Perennial

As seems to be a theme, food was good, but way overpriced. My fiancé ordered the gnocchi with cheese and it was supposed to be vegetarian. Came back with Bacon in it and we waited like 20 more minutes for it to come out. They were very apologetic but did not offer any compensation (free dessert or glass of wine would have been nice).
Great décor. Average Food. Overpriced and probably won’t go back.

Note: I came here with Josh P and agree with most of what he had to say. His dish was especially lack-​luster. I did like his potatoes w/​the cheese curds though. Curds were excellent and very fresh. Squeak on your teeth, fresh. Trust me. I know my curds.
I got the rosemary shortbread, which was totally worth the $ 5, and giving them an extra star. The berries were generous and the cream was a perfect addition to the shortbread.
I also had the granola and yogurt. This was a let down. With granola listed first I expected more of a parfait-​type dish. Instead I ended up w/​yogurt soup. It was runny and only had a sprinkle of granola on top w/​a dollop of jelly. No thanks.
Maybe dinner is better, but I felt like it was very overpriced for the portions.
Like Josh said, great service, but I probably won’t be back.

What a terrible brunch experience, definitely not coming back. I ordered the meat and three sides. First, the ham was like luncheon meat. The cheese fondue was grainy and like a mix of easy mac powder and grits. I held it upside down and it stuck to the cup, not worth it for $ 5. The eggs were WAY over done, look at the dark yellow center. The potatoes were dry and tasteless. I would give you one star but the waiter was very nice, so I will give you two. But trust me, after that meal two stars is generous.
At these prices, I expect better Perennial, shame on you. Check out a photo of my crappy meal at Perennial:

Spot. On. Service.
Apparently, to be a part of said service, one must be young, moderately attractive and male. Despite its popularity, I had no problem getting a table on Sunday for a late, kinda pricy, brunch (without any liquor, the pre-​tip total for the bf and I came to about $ 50); but hey, if you decide to make a day out of it, max out the parking meter and head on over to the zoo –it’s free + awesome.

Ok, ok, ok… much to the chagrin of many of my Unilocal readers, I brought a date here (you all have read what has happened on several of my dates on Unilocal). Yeah, yeah, yeah, Imma stop bringing dates to the expensive places cuz they don’t seem to be working out. * sigh *
When we went this particular Thursday night, I thought Chef Virant was already here. I was wrong… however, Chef Poli’s indelible impression was still apparent on the menu. And, much to our surprise (and pleasant excitement), the restaurant was offering a Chef’s Week menu selection. I chose the Chef’s week menu so my date could order a al carte. At this time, all of Chef Poli’s classics were still on the menu — the beet salad, the pork belly, the oysters (with the vinegar gelee, which was unusual but a great complement to the oysters), the duck confit croquettes, their perfect seafood dishes (mine was like a much fancier paella… wish the prawns had the heads on!), a good selection of dessert cheeses (with paired mini-​salads), and the white chocolate semi-​freddo with passionfruit «coulis».
So many superlatives in my reviews, but, every course was absolute perfection of seasoning and flavors. On many dishes, each ingrediently separately was «eh’, but paired together in one bite was a magnificent symphony that created a chrous of taste fireworks in your mouth… I closed my eyes with every bite to concentrate on what I was tasting and reacting with reckless abandon as my tastebuds were invigorated with flavors I’d never imagined would harmonize to well together. How about THAT for superlative!
Here’s what I wrote on Open Table: «I love this place! And, I was sad to hear Chef Poli was leaving… only to be excited that Chef Virand is coming! Once of my top three favorite date places. You will NOT go wrong with the food here… the service is very good and friendly although a bit frenetic. I can’t wait for the menu changes from Chef Virant!»
Although this was to be my last date with the girl, I stand by every word I have written about Perennial. Don’t just make it a special occasion place… it IS a special occasion just to eat there. And, soon starts my love affair with Perennial Virant!

