If you have Champagne taste but are on a beer budget, we have great news. A slew of restaurants in the Chicago-area are now offering tasting menus that are significantly less expensive than these coveted experiences used to be. Gone are the days of shelling out $1,000 for an anniversary dinner (though if you try, you can still manage this feat, too). Today, you can order a full tasting menu for $125 or less per person, which is a steal. These eight restaurants offer some of the best.
Mercat a la Planxa
The tasting menu here is offered Thursday to Sunday, and it features dishes from Barcelona, including samfaina served on flaky sourdough and anec amb peres, a duck-based dish with roasted pears. The South Loop restaurant is located just a few blocks from the Art Institute and Chicago Symphony Orchestra, so you can create an entire fancy evening on a budget.
Price for tasting menu: $85 per person
Bloom Plant Based Kitchen
A plant-based, gluten-free tasting menu has finally arrived. On Tuesdays at this Michelin Bib Gourmand restaurant from Chef Rodolfo Cuadros, you can snag a three-course tasting menu for two for $75 total. Up the ante and opt for their monthly 10-course tasting menu, which is $100 per person with a $40 optional wine pairing, or go for a six course tasting menu at the chef’s counter for $70 per person. The restaurant is bright and airy, and there’s a huge emphasis on being green (prepare to pay a small environmental fee per meal).
Price for tasting menu: $100 for two
Bar Esme
If you’ve never tried Scandinavian food, you’re in for a real treat. Bar Esme only has 16 seats, making this tasting menu experience incredibly intimate. The food is French-inspired, and they offer a three-course meal featuring foie gras, Wagyu short ribs and a chocolate tart — and the price can’t be beat. The tasting menu is in collaboration with an artist (your Instagram will love it), and it changes every three months. There’s a courtyard with a fireplace and candle-lit seating indoors.
Price for tasting menu: $68 per person.
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If we had to write down all the accolades for this restaurant, you’d be reading a novel; they’ve won plenty of awards, including a Michelin star, chef of the year award and James Beard recognition. The modern American West Loop restaurant takes its name from the Danish word “to love,” and Elske focuses on seasonal ingredient and simplistic food. The tasting menu is $125, plus an optional $60 for wine pairings or $30 for juice pairings. The food may include everything from lamb tartare to a duck liver tart.
Price for tasting menu: $125 per person
The Publican
The breads. The meats. The oysters! The Publican has so many fantastic things going for it, and the tasting menu is one for the books. For $100 per person, you’ll be served a multi-course, family-style menu. The Publican has two styles of seating: private booths and communal tables. If you have a smaller group but don’t want to be seated with strangers, make a booth request when you make your reservation.
Price for tasting menu: $100
Indienne
You have your choice of tasting menus at this upscale Indian spot, which is nestled inside a 19th century printing warehouse. Indienne was recently added to the Michelin list, and while the Indian flavors shine through, each dish is created independently with much thought involved to keep things fresh and exciting. The avocado kebab and Strawberry Eton Mess are my favorites, and diners can choose from the five-course vegetarian, non-vegetarian, vegan or pescatarian tasting menus.
Price for tasting menu: $115 for vegetarian; $125 for non-vegetarian
Arun’s
At Arun’s, you’ll receive a nine-course meal of individual plates and family-style dishes to share. Arun Sampanthavivat, Arun’s executive chef and owner, was born and raised in Thailand, and the food reflects his homeland. The tasting menu, which changes depending on the season, includes dishes such as miang kham (betel leaf with herbs), lon (pork and crab tamarind-coconut dip with a vegetable salad) and phat phrik khing (sweet shrimp curry, string beans, salted egg yolk, peanuts and makrut lime leaf).
Price for tasting menu: $120
Maman Zari
This Persian Albany Park restaurant opened last year and is named after co-owner Mariam Shahsavarani’s grandmother. The menu, led by chef and co-owner Matteo Lo Bianco, is inspired by flavors that originated in the former Persian empire, featuring plenty of flatbread, basmati rice and grilled meats. The tasting menu changes every three months.
Price for tasting menu: $90 for regular tasting menu or pescatarian tasting menu; $85 for vegetarian tasting menu
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