X/O Chicago

X/​O is closing at the end of this month! = (
Go to their Sunday brunch!
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My friends and I went to brunch on a Sunday. We got the all you can eat + drink for $ 30– great deal. Drinks include: screwdrivers, mimosas, bloody mary’s. What happens is that you can choose one entrée from the menu (very good options like pumpkin pancakes, eggs benedict, etc) and the rest of the food you get from the buffet line. The line includes fruit and a variety of dim sum items (egg rolls, dumplings, etc.) I found it odd that they were serving Asian food, since this is not an Asian restaurant.
I had a problem with this place because the waiter seemed stiff with giving us drinks. If a place says it’s all you can drink, then we should be able to drink 100 mimosas if we please! Towards the end of the meal, the waiter would not really come and see if we needed anything.
And I found it strange that there were not a lot of people eating. I think there were only 2 – 3 tables being served.
The brunch deal is very good so I am sure I will try it at least once more.

I was lucky enough to spend my Valentine’s Day dinner at this great place. I was a little concerned beforehand because I am a fairly picky eater and strangely-​named food items scare me. Fortunately, I was not steered in the wrong direction and was in for a pleasant surprise.
The food was absolutely amazing — everything on the menu looked great! The champagne cocktails we both had were flavorful, and the drinks were topped off by a great Bordeaux wine. The bottle complemented each course nicely. I wish I could eat like that every day!
The service was excellent as well. The waitstaff was extremely friendly and very help with every question we had. They came around just enough to take great care.
We sat down at 7:30 and were lost in each other and the environment before we realized it was 10:30. Any place that can have that kind of effect on people is definitely worth a second trip!

I just wanted to give this restaurant a big hug … :)
Went on a Friday night with my fiancé and one of his best friends. Had a nice table by the window and were in full-​on celebration mode. Each of us ordered a pre-​dinner cocktail, 3 courses for dinner and a wine flight. We were settling in for what was going to be a rather expensive meal. At which point, disaster struck. Our waiter, nice, sweet guy, brings over the wine flights. (Side-​note: why do restaurants (x/​o, bin 36, etc) feel the need to bring the ENTIRE FLIGHT at one time? How is one man expected to carry 12 – 16 wine glasses, those skinny little cards and get everything lined up right in front of the right person — I see this as just asking for disaster.) You can probably see where this is going. The waiter dumped all 12 glasses of wine on our friend. He was so, so apologetic, I thought he might cry. Our buddy is extremely good natured and had just run two marathons in a two week period, so perhaps he was even more relaxed than normal, so was very good about it. The whole thing was just so embarrassing. Almost like watching something extremely uncomfortable on TV and almost needing to change the channel — I just wanted to bolt.
BUT, the manager came over, checked in with us, offered my friend a new shirt (what, was he going to steal something out of one of the waiter’s dry cleaning bags in the back?) and told us he’d stop in at the end of our meal.
So we decided to stay — and I’m glad we did — the food was very inventive and we thoroughly enjoyed the meal. At the end, as we were preparing to pull out the wallets, the manager came over and to our surprise, told us he was buying us dinner. To be honest, I did expect something, like him buying our friend’s meal, or picking up the bar tab, but the whole thing? It was a $ 300 tab. We were shocked. Then he offered us each a $ 25 gift certificate to come back and try them again.
All in all, this is a restaurant that really knows how to treat patrons. I was thoroughly impressed by the manager and we will most definitely be going back.

I’ve dined at X/​O Chicago several times and keep going back for one menu item… octopus salad marinated in lemon, garlic, olive oil and oregano! Because it is a tapas restaurant, the portions are in taste sizes and not very filling. You need to order several dishes for an enjoyable experience. You must also order the chocolate orgasm for dessert! Prices range from $ 8 to $ 16 per dish so look to spend about $ 60 per person without drinks.

I had heard pretty bad things about this restaurant, anything from bland food to poor attitudes among waitstaff, on a pretty consistent basis. When my friends announced they would be having their rehearsal dinner at X/​O I was excited and eager to try the place.
I can only describe my experience as positive. Cocktail hour on the patio was fun and our servers were quick to pour another drink. After moving into the dining room, we were met with competent waiters that attended to our every need. The food was excellent and I did not pick up on any poor attitudes. All in all, I had an excellent time and an excellent meal.

