Crofton On Wells

The French cuisine here is delicious, but French cuisine is not the reaction you might have, walking into the restaurant the first time.
Instead, you may wonder, how did I end up in a Los Angeles sushi bar circa 1980?
The décor is dark dark dark, and ferns abound. The restaurant ambience is somber, utterly lacking in the kind of frivolity one would normally associate with a French bistro. We were seated on a table adjacent the wall, and I had a distinct sensation that we were on a slant, our food waiting to simply slide into our laps, instead of caressing our gullets. I am pleased to inform you, gentle reader, that my fears on that point turned out to be baseless, and quite to the contrary, or plates were delicious.
I had the venison, as I always do whenever the opportunity presents itself, and I was not disappointed. Cooked rare to my specifications, it was bloody and delightful. Kelly had the beef tenderloin, which was delicious. For dessert, we had the milk chocolate hazelnut financier, and it was also excellent.
Cocktails were fine, but not outstanding in any way. Be aware that the website menus are not updated regularly and may not accurately reflect the selection in house; case in point, I was disappointed that the wine list in house no longer had the Chateauneuf du Pape I saw on line. Because the wine list is small in comparison to many restaurants, this was a bit of a burden but we were able to find an alternative Rhone wine that amply complemented our entrees.
Having said all that, the restaurant is pricey, even by French standards in Chicago. It received a Michelin star but I do not see the quality, in comparison to, say, Longman and Eagle or Ria. We had the benefit of dining on behalf of generous guests from our wedding, and we will be back to do the same, but if you are paying your own way for French food, I must tell you in all honesty that, unless venison is on the menu, you may wish to consider Kiki’s or La Sardine if you are in the downtown area.

Good food and good service may compensate for much.
My gf took me here for my Birthday Dinner back in January. I used to live just a few blocks from the restaurant. I always wanted to eat here, but there was always a new hot spot to check out.
Similar to marketing emails in my inbox, Crofton on Wells just got pushed to the bottom of the stack.
Big mistake.
This restaurant is modest and, yet, it is very rewarding to dine here. Crofton has a nice understated charisma. The dining room is warm and intimate. The décor is smart and simple. The service here is knowledgeable and professional. The servers and bussers don’t get in the way of your evening. Rather, they appear just in time to refill your water glasses or clear your food.
In short, Crofton nails the details.
Bread comes piping hot.
Napkins are folded when you leave the table.
Plates are hot.
Food is executed flawlessly.
Seasoning is perfect.
Not easy — especially when you consider that every table was receiving the same high quality experience.
Equally great service???
What a novelty!
Not for Crofton on Wells… there is a reason why this restaurant has lasted since 1998.
Good to see some «Old School» restaurants still kickin’ butt.

If you ask me, the pork tenderloin alone could have earned this restaurant its Michelin star. But everything else about Crofton keeps that star in place.
One of the other reviewers described this place as «simple and elegant», and I think that sums it up. The service, in particular, is exceptional.
I highly recommend the pear salad (with fig syrup) and any of the dishes that feature the restaurant’s home-​cured, pancetta-​style bacon (it’s kinda awesome).

How Crofton lost its star is beyond me. The food here was beyond excellent from start to finish. While the ingredients are not as wild and inventive as the other starred restaurants, you don’t need blowtorches or wild zongleberry dusted quail ankles to truly make food a tasty experience.
True, it is soup, salad, and a protein filled entrée for your meal, par for the course. But my crab cake was tender, delicious, and flavorful. The salads are absurdly fresh and perfectly presented (pear ánd blue cheese, fantastic) and the beef tenderloin was perfectly portioned and to die for.
The service was great, in the sense that it is not the overbearing ridiculousness that other restaurants exude. Personally I can be told ‘back and its the second door on your right’ politely and it is more than enough. I need not be escorted, I don’t need a bathroom attendant, and my napkin need not be perfectly folded or replaced with every departure.
I suppose this review is as much a rant on some fine dining practices as much as it is on my satisfaction with Crofton. Best meal of my life, not even close (my heart belongs to Ria), but it is much more in my comfort zone and that’s a good thing.

