Fort Willow - Bar & Bites - Elston Corridor

I think this place opened sometime around the beginning of 2018. I was intrigued after reading Sula's amusing and largely favorable review, and finally got around to checking it out.

Tuesday evening, so it was pretty mellow. Maybe it was 20% full. We sat at the bar, had a few rounds and worked our way through just about the entire menu. Beverages from the House Cocktails side of the menu were creative and well-balanced. Beverages from the Classic Cocktails side (I only tasted these) were well-executed, as well. I had the Daisy Pusher (jalapeño tequila, mezcal, guava) and the Traveler's Sour (gin, mezcal, black peppercorn, melon). I really liked the heat of the Daisy Pusher and felt that both drinks were well-restrained on their sweetness and food-friendly.

I thought the boldly flavored dishes, which matched up extremely well with the beverages, ranged from very good to excellent. Highlights included the clean and pristine Fluke Crudo (shaved black radish, pickled chilies, scallion vinaigrette), salty-fishy-crunchy Ikan Bilis (crispy anchovy, peanuts, chile, onion), Crispy Cauliflower (serrano-poblano hot sauce), Crab Salad (lemon, chile, toasted breadcrumbs), Charred & Chilled Broccoli (garlic chips, pickled chilies, spicy peanut sauce), Crispy Rock Shrimp (broccoli, cherry bomb sauce) and Meatballs (pork, hatch green chiles, salsa verde).

The Korean-Cut Short Ribs (bulgogi glaze, broccoli slaw) were nicely prepared -- pleasantly chewy -- but the glaze was a bit too sweet for me, though I thought it went better with the accompanying broccoli slaw than it did with the ribs themselves. Oyster Shooters (ponzu, wasabi tobiko) were just a touch too acidic, and the oyster was obscured because of it. On this night A Big Bite, a rotating dish described on the menu as "Chef's Whim," was a beefy Steak Quesadilla with a really tasty cold Bean Salad.

One notable detail is just how much broccoli appears on the menu. For some, that might be a problem but for me, that was glorious because I love broccoli. And having it served in 3 pretty unique ways was a real treat. However, if you're one of those misguided people who don't like broccoli, there's still plenty to eat here.

Service, provided by Carly at the bar, was stellar -- friendly, knowledgeable, engaging and enthusiastic. A couple cocktails on the menu are batched and as she was making them, she answered our questions about them, and even poured us some samples to try. She also sent out (gratis) a tasty Horchata Creme Brulee for dessert.

All in all, I thought this was a very good value. We ordered 13 dishes (4 of them being Oyster Shooters) and 5 cocktails, and our bill came to ~$160 with tax, before tip.

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Fort Willow
1721 N. Elston (enter on Willow)
Chicago, IL 60642
(773) 687-8898

ronnie_suburban wrote:One notable detail is just how much broccoli appears on the menu.

Your dream bar, good booze and broccoli!

G Wiv wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:One notable detail is just how much broccoli appears on the menu.

Your dream bar, good booze and broccoli!

It was quite a moment for me personally, though as a concept, it doesn't seem very scalable.

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