The Tasting Room: User Reviews

The most overpriced wine bar I've ever encountered (and this includes Vegas, NYC and Paris!). The wine flights weren't grossly inflated but the real insult was ordering a single glass of wine served in a cheap, small glass and a pour not much larger than the flight pour. I've worked in the wine industry for many years and frankly I don't understand how this place justifies its pricing. Food was just OK to boot.

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This place used to be the best wine bar in the city. However, my last two (maybe three) visits have been very disappointing. It is difficult to find good wine on the menu, whether by glass or bottle. We were looking for a good Pinot Noir and ended up getting a $16 a glass Pinot. It tasted like a Trader Joe's wine, maybe even worse. When we complained about it, we were told the bartender and rest of the staff loves it. We left that wine and got the check and walked out, after we looked one more time at the list to check if we wanted to try something else. Skip these guys and go to Binny's in South Loop, their wine bar is not as fancy but wine is great.

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We went to the Tasting Room just to relax with a few glasses of wine. First, it took a server over 10 minutes to even approach our table. Second, the wine flights were potentially the least amount of wine I have ever seen poured into an acutal glass. Third, in 1 1/2 hours we saw our server twice. I actually had to flag down another server to get our check. I honestly dont' see myself ever going there again.

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I'm not really sure what they've done, but whatever it is ( a new Chef? new management? new ownership?) has really made this a rare and unique dining destination!

After seeing what my partner received we all decided to skip our dinner plans at Blackbird and give the rest of the menu a shot. And if you can't tell already, I made the right decision. I had the Foie Gras soaked Porterhouse with a morel mushroom cream sauce. Steve raved about his honey soaked pork tenderloin. Fran loved her Surf and Turf with Duck and Lobster. Ania couldn't get over her sushi ahi tuna....she kept saying..."this is insane!"

For a place like this that boasts and achieves one of the most diverse wine lists in the city to come through like this with this kind of Dinner Menu, I struggle to see how anyone in the West Loop can compete.

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A groups of us stopped in for a glass of wine and found a complete menu of great food!
The service was wonderful and a visit to our table by Chef Marc was refreshing to see.
I will certainly put this on my list of must cisits.

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We were referred by a friend for the wine, but no one mentioned the delicious food!
The crab cakes were fabulous and a visit to the table from Chef Marc as he roamed the bar to meet patrons was refreshing.

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This may be one of the best experiences I've had in a very very long time.

I had been here a few years back, and I remembered very little about it, but I will remember The Tasting Room now!!!

First of all the room is beautiful...dark & sexy with a warm candlelit glow. A Beautiful view of the chicago sky line...and our server wasn't too hard on the eyes either....wink.

I'm a bit of a wine nerd I know, but I was blown away by the wine list they seemed to have hundreds of wines (had to be over 500) and offered them all by the glass or if you'd like they offer everything by the 'taste'. The main thing that impressed me though with the wine list wasn't the amount of wines, or even the myriad of eclectic bottles, (we've all seen that)...it was the prices...Webster's, Bin 36, Avec....There is no one in the city with wine prices like these...it seemed every glass of wine I had was 3 or four buck cheaper than the other guy. I know three or four buck isn't much, but trust me, it adds up!

Then we decided to eat....now I figured just little wine and cheese stuff...nope...I mean it was there, they have what they call 'towers' of cheese and meats that you can buy, alot like those giant "seafood towers" you see at all the downtown spots, and they looked great, a table of five ordered one next to us....wow, it was like a picnic on steroids...but we decided to go for the 'real' food...everything sounded great, and i noticed some have spoken about portion size, but they call everything 'small plates' so I can only imagine this means more like american tapas...I guess they want people to try a bunch of stuff...and thats what we did, everything was stellar. There was a lot of wild game and fresh seafood on the menu, a lot of heirloom offerings (tomatoes, pork chops etc) and a lot of stuff that apparently came from some farms I had never heard of...that said, everything we had tasted like it came out of 'tru' layerd, complex, and beautiful. We weren't crazy about the baba ganoush on the mediteranean plate, but thats just me being hyper picky...all in all...food was an a+++

Service was great. Someone who I think was the manager or the wine director or someone of the like brought us over some chocolate covered strawberries. he was very funny. Our Server (can't remember her name, brown hair) really seemed to know alot about, well, everything, but somehow never made me feel dumb....

anyway I'm done rambling, let's just say i loved it and leave it at that....

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So UNpretentious. Not trying to be mod, nor too chic, nor too pricy, nor too cheap. Audra led me exactly to the wine I was hoping to have and was incredibly patient. It wasn't too busy and she had unbelievable instinct as to when we needed her and when not to bother us. It's a big deal to me in a wine bar to have such care and attentiveness, perfect comfy environment for any occasion, any price range, any dress code. Incredibly cool venue. Most of all, best service we've had in many months and we're out 4 times a week. Awesome venue. Love the half-price Monday Tuesday but ok paying full price anyway because the list has it ALL.

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I recently went to the tasting room for a tasting party and was quite impressed. The staff was pleasant and knowledgable about the wines. I loved the eclectic feel of the place and am planning on going back with a group of friends. It was warm, cozy, and inviting. The place has a relaxing feel that you can unwind in.

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I have been to the Tasting Room a few times and will definitely be frequenting more often! It is a great place for two or even a group of people whether it's for a first date, a gathering with friends or a celebration. The lighting and the mood are relaxing and the staff are excellent. You do not have to be a wine connoisseur to enjoy what the Tasting Room has to offer and you do not have to break your piggy bank while doing it (unless you really want to!) They also have some pretty tasty appetizer style food and of course the cheeses, breads etc. to go with your tasting pleasures. I definitely recommend the Tasting Room to anyone who has a love of wine or who would like to simply relax and enjoy time with friends.

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