Since Michelin has come to Chicago, we have been excited to try many of the starred restaurants. Unfortunately, this place will not meet the expectations for a starred restaurant or that of any respectable restaurant.
To begin: walking into the restaurant, there was no hostess there to greet anyone entering. After waiting 5 minutes, someone came to seat us. Several minutes later someone came to hand us menus and about 20 minutes later, the waiter came to take our order. With no exaggeration, 1 hour passed by before our waiter came to our table to check on us. Meanwhile, we were given 1 slice of bread each and our appetizers had not been served. The waiter never checked on us to see how we were enjoying the food. Overall, we were stuck at the restaurant for over 2 hours watching the waitstaff chat with each other. I don’t think the service is what killed the experience, it was a combination of the extended time it took to get the dishes out and the lack of attention from staff that made it so evident that this place was not worth ever returning to.
The good: we ordered the fois gras and sweetbreads and this dish was quite good. Some attention from the waiter was given towards the end of the meal, but by then it was too little too late. 2 hours into dining should warrant more than 60 seconds of service, since the restaurant was not overly busy and there was plenty of staff standing around.
The entrees tasted like an after-​thought and not memorable. I barely ate half of the halibut because it was so overcooked and bland.
If you are considering trying this place because you’ve already tried many restaurants in Chicago, please don’t waste your time. If you are planning to eat here because you are in the area, GT Oyster next door has much better food and service. If trying a one michelin star place is the goal, Blackbird, Sepia, Boka, and Takashi will exceed your expectations.

We had not been to Crofton in several years. The place does seem a bit more relaxed now, but the pace was fine for us. I am not sure I understand the carping about portion size. We split the crab cake (very flavorful), my wife had the seasonal greens with goat cheese, and I had the wild mushrooms with bacon. Add an entrée and there was plenty of food for us. In our case it was the duck with brandied cherries for my wife and pork tenderloin for me. I thought the pork was cooked perfectly, moist and tender, and the «southern comfort» sides were well done. No bitter collards or mushy black-​eyed peas here. Dessert was just ok, but did not detract. Presentation was impressive and the entrees came out at the right temperature.
Service was unobtrusive — no chatty servers here — but our wine and water glasses both received appropriate attention. I thought this a solid four star meal.

I was very disappointed to have a bad experience here. «Two stars» reflects my dissapointment level and the value more than anything else. Bottom-​line: there are better options out there in this price range.
My wife and I, on our quest to sample all of Chicago’s Michelin-​starred restaurants, brought some out-​of-​town family to Crofton on Wells to show off some of Chicago’s best. But the best was not found here.
Two of the five entrees had to be returned due to poor preparation. I had the $ 39 beef tenderloin that, when requested medium-​rare, came back tough, brown and stringy. This is not the kind of mistake a restaurant like this should make. Additionally, one dish was over-​salted, and another under-​salted. This being said, the rest of the food was good, and our vegetarian diner was very pleased.
The service was on-​par with what you might find at any restaurant down the block. We were not well-​attended (wine glasses empty, check sitting on the table for 15 minutes before being picked up). However, to his credit, our server brought us a small complementary appetizer to tie us over while we waited for our returned entrees, and we were treated to two free desserts. But, alas, the desserts (peach cobbler & a combo of peanut butter and chocolate gelati) were disappointing.
The wine was served at room temperature and the cocktail list was uninventive.
With a price tag like this, one expects better. Overall it was an unexceptional dining experience, and I wish we took our family somewhere else — like Blackbird, Sepia, MK, Ruxbin, Graham Elliot — all of which I’ve had EXCEPTIONAL experiences at.
And, their website menu has not been updated.

