Kinmont

I came here for Chicago Restaurant Week, and it was a good experience overall. If you’re looking for some solid quality seafood, this is a great place! All the food was delicious, but I wouldn’t say it was the most creative or inventive fish I’ve ever had. For example, I had the Salmon as my entrée, and I definitely enjoyed eating it, but it just wasn’t memorable. On the other hand, those beignets were so light and fluffy and delicious, especially with the nutella dipping sauce!
I would definitely like to come back to try their $ 1 oyster special on Wednesdays. I also like that they promote sustainable fishing practices.

Everything about our experience was great. I’ve been having plats fruits de mer since I was 5; that was quite possibly the best oyster I’ve ever had & it was certainly the best salmon tartare I’ve ever had. Salmon & trout mains equally memorable. Even desserts were a cut above. Overall, can’t wait until next time!

We finally made it to Kinmont, which is conveniently located right down the street from where we live.
Drinks were good and moderately priced. Would definitely come back for $ 5 cocktails on Thursday. Food was decent and expensive. I know this is a seafood restaurant, but having more variety on the menu would broaden their appeal.
Overall, a nice restaurant, but wouldn’t make this a culinary destination.

The beignets were delicious. The ambience was very nice. Really like the feel of the restaurant.
We went during restaurant week. We had the hush puppies and brandade. The housemade giadeniera that went with the hush puppies were fanastic. Perfect combination of tart, spice, and crunch. I’ve had branded often in France. So this was very different. Not as hearty or crispy on the top. But decent.
The white trout with basically a cheese risotto was good. The salmon with peppers and farm fresh egg was okay. Maybe its our fault for adding fries with our order because the salmon and egg was overcooked. They probably waited on our fries before taking everything out. The keylime pie and beignets were really good. Never had a lighter or fluffier beignet. Not even in France.
Would go back since I like patronizing places that serves sustainable meats and seafood. Wednesday is $ 1 oyster night. That has my name written all over it!

Go here soon. Or later. Or whenever. It’s a great spot. The food is fantastic. The drinks flow like wine. You can sit and enjoy yourself and feel like you’re at home in your own space. The kicker is, every once in a while a staff member will come by with a smile and ask you if you need anything. You will think about it and realize… I found it. I’m good. Check it. Eat, relax, enjoy and repeat. This place is great.

Mussels– portion size was big, but the mussels themselves were a bit small. The sauce was a nice thick consistency that stuck to the mussels but was on the sweeter side. My bf still loved it though, he even asked for extra bread to sop it all up (which they ended up charging extra for whomp whomp).
Oyster slides– oysters were lightly battered in cornmeal and tucked into these cute little buns with pickles. Overall very tasty but a bit pricey for $ 4 a pop!
Branzino– OMG this was definitely the main event! Loved loved loved it! It was perfectly crispy on the outside and tender flaky on the inside. Very generous portion size! Also loved the hummus sauce it was served on. Will be back just to eat this again!
Short ribs– this was very average and we would not order it again. For $ 28, it was a very small piece of short rib on a large plate. The mashed potatoes tasted watery/​thin in consistency?
Crème brûlée– very luxurious and rich! The bf killed it so fast I only got 2 bites out of it.
Food was solid, ambiance was lovely and unpretentious, and most of all, the service was really stellar and personable! Our waiter was excellent and super accommodating (letting me try the wines before getting a bottle). Such a cute place, I hope they stick around (was not very busy on a Tuesday night)!

Delicious!!! What a great start to restaurant week! The $ 33 pre fix course special they had was definitely worth the money. Here’s what I had:
Appetizer: Crab Hush Puppies — A little on the salty side, but very flavorful and excellent size portion.
Entrée: Trout Risotto — Yummy! The trout on its own was a little bland, but paired with the Risotto it was a winning combination. Also I must say the presentation was excellent
Dessert: OMG I was already stuffed, but I wasn’t going to pass up the Beignets that were served NOLA Style. I just got back from NOLA recently so I was loving the presentation and especially the taste! Warm and flaky :)
Service was great. This is definitely a cute date night spot or just a good dinner spot period. I will be back!

