Recommendations for fondue restaurants

Hello friends!

My fourth anniversary is coming up soon (July 20th) and I'm thinkign of making a reservation at a fondue restaurant. I've heard of both Geja's Cafe and The Melting Pot. In fact, I just came back from The Melting Pot's weekly "ladies' happy hour" where ladies get free fondue (both cheese and chocolate) with the pirchase of a drink.

Are there any other fondue places in Chicago? And which would you recommend for a romantic night for two? Also, easy parking around the restaurant would be a major bonus. Thanks, y'all!

maria~

Well, Geja's is billed as the most romantic restaurant in the city. Geja's is big on the ambience -- no cell phones or children under 10 allowed, secluded booths, low lights, and live classical guitar music. I haven't been to The Melting Pot, so I can't make a comparison, but Geja's has good fondue and is charming.

Melting Pot can be a little too casual feeling: they hide the traditional stuff behind "lite" fare made with broth.

It's enjoyable, though you won't get the ambience.

It's been years since I've been there, but Fondue Stube on Peterson was always a nice time. Are they still in the Entertainment Coupon book? Not as rustic as Geja's, but less commercial than the Melting Pot.

There is always that old standy The Fondue Stube located on the northwest side near Katsu. It was the place to go for a romantic date back in my high school days. I haven't been in years, but I drive by all the time and always remind myself to check it out again one of these days.

Fondue Stube
2717 W. Peterson
Chicago, IL
773-784-2200

I heartily second stevez's recommendation of Fondue Stube. It's certainly traditional (unlike the nouveau-style Melting Pot) and a blast from the past: Christmas lights up all year, lots of mirrors, faux-funky, very 70's-ish.

But good--it's my wife's favorite place. When we dine as a family we get one of the dinners for four which includes: iceberg salad with a dressing lazy susan (when was the last time you saw one of those?!), one of which is an absolutely stellar 'white French', another a chock-full Roquefort. Buttery garlic bread accompanies this. Then, on to the cheese fondue--Sterno pots with a sharp cheddar in one and swiss in the other, and plates of dippable chunks of Granny Smith apples, fresh bread, broccoli and cauliflower.

The main course follows: your choice of steak, chicken, shrimp or scallops, with the obligatory veggies of broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, potato slices and onions in either vegetable oil or spiced bouillion. I've had 'em both & enjoyed them, just a different way the meat comes out, more browned with the oil.

The finale is the chocolate course, rich (our choice) dark served flaming, perfect for roasting a marshmallow while waiting for the flame to die down, then dipping pound cake, fresh strawberries, apple and watermelon.

Oh I forgot---altho the wine list is extensive but a little pricey to my way of thinking, I'm partial to their Absolut martinis straight up with a hand-stuffed bleu cheese olive (or three). A couple of those with all the courses set you just about right. More than that & you want to steer clear of the hot oil!

Service is fine, never cloying or hoity-toity. With drinks, plan on a couple hundred for a foursome. Not bad for an overall fine experience.

I'd avoid The Melting Pot. Last year some visiting friends *really* wanted to grab dessert there. We perched in the ridiculous bar area; literally "perched"...the stools are incredibly high, not to mention the over-designed, over-thought, "chic" lounge, in general. Ugly, rowdy children darting back and forth, screeching over the nearby tabletop curling/bocce ball game. Ugh. Verrrry touristy. To top it off, the carpeted entranceway/staircase one descends to enter the restaurant was dingy.

The dessert fondue didn't meet the friends' expectations. I'm not a fan of chocolate fondues...so, I'd rate it a strong, eh. I nibbled, drank my middling cocktail, and enjoyed the company.

However, the men's room was nice.

marias23 wrote: The Melting Pot's weekly "ladies' happy hour" where ladies get free fondue (both cheese and chocolate) with the pirchase of a drink.

is that a joke? they have a ladies' night? how sexist and cheesey (pardon the pun)

It's no joke Complimentary fondue for ladies with a drink. It's sexist, I agree. Among my group of girlfriends was a guy friend who joined us at the last minute. The bartender actually wanted to enforce the women-only rule. He said it's $12 for guys who want to join in the fondue fun. Check it out:

http://metromix.chicagotribune.com/sear ... 3395.event

If you do go, I highly recommend their highly addictive chocolate martini called "Yin-Yang". Yummy-licious!

marias23 wrote:It's no joke Complimentary fondue for ladies with a drink. It's sexist, I agree. Among my group of girlfriends was a guy friend who joined us at the last minute. The bartender actually wanted to enforce the women-only rule. He said it's $12 for guys who want to join in the fondue fun.

