Frontier

My husband and I heard about this restaurant on Check Please and really wanted to try it out so we went with some friends on a double date last night. Our waitress was friendly and quick. The tables were all pretty close together and if the people behind you weren’t sitting as close to their table as possible then you’d have a hard time getting into your seat.
Our waitress suggested that because we were first timers, we should all pick 1 – 2 dishes and split them as they came out. We decided to go with that and I was surprised that the dishes weren’t larger to accommodate four people. Some of the things that came out had less than four items on the plate so we all had to kind of cut everything in half and get a bite here and there. It wasn’t the worst experience and in the end I was able to get enough to eat. I just feel that if they are going to suggest sharing, it should be served for sharing.
I like this restaurant because I was able to try a lot of new things that aren’t as common at other places like elk sausage and alligator. I have to say that the duck tacos and elk sausage were my absolute favorites. Very flavorful and definitely something to come back for. I would also like to try ordering a whole pig sometime if we ever have a large party.
The women’s bathroom is terrible though. The stall doors are very high off the ground and very, very close to the toilet. My knees were almost touching the door when I closed it and the bottom of the door was almost up to my lap. It was a very uncomfortable situation and I don’t recommend using the bathroom. The valet was also not that great. We arrived at 6pm on a Saturday night and there was absolutely no street parking around the whole block. There was only one person working the valet so we had to wait almost 25 minutes for our car to leave.

Wow I can’t believe I’ve been living in Chicago for close to 20 years and this is the first time I discovered this place it’s amazing very amazing set up I especially love the
Crocodile meat as well as the whole cooked pig that we ordered for our party this is the second time in my life that I’ve seen a whole pig gets roasting in front of me very delicious I even are the eyeBall yummy

Wondering where to take your obnoxious group of 35 hungry friends? Frontier is the place to go.
We ordered an XL pig and loved everything about the event.
The staff was helpful and responsive in the days leading up to the event in answering all our questions.
Arriving to the location they had everything ready for us and our large group was comfortably set up and seated.
They placed the pig in from and gave us time to take pictures.
The staff was courteous and allowed us to open tabs for each person for all the drinks.
The pig itself was amazing! Juicy, flavorful, a little fatty (but our guy was a porker). Sides were great, especially the Mac and cheese. I actually loved the salad oddly enough.
This was great time over all, a unique experience to get over the mundane repetitive nature of other restaurants.

This spots down the street from the heart of wicker park on Milwaukee. From the outside it doesn’t look like much, but you will be pleasantly surprised once inside. This place has everything, great big bar, beer garden, a «elixir» room’ which is loungey, looks like somewhere i would want to grab a cigar and chill. It even got a «Chefs table» where you can watch the magic of the kitchen, including whole animal service, which includes boars, gators, pigs and lamb. The menu is clearly a little different, it has alot of «game options. And the not so unique options are great as well. The drinks were solid, just wish they had a larger craft beer selection. Very chill, strong drinks, and different kinds of meat this spot is my kinda place!

Hosted a large party (65 people) here in October of 2015. The Frontier did an outstanding job! Everything we had discussed was followed to a T! Working with Jen was great! They did everything they could to make all of the guests happy, and checked in with me often to make sure everything was going as planned! The food was great! — We did the large format menu (whole pigs) with all the sides — which were delicious. If you need to host a large party, I would highly suggest this! The upstairs was perfect and we had the whole area to ourselves! A little more seating would be helpful, but the food and service was well worth it!

For a place that touts communal eating, they don’t give you very much to share. The food comes out in the order the chef deems appropriate, which means in no particular order. The Brussel sprouts happen to arrive first to our table of four. We all stared at this dish wondering how to share it since there were only 3 brussel sprouts cut up. Really? You couldn’t throw a few more in there? The food overall was good, but I wasn’t impressed by much. I rarely say this, but I thought the portion could have been bigger.
Duck Tacos $ 12
Mac and Cheese $ 8
Gator Legs $ 14
Rabbit liver $ 14
Brussel Sprout $ 8
Beet Salad $ 11
Paid street parking was easy to find nearby.

