Sullivan’s Steakhouse

A dirty wine glass to start and a server that wouldn’t stop trying to shame us into an upsell. After ordering two entrée steak salads, we were asked if we wanted to order an entrée? «People usually order sides.» The salad was actually quite enough on it’s own! After ordering a glass of wine each we were asked if we wanted a bottle and a short negotiation later she resigned from that deal. The check came displayed in the servers hands along with the dessert menu. The waitress seemed in a hurry to get us out the door and took away my wine glass before it was empty.
Now, besides this the food was great. The steak was a great medium rare, and the salad was flavourful. We had bread pudding and key lime pie for dessert. The presentation wasn’t anything to write home about but it was all delicious. The night cap was a very sweet coffee cocktail, probably could have done with just an espresso.
Overall impression of the restaurant is a well oiled machine meant to turn over tables fast. The rest of the staff in the restaurant was knocking it out of the park on the service. My water glass was never half empty, plates were cleared within minutes and watching the team turn a table was something you could miss if you weren’t paying attention.
Perhaps if we were looking for a heavier meal the service would have been better. The chef was making it right whenever someone had an issue coming right to the table to address a concern. Too bad about the server.

Upon walking into Sullivan’s at 7pm on a Thursday night, it was clear that besides the bar/​lounge area this place was dead. I mean there were literally 3 tables filled in the entire dining area, which was pretty large. A good find for a last minute family dinner.
All-​in-​all, my family was pretty impressed with our meal here. Both couples (my mom & dad and my boyfriend & I) split the Prix Fixe $ 42 Menu (AKA The Sure Thing). This filled up both my boyfriend and myself and cost a mere $ 51 (it’s meant to be a single-person’s meal)!
We started off with the Crispy Shanghai Calamari, which was delicious (crispy, as advertised) and a good-​sized portion. My mom & dad started off with the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, which they also enjoyed, but the portion size was much smaller than the Crispy Shanghai Calamari. For our course 2 we got a delicious shrimp & lobster bisque. Finally, for our main course, we upgraded to a 12 ounce Filet Mignon (for an additional $ 9). The steak was cooked perfectly at a requested medium-​rare and served with a hefty portion of decadent Garlic Horseradish Mashed Potatoes.
They had some delicious cocktails. My favorite being their signature martini (The Knockout), which is clementine vodka infused with pineapples. MMM MMMM
The only complaint my family had was that our server was rude to the point where he basically seemed annoyed with our existence throughout the entire meal. It almost changed my review of the restaurant to 3 stars, but all of the other wait-​staff, hosts and managers were very nice, so I couldn’t drop them that much based on our server with a bad attitude. In the words of my dad «Great food, but whoa, our waiter is a real buzz-​kill»

This was the wosrt experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant. I went for my borthday during restaurant week. The starter philly cheesesteak eggrolls were extremely salty and so was my steak. I asked for medium well, it was well done. We were seated for almost an hour before our appetizers were even brought out. The management and service were terrible. Im upset because this place was highly recommended. I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant at all.

I went here with family on x-​mas eve and had a pretty good experience but several things could have been improved. We were greeted well with smiles and comp coat check. The table was adequate though they really dont leave much room for moving around with the tables in the center of the room. We wanted a quiet table due to poor hearing of elderly guests but understand that its hard to honor this request sometimes… that said, the place was pretty empty and we were seating next to a table of 15 or so people, so this was one thing that was really not appreciated. Service was satisfactory but not great. It was hard to understand our server and he really didn’t spend much time with us or seem to care about answering questions. The food was good overall but not worthy of a 4 or 5 star. My wife had the crab legs and they were good but way to salty. I had the prix fixe with sirloin and so did my brother. His was medium as he ordered and mine was well done though I ordered medium. This is always really annoying, especially when someone else at the table got exactly what temp they ordered. It was still tasty and I was not able to send it back since everyone else was eating. The shrimp cocktail was good and the lobster bisque was good as well. The drinks were very good. We enjoyed the Moscow and Tennessee Mule’s as well as a couple glasses of wine that were good.
One thing to mention if you have elderly people in your party, this might not be a good choice. The bathroom is up the stairs and down the hall. My father in law is 80 and has a hard time with stairs, this was much to far for him to go.
I probably would not come back here but if you’re in this direct area, its a decent choice for a group that is not sure what they want. Steaks, seafood, chicken, etc.