No wonder Christopher found the men's room in such good shape; with a policy like this, it's never used!

I had a pretty lousy experience at the Melting Pot. I took the girlfriend one night because I had been to the one in St. Louis and it was pretty nice, so we figured we'd give the Chicago branch a shot.

The place had no atmosphere, no server was assigned to our table after we were seated (we were finally able to flag someone down after 20 minutes), and the food was just OK. I much prefer Geja's, but even there you walk out smelling like the place. I don't know, maybe I'm just not a fondue kind of guy. Also, I always think that you wind up paying way too much for a fondue dinner (especially given the fact that you're doing the cooking yourself). IMO, the money is better spent elsewhere.

JimInLoganSquare wrote:

marias23 wrote:It's no joke Complimentary fondue for ladies with a drink. It's sexist, I agree. Among my group of girlfriends was a guy friend who joined us at the last minute. The bartender actually wanted to enforce the women-only rule. He said it's $12 for guys who want to join in the fondue fun.

No wonder Christopher found the men's room in such good shape; with a policy like this, it's never used!

no joke...it really is/was(I haven't been back) a well-appointed restroom...can you refer to a Men's room as serene? I remember telling everyone they had to check it out...no one took me up on my offer...


anyway, it compared favorably with another favorite downtown pissoir; the Bloomingdale's Masonic Temple gents.

I did not care for the Fondue Stube at all. They sat my wife and I at a small table top with wobbly legs which made things very crowded. It got a lot worse when they brought out the mythical vat of hot oil. Now I have worked n commercial kitchens for years so I have dealt with fryers a lot. Having one on a wobbly table was unnerving.

The food was decent, nothing spectacular and the whole meal was pretty expensive for what you got.

Personally, the fondue concept isn't one that excites me. The next time I want to do it, I think that I'll find a pot and some forks for $2 at one of the local chrch rummage sales and do it myself.

You could do shabu-shabu at Chiyo.

Chiyo
773/267-1555
3800 W. Lawrence Ave.
Chicago

Cynthia wrote:Well, Geja's is billed as the most romantic restaurant in the city. Geja's is big on the ambience -- no cell phones or children under 10 allowed, secluded booths, low lights, and live classical guitar music. I haven't been to The Melting Pot, so I can't make a comparison, but Geja's has good fondue and is charming.

Haven't been to Geja's in maybe 25 years, but we're going to tonight. Started thinking about the ambiance there, and (as I recall) they have always worked hard to create an atmosphere of romance. There also seems to be something romantic about a big pot of hot cheese set down between two diners -- though I'm not entirely sure how that works.

I'm guessing there are not many single diners at Geja's.

jlawrence01 wrote:I did not care for the Fondue Stube at all. They sat my wife and I at a small table top with wobbly legs which made things very crowded. It got a lot worse when they brought out the mythical vat of hot oil. Now I have worked n commercial kitchens for years so I have dealt with fryers a lot. Having one on a wobbly table was unnerving.

The food was decent, nothing spectacular and the whole meal was pretty expensive for what you got.

Haha, I remember the only time I went there. I ended up going to Wolfy's after the meal because I was still hungry.

Haven't been to Gejas but went recently to the Melting Pot - didn't intend to but was walking by after work with two colleagues and we went totally on implulse. I used to go to a fondue place in Westport, CT (back in the early 80s ... sigh ) where they served fondue and artichokes - was nice, casual, tasty - and I used to go to the Swiss Pavillion in New York back before that which had this very "high class" tone to it and amazing fondue. I was not really prepared for the chain restaurant vibe of Melting Pot or for the inept service and the three of us were still so hungry after sharing cheese fondue that we ordered a second batch! Not going back anytime soon.

I did go last week to Zed 451 on Clark - another lets grab a drink after work impulse - and at the bar, they serve a genuinely delicious cheese fondue (I think it says american and parmesan cheese which worried me but was honestly so tasty) served with various grilled meats and veggies to dip and it was wonderful ... I've been wanting to go back ever since. Reasonably priced - colleague and I shared one order as a snack but it would make a reasonable light dinner for one for $15. We've stopped there a few times for drinks and snacks and they really do a very nice job with super service. I'm been doing super low carb eating for a bit and this was so perfect though I did hit a few of the bread cubes, the meats dipped in tasty cheese were good enough that I did not miss eating tons of bread! (If you got one of the tables near their fire, it could be romantic as well)

(We also did their steakhouse buffet dinner thing once and really enjoyed it as good team casual meal - and we're going back during Restaurant Week for a team dinner)