GreenRiver

Came here around 9 on a Friday night for drinks. We were lucky and were able to get 3 seats at the bar. I had the coal miner’s daughter, American woman, and mr.dooley. We loved every cocktail we had. The setting is nice and bright too. Very fun place for a drink. Great bartenders. We will be back!

Can’t speak to the food menu, but the cocktails are incredible – I had both the Coal Miner’s Daughter and Mr. Dooley, which were both excellent. For the warmer months, there’s an awesome outdoor terrace (the place is on the 18^th floor), but the indoor portion is still great ambiance-​wise. Bartenders are quick and friendly, too.

Came here for my birthday with my girlfriend. We had an excellent time!
First and foremost, we had excellent service. Good service can be hard to find in this city for some reason or another, but our server, Blake, helped make our evening special. He was attentive, responsive, and was quite knowledgeable about the cocktail list, which can be a tad bit overwhelming.
As for the cocktails… oh, those lovely, lovely cocktails. The names of every cocktail we had was lost in a haze, but everything we had was fantastic. I now want to try everything on that list. While the food was very good overall, the main reason to come back here is the cocktails.
We definitely will be back!

Came here for lunch last week. In a strange location (18^th floor at Northwestern hospital), but beautiful on the inside. Serious thought was put into every detail. Danny Meyer and his team here in Chicago does not disappoint. I don’t normally engage in alcoholic consumption on a weekday, but the never ending list of hand crafted cocktails (which they are known for) made me curious! I opted for the Comiskey park — calvados, Marie framboise, picon, amaro nonino, almond, allspice, and creole bitters. Slightly smokey and sweet and bitter all at the same time. Warm feeling in my bones, beautifully crafted ice sphere.
Gnocchi lightly carmelized outside, mushrooms with great buttery flavor and tang, creamy slightly nutty green sauce.
Dessert, moist and fluffy chiboust cake, lemon notes in the sorbet, sugared cranberries with the right amount of tart, shredded phyllo nest, grapefruit pulp bits. This elegant plated beauty captivated my eyes and my palate. A+ to the pastry chef and the newly hired pastry cook (as I’m told) from Acadia!

Underwhelming. With all the 4 and 5 star reviews I admit my expectations were high. And I live 2 blocks from it (although U would never find it in a hospital bldg) and i wanted to love it. The décor was nice, the bar was hopping, the outdoor deck and views will be wonderful in better weather.
But…the drink menu is weird. Hard to navigate. The drinks look fancy-​shmancy but honestly r not that tasty. Very pricy. Trying too hard. My $ 16 tiny cocktail was a huge disappointment. Can i get a beer or a vodka? I don’t know. I can’t read the menu.
Restaurant is small. High-​top tables near the bar and a few tables near the windows on a very cold January night. Brrrr. After requesting a table change or more heat from 3 different people, we relocated ourselves.
Menu? No rhyme or reason. Nothing flowed. Hard to pair starters with salads with mains. Our waiter Justin seemed ill-​trained. Maybe it was his first day – he forgot to bring the cheese and crisps to the table. Sloooooow service! – we were starving by the time our tiny $ 18 salad arrived. Hard to choose between a pasta, a $ 100 steak, a meh burger, a fish. This menu needs serious tweaking.
Our bill was over $ 200. At these prices one would think a manager would be circulating. After Justin brought our cheese and crisps at the end of the meal we asked for a manger and Jessica stopped by our table. She seemed unable to understand our concerns – that the training was weak, the service was careless, and the food did not stand out in any way from any other place in town. She offered us a round of after dinner drinks, and disappeared. Rachel the bar tender tried her best to salvage the night for us and got the highest marks of the night.
Bottom line… I will be back because I live nearby and I will check out the outdoor space. I will probably just come for drinks and order something normal like wine or beer and call it a day. I think as a new restaurant, in a bldg where u will be very hard to find, you really need to step up your game in this food city. Too much competition for a lackluster performance.