Our office had our holiday party here last Friday. We had a nice private dining room upstairs which had its own bar and elevator entrance. The only bad part was there was another party next to our room and the only way that those guests could get to their room was through ours.
We started the evening with a cocktail hour. The room was set up with high tops to the side and a about seven tables seating six. Sullivan’s decorated the space in holiday spirit so there was no need for us to bring additional decorations.
The passed appetizers we had were bruschetta and Philly cheesesteak egg rolls. We also started the meal with calamari, which was good but was a bit heavy on the sauce. I also had the crab and lobster bisque to start off my meal. The soup was good and very tasty with bits of crab and lobster.
For dinner I had the boneless ribeye. It was prepared as ordered (rare) and was delicious. I had bernaise sauce on the side and topped the steak with mushrooms. As a side we had mashed potatoes.
Service was excellent. The servers came around quite frequently to refill our wine and bring us drinks.
Overall Sullivan’s is a good steakhouse but I have had better elsewhere (like Capital Grill).

If I could give negative 5 stars, I would! This place is terrible, and I was flabbergasted by how I was treated by the manager. I needed help with something, and this man was downright aggressive and scary! I don’t know if he needs medical attention mentally, was on drugs, or both. because I can’t think of another explanation for such behavior. I don’t care what one’s position at a restaurant is, they need not forget that they are working in hospitality (SERVICE industry). It’s one thing to get a server or a host at a restaurant that is off, but when it’s the manager, it speaks volumes about the place.
Don’t waste your time and money here, there are so many better steakhouses in Chicago.
Also, I’d be careful about using their valet here. The drive people’s cars around very dangerously. I will be contacting the police about them (they’re *that* bad!).

The restaurant and bar are cozy, with nice dark wood everywhere. Impressive wall of wine. Now the food. the happy hour menu with apps and cocktails was pretty good, a bunch of choices. Calamari and philly cheese steak eggrolls were good. The Manhattan’s were also tasty. I ordered the filet Oscar which I normally love. The steak was just ok and unfortunately either the sauce or crab did not taste right. It was just not a good steak or preparation. Will not be back, there are way too many other restaurants to get a great steak at.

I thought I’d try Sullivan’s so after work, I had stopped in. I was greeted by the hostess who was very friendly was seated promptly.
The décor was a little darker — like a supper club feeling — darker paneling. There was a piano in the corner. Then the good size bar area and the dining area was towards the back.
Allison, server, had greeted me and went over the specials with me and took my drink order. Meanwhile, I had reviewed the menu, which has something for everyone. Shortly, the soda was delivered to me and my order was taken. I had opted to order off of $ 42 Pre Fixed Menu.
My first course, was the Shrimp Cocktail appetizer. The presentation was three smaller shrimp on a bed of ice and the sauce in a separate container. I was a little difficult to cut the shrimp on the ice. The shrimp were good.
The busser had dropped off a small loaf of warm bread. The bread was so good. Second course was the Ceasar Salad. I really don’t think the lettuce was drained thoroughly, it seemed the lettuce was a little soggy. I will say, the croutons were excellent.
My main entrée was the Filet (6 ounces) with Horseradish Mashed Potatoes. The steak was done to perfection. The portions were just right. I had to pass on dessert.
Allison would check in with me occasionally but she talking to me, however, she would be looking elsewhere.
I would actually give my experience 3.5 but something was just not right. I would defiantly give this restaurant another try.

I absolutely love this place and in my opinion I feel that this is one of the best steak houses in Chicago Bottom line! The only draw back is the bathrooms being located upstairs but there is an elevator. I generally choose to sit in the bar area and again in my opinion it is the best bar atmosphere in the city.
It blows away Gibsons Hugo’s mastros ect… They are moderately priced and seem to take a bit more pride in there presentation then the above mentioned competition.
Bonita works behind the bar and is so genuinely nice and efficient. I frequent this venue and have been waited on by others but she is the best. Hands Down!
The management is great as well especially the brunette I believe her name is Katerina From the looks of it she runs the front of the house. Amazing job and so nice.
I will continue to frequent Sullivan’s xoxo

Sullivan’s was just delicious! We got seated quickly and our server greeted us and took our drink orders right away. I recommend The Knockout. Vodka and Pineapple it is so good! We got the prie fix menu and it was so good. A lot of food but everything was just perfect. I recommend getting the cheesesteak egg rolls. Oh my goodness they are so good and the sauce with it is perfect. My friend ordered the shrimp cocktail, it came with 3 big shrimps. I would have preferred 4. The lobster and shrimp bisque was delicious — had a good amount of meat in the soup. The most important part — the steak was cooked to perfection how each of us wanted it. The service was great. I would come back to Sullivans the next time I’m in Chicago! Ps. The live music/​piano was a nice touch for dinner.

Great 4 course menu option
Cheesesteak egg rolls are delish
Pass on the lobster bisque

Excellent food and great staff :)
Quick service and friendly. Steak was cooked perfectly medium rare and the menu has something for everyone.

