Apolonia Reviews

The food was delicious. Every dish has a mix of creative and unusual flavors. The wines by the glass were great and so was the service. The decor is a bit too plain to my taste (it seems like the furniture comes from Ikea!) but it is soon forgotten after the first dish arrives

The food was excellent. Bronzino and duck was excellent. Noise level is loud. Atmosphere and staff were excellent. The wine list was exceptional. Something for everyone.

I cross-posted this review to Yelp. I’m so happy with my meals here that I thought Apolonia deserves more exposure: As I type this, I’m in my room at the Marriott Marquise near McCormick Place, where I’ve been attending a scientific conference. I arrived Sunday night, and Monday evening, I went to Apolonia based on Yelp reviews. I asked for seating for one, and I was given a seat at the bar. It turned out to be the best seat I could have asked for. The bartender asked what I’d like to drink, and I mentioned white wine, either a Sauvignon Blanc or a Riesling. He described the Riesling, and it sounded exactly what I wanted for the evening. I ordered the Black Truffle Puff Bread, because it was highly recommended online, and I asked if the Braised Lamb Bucatini was too much to order alongside the Bread. It sounded great, but I didn’t want to overeat. He responded it was a great combination and not too much, so I went with it. He said I could sop up the sauce from the bucatini with the puff bread, which I was delighted to do. Both were superb, as was the wine, which was a hint sweeter than I expected and still excellent. The bucatini was so flavorful, while the puff bread was the perfect blend of taste — who can resist garlic and black truffles — heat, crunchiness on the outside, and tender moistness on the inside. I had The Pistachio (pistachio ice cream) for dessert. I ate elsewhere Tuesday evening (Il Culaccino — also an excellent restaurant), but I absolutely had to return Wednesday night to Apolonia, at the very least for the must-have Black Truffle Puff Bread. I asked for a reservation and was given one at the bar, again. Actually, I requested the bar. Sam, the bartender, recognized me, and this time — apart from the Puff Bread — I asked for his recommendations for everything else. For my main, he recommended the Wild Caught Swordfish (with truffled tapioca, tender celery, and celery root). Again, he suggested sopping up the sauce with the puff bread. I tried sopping up the sauce with the puff bread, and it was very tasty, but the bread wasn’t quite absorbent enough, so I wound up drinking down the sauce after the swordfish, much the same way I drink down the ramen broth at a good ramen shop. The wine was a Falanghina. For dessert, I asked for Sam’s recommendation, and I had the Pain Perdu, which was kind of like a superb English Toffee Bread Pudding. I paired it with the Apolonia Vermouth. I went to Greece for the first time this summer, and I had some truly excellent food, from street restaurants to some fine dining. It was all uniformly excellent, and I was surprised at how much roasted meats I ate. I can say without reservation that my two dinners at Apolonia were the best meals I’ve had since my trip to Greece and that the service I received from Sam, the bartender, and the other staff at Apolonia were equally excellent and engaging.

Ate here during a business trip. We happened to just walk up and walk in. That is not recommended, we were luck to get a table. And there is a reason for that. The food was amazing. Excellently executed and great ingredients. Nice atmosphere. Great staff. Great service. I wish I had enough time to come back and try other dishes.

Amazing food and great service - a lovely evening. Creative but very accessible dishes and caring, knowledgeable, and eager servers. We loved it!

Food was good and well presented. Service was timely and polite, although my wife had to ask for lemon 3 times. We were told that the server would check to see if one of the desserts was available and we never heard back. Hence we didn't order it, or care to, when they returned to our table and we had to ask again. My biggest issue is with all the info that was asked during the reservation; special occassion, diet restrictions and preferences. None of it was used. We had diet restrictions and none were presented. We were there for a special occasion and no attention given. These are not deal breakers, but it's attention to detail that gets us to return.

I needed a nice place to take a client for lunch during a recent conference at McCormick Place. I'm so glad I found Apolonia. The food was fantastic, the service was impeccable, and the atmosphere was great. It was a wonderful dining experience all around. I'd look forward to going back.

Probably the best restaurant in the McCormick Place conference area. We booked early in the day on passing by the place. Was busy in the evening so reservations are probably a must. Menu was interesting and distinctly different from the ordinary. We started with two small plates, yellowtail crudo, decorated with cherries, and black truffle puff bread, so light it seemed to float off the plate. For the main courses we enjoyed grilled Salmon with a spring ragout and roasted duck breast served with artichokes. The restaurant was attractive and split into two sections, one with well spaced tables, the other with a parallel row of seats. Service was good all night. Atmosphere fine too. Depending of your seating, you can observe the chefs at work. We would highly recommend Apolonia.