Oh Frontier. Once a year when I’ve forgotten about you past mistakes, you sound like a good idea, but then you end up being a pain in the ass. You have some of the most uncomfortable tables and seating I’ve ever encountered in a sit-​down restaurant/​cocktail bar. And yes, like it or not, you are a cocktail bar– a whole menu of $ 12 specialty cocktails, $ 10 «classics», and a $ 7 specialty shot? But you’ve got two bartenders for the whole place on a Saturday and the one didn’t know how to make a hot toddy (a special on the menu, by the way). You make tea.
Shepherd’s pie was amazing, french fries so crispy, burger sad and overcooked. You’re a meat place for god’s sake! Slow indifferent service at the bar killed the night though. The restaurant wasn’t even full. We were one of the first groups at the bar. Other reviews are right– nobody cares.

Well THAT was entertaining.
We happened to find ourselves here during a Saints football game and this place was rockin’. If you haven’t read from other people’s reviews, this place is a nice slice of NOLA. While hitting the beignets and hurricanes, we got some first-​rate entertainment from a brass band. And the brass band was only half the entertainment. Just watching the Saints fans was nearly enough to pay the price of admission. They were having a great time.
The servers were also attentive, quick, and friendly and the food was good. For the full experience I would definitely check this place out for a Saints’ game, but the food and service that we had made it a place that I’d come back to.

Such a waste. Really wanted it to be great. In all fairness, we did not order off of the normal menu. We ordered off of the whole animal menu. Mistake.
The restaurant itself is very cool. We sat in the outdoor beer garden by the fireplace. Comfortable and lovely.
The staff is basically fine but cold.
We ordered the pig. It was flavorless. They ordered a pig. They stuck it in the oven and took it out 6 hours later. Zero seasoning. Zero smoke. Zero love. Most of the meat was uneaten.
The sides that came with the pig were fine. But really. .. fine at best.
The strangest part to me is that nobody follow up with me. When you order the whole animal you work with an event manager. We never heard from the restaurant manager or the event manager the day of the event. And we did not hear anything from them after the event. Isn’t it strange that a manager would not poke their head in and ask how everything was going? Or an email from the event manager to make sure we had a nice time. We spent a small fortune between the pig and the drinks. There are piles of leftover food getting cold in front of us. And nothing. I believe this is at the heart of the issue with Frontier. Nobody cares.

My review for Frontier is long overdue for good reason. I had previously only visited the establishment after reserving the top floor bar for large parties/​events. From this perspective, I really liked Frontier as an option as they generally offered decent drink packages for a nice space.
I finally was able to eat at Frontier last Monday after hearing pretty decent things. I am not sure if they were having an off night, but it was disappointing. The first thing we ordered was wings because of how much people raved about them. When they arrived, they looked pretty appetizing. Too bad the looks were deceiving. They were dry and relatively flavorless. My husband and I split the burger. We asked for it to be cooked medium but it ended up more on the medium rare side. The flavor was ok. We did add the wagyu bacon, and although it was good, I am not sure what sets it apart from other bacon. The dessert was sadly the most disappointing choice of all. I was super excited to finally try the smores. It was cold! It should have been this warm melty ooey gooey chocolate marshmallow deliciousness, but instead the marshmallow was cold and tasted like they attempted to warm it but stopped midway through (in other words, a slight smokey flavor)
Overall, it wouldn’t be my first choice for food, but I do like the atmosphere and cocktails, so likely will return.

I think I’ll have to return with a larger group to better enjoy Frontier.
Came here on a slow Monday night and found that for a group of 4, this was not going to cut it. We decided to cut our losses and go elsewhere.
There was plenty on the menu that we would have ordered even with the high price to portion ratio, but they were either sold out (7pm on a Monday, ya’ll) or waiting on a shipment. Fine. The crispy rabbit livers were probably the only thing we could rave about. The alligator legs seemed to be more of a novelty than a real dish, and although we enjoyed the brisket (+those sweetbreads!) it was just such a small dish. The veggie dishes are, well, simply that.
The real problem may have been the advice of our waitress — «Just get 4 – 5 dishes to share, it will be enough.» Wrong. Expectations make everything, and here, it ruined our dinner; it took some time for each dish to come out, so had we known earlier, we would have ordered more.
For a slow night, our waitress made way too many awkward glances at our table, not to ask if we wanted to order more, or to suggest something else… But to give us the check as quickly as possible.
I still really want to love Frontier — the concept is great — but maybe with a larger group (who doesn’t want to split a whole animal?) and a different waitress.

