Went to check out E+O on Mother's Day, perhaps not the best day to try a recently opened restaurant, but they should be prepared to put their best foot forward on one of the busiest days of the year. Also, our reservation was for 7:30 pm, late in the day for this occasion, but my wife had gotten a rave review from a friend so we had high expectations. Got there about 5 minutes ahead of reservation and waited about 10, maybe 15 minutes to be seated and the hostess apologized for the delay, which wasn't too bad for holiday dining.
Sat down and a busser immediately asked us for our choice of water - spakrling, bottled still or tap. We went with Lake Michigan. The server came and explained we could order family style off the limited Mother's Day Menu. We opted for the greater variety on the regular menu. I ordered a glass of the La Posta Malbec. Malbecs are noted for being bold, intense wines. This was a thin, closed-up tasting wine that could have been merlot.Perhaps I should have gone for the more expensive malbec at $15 a glass, but at $11 a glass the one I had should not be this disappointing.
They have a lot of small plates and starters so we ordered two. The first, the Bone Marrow and Carne Asada Mini Tacos were good, with the pork presented on top of the marrow in the bone, with a grilled lime to rub on the four soft taco shells provided. I don't remember seeing the pickled onion relish described on the menu and the tomato jam seemed to be just stewed tomato, no spice or chili, closer to ketchup than salsa. We also got the Disco Fries, which was a version of poutine, the Canadian dish of french fries with gravy melted cheese curds. The fresh cut fries were very good. The gravy looked and tasted like gravy from a jar in the supermarket and the cheese sauce was reminiscent of melted Cheez Whiz or Velveeta, very little flavor.
We were informed that they ran out of the Confit Pork Shank we had ordered as an entree, and after consulting the menu again, ordered the Filipino Pork Belly. We were glad we had ordered the polenta cakes as an extra side, because the Pork Belly was at most 4 oz. with a small pile of sauteed greens the menu said were Snow Pea Sprouts. The server had said we could safely split an entree after two starters but this was not the case. This was not an entree, this was a $20 appetizer, which could only be considered an entree with the addition of the $6 polenta cakes. Pork belly is not an expensive cut of meat. It was tender, and the soy-based sauce worked well with it, if only there was more of it. The polenta cakes  had an odd spongy quality about them that may have been from a fine grain instant polenta that didn't have the texture I associate with polenta. My daughter enjoyed her Gnocchi with bechamel and pesto, but again a small portion that was enough to satisfy her but not justify the $12 price tag.
Still hungry at this point we ordered three desserts but shared. At this point, it was close to 9:30, the restaurant was emptying out yet the desserts came out piecemeal. The Red Velvet Lava Cake my wife ordered was, I think, simply a bad idea. The signature of a lava cake is the deep dark chocolate flavor. Red Velvet has a very mild cocoa flavor that is mostly just sweet but gets it's distinctive look from a lot of red food coloring. Maybe they use beet juice to be more "natural" but still just sweet. I ordered the Ricotta Cheese Parfait with Blueberry Crumble which we were subsequently told was also 86'd for the evening. So I subbed the Cookie Monster, which were small cookies with a chocolate dipping sauce. The server said we would get 2 of each cookie - Chocolate Chip, Nutella, Almond Gingersnap, and Carrot-Pineapple balls. Â There were no chocolate chip cookies, and we were apparently given an extra gingersnap and Nutella cookie. These were not freshly baked cookies, possibly baked earlier that day, but not the "love from our oven" advertised. The Nutella cookies did not have much Nutella flavor and the almond gingersnap likewise did not have much almond or ginger flavor. The Carrot balls were basically a carrot cake version of rum balls but with no booze. My daughter loves churros, so she wanted the Churritos with chocolate "fondue." These were heavy lumps of undercooked dough. In an interesting bit of multi-purposing ingredients, there is a Warm Chocolate Rice Pudding dessert on the menu, which apparently also doubles as the chocolate dipping sauce for the cookies and the "fondue" for the churritos. Also chocolate "fondue" should generally be warm. A bit of culinary laziness here re-purposing a single product on half your dessert menu. And now effectively having had 4 out of 6 items on the dessert menu, all characterized by a heavy cloying sweetness and not much flavor.