I had a wonderful experience at the Kinmont. On the night I visited it was the start of resturant week. We didn’t have a reservation but they were able to seat out. The drinks were great. We did the Resturant week meals. We started with a dozen oysters (not on the prefix menu) and they were delicious. The first course were crab cakes hush puppies. Followed by a salmon dish in a skillet with a soft boiled egg. Finally we had key lime pie. The manager Greg came over to our table and welcomed us. He was very friendly. I would definitely go back to this location fantastic experience.

My final rating would be 3.5 stars. The food at Kinmont was wonderful with decent service. My husband and I came here for his birthday. The restaurant is in a quiet residential area, but inside it was lively and unique. This review is somewhat mixed, because the food was great, but the service was really lacking.
Our server was very nice and accommodating, however, as the restaurant service picked up he was nowhere to be found or stopped by and was quick to take the order and leave. Although pleseant, I was somewhat annoyed. It is possibly they were short staffed, who knows, but this was my experience.
Before dinner cocktails are a must. They have a solid selection of spirits, beer, and wine. I had an old fashion made with Elijah Craig and enjoyed the cocktail, so much so, I had two.
We started out with a dozen oysters (west coast, 6 Chelsea gem, 6 malaspina). My husband ordered the butternut squash soup and I ordered two of the oyster po’boy sliders, and for dinner we ordered the seafood stew for two.
As the oysters were dropped off we asked which was which and the runner didn’t know. Our server eventually came and advised they ran out of the oysters we requested and replaced them with four of something else, no name given, but after looking at the receipt price point, the quality was not up to par. This is where my frustration somewhat began. The butternut squash soup was fantastic and the sliders had a great flavor, warm with a good bite.
Onto dinner. Mind you we put our entire order in at once. There was a decent amount of time between the oysters, then soup and sliders. However, by the time we were done with round two the restaurant had filled up and service was hard to come by. The wait for our main entrée was excessive. They dropped off additional utensils for the stew, but yet we waited. A couple who arrived about 30 minutes after received their stew order before us. A family sitting next to us also received their stew order before us. Mind you, these tables showed up much later. Frustration number three at this time.
The seafood stew, was absolutely fantastic. The seafood selection and mix was wonderful, everything was perfectly cleaned and cooked. The brother was light with amazing flavor. Who knew I would love grilled bread so much? Do no short yourself, eat the bread, carbs be damned!
We decided to forgo dessert as I was getting a little antsy at this point, which is unfortunate, because I love dessert.
Overall, wonderful food, my main frustration was the service, I believe our server may have been spread a little to thin. He was nice when available.

We decided to have a «date night» at this unassuming little place. It’s exterior blends into the residential neighborhood. Upon entering the bar area I felt as if I had been transported into a New England lodge. The dark wood & stuffed forest animals imid the dimly lit bar was reminiscent of a place I visited in Vermont.
Although the two huge HDTV’s helped me to remember it was a bar.
Rachel the bartender was very attentive to all the patrons. She suggested I have the Mela Mayflower cocktail. It was amazing! i I would describe this drink as «Autumn in a glass».
My husband’s family being from
New Orleans prompted him to try the oyster po boy slider. He said it was excellent the oyster being fried to perfection. I on the other hand being from New England decided to try the raw oysters (flown in from Washington State). One word will get it… Delicious! Amazingly fresh. Although I added a little hot sauce and fresh lemon it didn’t need anything.
If the bar is any indication of what the restaurant is like, we will definitely return.