All I can say, this was delicious, but skimpy and expensive. I went for a special occasion after seeing on ‘Check Please’ and was kind of disappointed. First, the waiters suggest you order all tiers or course at once, which is hard to do if you don’t know the serving portions. This is something you really don’t have to worry about. If you’re going to do it, order them all and you may still need to stop at a Whitecastle when you’re done. One group that happened in sat and against the waiters same suggestions, only ordered one course, based on what they got and the price, they all had their first course, then settled their bill and left.
As far as flavor goes, and if you can over look sharing the small portions, it was definitely delicious and unique. In this regard, I found it far above Ambria in Lincoln Park. But the sizes of the portions don’t make it past 3 forks hitting the plate, so it’s kinda weird sharing. 5 stars for flavor, but 3 because I wouldn’t go back for its value (or lack thereof).

Yes it seems the small-​plates thing is here to stay. X/​O continues the trend of high-​concept, high-​polish gayborhood fare.
Service was indeed friendly albeit a bit disorganized. When asked it we could move to another table, we were first told no by one person (silly) and then yes by another. Uh, ok.
Having tried these kinds of restaurants in several cities, I have to say X/​O, while very attractive and aesthetically well-​executed, doesn’t really shine in the food department. The chicken dish we had was truly outstanding, but the other dishes were pretty mundane and forgettable.

Loved X/​O. Had a drink at the bar in back while we waited for a table, and the waitress was very nice and didn’t mind bringing our drinks out to our table when we were seated earlier than anticipated.
Excellent, attentive service, and yummy food. We had the spare ribs, crabcakes, salad with manchego, and all were delicious.
Also saw a completely wasted guy almost vomit on himself before being ejected by management, and according to my husband, Nate Berkus (one of Oprah’s cronies) was there at the same time as us, so good people watching too.
UPDATE: Ate there last night for «Dine out for Life» and even though I called late yesterday afternoon the host was able to reserve us a table in the lounge, and we had a great meal for a good cause… adding a star to bring X/​O to a five star rating!

Everything about this place combines the best of both worlds — super trendy, but not super crowded. The food is presented absolutely beautifully, but it tastes even better. Everything down to the décor on the tables and the friendly and attentive wait staff made this one of my favorite new spots — and believe me, I’m picky! Oh, and did I mention the chocolate orgasm dessert? That just put me over the edge… I went with a group of girl friends, but this would also make a perfect date spot. Can’t wait to return for another fabulous meal!

I could not have asked for a better dining experience! With it’s chic but warm atmosphere, this tapas-​style restaurant offers an array of Mediterranean and Asian type dishes. All are ordered as small plates so you get the perfect sampling of their scrumptious food! It is presented as artwork with impeccable service and will only leave you craving to come back for more. The cocktail list, splashed with flavors of lychee and passion fruit will definitely complement anything you order. And… if there is any cause for concern that the food isn’t enough, be assured that the Chocolate Orgasm dessert will leave you more than satisfied.

One of the best meals I’ve had in a long time! I’ve heard only the best about this upscale tapas restaurant and it exceeded my expectations. The portions are tiny, but it was nice to have a little taste of everything. My favorites included the crab cakes and the cod. Make sure you leave some room because the «chocolate orgasm» dessert lived up to it’s name. The waiter was extremely friendly and helped us pick out our choices according to our tastes. I“ve also been told they have an amazing brunch on Sunday mornings…$ 29.95/person which includes unlimited drinks (mimosas, bloody marys, etc) and a 3 course meal. I’m looking forward to my next meal at this fabulous new restaurant!

Very trendy spot with little portions stacked a mile high. Great small plate approach to dinner with better-​than-​tapas dishes. The idea is that everyone at the table orders a few plates and everyone gets to share. Very dark. This was a cool place to take a date. However, service was aloof. We never got bread and butter as the other tables around us did. Our server was not all that helpful. Overall the service was not on par with the food. Great food but oh so trendy-​and you pay for it.