I was glad we had a $10 coupon printed online. At just short of $105 without the coupon, most of our meal suffered from a frustrating blandness resulting in the worst expensive meal I've ever had.
I wanted to like this place so badly after all the rave reviews but the food was just ok to me and after tasting the following dishes tonight, it definitely was NOT worth the prices we paid. Â
FOOD:
Brussel sprouts and kale salad:
Before we started to dig in to the salad, the waiter poured all of the dressing in the salad I was a little scared that the salad would be salty and drenched but this was not the case at all. Â It was light and delicious! Â Unfortunately, I found a piece of twisted metal from those metal sponge scrubbing things (forgot what it was called) in the salad. Â I understand these things happen but when I mentioned this to another friend after dinner, she also found the same thing along with a piece of plastic on separate days/occasions in her food at the restaurant. Â Hmm.. I hope the restaurant is aware of this and make changes. Â This could be very dangerous! I would check each dish before eating.
Chicken and rice:
The sauce these used for this was also light and not salty. Â Some reviewers said it was bland but I'm not a fan of salty foods and I felt that it was seasoned perfectly. Â This dish was pretty good but some of the pieces of chicken was really tough and I didn't think it was worth the price.
Linguini sweet cream corn :
Disappointing. Â I've read so many rave reviews on this but it tasted almost like alfredo sauce pasta to me except without the drenching of the sauce. I may have expected something completely different (like creamed corn sauce?) but I didn't understand what was supposed to be special about this dish. Did they forget the sauce on the pasta? I didn't taste any of the sweet cream corn sauce nor see any of it. It was more like a dried up butter linguini.
Pineapple/Carrot cake:
Also disappointing. Â The dish was incredibly sweet (a little too sweet) bc of the syrup and cherries and pineapples that went on top of the cake. The cream cheese frosting was very good though and I think I would have been happy just to eat the frosting with the cake part. Â
Coffee: My friend got the coffee and she said it tasted burnt. :(
SERVICE:
Great staff! Our waiter was very helpful and the busboys were awesome and friendly. Â Our waters were refilled promptly and we never had to flag down our waiter. Even as we were leaving, the valet guys opened the door and thanked us out the door. Â So polite :D
I still can't figure out if I just picked the wrong dishes to try at the restaurant or if the food is truly not as hyped up as it's made out to be. Â Perhaps I can give this place another chance but not sure what dishes are worth the prices that go along with it.
Go try this restaurant! Â I love finding Chicago worthy restaurants in the suburbs! Â I just wish this one was closer to me! Â I would go there every day for the kale salad alone! It is crispy brussel sprouts, kale, minced shrimp in a sweet chili vinaigrette. Â Other stand outs are the sea bass and the tuna poke on wantons. Â The only one I didn't LOVE (but was still very good) was the bone marrow and carne asada tacos. Â I got them because of the reviews, while good, didn't give me the wow factor that the other dishes did.
The ambiance is also city quality and inviting. Â It is a very open space with partial partitions separating the bar area and an smaller dining area towards the back, the largest space in the center. Â We were quite close to the tables next to us, but it was fun compairing dishes and ended up taking and giving recommendations. Â
Service was great, almost overly attentive! Â IF you can complain about that. Â We were getting a kick out of every sip of water we took was quickly replaced!
Looking forward to going back and bringing friends. Â Wouldn't mind he decided a location in Elmhurst was a good idea!
Many accolades to E + O for amazing food and excellent service/hospitality. I have followed Chef Rodelio's career and will continue to do so. His dishes are absolutely spectacular- I have yet to try a dish I didn't "oooh and ahhh" over. My favorite dishes include the kale and brussel sprout salad, the "It's Like That Sushi", Crab cake, pressed watermelon sashimi, duck hash salad, and the pineapple carrot cake. The entire staff goes out of their way to make you feel important and respected. I will definitely frequent this restaurant. Of note, they will have Happy Hour once the weather warms up (full service). I cannot wait to check out the outdoor patio!
Review Source:Oh man... Pork belly adobo! Â daaaaaaaammmmmnnnn!! Â Check it out for yourself..