I dined at GreenRiver tonight (1÷22÷16) with my love and felt that I needed to write my review ASAP because the experience was that good. I’m giving GreenRiver 4.5 stars and here’s why.
Location/​Décor — while the restaurant may be located inside one of Northwestern Memorial Hospital many building in my hood, I never once felt like I was in a hospital building while dining. The layout of the restaurant was nice and allowed for an easy flow of traffic, provided a great view to those lucky enough to get a table by the window and gave those sitting at the tables with the long booth opposite the windows space between the tables so you won’t feel like the other patrons can hear every word you say.
Service — our server Brett was attentive, friendly and gave us excellent recommendations on drinks and food. Definitely try and sit in his section of you can.
Drinks — were refreshing with interesting mixtures of ingredients. I recommend trying the Hellcat.
Food — was magically delicious. I enjoyed all, but one of the dishes we had. I think I’ll be dreaming about the Pork Belly for the next couple of days!
* French Fries — how can you not love fries?! 4 stars
* Whitefish Tartine — utterly divine to the tastebuds. 5 stars
* Hamachi Crudo — a beautiful dish, but just didn’t hit the mark for me. 2.5 stars
* Pork Belly — OMG so good, so flavorful, soooo worth ordering again the next time I done here. 5 stars
* Ocean Trout — my date had this and he really enjoyed it. When it came out the presentation was so pretty it made it hard to cut into, but he’s so glad he did because it was amazing. 4.5 stars
* Potato Gnocchi — we decided to be greedy and split the gnocchi and I’m so glad we did. It was fluffy deliciousness with a mix of mushroom, black truffle and Parmesan that was a perfect combination. 4.5 stars
Dessert — while we were pleasantly stuffed we made sure we saved room for desert.
* Root Beer Panna Cotta — I’m usually on the fence when it comes to Panna Cotta, but the Root Beer flavor and the Parsnip Ice Cream had me tastebuds skipping on that fence in pure delight. 4 stars
*Chocolate Ganache Tart — must try this dessert, you won’t be sorry (if you are well I apologize). That’s all that needs to be said. 5 stars

Wow. That’s all I can say as the perfectly cooked skate wing with roasted squash and black lentils has left me speechless. Just before, I had the pork terrine, which was very good… just not on the same level as the skate wing. Rolling back the night, the bartenders served outrageously good cocktails made with skill and caring. Everyone from the hostesses to the servers were friendly and attentive. Definitely one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in Chicago since my visit to Alinea. Doesn’t hurt that there’s a Stan’s Donuts on the ground floor, too! :-)

This place threw me off when I initially walked into one of the newer pavilions for Northwestern Hospital, I had no idea some swanky cocktail place would be perched over the river from this address. Luckily, we stopped by before a big rush so we were able to grab a standing table without a problem.
The drinks were very unique. I liked how the menus explained the history behind each cocktail, interesting stuff. Overall, the drinks we tried were pretty solid, they hooked me enough to want to check out Dead Rabbit in NYC, which is affiliated with Green River.
Overall, I’ll be back, most likely once its nice enough out to sit on the patio.

I went to GreenRiver with a coworker for lunch. It was totally delicious (and not to mention an easier reservation than dinner)!
The space is really comfortable and attractive. Modern, but not cold.
My coworker, knowing that I was treating her, started with a very expensive and very fancy cocktail. I think it had Japanese scotch in it, and she loved it.
We ordered and shared:
— The smoked whitefish tartine.
— The farro salad.
— The fried chicken sandwich.
— The frites.
The best thing BY FAR as the tartine. I would eat one every day if that was possible. Truly. I also really enjoyed the farro salad.
The fried chicken sandwich was totally tasty. Juicy and good. I mean really – how bad can a fried chicken sandwich be? The frites were also very delicious.
I definitely recommend GreenRiver for lunch! Looking forward to going back with my husband for dinner some time soon :)