We went here for a Saints game and had an absolute blast. Even if you are not a saints fan, you should come to watch a game and enjoy the crowd. They had a great jazz band playing that interacts with the crowd. Their outdoor patio was great even on a cool fall day. The outdoor fireplace was a great added touch. It was fun being outside, listening to the band, while also watching the bad.
The prices are so reasonable and it was great New Orleans style food. For as busy as they were service was great. It is first come first serve for most the bar but we were able to get a table. I suggest getting there early if you have a group.
We had the deviled eggs and shrimp po boy. Both were very good. We saw several other dishes go out to other tables that looked good too.
If you are a Saints fan then this place is a must – everyone else it is a great place to try something new!

This place is a nice place in concept. execution is not as good as expected.
It was pretty warm inside but we opted for this instead of the outdoor seating because it was too loud. Service was actually pretty good. Neighborhood I was told is a little sketchy.
Tried many many things…
— Duck tacos: Comes in 3. probably one of the better things. Very tender. now if you ask me if it’s mind blowing. no. It’s good though.
— Lollipop wings: It’s crispy. but nothing out of this world. I did not like the carrots at all.
— Charred oysters: Dissapointing. It’s just oysters with cheese on it. I have had much better charred oysters in New Orleans. I would have opted for fresh oysters but I am sure they won’t beat the ones on the east coast.
— Elk: It was an interesting game meat. I like the cheese balls. it’s pretty small. I didn’t mind it. but it was prepared almost identical as the Wagyu
— Wagyu: Meh. tasted tender but too uninventive as it was the same as the elk.
— Pumpkin: Meh. it’s sweet and a bit salty. not my fav
— Mac and Cheese: It’s okay but they really need to add onions or bacon or pancetta or chorizo or something
I don’t know if I would come again as there are so many places in Chicago and I am not in town very often anymore.

This was our second visit & I can say I wasn’t as blown away this time around.
Our first visit consisted of deviled eggs & duck tacos. Both were amazing & full of flavor!
This time around we had the lollipop wings and lobster mac and cheese.
The wings were good but the breading was sooooo crispy. Almost «break a tooth» crispy if you know what I mean. The flavor was pretty good though, so I’d probably order them again. The lobster mac and cheese was okay. Nothing really to write home about.
Service is friendly & the atmosphere is cool. Maybe we’ll come back for a whole pig…

We arrived here around 4:45 on a Friday afternoon after hearing about their $ 1 oyster happy hour from 4 – 6 and we had heard about some beer specials as well. Unfortunately they weren’t serving any draft beers for some reason – our waitress was trying to explain it but said it had something to do with the heat? We were pretty bummed but I tried the frozen cocktail «Rodeo Sweetheart» instead, which was surprisingly strong and tasty and perfect for the 90 degree July weather. We started with 6 raw oysters, which were HUGE, fresh and ice cold. They’re served with horseradish, cocktail sauce, and Tabasco, but strangely NO crackers? Sure if they’re good oysters you don’t need crackers, but sometimes when you’re hungry they’re good to have! We were treated to a rude «no» when we asked for them so we shrugged our shoulders and slurped them down alone.
We also ordered the roasted cauliflower which was colorful and amazing. It was hot but so good I didn’t mind burning my lips and tongue to taste the sauce it was roasted in. My boyfriend got the pulled boar sandwich which was enormous and served with lots of sauce on a pretzel bun. Super delicious. His fries were good too. I ordered the beef cheek tacos which I loved but they were soooo small. I mean like half the size of street tacos. Still good but don’t expect them to fill you up. Kinda underwhelmed by this place honestly but I’d probably come back for the oysters!