Came here tonight after a bad experience somewhere else. 17 minutes from the moment we walked in the door we had a beautifully cook fillet.
Great service great food. #suulivanschicagojustmovedupthelist

The cheesesteak eggrolls are amazing! I highly recommend getting them as an appetizer. We had the balsamic chicken and the burger and fries which were both amazing! I’m not really a steak person but considering how delicious their entrees were I bet their steaks are fabulous. As far as cocktails I had the margarita which was average but on sundays and Thursdays they have $ 7 cocktails and live music by the bar. Definitely going back.
The customer service is incredible. The manager, Kat, personally came to our table to check on us and get to know us. I thought that was an amazing touch to this restaurant. We will definitely be going back.

Calamari appetizer was delicious with a light, sweet yet spicy chili sauce.
I had the salmon with crab hash which was nicely prepared and cooked.
The mac-​n-​cheese was a little too smokey for me.
The brussel sprouts were lacking some depth in flavor, a bit thin.
The creamed corn was decent.
Service was extremely polite, but a little lacking in training with regard to serving and collecting dishes (i.e. reaching in front of diners to pour or take away a dish).

I came here for restaurant week with a party of 4. Since there were 4 appetizers, we decided to order 1 of each so we can try them all. The meatballs and shrimp cocktail were just okay. The cheese steak eggrolls and calamari made up for the other 2 appetizers. The sweet chili glaze that accompanied the calamari complemented the calamari perfectly. The second course was a choice of Caesar Salad or Iceberg Lettuce Wedge. We all decided to get the Caesar Salad. My girlfriend really enjoyed it because the salad and dressing was mixed perfectly but I just thought it was okay.
After we were done with our salad, we looked around and realized we were the only table without bread. We asked for it and got it within minutes, but our waiter did not acknowledge this situation. I noticed a manager walking around and he was introducing himself to just about every table, but we were not graced with his presence until a problem arose.
My table ordered 2 Bone-​In KC strips and 2 Bone-​In Ribeye. When the steaks came out, my gf was given a filet instead of her ribeye. She flagged down the manager, who apologized. He brought the steak back to the the chef immediately and came back to start up a conversation with our table but everyone was trying to eat their steaks so he said he would check back. The correct steak only took a few minutes to get to our table so it wasn’t that big of a deal. This time, the waiter came to our table and apologized for the wrong order. I only had a small complaint… my Bone-​In KC strip had a lot of fat, so I only ended up eating ¾ of my steak. My friend had the same steak and he had so little fat compared to mine.
Overall, everyone enjoyed their meal and left satisfied. The steaks were cooked exactly as we requested. I will definitely be back. My gf just felt like the service was a little off for our table.

I’ve been to Sullivans three times over the past few years, and I have to admit I’ve been hesitating to write this review because I knew it wasn’t going to be a great one. I hate writing bad reviews, but when they’re warranted, it is what it is.
My first 2 trips here were as part of Unilocal events, and I really want to like everything, but since returning as a paying (far too much) customer, I just can’t. The best way to sum up Sullivan’s is, everything seems forced… they’re portraying themselves as a 5-​star steakhouse in Chicago, but it’s just not.
We came during restaurant week and were seated upstairs.
My boyfriend had the ribeye and had to send it back because it was obscenely overcooked. Like, no excuse for how overcooked this was, grey, overcooked. I had the Sea Bass, and it was good, but not blow me away for $ 44 good. The table shared the brussels sprouts, and they just weren’t good at all, watery & soggy. The wedge salad is fine, but be forewarned that it comes out just dripping in blue cheese dressing & crumbles. I kind of like/​kind of don’t like the calamari appetizer… it’s syrupy sweet & has more pickle parts than actual calamari.
Our server was a sweet girl, but again, the entire service just felt forced/​fake. It’s hard to explain, but I felt like we were on a movie set or something, where everyone was just acting like we were in a fancy steakhouse, when really it’s just Shenaniganz. The waitresses are dressed ridiculously for a high-​end steakhouse… and I’m not some prim & proper girl that cares either way, but it’s more hooters-​esque with fishnet stockings than high-​end attire.
A week or so after we had this dinner here, my boyfriend said to me «You know what, I’ve been thinking about that dinner and I decided it really wasn’t very good.» As someone who rarely complains, this sums it up.
However, my teachers always said if you can’t say anything nice, to not say anything at all, so here are a few things I do actually like: the signature Knockout martini… they aren’t kidding, this thing is SO good; the bread they serve is always really good; and that S’mores dessert cake thing is ridiculous. They’re supposed to have a great happy hour, so maybe that’s the ticket… get yourself a cocktail & a giant piece of cake & call it a night.
Overall the night during restaurant week was fun because we were with good friends, but there are just so many great steakhouses in Chicago to choose from, I can’t see us returning here again.