I’ll start with the highlight of the meal: my halibut. It was served on a bed of peas with a sweet pea ravioli on top. Not only did it look beautiful, it tasted delicious. The ravioli, when sliced open, let out a flavorful sauce that covered the halibut. The halibut was perfectly cooked. I enjoyed every bite of this.
I did not find portions to be a problem as others have, but I did eat a salad and dessert with my entrée as well as several glasses of wine.
The atmosphere was pleasant– it was dimly lit and quiet inside. This would be a good place to pick if you wanted to have a good conversation as there would not be too much else to distract you.
Service was good and unobtrusive.

Perhaps it’s not fair for me to write a review purely on the cocktails, but honestly, they deserve their own review.
They boyfriend and I had dinner at Frontera a couple weeks back and weren’t quite ready to head home after that ordeal so we stopped into Crofton on Wells for another cocktail or two. I’d never been there before, but I’d grown up near a town called Crofton and decided that was as good of a reason as any to try it.
The boy is picky about his cocktails, especially his Tom Collins (he makes an amazing one at home, so I can’t blame him). He’s often grumbled that no one knows how to make Tom Collins anymore, but the bartender at Crofton (Dan? Dave?) was spot on. It totally made his night. The bartender was super nice — chatting with us and explaining some of the cocktails he was making for the dinner crowd. Such a nice evening. We’ll be back purely for the cocktails if not also the food!

One of the many things I enjoy about going to Michelin star restaurants is the presentation of the food. Crofton On Wells definitely did not disappoint. From the ambiance and simple décor to the flavors of the food itself, truly made my visit to Chicago a special treat.
To start off, the freshness of the crabcakes was the perfect way to begin the meal. The vinaigrette perfectly balanced the sweetness of the mango butter, and it left me wanting more. For entrees, we got the pork tenderloin, Atlantic black cod, chicken, salmon, and the swan creek farm duck. I was able to get a bite of each, and as for my favorite, it would be chicken. The chicken breast was the most tender I have ever had. A bit of that reduction made it absolutely melt in my mouth. Someone at the table mentioned the pork tenderloin was the best tenderloin he’s ever had, but it was a tad dry for me. The salmon was cooked perfectly as was the black cod. The black cod had a ravioli on top of it, which made it very interesting. I can’t remember the exact filling but it was sort of a butternut squash filling. We ordered two desserts. One was a blueberry lemon trio while the other was a peanut butter trio. In the peanut butter trio, there was a homemade gelato, and a puff pastry filled with peanut butter glaze. The blueberry lemon trio had a cake and a lemon sorbet. Everything on the dessert plates was amazing. Nothing was overbearingly sweet or sour.
It is bittersweet that out of all the dishes, I would probably never be able to try the exact ones again since the menu changes so often. However, it’s exciting to be able to try something new with each visit.

I agree with a four star rating, but I’m going to give it 5 — and here’s why:
In the land of true 4 – 5 star restaurants, this place is a 4 star. Considering that someone is looking on Unilocal and is browsing «near location» restaurants, this place will be rated 4 stars compared to 4 stars for some local bagel shop, which is terrible.
This is a Michelin star restaurant, and based on the food and drinks it totally deserves it. This is a true epicurean delight. Meals are absolutely excellent.
The only thing that was a little disappointing was the service. The service itself was not bad, the problem was that there was little of it. This is a place where you expect someone to run out and re-​fold your napkin before you return from the bathroom, but doesn’t happen here. The waitress, although very nice, was split amongst many tables and was slow. I actually wonder how they got a Michelin star with little service like that, but the food completely warrants it.
Also, no cheese selections at the end.

Continuing on my Michelin star restaurant quest and admitting up front that this review is biased based on comparison to the other Michelin star restaurants at which I have dined. See all reviews of the list here
Overall Verdict: This place does, in my opinion, deserve one Michelin star and it merits a return visit. I would recommend it to friends as well as colleagues or clients.
FOOD:
signature crabcake — mango butter, thai chile vinaigrette
wild mushrooms — house made bacon, cracked black peppercorn, brioche
Very good food but strangely, I have now been here twice and can’t remember anything.
DECOR:
A bit dark, but I like the bold red wall. Quiet enough to have a ocnversation, which is key.
SERVICE:
Good but not great. Unremarkable and at times the server seemed a bit distracted.
RECALIBRATING — I think I would give this place 3.5 stars if that were an option. Compared to the others on my list, I am downgrading this from 4 stars to 3.