Destination dining in a hospital?! Well, color me pleasantly surprised.
So far, I’ve only gone for lunch, but I’m already making plans to return for dinner sooner rather than later.
It’s on the 18^th floor of the Lavin Pavilion of NMH, but as soon as you step off the elevator, you’ll forget you’re in a building that’s actually a hospital. It’s so chic and inviting that I wanted to stay all afternoon.
I started with a delicious gin-​based cocktail named Haley’s Comet. So crisp and refreshing. It was citrusy, and effervescent, with lemon, kaffir lime, bitters, and cava.
For lunch, I had the express soup and sandwich combo, which rotates often (not sure if it’s daily or weekly). Initially, I had had my heart set on the parisian gnocchi, until our server gushed about the onion soup with parmesan crisp, served with a grilled cheese sandwich of Comte, cheddar, and garlic aioli on miche. Then all bets were off.
It was the kind of lunch that hits every craving I have: warm, melty cheese, rich, savory broth, toasted bread, and a zippy aioli.
I also tried a bite of my companion’s burger, which was also first-​rate. Very similar to Au Cheval. I did find the cheddar dust on the frites kind of overpowering, but I liked that they tried to do something fun.
I skipped dessert in favor of another cocktail, but you can bet your booty I’ll be trying one of those on my next visit.
The space is beautiful. The staff is polite, from the minute you reserve your table until you leave. And the food? Well, it’s pretty terrific too.
I liked everything about this place.

My friends and I went pretty early, so there was absolutely no wait (except to wait for it to open). The view was nice and I liked the décor. The views were kind of blocked by buildings, but that’s not the restaurants fault.
The lunch menu was small and condensed. We asked the waiter what was good and he suggested the chicken sandwich. It might be due to personal taste, but I didn’t even bother finishing my $ 14 chicken burger because it tasted weird to me. Anyway, I quite liked the overall experience.

This is probably the best thing to happen to any hospital building in the world! I mean, who expects a stellar restaurant with a fantastic cocktail menu on top of a hospital? It’s completely strange, but it totally works.
Located on the 18^th floor of one of the Northwestern Hospital buildings, Green River serves delectable fare with a great view of the city. Now you can have your doctor’s appointment in the same building and then go up to the 18^th floor and have a fabulous drink to neutralize the experience or celebrate the fact that that wart-​like thing on your inner thigh is just a skin tag, not herpes. #winning
The thought of writing about the cocktails makes me excited and jump up and down the sofa like Tom Cruise on the Oprah show. I will not delve in to details — mainly because I don’t remember all the ingredients that went in to the cocktails I had — but I will say this is probably the most elaborate/​complex cocktail menu I have seen in Chicago lately. Granted, I don’t get out much (I am held hostage by work in East Africa), but this cocktail menu is just out of this world fabulous. The drinks are arranged by grain, making it easy to pick what you like. Werk it!
All the food is spectacular, but one dish deserves a special mention. The foie gras! As if foie itself is not fatty enough, GreenRiver serves a slab of sautéed foie on bread pudding. Why yes, I will take my foie with a side of Lipitor. It is probably the most delicious thing you have eaten lately. Good thing, this restaurant is in a hospital. You may go downstairs and get a prescription for Lipitor after dinner. Or if you are anything like me, you will order a second serving. Go big or go home, right?
Of all the places I ate in Chicago during my recent trip, I will remember GreenRiver fondly. In fact, it was so good that we returned twice during our 6 day stay in Chicago. It is perfect for date night, business dinners (we took my boss one night), and catching up with friends. Don’t let the strange hospital location deter you from visiting GreenRiver. Get there asap… and while you are there, get that physical done at Northwestern Hospital. When was the last time you checked your balls or breasts? Do it!