Really 4.5 stars. Every thing we ate was delicious and nothing disappointing. I scored such a deal w/​the a gilt voucher. I’m definitely coming back. A table for 2 we each had a glass of prosecco, a dozen oysters, rushing water trout w/​truffle risotto, pumpkin ravioli w/​delicious chunks of tender lobster & bignets w/​warm Nutella dip. If that doesn’t make your mouth water you prolly like greasy spoon restaurants. The ambiance is well decorated and perfectly dim lit. I like how the bar is separated so the dining area is more quiet. It’s a casual yet classy mature vibe. Parking was a breeze! I can’t wait to go back for the spring. I’m all about great seafood in the city.

Great intimate vibe making it easy to chat over good seafood. it’s located on a less busy road making it easy to find parking. I liked the carpet décor on the ceiling.
We got a mix of the dozen oysters. I really enjoyed learning which ones I liked as the boy and I tried each of the 4 types together. The surf and turf appetizer was heartier with the flavorful pork belly. Unfortunately, since both the oysters and the appetizer came out together, the appetizer dish became cold so we couldn’t enjoy the octopus as much. We shared the roasted branzino which I still reminisce after a few days. The creamy veggies with harissa in this was yummy.

If you are a seafood lover and can love fresh oysters with a nice cocktail this is the place you should go. I went with a few friends and had a nice relaxing dinner. With seasonal fresh fish and vegetables you can’t really go wrong with anything on this menu. We split the fish charcuterie board and a dozen oysters and it was delicious. The service was great and never felt rushed but was taken care of whenever needed.

Kinmont, once again, blew us away! Had a phenomenal dinner here last night with the husband. We were seated right away, and our server was right there with our waters and menus. Love the décor of this place– totally matches the type of food they feature. We got our favorite bottle of white wine– a Greek one called «Sigalas». Highly recommend it. Our waiter recommended the jumbo prawns for our starter, which were outstanding! For our entrees I had the skuna bay salmon and he had the walleye. We also got the mushrooms with zucchini on the side. Everything very delicious. My salmon blew us away– it was prepared a lot different than the last time I had their salmon. Cooked in a cast iron skillet with peppers and egg. Yum! You can tell their quality of fish is top notch.
Our waiter was very helpful, friendly and on point that he deserves to be mentioned. Alex you’re the bomb! Thanks for another great dinner at Kinmont!

Wonderful find in my wandering a through Chicago!
Real hipster place but in a real good way. Great ambiance & music without the pot acoustics most establishments suffer from. Look up and you’ll the suspended oriental rugs above that help keep the sound coherent.
The food is understated with a farm to table approach that promotes local produce & fish.
I had the trout which is served on a bed of succotash and also enjoyed a local brew to wash it down. Commend them for allowing the quality ingredients to shine through the tasteful seasonings. Service was prompt and through.

Sat at the copper topped bar for an early dinner. Liked the sea shanty meets Twin Peaks décor – your stuffed fox here, your wall mounted fire ax there. My cocktail was a Proper Villain – bourbon, Aperol and some other nice stuff, made and served by the great bartender in training. Then on to bread ($ 4). Yes, I paid $ 4 for bread. You know how most restaurants don’t even serve bread anymore? Well, here bread is an appetizer. They serve a board stocked with focaccia, sliced green olives, tapenade, tomato paste, olive oil, and a mound of white anchovies. I’d pay $ 400 for this appetizer, and eat it every night if I could.
My entrée was whole trout. This is what they did with it – deboned it, scored and sautéed it, reassembled it, and served it whole with head and tail. There was a creamy white sauce with corn ragout, gnocchi, and zucchini. I think there were potatoes too. Well, trout is a humble fish you can pan fry. I’m not sure how much it benefits from a complex presentation like this. The white sauce was bland. Still, I liked it and it was filling.
I surmise from my dinner that the level of ambition here is high. I’d like to return to try other things, even though Kinmont is located off my beaten track.

