added (forget what it’s named)? I’m not sure if they serve any food at the bar, but I could see the presentation getting messed up there.
Alinea has been on my list of restaurants to try for years, but I don’t get to Chicago often and when I do I’ve been unable to get a table. I would be beyond disappointed to see that plate, eat anything other than rare wagyu, or eat tough chicken. Let alone all 3 in a single dinner.
Things have been wonky in the fine dining world since covid.
Did you try their balloon thing?
Today I learned what cloy means
Did #3 arrive like that or was this midway through eating? Either way it looks unimpressive.
I went to Alinea last year and all I can say is it was WEIRD. They served us some icy slush that tasted like poo. The dessert on the table was bomb though