Bone marrow carne asada tacos great flavor...awesome
Chicken and rice with fried egg comfort food at it's best
well put together joint, just hope the shopping center continues to thrive and they add stores to pick up business..considering what randhurst used to be.
I usually stick to eating out in Downtown.. but read about this place and saw pictures.. so I was dying to come here!
Went on a Sunday and didn't make reservations, luckily we went at a odd time so we got a table right away. The place is beautiful! The interior decorator did an amazing job... it looks a lot different that the restaurants I keep seeing in downtown. Â The service was impeccable, our waiter was helpful, the guy filling up our drinks, and taking away our plates/silverware was on top of things... everything was on point! We ordered the following:
Seared beef tartare on crispy rice - a must have!
Two way potato tartare - really good for all the potato lovers!
Chicken breast Cutlet - really good.. can't go wrong with it!
Angus burger - Delish! The bread they used is amazing!
Carrot Pineapple cake - One of the best desserts I've ever had! Two of my favorites cakes, combined into one!
I'm glad I came here... because I usually stick to my basics, burgers and steak, but the food here was completely different and exotic and had such different, indescribable flavors. Even the burger my husband ordered, wasn't your typical, everyday burger, it had so much flavor to it!
I'd highly recommend this place... even if it's a far drive, it's definitely worth it!
We ordered seconds ---the food was that good. Â Seriously. Â Even for you people who "don't eat kale or brussel sprouts", I urge you to try E&O's crispy brussel sprouts and kale dish. Â It is nothing like the overcooked watery stuff your mom made you eat growing up. Â That dish is simultaneously crispy, sweet, and spicy. Â We licked the plate clean. Â Aside from the phenomenal food, the modern, yet romantic atmosphere is refreshing -- especially for the suburbs. Â Wait staff was on the ball -- made good recommendations without being pushy. Â Busboy's were quick to clean up and amicable. We had a great experience at E&O and will be back (especially since we got a $10 coupon for joining their newsletter).
Review Source:Lovely modern dining room, great service, ok food. Â
4 people for lunch at 1 p.m. 3 decided to split the roasted beet salad -- what a surprise to have to search for the beets. Tasty dressing, lots of frisee and other lettuces. with a hint of beets. There were 6 paper-thin slices of beets, but they were not even whole sllices. maybe 1/3 of a slice. The restaurant could have made about 8 beet salads out of one beet.
Two people chose the chicken mbt sandwich -- mozzarella, basil, tomato. The sandwich proved to slippery to be eaten without using a fork. Again, lots of frisee and other lettuces helped with the slipperyness, Like the beets in the salad, the cheese was hard to find and the tomato was paper thin. When we asked the waiter for more cheese, it was brought in a tiny cup (like you would use for drawn butter ) containing a few slivers of cheese. You end up with the feeling that they are having a contest who can slices things the thinnest.
One order of papardelle -- listed as a beef ragout over noodles. Again, tasted fine, but this ragout was more like a thin gravy. It was listed as having sour cream and it did, about 1/2 tablespoon.
Last order was orechiette -- with homemade sausage and escarole. It, too, was ok, but they should have mentioned that the sausage was very spicy.
On to the service -- the waiter was excellent, and heard us complaining about the sandwiches (and saw the mess left on the plates). He brought us two complementary desserts and they were excellent -- red velvet lava cake and a creamy ricotta and blueberry dish.
5 stars for service and dessert, but I wouldn't go back.
Came here for a wine+dine food pairing event. The place just opened 9-months ago so everything is nice and new and modern. The seating and the format of the place had an open-floor plan. In the middle was a slight partition to separate the main dining area and the bar. At the end of one side of the dining room is a separate private room. This was where the wind+dine food pairing event was.
The ambiance was really nice and judging from all the people there on a Thursday night, I'm not the only person who thinks this place is awesome. We had a 4-course meal with a glass of wine to pair with. The first plate was a sour-red cabbage salad with pork mix paired with a white wine. It was awesome. Next was the short-rib... that was the best I've ever had. The main course was a steak with mashed potatoes. The best I ever had!
