FLATWATER

Has anyone been to Flatwater? I know nothing about it but might need to go for dinner.

Flatwater
321 N Clark St
Chicago
(312) 644-0283
www.flatwater.us

I work right across the river from this place and have tried to go a couple times. The scene that accompanies this place, especially at dinner, is kind of annoying. They have hot hostesses, though. The menu doesn't read particularly well, and I haven't read great things on other websites.

I should try it and will report back if I do.

I've eaten there. Nothing great, nothing terribly bad, just ehh... Certainly nothing memorable to write about. Appetizers and drink place if we ever go back.

nicinchic wrote:I've eaten there. Nothing great, nothing terribly bad, just ehh... Certainly nothing memorable to write about. Appetizers and drink place if we ever go back.

My thoughts exactly -- I couldn't have said it better.

I had one of the worst "dining" experiences of my life there this summer. I met up with friends on a Friday night about 2 months ago. They had dinner reservations at 9:30 but I joined them at 11:30 since I wait tables. So my 5 friends had been eating apps and drinking wine, and were just ordering entrees when I arrived. I had eaten so just wanted a wine glass...which took about 5 min to arrive. They placed their entree orders with the amateur server, and 5 min later a manager arrived at our table to say this: "so you folks have been here for quite some time." Our first reaction was "do they need the table? did we outstay our welcome?" But what he followed with was that the kitchen closed at 11pm, and therefore couldn't make my friends' entrees. We were pretty pissed. Me being the only one at the table in the industry, laid into him about why the server hadn't told us, why he hadn't asked his servers if any tables still had menus, etc etc. The guy was tongue-tied, and offered to get us free round of apps. My friend explains that they spent the last two hours eating all the apps on the menu. So he runs away, and 5-10 min later a round of 6 apps arrives at the table. But of course there is no silver or napkins since they bussed those away earlier...very nice.
One couple leaves shortly thereafter, so down to 4 of us...we keep drinking until 1:30 and when the bill arrives (it's about $600) they had tacked on a 20% service charge since when I arrived (remember I got there at 11:30 and didn't want any food) that made our table "6 or more guests." THE NERVE! I offered to have it taken off the bill, but the other couple didn't want to argue it (they were visiting from London on their 1st anniversary).

So all-in-all, quite a poor experience. Combine that with the pretentious crowd and diesel fumes from boats docked on the river next to us and you can be assured that I will never return.

How were the hostesses?

The only "hostess" that I encountered was a suited gentleman at the street-level entrance who demanded a $20 cover...for hanging out next to the river with a DJ playing??? please...

I had lunch in a group of ten at Flatwater on Saturday 8/30 and the experience was quite pleasant. There was a small band playing, the weather was delightful, our server was friendly and diligent and the food was good. Not great, but good. Several of us had the Caesar Salad - a deconstructed version with white anchovies - which went over very well. Burgers were solid and the truffle fries tasty while not being overwhelming like I've had at Rockit. Prices for both food and adult beverags were within the bounds of downtown Chicago expectations and we left happy that we'd been there.

Oh - and our hostess was hot, but then so was everyone else as it was about 86 degrees outside.

Davooda

Planning on going very soon.

Anyone eaten there???

Appreciate any opinions.
Thanks

Wally Wade

Hi Wally,

Thank you for posting to inquire about Flatwater. In response to your query, I offer what I hope is a helpful link to an existing thread about Flatwater restaurant. I will also note that Fodors USA called Flatwater a "Taste Sensation".

I hope you and your party enjoy your dinner, and I welcome future inquiries of this nature.

Yours truly,

Kenny - People-Hate-When-I'm-Snarky-So-I'm-Trying-To-Learn-How-To-Be-Nice-But-It-Doesn't-Come-Naturally - Z

Kenny's adorable, helpful response notwithstanding........

Flatwater is a great location....fantastic place to hang on a nice weekend afternoon....but really wouldn't call it a destination for dinner....decent enought for bar snacks and terrific view of river/skyline (and some very attractive clientele)....