First of all, I love the way this place looks. You know when you see those wedding films with the reception held under a huge billowing tent with candles lighting the festivities? No, well I painted you the picture anyways.
It’s not quite like that, but it’s attractive decorated nonetheless. There are some thin birch trunks that serve as a center piece in the main west dining area. There are billowy canvas clothes hanging from the ceiling. The tables and seats are attractively dark. The lighting is dim enough to make anyone look good.
And, on top of that, the service is impeccable. Our waiter was friendly and incredibly well-​informed on the menu. He broke down the more popular items without being prompted. Best of all, he never made us feel rushed.
In terms of the food, I got the sweet potato soup, the pork belly and the strawberry fun dip dessert.
The sweet potato soup was a lot more savory than I expected. The presentation is the soup with a bed of grains laid down like a granola bar along with a dollop of melted marshmallow. The grains added texture to a creamy soup, while the marshmallow added sweetness to the, frankly, salty soup. While the soup was good, it was really heavy. The saltiness didn’t help it out in the least. Yeah, yeah, it’s a starch-​based soup — of course it’s heavy.
The pork belly, though. My God. This is the best pork belly I’ve ever had. First of all, the texture of the crisp outside gave me slighty pause. But then I cut into it with my fork, and it just threaded away like mozzarella. That’s how delicate the thing was. The thing just melts in your mouth — cliché, I know, but it literally did. The three cuts of pork belly come served with a braised red cabbage, mustard spaetzle, and apple purée. The meat is so strongly, and deliciously, flavored that it overwhelms the purée. The cabbage provided a nice vinegary contrast to the meat, which I appreciated. The bitter greens, though, seemed out of place. It tasted like nothing, and it was mushy.
The strawberry fun dip was tasty and whimsical, so it’s worth sharing. It’s served in two parts — a bed of basically strawberry soda rocks (think pop rocks) and a cup with vanilla ice cream with strawberry mousse, and a light wafer. You take the wafer, scoop up some ice cream, and dip it in the rocks — providing a nice burst of strawberry flavor that hits your mouth, which eases into the creamy vanilla ice cream.
All-​in-​all, it was a delicious meal, and I’ll definitely be going back.

We were probably one of the last people to taste Chef Ryan Poli’s dishes here at Perennial… this month, Ryan Poli will leave his post as executive chef at Perennial and start as chef/​partner at the forthcoming 300-​seat River North restaurant Tavernita (in the old Martini Park space). Paul Virant, of the acclaimed Vie in Western Springs, will be Perennial’s new executive chef/​partner and the restaurant may soon be called Perennial Virant.
I really like the simple but whimsical décor here. It’s got a very romantic air and the food is very good too. We started with oysters, I ordered the pork belly (the braised red cabbage that came with it was fantastic) and my date had the short ribs – all very delicious. For dessert we had the «flavors of Snickers bar” – chocolate bavarian, salted caramel mousse, peanut ice cream, 40 second chocolate cake – yummy. Great wine, I’d recommend the Malbec blend we had. Service was impeccable! Our server was very friendly and took great care of us, which made our meal that much more enjoyable.

Brunch Review:
Limited menu but good selection.
Nice ambiance and relaxing décor.
Great chocolate croissants.
Good omelets.
Not too pricey.
But not on my list to go back without a reason.

Disclaimer: based on Restaurant Week Dinner menu
Confit duck croquettes — seconds please! Had this on a Thursday, today is Monday and I’m still thinking about it! *drools*
Sweet potato soup — trail mix is a nice addition and it has a little flare from the smoke chilies
Pork belly — smoked, crispy, delicious
Scallops — tender and cooked perfectly
Carbonra mac & cheese — salty and not much flavor (*not a part of R Week menu)
Crispy hazelnut bar, milk chocolate, crème fraiche, chocolate caramel — served with pistachio ice cream it’s heaven. The choolate part with the hazelnut bar tasted just like a ferrero rocher yummmy!
Cheese (rasberry custard) — eh not my favorite, didn’t have the texture of the cheesecake, more like a yogurt.
Service — good
Ambiance/​Setting — loud chattering, a nice place, but the tables are quite close to each other and it’s kind of tough getting in and out (maybe it was just our table location)
Overall, definitely enjoyed the meal. I can go for some confit duck croquettes right now!

My experience at Perennial last night has caused me to come out of Unilocal hiding.
Let me start by saying this: My boyfriend and I are not big Valentine’s Day people. We don’t do those dating anniversaries either. Or «Sweetest Day.» Just a little too much for us. This year, however, he wanted to treat me to a nice romantic dinner since we hadn’t had one in awhile. I gave him a list of restaurants I had wanted to try, and he was able to reserve a table for us at Perennial.
He called, made the reservation, and to seal the deal provided his credit card information. They called back twice to confirm. Not once during this whole reservation process did they mention that you MUST order from their special Valentine’s Day menu. A menu that was extremely overpriced and was $ 75 per person.
Not only was the $ 75 4 course meal okay (I won’t even say good), but the service was awful. We waited about 20 minutes in between each course, with no sign for the waiter unless he was badgering us to get more to drink.
Another thing I thought was very rude was that we asked about the regular menu when we sat down and they told us no can do. Then another couple sat down next to us and asked the same thing and they were able to get something in place of one of the courses off the regular menu??? AND they were offered more bread in between courses — I would have taken more bread as I was hungrily waiting in between courses. What gives with their preferential treatment?
I love my boyfriend for trying, but Perennial caused our try at a romantic Valentine’s Day dinner to be a bust. We feel sick over how much we spent for such a bad experience. Next year, we are going to Five Guys or McDonalds and will be much more happy.