BATHROOM REVIEW: The bathrooms are awesome. It has two urinals, and a giant bathroom stall enough to fit probably 10 people easily. The bathroom has two sinks, all motion sensor activated and the paper towels was nice and thick (thats what she said). Even the garbage can flip lid was motion sensored. Sure, the place in general is only 9-months old, but it was extremely clean and classy. Sit or squat? SIT!!!!
once you start.. you just can't stop...I have become a weekly regular here.......I came here 3 consecutive weekends in a row (do I win some kind of a prize?..JK..)..prices for brunch is a little more reasonable/cheaper & not as great taste-wise..would prefer dinner menu instead..
FOOD FOOD:
Scallops ($15): cooked perfectly and simply delicious...tasted like bacon or something.. but it's scallops...YUM....it comes with four not too big pieces so if you want a light appetizer, I would definitely recommend it!
Pickled veggies (see photo-not on menu): it was really really small, but a free starter just to taste.. reminds me of a pickled dish that my mom makes...has a vinegary taste to it so if you don't like vinegar..I wouldn't try it...my friend and I both enjoyed it though...
Ricotta Spinach Dumplings ($9): tasted ok..not a huge fan of it.. but would get it if i was craving pasta?...my friend didn't like this as much either.......I would try the other small plate items first before getting to ordering this...
Contains: ricotta, spinach, brown butter, currants, pine nuts
Crispy Brussel Sprouts & Kale ($10): ok this dish delicious... and it's healthy!! I can literally eat this everyday and not get sick of it....if you're not a fan of brussel sprouts & kale.. I would still recommend it...maybe it'll be the one dish with brussel sprouts & kale that you'll enjoy.....it tastes better semi-warm than cold [the 2nd time i ordered it...it was cold.. :( ]
Contains: brussel sprouts, kale, minced shrimp, sweet chili vinaigrette, peppers, shallots
**RECOMMENDED TO TRY
Buddhacious 1/2# crab cake ($15): moist, flavory and delicious although the portion isn't that big..
Contains: avocado, cumin vinaigrette, lemon aioli
Filipino Adobo Style Pork Belly ($20): my friend ordered this and commented that it was a bit salty..I tasted a bit of it and i would have to agree... would go perfect with bread or rice...
Contains: pork belly, snow pea shoots
8 oz argentinian gaucho ribeye steak ($22): delicious, love how the egg comes on top of the steak..simply delicious...nothing too special about potatoes....but I got kind of full off of the small plate & steak so I didn't get to eat much of it...
contains: ribeye steak, paprika-cumin potatoes, fried egg, chimichurri
Mushroom and ricotta omelet ($12-Brunch): my friend ordered this dish & stated that it was a bit salty..you can definitely taste the seafood and mushroom in the omelette..a little bit of an herbal favor too...if you aren't a fan of mushrooms or seafood..don't order this! Â the omelet comes with potatoes which was a little dry per my friend...
Housemade short rib hash ($14-Brunch): love how there's poached eggs on top and how it drips into the short rib hash..i anticipated a little more meat, but it seems like it was more loaded with potatoes...overall i would say it tastes a-ok...
DESSERT/SWEETS:
Banana fritters ($8--served on brunch menu): it's on the starter menu, but works good for dessert ..simply delicious!! the mango sauce is great and the fritters tastes perfect when you dip it in the sauce!
**RECOMMENDED TO TRY!!
Carrot Pineapple Cake ($8) - simply delicious... you can even eat it on a full stomach...now that says that it was amazing..
**RECOMMENDED TO TRY!!
Molten Chocolate Cake ($8) -delicious as well...love how the chocolate pours out...if you are a chocolate lover.. definitely try this... it's VERY chocolaty and sweet...but it also comes with a scoop of ice cream of the chocolate is overbearing...
Overall Costs: a little bit on the higher end...portion are small for the cost of the entrees..but probably because the quality of the ingredients are good (i hope)..
Atmosphere: diverse, young professionals come here, great place to come for a girls/guys night out.. hanging out with friends/co-workers..
Customer Service: is superb here!! seriously, everyone is soo friendly!! My friend and I were greeted by Paul on our first dining here...and also provided with a free warm plate....yes we got lucky.. :)..as for all the other times I've been here.. the waitresses were all really friendly and helpful in answering questions..