Made a reservation for here for the anniversary with the bf and it was a superb evening from the staff to the drinks and the food. Oysters to start were gorgeous — the house rose mignonette is incredible. Had the whitefish tartine, chicken oysters, fluke, scallop, octopus, and saffron spaghetti. Would handsdown recommend any of these dishes. The hot sauce with the chicken was a nice highlight as well as the crispy chickpeas with the octopus.
The drinks were fabulous, and while there is nothing wrong with the coctail list, make sure to not neglect their boozy sodas.
I will also say as long time industry people, we’re usually easy to impress, but the small details also get noticed. I mentioned it was our anniversary when the reservationist called to confirm, and I noticed she added it to our notes. We were wished a happy anniversary three different times by the staff and had a phenomenal table view to boot. Braved the cold on the terrace for our dessert cocktail and my bf realized he had left his hat at the table. The host was calling me less than a minute later to let me know they had it up front waiting for us. Needless to say I was very impressed and will be looking forward to going back.

WOW is this place a gem! The boyfriend found it and we decided to go give it a shot while in Chicago. It is in a totally weird location so you have to know where your going but once you get to the 18^th floor you will fall in love. I immediately did! the décor and ambiance is beautiful. The hostess was so nice and walked us to the bar.
At the bar we had a few appetizers. The white fish and fries. They were both awesome! Started with the drink «the teddy bear» which was light and refreshing, a little sweet and not too boozy. The drink menu is a little overwhelming and split up by the base (rye, barley etc (but the bartenders were really helpful in drink selection which I can appreciate.
DJ, one of the bartenders, was really nice, and even gave u s some other bar recommendations in the city. All the drinks were awesome and well balanced. I only wish the patio had been open as it looked like it had an amazing view.
Catch this place while you can, I think it will quickly become one of Chicago’s hot spots.

A little torn on my rating on this place… food top notch, but service not the best. Really craving a 3.5 star on this one, but I’ll round up to 4 since the place is new and service can improve.
We showed up on a Thursday about 8:45 for dinner, but didn’t make a reservation as we checked opentable a bit before and they seemed to have plenty of times left and we didn’t want to be in a schedule. The hostess seemed to be pretty surprised we didn’t have a booking and said she needed to walk to floor in order to tell us how long the wait would be. We said we would go elsewhere if it would be awhile and she couldn’t even say if it would be more like 15 mins or an hour. We ended up grabbing a drink at the bar and was 15 min wait so no biggie, just weird.
Started with cocktails and the bartender was really good at explaining the menu and just offering a suggestion if you tell him what you like. The drink menu is a little confusing as it’s split up by wheat, barley, juniper etc, but I’m not on top of what alcohols are derived from so nice to get some help. The bar is also really big so would be a great place to just come for a cocktail. I had the Haley’s Comet — really good passion fruit and sparkling type.
For dinner we got seated at a high top table, which we weren’t super crazy about. Just don’t like high tops for a nice dinner. We were seated for a bit before the waiter came over and we weren’t even given menus. So finally got menus, but no commentary from the waiter asking if we’d been there before, explaining the menu at all. Just pretty poor for a new restaurant and the menu was kind of unclear if the plates were meant for share plates or what. We ordered a couple starters and after we decided he says well they are small, you probably need more. So yeah just could def improve the experience.
Ok so now done with the complaining and on to the food. Really loved everything we had. Food was not only beautiful, but so delicious. I even took a pic of my main even though I hate to be that gal!
For starters we shared the fluke crudo, octopus, and farro salad. All were great, but the crudo was def my fav. Just super fresh and citrusy, loved it. For my main I had the pork belly and it was delicious and very beautiful plating. Had a few great sauces on the plate, but everything just went together beautifully.
If they can work on some kinks and provide some better service, this could def be a five star place.