I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Crofton on Wells was receiving a Michelin stamp of approval.
I’ve been to Crofton a few times for dinner and have enoyed my meals there. Those with reservations are promptly seated and greeted quickly. If I have any complaints, they are based upon value and that I feel the service is a bit rushed.
The food is definitely delicious, but portion sizes vary widely with some entrees being a bit small. The fish I have had there has been extremely well prepared and flavorfull. Appetizer salads are inventive and fresh and the desserts… ahh…fantastic!
The service is very friendly, but the last time I visited, it was a night that they had a special fixed menu and I felt extremely rushed. The restaurant wasn’t busy, yet I felt we were hurried along (though in a relatively friendly manner).
The room is nice — dark and cozy. Large groups are well accommodated, however, the volume level in the restaurant is low, so if it’s a really large group, they may be uncomfortable as the tables are large, so some may have to talk loudly to reach those on the other side of the table.
The restaurant serves fresh food — some dishes have unique flavors and textures, which makes this a good spot for those who want to try something new. More of a high-​end, special occasion spot due to pricing, but very worthwhile.

Oh Crofton… I was slightly disappointed considering you just received a Michelin Star… Went here on Friday and surprisingly it wasnt difficult to get a reservation… again, kind of weird because of the above.
It was a good little scene on a Friday… not super crowded… slightly sexy and romantic but not over the top. A good little buzz going. We started with an amazing red wine that really hit the spot.
Food-​app-​sweet bread. I hate to say it, but I had no idea what sweet bread was and probably wouldnt have ordered it if I would have known, however it was yum-​yum in my tum-​tum. Then we had the cod and the walleye… the cod was FREAKING amazing and the walleye wasnt too shabby either.
Service– They were always coming by and checking, waters filled to the brim at all times… the BIGGEST complaint was the timing of our food. So it took about 35 – 40 mins for our app to come out and then another 45 or so for our entrées. The server noticed this and came and apologizes and actually brought us some sorbet inbetween the app and entrees… dessert before the meal… interesting. Also, she picked up a glass of wine for each of us for our wait so they did a good job trying to make a mends despite the inefficiency of the kitchen…
So Michelin Star worthy??? My jury is still out…

Being a groupon junkie, my gf bought the groupon for Crofton… usually a good thing except for a few experiences. Thankfully CoW was not one of them.
Located on Wells right by Grand, parking can be a little hard to obtain, but was not a problem for us Tuesday night. Looking at this place from the outside it does seem pretty small. I must have passed this place a few times before thinking this place was a pub.
Inside, the restaurant does feel a bit larger, but it’s really a cozy atmosphere. Standard white tablecloth and a dim atmosphere can be found here. Just want to mention the silverware as I found it amusing that my gf was alternating the silverware between her hands (they have a narrow handle like a pencil which was uncomfortable to hold for her.)
As far as food goes here is what we had.
Signature crabcake: So the choice to order this came from Unilocalland and from the signature epithet it was given. It’s good and it’s almost all crab, but I could not tell that this was lump crab. It was almost like a quiche texture to me. Flavor was there, but not the best. I’d have to say this was ok to a little better than ok.
Veal sweetbreads: It was a miss in my gf’s book, but I liked it quite a bit. I think it was cooked perfectly and gf did like the cucumber/​watermelon relish.
Amish chicken: By far my favorite chicken dish I think of all time. I don’t particularly care for white meat because it always feels dry, but this was moist. The chicken and the waffle… it was really, really good. I’d go back and do the prix fixe meal just for this dish.
Grouper: This was my dish and I really enjoyed it. It had a tomato jam to it which went well with the fish and I did like the artichokes it came with as well.
Dessert: I usually don’t care for dessert so I share. This time I actually got my own getting the sorbets and ice cream dessert while the gf got the peach/​raspberry dessert. The choices I had for my ice cream were vanilla, chocolate, salted caramel, and honey goat while my sorbet choices were raspberry, blueberry, and another fruit i can’t remember. I picked the honey goat, salted caramel, and blueberry. All three were really good, but my winner was the salted caramel. Gf’s peach/​raspberry dessert was pretty much a cobbler with raspberry on top and vanilla ice cream on the side. I don’t think either of us cared for the sauce it sat in, but overall the dessert was decent.
Service was slow… actually ridiculously slow for a Tuesday night, but it wasn’t to the point of being upset. Besides that, the servers and waitstaff were really attentive in refilling water glasses making sure everything was good.
Overall, it is pricey and I’m still debating if I’d go back sans groupon, but it’s definitely possible with the prix fixe menu. Almost a solid 4 star place in my book.