Parking: complimentary valet parking...and there's also a lot of parking around the area IF you don't mind walking around a little...if you are lucky, you may find a parking spot close to the restaurant..
GOOD TO KNOW...
-WATER: Â if you order water that isn't tap water.. you have to pay for the special water.. just a FYI in case you didn't know...
-RESERVATIONS IS A MUST for dinner: there is usually a wait if you don't make reservations..the restaurant gets really packed, specifically on weekend nights...reservations is not a must during brunch time though!
I haven't tried everything on the menu...so next time I come.. I'll have to try the Sweet Corn Cream Linguini that Sarah S. and Candice G. were talking about..
longest review ever
We decided to come to E+O after hearing good things about it from some friends. Overall, the food was pretty good -- but definitely on the pricey side.
Appetizer: The chicken wings were delicious! Hot, crispy, spicy...perfect.
Entree: My husband ordered to salmon, which was good (nice flavor, moist) -- but not $26 good! Overpriced. I ended up ordering the pork belly fried rice (a bit oily, but great flavor & texture) and some polenta cakes (tasted like cornbread). Our kids split some noodles with butter -- and they certainly didn't skimp on the butter. Very greasy (but kids loved it).
Dessert: The red velvet cake was good, and we ordered some extra ice cream to go along with it. Portion was small.
Was really looking forward to the food but this place is overrated. Â Appetizers:
- Kale salad; Â good but nothing to write home about
- Ricotto/spinach balls: Â bland and tasted like it was bathe in Ragu spaghetti sauce
- Chicken wings: Â excellent; Â highlight of the night
The table ordered rolls, pasta, salmon, rib eye. Â All the food was less than memorable.
I had dinner here for my birthday and with more than a week advance notice couldn't get a reservation earlier than 5:15. Â So, ok, they're busy, that's good... except that we were there until 7:00 and 3/4 of the restaurant was empty. Â What's up with that? Â The appetizers were very good and interesting, definitely try the brussel sprout and kale salad, the scallops and the smoked pea hummus with cauliflower. Â Disappointments: Â $29 for farm raised salmon and incredibly dry chicken cutlet. Â The side dish with the chicken was really good however - potatoes with greens and a light creamy, lemony sauce.
Beautiful environment, lovely respectful staff.
E & O Â is a hip city restaurant for those of us who crave the imaginative menu but don't have the time and inclination to drive downtown. Â E & O is one of the freshest perspectives on food I have seen in the suburbs in a long time. Â The first time we visited was soon after opening. My 'foodie' kids (12,8,8) and I were catching a movie and Randhurst and decided to give it a try. Â The ambiance is fantastic, elegant yet not stuffy. Â The colors and decor are like the food, everything has beautiful and surprising details. Â The food is complex, if you do not like savoring a menu, this may not be the place for you. However, if you are looking for something that you have never tried before, something that is so NOT franchised and formulaic, this will be your dream restaurant.
While I would not recommend it for most families with kids, my kids were treated like royalty. Â The owner Aeron Lancero on each visit has come to the table to greet us. Â Due to his recommendations, my kids now beg me for the duck hash (an incredible combination of frisee, small pieces of duck, heavenly daikon radish, with a soft fried egg that is broken at the table to make a most delectable sauce). Â Portions are small, which I find refreshing. Â Who needs supersized when the flavor itself is enormous? In the four times we have visited, we have tried maybe 20 different dishes, some we like more than others. Â However, each dish has a imaginative flair that makes me anxious to try the next. Â Try everything, but don't miss the red velvet cake, the carne asade bone marrow tacos, and the duck hash (of course).
I had lunch here today with friends and it was such a treat. We ordered pizzas to begin.
Chef John Formica sent out spicy wi gs which were sweet and hot and accented with honey and sesame seeds. They whet our appetites.