Absolutely loved it!!!
Great tasting food, excellent presentation.
Service was very pleasant.
Overall, it was a great experience, can’t wait to come back for more Mac n’ cheese with edamame.

My friend and I enjoyed dinner at Perennial on the first night of our Chicago vacation. After checking out the menu and website, I was eager to partake in the trendy scene. Our cab entered the quaint Lincoln Park area and pulled up to the happening restaurant. The patio was packed with diners taking full advantage of the warm summer evening. The walls of the restaurant were made of floor-​to-​ceiling windows, which were opened up to allow those dining within to also enjoy some fresh air. Our reservation was promptly honored, and we were escorted to one of the rear tables. While the patrons outside and those in the bar area were hip and sophisticated, the crowd was a bit more unique in the main dining room. Older couples sat amongst hipsters, but everyone seemed to be in fabulous spirits as they enjoyed their modern American meals.
Our server approached and helped us navigate the appealing cocktail menu. My Sleeping Bear was a spicy mix of Tito’s Vodka, Ginger Liqueur, lime, Angostura bitters, and ginger beer. The sweet and tangy beverage was refreshing, but also packed a punch. My friend’s Perennial Rose included the aromatic, girly flavors of Plymouth Sloe Gin, St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur, grapefruit, sparkling rosé.
We downed several gulps of these fabulous beverages as we awaited further service. Unfortunately, everything seemed to be moving along at a snail’s pace. We had to constantly flag down our server for common items, like lemon slices for our water, or even bread. When we were finally granted some rolls, we fell in love with their moist, doughy center and immediately asked for seconds. My friend went as far as to say that she would gladly eat a few more as her main course.
However, the menu was way too appealing to fill up on the bleached carbs. We started, instead, by sharing the Glazed Chicken Lollipops. The tender drumsticks were covered in a soy reduction and orange zest. The five legs were served on a bed of Asian slaw and crunchy cashews. The sweet and savory sauce stuck to our fingers, but thrilled our taste buds.
Then, there was a lengthy pause filled with more bread and anxious planning for the remainder of the evening. When our main courses finally arrived, my friend was less than impressed with her Pork Belly. Though it had supposedly been braised for 18 hours, it turned out rather dry and tough. The meat was sweetened by a seasonal broth made from peaches and blueberries. The pork was served over a hearty heirloom tomato panzanella. My Scallops, however, were perfectly cooked. A light dusting of foie gras acted as an unique crust for the shellfish. Crisp apples, seasonal parsley root purée, and a tart apple gastrique acted as the perfect earthy compliments to bring the seafood dish back on shore.
There was no doubt that Perennial provided a stylish and fun way to start our trip. The bulk of our meal was tasty and deserving of more like 3.5 stars, but the inefficient service decreased their rating to an unfortunate 3 stars.

This place is great!!! When the servers are saying thank you to you after you have provided them with what you’d like to order, then you know that service is going to be exceptional! And it was from the very beginning!
We both started off with the risotto with wild mushrooms, asparagus and parsley. It was delicious! A little salty for my taste, but still good nonetheless.
My friend got the corn tasting menu. I didn’t try any of it but she loved it and thought it was delicious. I got the linguine with clams with garlic in white wine sauce. Yummie!!! The flavors were really good and there was a ton of clams in this dish. Embarrassingly I sucked it all down in 10 minutes.
To cap it all off, I got the flavors of snickers bar dessert. I gotta be honest, the plate looked like a pile of dog poo. There was a bunch of different-​shades-​of-​brown looking things on the plate. But if you mixed it all up together, it tasted yummie! Never judge a book by its cover. Anyways, I wasn’t shy at this point in the meal and just licked it all up.
Place is pricey but the food is good, atmosphere was really nice, and service was outstanding! Totally worth it!
They have valet parking and some street parking in the area. Its super easy to get to by the 22 or 36 CTA bus.