I’ve been looking for a special occasion to try Crofton on Wells for a long time now… and that special occasion came in the form of a Groupon. Last night I took my hubby and my $ 75 Groupon for a delicious meal at Crofton on Wells. And boy was it delicious…
The restaurant was only half full on a Saturday night, but that just meant more attention for us from our fabulous waitress, Amelia. The menu is small, but everything looked so good that we still had some difficult ordering decisions to make while enjoying our wine (a nice glass of sauvignon blanc for me). With Amelia’s help we narrowed it down to the following:
Apps:
* Signature Crabcake: This came highly recommended by many Unilocalers. The rumors are true– one of the best crabcakes ever. There’s barely any filling (just lots of crab) in this cake
* Scallop: Perfectly cooked and very flavorful
Entrees:
* Farm Chicken (for me): Chicken isn’t usually on the top of my list, but the Unilocalers and Amelia raved about this. It was beyond delicious! Had just the right amount of spice and came with some awesome mashed potatoes as well.
* Venison (for hubby): I just had a bite, but my goodness that was one tasty bite!
Dessert:
I’ve been trying to avoid dessert lately, but hubby convinced me to split the banana cream pie with him. And splitting it turned into me eating most of it… the salted caramel in it really put it over the top.
After the Groupon discount and the tip the total came to about $ 140. A bit pricey, but worth it for the quality of the food and wine. Now I just need to think of another special occasion to go back!

I’ve always had mixed feelings about trying this place, but since there was a Groupon, I decided to give it a go. Wow, was I surprised.
The atmosphere is cozy and I felt right at home. Our server was friendly and down to earth. I really liked it.
They don’t have specialty cocktails, but they do have several good options for wine. I decided to go with a glass of Zinfandel and was very pleased with my decision.
I chose the venison for my main course, served with root vegetables. It was amazing. My bf decided to go with the Alaskan halibut, which was also very good, but that venison. Mmm… tasty. We shared the seasonal vegetables and mashed potatoes. The seasonal vegetables were good, with kind of an asian flare and the mashed potatoes were creamy and delicious and topped with a chicken based gravy.
I don’t usually go for dessert, but I just couldn’t resist the pumpkin with goat cheese ice cream and guinness reduction. It just sounded too interesting to pass up. It was great, and the combination of flavors worked surprisingly well.
I really liked the homey-​ness of this place. Although the menu doesn’t have too many crazy options, I liked the fact that they serve great, traditional food. I will definitely be back.