An heirloom dough recipe that boasted house made sausage with the right amount of peppers, cheese and sage, and a marguerita pizza with tomatoes and flavorful basil and sweet tomatoes. The thin crusts were perfect and a delight to eat. Sushi rolls came next. Loved the salmon dynamite, the yes ease, the true crab california and later we ordered salads. The ke salad with bulgar, pecorino, pine nuts and currents was outstanding. Loving the saltiness of the cheese and the burst of sweetness from the currants.. Grains don't always appear on a salad anymore.
The crab cake salad was wonderful. Sweet crab meat covered in a light and crunchy breading with avocado purée and salad greens.
We ordered desserts to share. The carrot cake with cream cheese glaze was outstanding. The ricotta parfait was so billowy, and the churros warm and crunchy. The carrot cake was so good and I fought for my tiny portion of it.
Another wonderful experience, and a perfect day weather wise to enjoy it!
Roberta W.
Sigh...I was really hoping to be convinced that fine dining choices can de found in other places besides the city but alas...E+ O turned out to be one of those places that have too much hype but lacking on the execution of great food and service. Â
First, i am always suspicious of restaurants that try to be a catch all for a smorgasbord of a menu. Â I believe that the strongest restaurants are those that are confident enough with their own identity. Â Are you an Asian joint?- great; Â Italian? - Cool. Â But don't have a menu that will allow me to switch between sushi and then have gnocchi for my main dish - that's just weird and frankly - a sign that a place lacks self confidence. Â
As with Sunda, I was really hoping that the Filipino roots of the chef would finally mainstream some Filipino dishes but the pork shank or crispy pata as it's traditionally called, was a hunk of pure fat that we had to ask the waiter to take it back.  The wings had a nice, strong flavor.  We also had some oriochette which was one of the better dishes.  The ricotta spinach dumpling was basically lasagna served in spoonful bites. The best dish was the sea bass which was served with some vegetable purée- heavenly!
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was dessert- bite sized churros that came within minutes after being ordered- because they had pre-cooked and arrived at our table cold and stale-like in taste. Â
Hey I'm glad that the Northwest burbs has this option but I may very well drive the extra 20 mins for other places in the city.
So wife and i've walked by this place a couple times due to AMC being in the same complex. Â been wanting to go and finally did.
Atmosphere is friendly, a bit loud so might not be a romantic place for some but great with friends. Â we liked the overall experience but....more on the food later.
the atmosphere is great inside and out. it's like a hip downtown place chic. na mean?
we spent $200 (160 plus tip) but i feel like the food wasn't par with place you can eat for that type of pricing. portions are small but expected as it's more like a tapa type dishes. Â here goes
smoke seared sea scallops: pretty good. had better but wife and i both like scallops and this wasn't bad at all.
sea bass: was described as the house specialty and it was. at 30 bucks for a small piece, it was definitely worth it.
Jumbo prawns: a bit bland of 4-5 pieces the size of a regular size shrimp and nothing more. but! it came on top of this rice flavored with a ton of mushrooms and that was actually the best part of the meal.
Pressed watermelon sashimi: DO NOT order this. it's just straight watermelon with shredded green onions. Â we got this because 1. hell, let's just try it. it couldn't be just what it sounds like if they put it on the menu and 2) the waiter made it sound very exotic. "perfect combination of spicy and sweet and hot and cold in your mouth." Â wha? if such thing exists, of course ima order. BAM. just watermelon and green onions in some type of spicy sauce.
Super white tuna: DO NOT order raw food/sushi here. Â we only had this dish to go by but i will never make this mistake again. i'm super sensitive to fishy taste/smell and i had to spit this one back out. hindsight, i should have returned it. there are naturally fishy sushi and then there are ones that are just old or bad quality that taste very fishy. Â this was the latter as i usually enjoy white tuna along with uni (which they did not have). are you adventurous? go ahead and order this. my wife, who has a very high tolerance for fishy taste actually finished the 3 pieces (minus the one i threw up) and even she was complaining. Â just didn't want it to go to waste.
Churritos fondue: just a small plateful of melted chocolate syrup with churros. i like churros. Â i like chocolate syrup. but i thought it was literally a fondue with the set up. Â presentation was very lacking but only 7 bucks so i should have known better. still, i like both pieces of the ingredients so this wasn't a bad deal at all.
overall, not that great but 3 stars for the atmosphere and presentation of the actual restaurant minus 1 star for the tuna.