Is it silly that I plan daily activities around food?
Well, I do. And this was a prime example.
About 2 weeks ago, my best friend from out of town was visiting. We started our Saturday morning at the Green City market and then ventured over to Perennial for brunch.
Perennial is such a gorgeous restaurant. It was a dreary morning, so outdoor seating was not an option, but hopefully next time.
Great minds really do think alike. We both wanted that truffled eggs benedict. Rarely, do we order the same thing, because that is super lame, however, we were so glad we did. Perfectly poached eggs with a light hollandaise sauce. We devoured it.
Brunch was excellent. I can hardly wait to try dinner sometime soon!

More like 2 and half stars, but it deserves more of a round down than round up. This place is one of those that you would go once, and never go again. I’m really not sure what the hype is all about, but it wasn’t a terrible experience though. The décor was okay, but the noise level was very loud. So, if you’re looking for a romantic night out at this place, make sure it’s not on a weekend. My hubby and I got here at 8 PM. with a reservation, and we were seated right away. The place was packed and there was a huge line of people waiting for a table. So, make sure to make reservations on the weekends.
Service was good. Our server was very attentive and sweet. The bus boy was very quick to refill my glass of water. At times, I didn’t even see him come by, but my glass magically refilled itself.
My hubby ordered from the «Chef’s Week Menu,» and I ordered from the regular menu.
Now for the food.
Starter:
Glazed chicken lollipops — this was very good, and best value of all our dishes.
Black truffle gnocchi — good, but ridiculously expensive for 4 pieces of gnocchi. My hubby got his with his prix-​fix and I ordered one for myself. How can you charge someone $ 12 for 4 pieces of gnocchi? It’s just beyond me.
Mixed greens salad — good, basic salad.
Entrée:
Grilled Atlantic salmon — just okay, I think I make better salmon.
Becker Lane Organic «pork lover’s obsession,»
grilled loin, braised belly — this was good, but not great. Pork loins from Big Jones was better. The portion was also ridiculous for an entrée. Once, I received this dish, I quickly ordered a side of mac and cheese. The mac and cheese was boring. J. Alexander’s mac and cheese is hands down the best.
Dessert:
Hazelnut crunch — good, but overly rich and sweet for me.
Passion fruit cream — the vanilla ice cream was ordinary, the berry gelee was very tart, but the lemon madeleines were very good.
Overall, this place was way over priced. I don’t mind so much the price, but I would much rather they charged me more, but gave me more food. Oh well, on to the next stop.

Finally got to try Perennial for Restaurant week with fellow Unilocaler Lisa T !
Very romantic atmosphere, very modern, I loved the Birch branches in the middle of the restaurant. When we were leaving we saw a fabulous secluded both right behind the door, we will be sitting here
next time. Parking is pretty easy on clark, lots of paybox spots.
I had the exact same menu as the review below, great minds think alike !
The food was great, I started with the truffle gnochi, which are not actual gnochi !! They were good, I wouldn’t pay $ 8 for the regularly but for restaurant week they were satisfying.
We both had the salmon as an entrée, and were very impressed, it was very moist and came with a vegtable medely that complemented it well. The duck also looked fabulous !
Dessert was obviously the highlight. Lisa had the rasberry cheescake that other reviewers rave about, it was very good, though you didn’t really taste the graham or cheescake flavors, it is definitley not traditional cheescake. I had the crispy hazelnut bar which was out of this world !!
The only downside of this restuarant is there seem to be more servers and attendants than actuall guest, so it seemed very busy in there, though this also makes for great service !
I would definitley recomened Perennial to impress a date or for a special occasion !

Came here for the first day of Restaurant Week :)
Prix fixe dinner menu = $ 32
Kept asking me if I wanted anything else though.
Romantic ambiance :)
starter:
black truffle gnocchi, parsley root purée, hen of the woods mushrooms, frisee salad
(Not like the gnocchi I’m used to. Not chewy. More. bready/​potato-​y. lol. It was good though.)
entrée:
grilled atlantic salmon, butternut squash, caramelized brussel sprouts, mushrooms
dessert:
crispy hazelnut bar, milk chocolate, crème fraîche, pistachio ice cream, chocolate caramel
The starter + dessert was superbbbb! The entrée was a wee salty, but I was surprised that it was a pretty big. I was full at the end of my meal :)
It was the perfect place for a first date with MInna A. :D

Saturday, February 13, 2010, brunch for two at 11:45. No reservations.
This place came highly recommended by a local friend. We almost did not go since we were staying in the loop area and it was a little out of the way for us considering how many fantastic restaurants there are in the loop area. Glad we did though.
I would describe this place as a nice little restaurant in Lincoln Park. Very comfortable atmosphere with great service. Dress is very casual.
The food is fantastic. My girlfriend had the apple cinnamon french toast and I had the porkbelly omelette with a side of patatas bravas (that’s fancy talk for baked potatoes). We also had drinks (the Perennial Bellini w/​passion fruit and mimosas). Be forewarned, this is the only thing that I did not like about this restaurant. the drinks are nothing special and will run you more than the meal (entrees are reasonably priced at around $ 9). I cringed when my girlfriend ordered two drinks knowing it was going to be more expensive than both of our actual meals combined.