My date and I arrived on a quiet Saturday evening. The place was fairly empty. We were quickly seated, and our waitress soon attended to us. She was pleasant though perhaps a bit cold. I ordered the panisse, while my date ordered something a bit more meaty. I got the Kuentz-​Bas Riesling, while my date stuck with water. We decided to skip appetizers Shortly after placing our order, the waitress brought out some bean shell soup (or something like that?) served in shot glasses, compliments of the chef. They were amazing. Truly amazing. I really wish you could order this as an entrée… I don’t see it on their menu anywhere. Tragic.
Our entrees arrived and they were pretty good — but not mind blowing. The thing that stands out to me is after finishing our entrees, we decided to skip dessert as we had a show to get to — and so I asked our waitress to bring the check to *me*. I have a pretty strict policy about paying for all dates early on — I mean I figure if a girl is patient enough to put up with me long enough for the check to come — the least I can do is pay the bill.
After waiting for the bill for maybe 5 minutes I realize I need to, ahem, investigate the bathroom facilities. So I get up and start walking to the bathroom. Halfway there our waitress passes me. I very specifically make eye contact with her so that she recognizes me (in case she has the check) and she just passes by not saying a word.
I had a bad feeling, so I paid attention as I continued walking — and sure enough she goes and drops off the check at my table! Gah! So now I look like a cheap jerk trying to stick my date with the bill by pretending to be using the bathroom. I quickly ran back and took care of it — but this should not have happened. They lost two stars for this, but gained a star for the awesome shot glass soup.
So — would I go back? Yeah — especially if they’d make that soup an entrée. Heck yes. Would I keep an eye on my waitress to make sure she isn’t up to any shenanigans? You’d better believe it.

I came here especially to try the prix fixe menu (3 courses for $ 35, Mon-​Fri 5−7pm & Sat 5 – 6:30pm). It’s a pretty good deal.
We all started with the crab cake appetizer. I wanted to try it because I’m a sucker for anything that has the words «signature», «house specialty», or «chef recommended» in the name. If there was ever something on the menu like «famous house specialty signature 28-​day aged old leather shoe recommended by the chef as mentioned in the 2009 Zagat guide and on ‘Man v Food’» on the menu, you can guarantee that I will order it.
Anyway, the crab cake was ok, but not great. It was covered in an unusual creamy sauce, and the crab was shredded, not lump. There was too much egg or some other coagulant put in there because it was quite solid without a strong crab flavour. I thought that the micro salad that they put on top redeemed it a little.
For my entrée, I ordered the buckwheat soba crepes. They came filled with beets and topped with a scoop of whipped blue-​basil goat cheese. The cheese had an interesting fluffy texture but didn’t have the tanginess that I expected (and wanted) from goat cheese. I do like beets though. A lot. I also tried my brother’s diver scallops which were large, fresh, and perfectly cooked, but there was almost nothing interesting about the dish except for the salmon bacon. Our friend ordered the Amish chicken which I didn’t get to try, but looked harmless.
Desserts were good. You get to choose anything from the dessert menu and everything is small and exquisite. I had the «meyer lemon/​blackberry» which was basically a very small blackberry crisp topped with a small scoop of lemon ice cream served with a shot of bitter lemon soda. It was warm and delicious. I also tried the «strawberry/​rhubarb» which was a shortcake. The goat’s milk butter spread on the shortcake was pretty interesting though.
Service was definitely on the slow side. The whole place only had 2 waiters and they reached serving capacity once the restaurant was 40% full. It took them a long time to get our desserts/​drinks/​check.
Overall, I was satisfied but the place is not so wonderful that I would want to come back.

Crofton on Wells is an intimate and beautifully decorated restaurant. The atmosphere is elegant, with dim lighting and sleek white tables. Along with the Restaurant Week menu, they offered some wines at reduced price, so we tried their Havens Syrah for about $ 10 off the usual price. I really enjoyed it, but can’t speak much about the specifics because I am not really much of a wine expert. I liked how the server poured it for us, since it can be quite inconvenient to pour it oneself at the table.
I thought the crab cake was delicious — not so flaky perhaps, but still very juicy and flavorful. I think the consistency was more like a crab burger, but flavor didn’t suffer. The accompanying sauce was quite spicy!
I thought my trout was well prepared, and the portion sizes were excellent — not too overwhelming. I wasn’t stunned by the creativity of the entrée, but it was a very enjoyable dish nonetheless.
The banana cream pie was delicious and tasted fresh, although the chocolate sauce underneath was too rich for me. It was a very pleasant dining experience, we all had seasonal American dishes of excellent quality.