I'm confused at all the 5 star reviews. Hubs and I went on a whim. We were free of the babies for a couple of hours and didn't want to venture too far. He said we should be trying new places so E+O it was.
Dinner was just "meh" at best. Waitstaff were in jeans and dressy-ish top and tie. Hostesses in tight black wear, not necessarily a balance. Managers were in suits, no tie, and one in jeans & suit jacket. Kind of a weird vibe - portraying to be fancy upscale by the decor & setting, but laid back by the dress code. Which is it?
Food was ok.
Appetizer - the carne asada bone marrow taco. It came with 4 tiny tortillas (smaller than the average taco tortillas) & just enough carne asada to partially fill each & not really sure there was bone marrow. Worth the price? No.
Entree - he ordered steak. It came with a huge pile of mixed mushrooms (yummy) which was a point for E+O. The steak was average and fatty throughout.
I ordered the swordfish. It was tasty, cooked perfectly, but it was tiny. I'm not a huge eater of gigantic portions, but it was smaller than a deck of cards for sure. I ended up stealing mushrooms off hubby's plate.
Dessert - red velvet cupcake for hubby and ricotta pudding for me. Both were just ok, probably should have saved our money and went over for frozen yogurt instead.
1 glass of tap water, 1 glass of pop. No other drinks.
$135 (includes tax, $160 after tip)! Â Nope, don't think we will be back. Â
Hubs said he felt like Homer Simpson eating at a fancy restaurant posing not to be a fancy restaurant.
My husband and I went last Sunday for brunch. Â It was quite surprising for me since I thought this was the same ownership as sunda (in the city). Â Maybe I'm wrong? Â Anyways, since there is a severe lack of good suburban restaurants we gave it a try. Â To drink I had the orange juice which was fine. Â For a "starter" we had the cheddar scallion biscuits with honey butter. Â I have starter in parentheses since it came out after our entrees. Â The biscuits were a hot mess. Â I gave my husband the one that was actually whole, because I love him. Â Mine was in 2 pieces when it arrived at the table and it broke into about a hundred when I tried to move it to my plate. Â The honey butter was actually really good.
For entrees, I had the short rib hash which actually wasn't terrible, but it looked very unappealing. My husband had the loco moco, which our waiter kindly informed us is Spanish for crazy booger. Â It consisted of hamburger meat over rice covered in gravy with fried egg on top. Â Since this is an upscale restaurant he was expecting these ingredients to have some sort of delicious twist, but unfortunately there was none and the gravy wasn't very good either.
Service was shaky. Â Our waiter was MIA quite a bit. Â The only good part was that I signed up for their newsletter a few days before going there so I could get a $10 off coupon. Â Unfortunately I did this on my cell phone and I couldn't print out because the coupon pops up right away. Â Luckily they still gave it to me when I showed them the newsletter confirmation on my cell phone.
This was hard call 3 or 4 stars. From my perspective 3.5 stars all the way with two caveats that bring it to 3.25 star territory - some of the dishes really need salt and the wine storage needs to be chilled. Details:
The place feels like a big city establishment - several in our party mentioned it and it is true. The open feeling and clean lines give one a sense of newness and a vibrant feel. The black fabric on the drop down (angled) ceiling helps tamp down the noise quite a bit as well as the upholstery on the benches. If you want a quieter table ask for one in the alcove along the back wall (to the left of the open kitchen, 3 tables of 4 fit in there) or if it is not already used by a private party, ask for a table in the far left room that has doors and can be closed off from the main dining room although waist high to ceiling glass keeps the lines of site open.
Our server Victoria was very knowledgeable about the menu and the wines. The service was very good with a busboy often filling water and bringing new plates and silverware.
Now to the menu and the food we tried. The menu seems a bit too large. They are trying to do a bit too much and can't possibly execute all of these options flawlessly. Pare it down a bit and better dishes will emanate from the kitchen.
We tried:
Amuse bouche on the table of pickled beets with sour cherries and greens. Nice balance of flavors and textures. Great start.
