Kennyz wrote:It is low risk. I like IFS a lot, but if you get there and it's not your cup of tea, you are but seconds away from Sunshine Cafe, Anteprima, and Natalina. With backup plans like that, a trip to IFS is a can't-miss.

Sounds great to me. Sunshine Cafe is on my list anyway.

The wife and I made a maiden voyage to IFS on Saturday night after dinner at Spacca Napoli. I was duly impressed. A nice indoor atmosphere and a lovely back patio, including powerful heat lamps for a chilly night. I wasn't in the mood for cocktails after splitting a bottle of red at Spacca Napoli, so I settled for a Bell's Oberon. My wife opted for a glass of cava. Then she had a second glass. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out two-thirds of a third glass on the house -- must have been finishing off the bottle. As the patio was about to close at 11pm, the waiter brought us the check and said he "forgot" to add the second glass of cava. That's nearly four drinks for $11. Needless to say, I left a healthy tip. We'll be back to try the cocktails next time.

ParisCat wrote: My wife opted for a glass of cava. Then she had a second glass. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out two-thirds of a third glass on the house -- must have been finishing off the bottle. As the patio was about to close at 11pm, the waiter brought us the check and said he "forgot" to add the second glass of cava. That's nearly four drinks for $11. Needless to say, I left a healthy tip. We'll be back to try the cocktails next time.

I suspect that if the IFS owners read this thread, you will not find your favorite waiter there next time.

Kennyz wrote:

ParisCat wrote: My wife opted for a glass of cava. Then she had a second glass. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out two-thirds of a third glass on the house -- must have been finishing off the bottle. As the patio was about to close at 11pm, the waiter brought us the check and said he "forgot" to add the second glass of cava. That's nearly four drinks for $11. Needless to say, I left a healthy tip. We'll be back to try the cocktails next time.

I suspect that if the IFS owners read this thread, you will not find your favorite waiter there next time.

Why? Comps are part of the business. Used appropriately, they build loyal customer bases. Excessive comps will show up in the bottom line eventually, but there's usually a couple levels of checks and balances that avoid getting to that point (I assume the waiter is dealing with a bartender who has to justify where 1/2 that bottle of cava went to the shift lead and/or manager before the owner would even catch a whiff). Regarding the 'third glass'...no one is going to want to drink the last 2-3 oz of sparkling wine that's been sitting in a bottle since the night before. It was put to the best possible use.

kl1191 wrote:

Kennyz wrote:

ParisCat wrote: My wife opted for a glass of cava. Then she had a second glass. A few minutes later, the waiter brought out two-thirds of a third glass on the house -- must have been finishing off the bottle. As the patio was about to close at 11pm, the waiter brought us the check and said he "forgot" to add the second glass of cava. That's nearly four drinks for $11. Needless to say, I left a healthy tip. We'll be back to try the cocktails next time.

I suspect that if the IFS owners read this thread, you will not find your favorite waiter there next time.

Why? Comps are part of the business.

true, but so is firing staff members who give away too much free stuff.

Had another great meal at IFS last night in their charming back patio. Two flatbreads - one short rib with blue cheese and the other farmers cheese, arugula, and truffle oil - were hearty but bright. We also had the pea and mint crostini which were outstanding - really great spring pea flavor. We ended with the country pate, a thick slice with wonderful contrasting accompaniments.

My only gripe is that nearly every time we have dined there, the food takes an above average amount of time to come out.

Cocktails as usual blew almost everywhere else in Chicago out of the water.

Stopped for gelato at Natalina on our walk home. Life is good.

Had a superlative Negroni and a cool, refreshing, well-balanced Corpse Reviver at IFS this evening, and my wife had two excellent non-alcoholic spritzer-type cocktails...the first, a lemon & chamomile flavored number, was very accurately described as "summertime captured in a glass".

Friendly staff, laid-back vibe, skillful mixology...this is clearly a bar I need to visit more often.

Thanks for all of the great posts. I will check back here often if there is anything anyone feels we need to improve. But please continue to posts your thoughts and accolades!

New to this board so this is my first post and I can't think of a better thread to post in.

I love IFS more than anything. Best old fashioned in all of Chicago. Fantastic food and great setting/staff. Whenever we want to go out in our neighborhood, it's IFS. Thank you Groupon for the deal this past week too. Not that it isn't worth it full price but it's just another reason to go.

Keep up the great work!

We went up to IFS last Friday, got a Groupon and it's expiring soon so it was a kick in the butt to get up there. The only negative thing I have to say is the hours aren't clearly posted on the website. We got there right at 5pm on Friday, thinking that's when they opened. Except apparently they open earlier on Fridays, since there were a lot of people already there? Just seemed weird that the info wasn't clear on the website.

Anyway, I got the white flight of wine and my husband got a house Old Fashioned. He thoroughly enjoyed his cocktail (although it was apparently on the sweet side), and I liked my flight, although when they first came out they all tasted the same! Guess they were just cold because the differences became clear when they warmed up a bit. I also had a nice glass of Prosecco.

We ordered some food, and the server was very friendly and made sure we knew they were small plates that come out at random order. We got a house flatbread, bibb salad, beet salad, and gnocchi. All the food was tasty, and the gnocchi was more filling than expected.

We sat on the back patio, which was great. Not insanely busy when we left at 6:30 or so.

If this were in our neighborhood, I think it would be in the regular rotation of every couple of weeks. Having to make a bit of an effort to get up there means I can imagine once a month or so, and maybe more frequently in the summer to enjoy the patio.

Their hours are posted in the "contact" page, which I agree is not an obvious place to look. For future reference, here are their hours:

The Bar - Hours
Mon-Thurs 4pm - midnight
Fri-Sat 3pm - 2am
Sunday 3pm - 11pm

The Shop - Hours
Mon - Sat 11am - 9pm
Sunday Noon - 7pm

I read this in the Edgeville Buzz newsletter:

Edgeville Buzz wrote:In Fine Spirits (5420 N Clark) this week announced that they will close the lounge portion of their business on March 18th, and reopen sometime in April as “Premise” under the same owners.
...

Premise will feature a 50 seat casual fine-dining restaurant on the first floor, a cocktail lounge, Salon at Premise, upstairs, and of course their beautiful patio will be open during those warmer months which are right around the corner.

The wine shop next door will continue as is.