Cite

Reviews 3

NA

Nariman Firoozye

Since I live in Arizona and my girlfriend lives in Chicago, she wanted to do something special for me and took me to Cite on Saturday August 22nd. She had taken the time to plan a romantic night and reserved a table by the windows on the South East side so that we could watch the fire works from Navy Pier. When we got to the restaurant we were seated, but against the wall 2 rows away from the window. We did not think that was going to be a bad choice since no one was sitting at the tables between us. WE THOUGHT IT WAS A LITTLE ODD THEY DID NOT SEAT US AT THE WINDOW. Not one couple was seated at those tables all night. We proceeded to order two martinis and choose to get the Chefs taster menu, The Amuse -Bouche was a single slice of cucumber a little larger then a quarter with a drop of cocktail sauce and rock shrimp that was even smaller then the slice. I have had better attempts from students at cooking schools making a Amuse. Between all these courses we had to get new silver ware, since they only had a setting for 2 a course meal. I guess when we are paying over $300 for a dinner I expect a little better service. I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO CLEAR MY OWN PLATES TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE NEXT ONE!!!! We get our 4th Tasting which was " ONE" Seared Scallop. By the time the food was delivered my girlfriends drink was empty and there was no attempt to check on her until the dish was cold. We were finally able to order a glass of wine each and that was promptly delivered. I guess the most disappointing part of the evening was when the fireworks began, everyone that was not seated near the window or had seats on the other side of the restaurant ran to take the empty tables in front of us, BLOCKING THE ENTIRE VIEW. A few people needed to take selfies and stand up so that we could not see the fireworks unless we stood and left our table. Management made no attempt to ask these people to sit down. At the beginning of the evening my girlfriend had given the hostess our Groupon that was suppose to be applied to our bill. When we got the bill they forget to take it off and we had to wait for that to be corrected. After Taking off the $60 the bill was still over $200 and with the tip the bill was over $250. We paid $89 a piece for a Chefs Tasting menu that was designed to make the most of serving us a LITTLE AS POSSIBLE. This menu felt like it was designed with some one who lacked creativity. I even wondered if of our dishes were even created in the kitchen or came out of a jar and or a package. If you are going to spend a nice bit of hard earned money on what you are expecting to be a special dinner, you expect a little better service. From having to ask for clean silverware, moving my dishes to make room for the next tasting, to getting what tasted like stale butter with our bread, we both noticed that thing were a bit off. Some of the tables were folding banquet tables. Chairs were significantly scratched up to be noticeable. The one I sat it felt like it was missing the cushion. Peter, our waiter was very nice to ask us if we were driving or taking a taxi. When we stated we took a taxi, he advised us to tell the doorman on the 1st floor and they can request a cab or turn on the cab light. Well when we got to the 1st floor and asked them to turn on the cab light, the men both seemed to chuckle and then one said we would not be able to get one due to the time of night and heavy traffic and it would be better if we walked up to Michigan Ave. to get a cab. We walked outside and traffic was heavy and we tried to hail a cab in front of the building but ended up walking 3 blocks to get one. IF IT IS YOUR 1st TIME IN CHICAGO and you want to experience something special try Girl and the Goat or Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder. We Went to the Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder last night. The bill for 4 people, which included a Italian Fiesta Salad 3 Pizzas and and Oven Grinder and 4 glasses of wine was a little over $100.

A

A Private User

I have to start by saying that I have never once written a review for these things, but it was absolutely necessary for this experience. My husband and I made a reservation for the late seating at Cite for a romantic new years eve. We were beyond disappointed. In fact, both of us agreed this was one of the worst dining experiences wed ever had. Our evening began when we were seated at a table that had a spill on the tablecloth. We then were moved to a different table that was not completely set, so we were greeted with the wait staff apologizing and throwing water and wine glasses at our table. We then waited approximately 30 minutes before seeing a menu because they had "run out" and had to wait for another table to be done. We asked for recommendations on the wine and our waiter seemed ill-informed of our choices and gave no descriptions of any of the courses. Our reservation was at 9:30pm and we did not see our first course until 10:45pm. All of the food was mediocre at best. The wait staff seemed to be running through the restaurant the whole time and it was clear they were understaffed and under-prepared for the evening. They were not discreet either and kept having casual and inappropriate conversations with each other out in the dining room. There were even former waitresses who came by to visit I guess and were cursing and flirting with the current wait staff out in the dining room as well. We were served our entrees at 11:55pm and had wanted to watch the fireworks off of Navy Pier (one of the reasons we chose the restaurant), so by the time we got back, they were cold. The staff was even serving entrees during the fireworks, so we saw other tables come back to the same experience. When our outrageous bill came at the end of the night, I was certainly tempted to argue it down, but held back. For the price we were paying ($225 per person, PLUS alcohol and gratuity), we had expected a classier experience. We will never go to this restaurant again.

MA

MATEUSZ LECHOWICZ

Went there back in September for an anniversary with my girlfriend. Food was just how you would expect it 70 stories in the air; very expensive and not filling whatsoever and not to mention $7 for a glass of coke. We ordered the escargot which was actually amazing. Food took quite a while and was decent ( I had the roasted duck while she had the rack of lamb ). So you might be wondering why the 1 star? Well it seems to be a common reoccurring theme , THE WAITER! Never have I been so disrespected by someone who is supposed to have a professional attitude towards the customer. I get it, Im in high school but that does not change the fact that I am a paying customer. Our waiter was some french guy who was very rude and treated us like we were less because of our age. He seemed to have no patience with us while ordering and only showed up to our table twice; when we were ordering and when he brought the bill. Keep in mind this is on a Thursday evening with maybe two other couples in the restaurant so there should be no reason for the lack of service. He simply hovered over the two other parties because they were older and were more likely to tip better? The busboy was nice enough to come by and service us by refilling our drinks and tending to our needs, while our waiter would keep his head forward and ignore us as he walked by. Finally the night came to an end and our bill came (a little over $130) which we kindly tipped our waiter $2 for all his "hard work", our waiter comes back thinking that there was an error on the gratuity calculations on the bottom of the receipt, here comes one of the most enjoyable parts of the night, telling the waiter there was no error and that he got what he deserved which he then stormed off. How could you expect even a 10% tip for 2 minutes of work? Cite could definitely do a lot better when considering staffing as I dont seem to be the only one to have a problem with the staff.