So I saw this place pop in the restaurant world and I thought… sounds great.
I realized that it’s INSIDE northwestern… eeeewwww, makes me feel like I’m going to work. Or the hospital or whatever… it’s odd. I hated walking through the bright, sterile lobby on the way to the elevators. I was very skeptical and definitely having «foodie remorse» as we traveled up the elevator… we should’ve went somewhere else…
But that’s where the weirdness stopped. Alas, the 18^th floor was BUMPING! Damn, it’s a Wednesday at 730p and I think everyone is here… everyone. It’s sleek, it’s huge, it’s trendy… I loved it. The views from our table were great. Beautiful building views. There is a terrace but it was freezing so no one was out there.
The drinks… wow, a huge ass menu full of drinks. Split up by booze choice. You can tell these guys are cocktail focused. Amazing.
The food was all amazing. I was shocked.
Tartare-​amazing. The bread was fantastic and the tartare smooth and flavorful
Octopus-​charred just enough with the bean sauce and some crisp veggies to off set. Yum!
Salad-​huge ass chunks and at first u thought it was going to be too bitter but nope! Perfect lettuce, sauce, croûton flavors
Frites-​crispy and thicker, which I love. Right amount of flavor and salt
Halibut-​wow, perfectly cooked. Delicious crisp sauce, with a hint of butter. Yum. It melted in our mouths.
Risotto-​other than looking like a purple mess, damn, this was heavenly. It was amazing and different from other risottos. More flavor and not just cheesy-​gooey. It was rich in flavor and I loved it.
Service was great. Server was always around but not overtly crazy about checking on us. Some of the timing was off… but overall, I’m sure it was due to 3 chatty women.
Are we in a hospital?! Yes and I would tell you to go visit your sick aunt and then head to Green River for a fantastic meal, view, & cocktail. Two birds… one stone

Green River offers one of the better cocktail lists in Chicago, and the dining area is upscale, trendy and yet intimate. The approach, through long hospital-​like corridors is a bit weird, but once there you can settle in and enjoy some interesting small plates and a lot of cocktails.
One word of caution is that wine offerings are pretty limited, so it’s definitely a cocktail place. I liked that there were a lot of choices that weren’t overly sweet.
Food was good, even if there were no real home runs. Service was very knowledgeable and helpful.

This was an absolutely fantastic afternoon, playing hooky with the wife while enjoying the beautiful views of Streeterville from the newest neighborhood bar and restaurant, GreenRiver Chicago.
Kelly was our waitress and gave us plenty of time to peruse the detailed and story-​filled custom cocktails menu. We opted to start with the «Coal Miner’s Daughter», featuring Plantation Barbados 5 Year Reserve, Noilly Prat vermouth, Amaro Nonino liqueur, banana, Crème de Noyaux, absinthe and bitters ($ 13). My wife had «The Hellcat», featuring Swedish wheat vodka, apricot juice, chocolate, macadamia nut, lemon, grapefruit and bitters ($ 16).
Our late lunch included a rich bowl of leek soup, an app of beef tartare with egg yolk, horseradish and capers, and a cheesy panini-​styled, butter-​soaked half sandwich of various roasted veggies with the most perfect frites we’ve ever enjoyed.
Our second round of custom drinks included the «63 East Adams» cocktail, featuring Old Forester Kentucky Bourbon, Cynar Amaro, lemon, ajwain herbs, honey, blackberries and smoked peppercorn ($ 13). And the «Easy Eddie», had Buffalo Trace Bourbon, green chartreuse, yuzu, lemon, banana and Xocolatl bitters ($ 13).
The views off the 18^th floor deck are amazing, and on an early October afternoon, it was certainly warm enough to walk about and sit for a spell. The restaurant interior is very modern, with deep, rich wood tones, a smattering of artwork and intricately carved wooden walls. The open kitchen runs parallel to the mile-​long bar, which is flanked by a wall of liquor bottles and peppered with apothecary-​style bottles of spirit accessories, including various elixirs, eyedroppers of infused liquids and spray bottles of herbal essences.
All total, our lunch featured four signature cocktails, the large beef tartare appetizer and a shared sandwich plate with fries and leek soup — just over $ 90. Service was spot-​on, featuring regular visits by über-​waitress Kelly to check on our progress, and the bartender who solicited candid feedback on his cocktail creations.
We can’t wait to return for dinner! Welcome to Streeterville!

