Boka

Yes, Boka deserves to get all 5 stars. After my meal there last night, I think it might be the best restaurant in all of Chicago (including its neighbor). The nice thing about this place is that its a fine dining establishment where you can just straight up order or get the tasting menu. We went for the tasting menu with the wine pairings. Most of us got the standard, but one did get the enhanced. Tuna Taco: Excellent fresh start. Most at my table thought this was the "worst" dish of the night. With all the courses, it got a little bit lost in the mix, but I think it was more of a palate cleanser. Tempura Mitake: This came out with the Tuna Taco, but most of us ate second. We were glad we did as this was a little heavier than the taco. It went excellent with the wine which was bubbly. I am not a big mushroom fan, but this was good! Bread and Butter: While technically not a course, I greatly enjoyed this. Very good bread and fresh butter! The others at the table were not as excited for this, but I loved it! Cured Hiramasa: This had a great citrus flavor and had crunchy bottom. It was also served with a Kabinett which is my favorite wine. Up til this point, the table agreed that this was the strongest dish. White Asparagus: We also really like this with its citrus sauce (sense a theme?). Again, not the biggest asparagus fan, but I liked this! Stracinati: This was my absolute favorite dish (it was everybody else's third favorite). It had a buttery and crunchy thing going on that I absolutely loved. The pasta was also cooked perfectly! Ocean Trout: This was everybody's favorite hands down (it was my third favorite). This trout was flaky and served in a bed of sauce. The wine that went with this was outstanding! Wagyu: Who doesn't like a piece of steak? This was everybody's second favorite dish. Steak was nearly melt in your mouth and the lettuce was grilled which gave it a neat charred flavor. Sorbet: We started to get super filled at this part. The sorbet was good, but nothing too exciting. We REALLY lied the brown butter crumbles on the bottom. I could have eaten a bowl of that granola looking thing! Buckwheat Porridge: We were unsure on this, but this was a VERY STRONG ending to our meal. There was so much sweet and fruit flavor in here. We ended with some chocolates and small cookies which were good, but I didn't really get much of a description. We all got a little tea cake to take home which sounded excellent. I will be eating it when I get home tonight as I didn't have any more room in my stomach! As for the service, it might be some of the greatest I have ever gotten in a restaurant. Augustus was outstanding and perfectly matched the excitement of our table. We had a few people new to fine dining and he fielded so many great questions. His wine speeches were top notch. As for the wine pairings, I would say that they were the biggest deal of the night. We got 7 samples of wines that went with dishes perfectly. The higher end pairings went well for the one person except the second to last wine (he ended up bringing out the standard one that we all had for her instead). While the wines she had were of the higher end, please know that the standard pairing aren't much lower in quality. Theres a big difference between a $10 bottle of wine and a $50. Its harder comparing a $50 to a $100 so don't feel bad about getting the "cheap" pairing. Shoutout to Max and Juan who were helping Augustus with making sure our table looked presentable and our waters were alway filled. Once again, outstanding service! Speaking of cheap. This place isn't cheap, but it never pretends to be! This is the fine dining that you see on "The Bear". In fact, I would say that this is a slightly better deal than most of the other fine dining restaurants in Chicago. The food is fancy, but approachable. Its upscale, but not stuffy. The food, wine, and service is all top notch so I will be coming back here again sometime in the future. This will be my "go to" super fancy place.

Went here to celebrate my birthday with a friend. Did the 8 course tasting menu on Sunday, April 7. Service was incredible - water was ALWAYS full, and the food had a lot of variety. They do serve a vegetarian tasting menu, and it looked comparable to the normal one. Highlights included the strascinati (pasta with a cream sauce), the slow cooked Tasmanian ocean trout (tasted like a perfectly cooked salmon with a cream sauce), and the French white asparagus. The tasting menu was heavier on the cream side and the first few bites of the tasting menu had more gelatin that I was expecting. $175 is a little pricey, but Boka is a staple to go to. I'm glad we went, and it didn't feel pretentious or over the top. You can come in nice sneakers or heels - which is a plus for the environment :) The service was INCREDIBLE and we felt taken care of the entire meal. I'll definitely want to come back for a restaurant week one year!

Great food good staff Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

We came here for our anniversary and did the tasting menu. First off, the atmosphere is so lovely, so warm, inviting, and welcoming. They offer to take your coats before sitting you at your table. We sat in the back area underneath the beautiful glass canopy. Our waiter was attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly. This was our first time at a Michelin starred restaurant, and the service alone was worth it! My husband joked that his glass of water was never even a little bit empty. They were that impressive! All the dishes were superb. Each glass of wine paired so perfectly with each dish, creating multiple flavor profiles every time. The trout was unbelievable, I've never had fish that tender. At the end of the meal, they gave us to go snacks and a menu of our meal including the wine! The pound cake treat was phenomenal. Can't wait to come back!! Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4 Service: 4 Atmosphere: 5

Can't believe this was a the first time since moving to Chicago 14 years ago that I went to Boka. Overall thought the experience was fantastic. Food was spot on and the atmosphere was excepted. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4

As a wedding planner, I am always aiming to find the best of the best. The total experience was amazing. They are taking care of you and every detail are important , the tasting menu was exceptional and the décor very nice. Thank you ! My teenagers were ecstatic. A note of 9 out of 10 Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 5 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5

Was really excited to go here but once we were at the restaurant we really just had a rough time. Made us wait 30 minutes after our reservation at an empty restaurant, worse service than an uncle Julios and mediocre cocktails. Definitely a let down for me. Our waiter was a great person but mostly staff is completely out of it, as if they just had a 12 hour shift and struggle to show emotion or enthusiasm. Service: 1 Atmosphere: 2

We had a lovely dinner at Boka. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 4 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 4

The team here goes above and beyond to ensure you are having the best experience possible. They are a great group of people. Service: Dine in Meal type: Dinner Price per person: $100+ Food: 4 Service: 5 Atmosphere: 5