Worst hostess ever. Best drink ever.
We walked in on a stupid hot day on our way to the Wicker Park fest and were told by the hostess several times that there was no food service but that we could sit at the bar. Right, thanks, but can we get a table, we don’t want food, but there are three of us and it would be easier to chat at a table. After rolling her eyes at us, she seated us.
Our server was super sweet and accommodating although she also reminded us several times that there was no food service and that she would get our first drink, but for anything else, we’d have to ask the bartender. Not an issue. We just wanted a drink and a table and required no special treatment.
I ordered the pampelmouse, which should have been spelled pampelmousse unless you wanted to make a play on the rodent, except that the cocktail had grapefruit in it so I don’t think that was the point. The drink also had lemon and elder flower in it. I was skeptical, but on that stupid hot day, it was the best thing I’ve ever had. So refreshing and delicious.
The atmosphere is bizarre and I’d be hesitant to try the food, but if it came with that drink, then yes I’d come back!

Went here last night (Monday night) for $ 1 oysters. That was definitely the best part of our experience. After taking our drink order (myself & my friend both ordered a glass of wine), we did not see our waitress for a good 15 minutes. This was okay at first since we were enjoying catching up, however our drinks did not come at all during this time. Two glasses of wine for two guests in an empty restaurant.
We put in our orders for the oysters and received these in a timely fashion. However, after completing the oysters we decided we were still hungry and wanted to order more off the menu. So there we waited, empty wine glasses empty plates, for our waitress to come over and acknowledge we may want more food.
The worst part was getting our check. Our table was cleaned and cleared for a substantial amount of time before our waitress came over to see if we wanted our check. Once receiving the bill, we placed our credit cards inside and both had time to separately use the restroom and drink an entire glass of water before she returned to pick up the cards to run. We actually had to physically get her attention to come over to our table.
The $ 1 oysters do not make up for the subpar service and while the other food was enjoyable (mac & cheese and the crab dip) it was not worth the wait.
I will not be dining here again.

My Ahi Tuna sandwich, with a side of rosemary fries, is pissed at me for giving Frontier 2 stars right now. My sandwich and fries know they are good. They know they filled me up. My sandwich knows that the crispy bread, wasabi mayo, and perfectly seared tuna is an amazing brunch option. My fries know they can stand up to any other fries and defeat them in a taste test competition. The entire menu — which apparently appears to offer whole animal servicing for parties as well as offers individual meals focused around omnivore tastes — knows they have something unique to offer customers who like their meals on the savory side.
Actually the entire inside of the restaurant, with it’s rugged, rustic, refurbished, look of an old saloon is mad that that they are getting 2 stars.
They are all mad at the music. Stupid music. It’s always on so loud. No one can hear each other.
The music itself is fine. Bob Marley at brunch on a Sunday — yeah, that sounds great, actually! But Frontier takes it one step further– Bob Marley over brunch at the decimal level set for a club on Saturday night? Do you like yelling over to the person across from you while you are trying to conversate? How about just sitting there on your phone because you gave up trying to talk to the person you came with because no one can hear each other. Saldy that’s what happened to me at brunch on Sunday.
So that’s why my Ahi Tuna sandwich and the rustic décor are mad at the music right now. The loud music turned off another person who would have otherwise, loved their experience.

Like I said in my past review i’d be back for the food. Well I came back with an appetite because we ended up doing a whole lamb that feeds 16! Get 16 of your friends and do this. It was worth every penny. The service was excellent, the food was perfect and we got our own upstairs area all to ourselves!
The guy with the knife also cut up the awesome parts for us. IE heart, liver, eye, tongue, brain! Was delicious! The lamb itself was so juicy and not as gamy as I thought it would be!
A must for all lamb lovers.
They also have goat, alligator, and pig! Gotta go back for those…

Yummy… Yummy…Yum O! Sat out on their covered patio on a pouring rain Sunday for brunch and had the delicious Ostrich Juicy Lucy. So here’s my one compliant… it’s not a juicy lucy. Minnesotans will know what I’m talking about here and since lived there for a few years I now also consider myself a juicy lucy expert. Anyhow… the burger is fantastic.
The ostrich burgers of which there are two were fantastic and melted between them was the Gouda which is where I’m guessing they think they can call it a juicy lucy. still no… but I degrees. Add in some leeks and a nice mayo with a some nice kick to it and you have yourself a winning burger. Get it.
All three of us got it and loved it. And one of them only eats meats a few times a year so that’s saying something!