EL Ideas - Chicago

Absolutely amazing experience. Atmosphere unlike any other restaurant I've been to (you know all about that already), one of the most consistent meals I've had; all 9 courses were really, really terrific, and interesting, and exciting, and memorable. The menu's a mix of flavors everyone knows presented in a terribly delightful new way (the frosty and fries that never leaves the menu), and flavor combinations unlike anything I've ever had or can even try to describe (green peppercorn/oregano venison sausage with pomegranate and yogurt and black lentils and zucchini and sweet potatoes and fois gras mousse, or salsify with popcorn and truffles, or al pastor style octopus with puffed hominy and candied lemon). I find the latter much more interesting so was happy it leaned more towards exciting flavors than familiar flavor/innovative technique. 11 out of 12 on flavor and 13 out of 14 on variety makes this my new #4 restaurant ever (right in line with where its price would put it). Half my reason for coming to Chicago from afar for a day was to eat here it was totally worth it, would absolutely come back.

Excellent, truly unique and great service Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Dined here in October 2024: Narrowly avoided a major allergy incident, so would strongly caution others with allergies about dining here Our experience was soured by an accidental allergen exposure and then very poor handling of the response after the issue was identified: A fish allergy for one of the guests was noted when booking and the allergy was acknowledged when we arrived. In one of the courses, pieces of what appeared to be fish ended up in the food of the person with the allergen. When asked what the unknown pieces of food were, the response was “We don’t know what that is”, although it looked to be pieces of fish when visually compared side by side with the other guest's meals. After taking the plate away to be supposedly re-prepared without allergen contact, the exact same dish and food was brought back out with the bits of fish manually picked out. In one of the subsequent courses, the person with the allergen was told “We promise no fish this time, haha” by the server reinforcing our perception that the food allergy was not perceived as serious.

WOW!!!! Amazing food you cant even describe how good this is!!!! Will be going back for sure. The Chef and staff are super nice and it is definetly an experience!!! Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5 Recommended dishes: Chefs

One of my absolute favorite dining experiences. It was creative, delicious, unpretentious, and such a fun welcoming atmosphere. I read a blog post reviewing El Ideas and the writer said, it was akin to hanging out with the chefs after hours. Absolutely spot on. Beautiful experience. Highly recommend. Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5