Having seen other restaurants fail on NMH campus I’m skeptical of the location but this is an excellent addition to streeterville! My only gripe is that I wish it had opened this spring so I could have enjoyed the patio longer!
I came here for a late lunch with a friend on a beautiful October day. We sat on the terrace and the views were incredible. The terrace itself is beautifully done and quite spacious. There are succulents and small landscaped areas along with couches, tables and views of the lake.
The service throughout our meal was timely and the waitress was very thorough and descriptive. We started with the beef tartare which was a nice sized portion and good for sharing. We then moved onto the farro salad with burrata which was delicious and very unique in flavor. Our final dish was the Parisian gnocchi and it was outstanding. Perfectly cooked and the sauce was so good-​some of the best gnocchi I think I’ve ever had.
I cannot wait to come back for cocktails and will be doing so at the first chance I get!

Streeterville will probably never be River North, but it inches closer with more dining and entertainment options like GreenRiver.
More interesting background than I care to get into here is at
. In a nutshell, though, it’s an upscale American restaurant/​bar/​lounge/​TERRACE with a nod to Chicago’s Irish heritage in its extensive cocktail program, which is organized by GRAIN and not spirit. Diff’rent!
Thanks to Unilocaler/​cocktail aficionado extraordinaire David P for cluing me in to GR’s GRand opening Thursday 17^th September 2015.
Perhaps with a bit of pretense on this rainy day, our party of 2 (meeting David P to make 3) was asked if we had a reservation. Not really, we were just there for drinks and to meet our mate. It certainly was bustling at the bar but there were empty tables. This in early evening. We actually asked for a table when we realized standing for a long time would be a bit uncomfortable and awkward and we got one straightaway. A manager even had our server round up a couple of appetizers on the house for us, a very nice gesture. They were:
Smoked Whitefish Tartine ($ 10): egg, radish, celery
Pork Terrine ($ 12): mustard, fines (sic?) herbs
from their Snacks portion of the menu. Appetizers and Plates also available and all is under $ 25 with the exception of a dozen oysters for $ 28 and a 36oz Slagel dry aged beef for 2 for $ 105.
The tartine was like a fancy and beautifully presented whitefish salad on a crostini. Rich and salty, this is more than just a snack I’d say. The pork terrine was quite good, but again, being a rich and salty concoction, a few bites can fill you up quickly. The mustard helps counterbalance.
Not wanting to be a food mooch, I also ordered Octopus ($ 14): romesco, garbanzo, orange, cilantro. It was cooked perfectly and quite tasty but Greek char grilled octopus is still the octopus to beat!
For drinks we had an Easy Eddie and Head Honcho, both $ 13. –Easy Eddie– is Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon, Green Chartreuse, Yuzu, Lemon, Banana & Xocolatl Mole Bitters. –Head Honcho– is North Shore Illinois Aquavit, Dolin Dry Vermouth, Dolin Génépy, Citron Sauvage & Caper. Both were sophisticated and well prepared drinks served up in smaller antique-​y looking glasses. David P is the cocktail master and he had several other offerings so I look forward to his review.
Service was unobtrusive and timely.
The terrace though steals the show. Ventured out for a walk and it’s huge! Bigger, perhaps, than Pinstripes Chicago River terrace area in Streeterville! Certainly a more dramatic view… look, there to the left, that’s Alex’s house (Atwater Apartments… incidentally an AGM, the friendly Daniel lives here too)! Moving along to the right (to the west), you see Trump, the onion dome of the Intercontinental Hotel on Michigan, and a ton of other buildings. Beautiful! Wish this had opened a few months earlier!