After many visits to Boka, we finally tried their sister restaurant, Perennial. LOVE IT!
The décor is nice — modern, pleasant, with clean lines but not too upscale. The service is outstanding, both in knowledge and attitude. The wine list is lengthy, with lots of reasonably priced choices. But, like Boka, the food combinations, presentations, freshness, and flavors are the real reason to come to Perennial.
I started with their famous black truffle gnocchi, as raved about in Food and Wine magazine. It’s worth the rave. Rather than small pebbles of gnocchi, you get large square cubes, four on a plate. The cubes of gnocchi you can easily split into three bites each, to enjoy with the parsley root purée, hen of the woods mushrooms, and frisee salad. The truffle oil is perfect — just enough to taste it, not so much to overwhelm the other flavors. It really is a great starter, combining flavors wonderfully. Best in America? — not in my book, but definitely outstanding and a must when at Perennial.
For my entrée, I went with the sea scallops, with oxtail raviolini, root vegetables, herbs, and a broth of red wine oxtail jus. The red wine in the sauce complimented the scallops perfectly. Two nicely cooked, delicious large scallops. I also had a taste from my wife’s «pork lover’s obsession» of pork loin, pork belly, and trotter ragout. That was also delicious. For both dishes the main items were well complimented by the other foods on the plate. This isn’t the restaurant for purists. It’s for tasting interesting combinations and flavors, and they do a great job of it.
For dessert I had their version of cheesecake: raspberry custard, cream cheese foam, and graham cracker ice cream, with whipped cream. Unique, light and not as filling as regular cheesecake, it was the right note on which to end a big meal. And I even had room to take a sample of my wife’s crispy hazelnut bar, with pistachio and chocolate ice creams and crème fraîche. Very tasty.
Portion sizes reminded me of Takashi — never large, but plenty to make a full meal. It was nice to not be too full and to consider a cheese course as well as dessert. But I was disappointed they only had four cheeses, all American cheeses, on the menu, and skipped them.
One more comment on the service. We went hoping to have a favorite waiter we’ve had take great care of us at other restaurants before he came to Perennial. He was off, and instead we got a young waiter named Chris. He was outstanding! Really good, really personable, worth asking for. If «Detroit Chris» is waiting on your table at Perennial, he’ll help make it a great night.

Came here for dinner Friday night. Lovely space, low lighting, votives on the table. Good place for dates, but a nice place for groups too.
Started off with drinks and appetizer. We had the black truffle gnocchi – it does not look like your usual gnocci – why do they call it gnocchi then? What’s in a name? No matter, it was very good. I had the Blooming Perennial cocktail. I was just curious because I had never had Elderflower liquor. It was quite different (flowery) from what I’d usually drink but I still liked it.
For dinner I had the grilled pork belly served with kale, grilled pears, thyme doughnuts and pear gastrique. My friend and I split the sweet potato side dish. Everything was wonderful – from presentation to taste. I loved my meal. Portions look small on the plate but timing of everything was so that we weren’t rushed and got to savor the meal and felt very satisfied afterward.
Service was great. The waitstaff was very attentive, friendly and informative. We were running about 20 min late for our reservation and when we phoned the restaurant to inform them, the hostess was very nice about it. When we arrived, we were seated right away.
The only downside had nothing to do with the restaurant. Because we were running late and had 8pm theater tickets, we couldn’t have dessert – I really wanted to try the cheesecake.

Ok… so we’ve only been to Perennial for brunch, but my boyfriend and I really love it. Multiple saturdays in a row now we have taken a stroll through the green city market then headed over to Perennial for some hangover curing brunchy goodness.
The food is really tasty. I always order the bloody mary, which comes with a little high life beer sidecar (see my picture in the photo gallery). The french toast is great– slices of almond baguette fried up and topped with some sort of spiced apples and fancy whipped cream. My boyfriend usually gets the biscuits and gravy, and even I like it even though I don’t like sausage very much.
A little pricey if you order drinks and sides of bacon (I cant risist), but definitely worth it!