We dined at Apolonia on our way to a concert at Northerly Island and it was a great dining experience. Service was friendly, professional and timely - the team works seamlessly together so we never felt like we needed to ask for anything. We did only their small plates but it was perfect - the artichoke hummus was amazing as was the harissa spiced lamb skewer. Both perfectly seasoned and great flavor combinations. The roasted beet salad along with the yellowtail crudo were beautifully plated and again, the chefs know what they're doing here with just the right touch of creativity along with perfectly balanced flavor combinations. The truffle puff bread was perfect for sopping every last bit up! We ended with chocolate and pistachio gelatos. Highly recommend and will definitely come back when in Chicago. The Apolonia Team deserves a big round of applause for putting out really tasty, creative food in a beautiful, modern atmosphere!

Went here several times during my trip. Great wine list by the bottle and by the glass. Great mixed cocktails; try the espresso martini! Chocolate liquor makes it! Tried many dishes and all were over the top. Foil gras was a repeat favorite. This place just knocks it out of the park! There are layers to their food so be sure and get a taste of everything in your bite. All of the staff was great but Sam and Vincente at the the bar did a marvelous job. Would I go back? You bet! And I did numerous times. Tried a majority of the menu and it was all exceptional. Can’t wait to go back here and see their new menu items they may come up with.

What a lovely enhancement to the McCormick Place area. Although the restaurant felt a little cold (other color choices and some greenery would have been nice) the service and food was great. They put a different twist on a frittata that I have not seen before. Imagine an egg pie with potatoes and bell peppers imbedded? Works well for those who may have a gluten allergy. If you are staying in the downtown area, it may not be worth the trek for lunch, but if you are in town for a conference, it is perfect for a business meeting or small group meal.

Apolonia, the second restaurant from chef Stephen Gillanders of Y.E.S. fame, occupies a corner at Cermak and S. Michigan Ave. The entrance is on Cermak, It’s handy to both McCormick Place and Wintrust Arena. It’s modern-looking and airy with giant floor to ceiling windows (one opens wide onto Michigan Ave), white walls, polished concrete floors, blond wood furniture and it’s well-lit. There’s a white-tiled open kitchen at the back with wood-burning ovens. Tables are well-spaced apart. All the hard surfaced make it loud when full, as it was by about 8 pm on a weeknight. The food is Mediterranean-influenced. There are plates for sharing besides pasta dishes and entrée-size dishes. The wine list likewise skews toward the Med with Spanish, French, Italian and Greek offerings. There were quite a few wines by the glass, including several vermouths, and a short by-the-bottle list, plus a few featured cocktails, ciders and beer choices. Two of us ordered the black truffle puff bread, mussel toast, boursin-filled ravioli with a green pea veloute and the pork confit large plate. We debated also having the warm calamari salad but were happy we didn’t as it would have been too much food. The puff bread was an interesting novelty, a focaccia dough that is dropped in hot oil in a skillet and baked in an oven where it expands and becomes hollow, dusted w/ cheese, salt. parsley and black truffle for flavor. The mussel toast had a generous amount of bivalves layered on toasted crusty bread and a ramekin of tingly espelette pepper sauce poured over at the table. It was delicious. The medium-size ravioli were creamy and unctuous; there were about a dozen in the bowl, so enough to share. The pork confit was a rectangle of shredded meat with a crust of pork skin that was hard to cut but so good. A small amount of soft cippolini onions, crisp swiss chard and amatriciana sauce accompanied it. We had room for a shared dessert and chose the pistachio, served in a lidded bowl which featured a base of pistachio cake, pistachio gelato topped by a ring of caramelized pistachio and a spoonful of (I think) pistachio oil in the middle. This was a good introduction to the menu and worthy of a return visit to further explore it. Prices were moderate; dinner for 2 before tip with 2 glasses of wine and one expresso came to $139 with tax and a 3.5% “PPE fee(!)” but before tip.

We went on a Sunday afternoon for brunch, having made a reservation. Very cool space—lots of light, beautiful use of light woods. The space feels Scandinavian and Mediterranean at the same time. I also appreciated that they had covered the bottoms of tables and chairs with carpets; these were the only soft surfaces in the entire space, and they really helped with noise. The brunch menu had a solid array of options—a couple of breakfast items, a couple of salads, and some heavier entrees. It wasn’t hard to find something you wanted to eat. The food itself was okay; a salmon tartare was excellent, French toast was disappointing. However, it took FOREVER to get the food. Our brunch meal was 2.5 hours due to the slow service; that is unacceptably long. We waited over an hour for our plates to appear after ordering them. And it took nearly 40 minutes to place the order because our server disappeared. Service was weak throughout the meal; when our server was present, she was aloof. Requests for basic items (e.g., a straw) took multiple requests. Nice space, decent food, but would not return based on the poor service.

Went there with clients on a business dinner. Was greeted by an arrogant host then arrogant manager. Have spent lots of money there before but will not return