Kinmont ranks among my favorite restaurants. In short, I absolutely loved this place and WILL be back. Now for specific details…
This was the best seafood I’ve had in the Midwest by far! I tried oysters, scallops, and two types of fish and I couldn’t believe how much incredible flavor they had; not just the sauces they were in but the seafood itself was so flavorful and delicious.
The staff was very friendly and professional. We asked our servers opinions for a few items and he didn’t steer is wrong once. Also, he didn’t just give his personal opinions but explained how items tasted and how dishes were put together so you could make more informed decisions.
We went for a birthday dinner and when we were seated our server also brought complimentary glasses of champagne which was nice and at the end of the night he wished me a happy birthday. He also wrote it in a little book they give out with the checks; I think it’s their policy to write a thank you note to all their guests. Little touches like these are simple but add up to a really nice evening.
Last note is a warning. Our server did mention that because all their seafood comes in fresh daily (and you can tell), they do tend to run out of items toward the end of the night so you should go earlier.

Within the first few minutes of our meal here I said to my husband «we really need to go out more often on Monday nights.» We had this entire gorgeous restaurant to ourselves, at least until a few other couples decided to disrupt our private party halfway thru our meal.
I can’t promise you the peace and quiet at Kinmont on other nights, but I can guarantee you good food. If you’re not a seafood fan I’d suggest going elsewhere. My fellow seafood lover and I were quite pleased.
I have a bit of a thing for shellfish platters and Kinmonts did not disappoint. Then again for the $ 95 price tag it should be excellent! The king crab was especially scrumptious. I didn’t expect to be very hungry after devouring the seafood tower so I ordered the sea scallop crudo starter for my meal… delightful! My husband (the bday boy) went w/​the catch of the day, which was an arctic char. He let me have a bite. It was so good that I went for another bite, but I was then scolded for eating his precious arctic char. Perhaps now that he’s 38 he’ll learn to share. :)
A bday dinner isn’t complete without bday dessert. The 3 choices of the evening were smores, apple pie and beignets. We opted for the smores, which was basically tasty pudding topped with a roasted marshmallow. And then our waitress surprised us with the beignets as well, which were even better than the smores.
The service was near perfect besides the waitress accidently charing us for the beignet dessert on the house, but she very apologetically removed it promptly.
A great way to celebrate a bday & kick off a new week. Thanks Kinmont!

One of the best tasting and affordable seafood spots in Chicago. I think it’s only been around for a year, so give it a shot now, incase they hike up the price.
Bf made a reservation for us on v-​day here. Kinmont seated us in the inner dining section which is separated from the main dining room. Nice gesture since it’s quieter and more intimate. We ordered a range of dishes:
Dealer’s choice of oysters (delish and fresh)
Tagliatelle pasta — SOOOOOO GOOOD! It tasted better with a hint of fresh squeezed lemon juice.
Trout and Bouillabaisse were outstanding.
Toffee pudding cake was super moist and just the right amount of sweetness.
The only thing I could have skipped that was ordered was the carrots. I enjoyed picking at the granola and raisin pieces, but the dish wasn’t cohesive.
Service was great!
Warning: the inner dinning section where we sat was really chilly. I got hot tea to warm myself up. It might have just been an off-​day where the AC was too low. Very dim setting, which i normally don’t prefer, but it added to the intimate effects on v-​day.

Great sea food and location.
Went in this evening and enjoyed a nice and romantic dinner.
The ambience is hip; low and romantic lights, new age big band music, and an eclectic decorative palate (think speak easy meets glamour).
We started off with a king crab gratin which was a pile of cheesy, warm goodness (served with salted crackers).
I had the roasted mussels in a wine sauce and they we’re so fresh and tasty. Just the right amount of acidity in the sauce. I also had the roasted root veggies and they we’re devine; they smelled like BBQ and has a deep smokey taste. So delicious.
My husband had the fish and chips and that was also fantastic. Flakey fish with great fries.
Our server Carlos was knowledgable and friendly giving us details about the cooking style, as well as, information about the different dishes.
We met the manager Greg and he was also friendly. I like it when the front of house staff takes pride in their service. Many times the encounter with the FofH staff changes the experience drastically with with poor service. Here, his visit enhanced our dinner.