Old school steak house with excellent service, casual vibe and provides value for $$. I look forward to bone-​in filet mignon where the marrow seeps into the meat. Whoa!
FIRST DATE VENUE ON A BUDGET — Swingin’ at Sullivan’s on Thursdays with Live Music, $ 7 Signature Cocktails, Select Wines and Bar Menu Items. You prolly won’t hear each other while the band is playing, but you get Proximity Infatuation. Live Music eliminates awkwardness.
2015 RESTAURANT WEEK menu was excellent value for $$. Brown Bag for next day’s lunch.
OFF MENU DESSERT — Brian recommended the Sweet Potato Casserole ($ 8.50) with Ice Cream A La Mode ($ 3). Serves 2+. Price is more than the regular dessert prices, but… something different and we love sweet potato by default.
SERVICE — attentive, informative and quick clean up. Courtesy Coat Check.
VENUE — old Chicago. Restroom upstairs.

I went to Sullivan’s with a group of friends for restaurant week. I haven’t been here before, so it was a good chance to check out another one of the many steakhouse options in the city. When you walk in you just get that upscale, classy steakhouse feel. They had a huge wall filled with wine bottles and a nice semi-​open view into the kitchen. With such a nice environment, I was expecting the food to be like other steakhouses with a similar ambiance.
I’m not sure if the steak that was part of their restaurant week menu just wasn’t representative of their typical quality, but I was not a fan of the ribeye that I got. First of all it was a super thin cut, almost like they cut a typical ribeye steak in half lengthwise. Second, I thought it was lacking that nice sear on the outside and didn’t have the juicy, fatty, tender meat I’ve seen with ribeye steaks I’ve had at other places. I mean I’m not a steak snob whatsoever… I enjoy steaks even at regular chain restaurants like Chili’s and Outback, but when I go to a steakhouse charging $ 40+ for a steak, I have a certain level of expectation.
To be fair though, I thought everything else about the dinner was pretty good. We had a pretty big group and the service was on point. Our food came out quick and they had no problem splitting up all the checks. Also it was one of our friends’ birthdays and they were nice enough to bring out a nice birthday dessert for her.
Apps:
Cheesesteak Eggrolls — These were delicious. Super crispy outside with cheesy meaty goodness inside. It was glazed with some Asian style sweet chili sauce which was also very tasty.
Shanghai Calamari — These were also awesome. It’s not your typical plain fried calamari. These were fried crisp and coated in a similar Asian sweet and spicy sauce as the cheesesteak eggrolls.
Roasted Garlic Meatballs — Super tender meat and a really deep flavored mushroom/​garlic tomato sauce.
Sides: I like how the steaks actually came with a side of mashed potatoes and green beans, unlike most steakhouses where sides are completely separate. The mashed potatoes were just ok. They didn’t have as much garlic flavor as I was expecting. In addition, we also ordered a few extra sides to share for the table. We got the Au gratin potatoes and the three cheese mac. Talk about cheesy! They definitely didn’t skimp on the cheese on either of these dishes. The mac was rich and creamy and had a nice garlicky crust on it. The au gratin potatoes were cubes of potatoes found somewhere between layer upon layer of cheese. We also got the sweet potato casserole, which was actually more like a dessert. Very sweet with a strong vanilla flavor to it. One of the best sweet potato casserole dishes I’ve had.
Steak: Like I said earlier, I wasn’t a huge fan of the ribeye. The steak didn’t necessarily taste bad, it just wasn’t up to the quality that I was expecting from a prime steakhouse. Although seasoned well, the actual cut of meat was thin and not as tender and marbled as I would’ve liked. It reminded me of the type of steak I could make at home myself.
Desserts: We tried a bunch of desserts too, all were very good. We tried the sorbet, crème brûlée and the chocolate cake. The crème brûlée was probably my favorite of the bunch.
While most of the apps, sides, and desserts were actually really good, the reason I came here was for the steak and I was hugely disappointed, especially at that price point. Maybe it was just an off night or their other cuts of steak are just flat out better, but I’m not sure I’d come back, especially with the many other steak options in the area.

We came here for restaurant week because we were in the mood for some meat.
My husband and I both had the shrimp cocktail, wedge salad, and 18oz kc strip.
Shrimp cocktail — tasty but pretty standard
wedge salad — generous blue cheese crumbles, very crispy lettuce, very good
18 oz kc strip — large piece of meat, but this cut was not my favorite. maybe the cut was just a bit too lean. I wish it had been more marbled or fatty. It lacked some richness.
We also got a side of mac n cheese to share. We weren’t blown away by this. We would have preferred if it had a sharper cheese flavor.
The bread was delicious and warm with the whipped butter. We had 2 loaves of that.
We also enjoyed the pineapple infused vodka cocktails.
Overall we enjoyed our meal, but with so many options for steak in Chicago, this would not be our first choice. However, their restaurant week menu was a very good deal.