Bacon Popcorn - delicious but agree with other reviewers that 2/3 to 3/4 of a cup for $4 is a bit too expensive. $3 maybe or increase the portion size by 50%.
Ricotta Dumplings - 5 golf ball sized tender dumplings with a marinara sauce. Very tasty. Price is OK at $9
Yes Please roll - tempura shrimp, mango, caramelized walnuts. Good but needed more freshness. Overpriced at $13, $10 or $11 is more reasonable for the size.
Chicken Rice - crispy chicken skin with peas and tender rice. A brown sauce/broth and some sambal oelek tied it all together along with the soft cooked egg. This is the dish that caused us to ask for salt (which is not on the tables or even at the server station.) It was bland until we added the salt. Remember proteins - especially crispy ones - need SALT! At $10 the price was fine as it was a fairly good size portion.
Chicken Wings - OK these are probably single-handedly the main reason I like this place more than my table mates. How can I describe chicken wing perfection? First they pull the meat down along the bone so it can be held in one hand but leave the skin on the outside - nice. Second they are fried to crispy perfection and then glazed in a very spicy and extremely tasty sauce. Is there kojuchang in there? No salt needed - absolutely perfect. Man I need to find out what is in that sauce. $8 for 5 wings is a tiny bit steep. 6 wings for $8 would be more appropriate since they are quite small.
The pizza was good but not great. We had the sausage one. Dough was tasty but all in all it needed more flavor - we added salt which helped but perhaps the sauce and sausage were too bland to start. At $13 for roughly a quarter sheet pan size it was a reasonable price.
The Filippino Pork Belly was tasty but inconsistent. The soy broth/sauce was delicious but we were given two planks of belly and one was tough and almost dry while the other was perfect. The better piece had a lightly crisp edge and soft interior. Did not like the sauteed greens that came with it - too bitter. $20 for this was WAY too expensive. $17 max would be right for what you get.
The Sweet Cream Corn Linguini was good but did not live up to it's billing. It seemed like perhaps it sat under the lights too long waiting for our other dishes and it dried up. Needed more cream and more corn flavor actually. It also needed a tad of salt which we got from the pork belly sauce.
We ordered a bottle of Seven Hills Cabernet. It was very good but a $60 bottle of wine should be stored in a climate controlled controlled cellar. A wine storage case we passed on the way in was not climate controlled and should be.
For me this place has real potential. It is a very nice mix of flavors and cuisines. Will give it more time and will return.
E+O= Earth and Ocean. Love the name. Love the concept. Love the design. Love the food. Love the service. Love everything about this place. Love Paul Lee and his Intrestco Inc family.
Everything on the menu is authentic, beautiful and delicious. Honestly, all I want to do is talk about their carrot cake. It's to die for. It's what I miss. It's what I go back and order first but always ask to have it served last, of course! Anyone who knows me will be blown away by me complimenting this dessert because I actually hate carrot cake!
By the way, I don't like Kale either but I now have second thoughts about it after sampling my boyfriend's salad. This place makes me love items on menus I would normally avoid. For this, I appreciate the experience I have dining out at E+O.
Love the food and the atmosphere at this place. We've only been here once, but I'm looking forward to returning. We went without a reservation and didn't feel like waiting, so we sat at the bar for dinner. The bartender was great and made great suggestions. Service was great. The food was really tasty! Definitely worth the price. I'm excited to return. Highly recommend.
Review Source:Whenever you eat at an Asian restaurant, family style is the way to go. Â E+O was no exception to this and with the size of the plates (small not large), it was best to go family style. Â
I came here with the Filipino in-laws for my wife's bday, and they were in heaven. Â Quite the trendy spot in Randhurst Mall, probably part of their revitalization of the mall as the decor inside was quite trendy. Â My only gripe with this though was the plastic lawn chairs they used at the tables. Â I felt like I was eating dinner in my backyard on my cheap plastic lawn chairs which is ok for home, but not ok for an UPSCALE restaurant. Â I mean come on, you guys have a nice restaurant and then cheapen it up with the chairs? Â at least get comfy plastic chairs!
ok, onto the food... Â it was awesome! Â we kept ordering more of this and that. Â My Filipino inlaws loved the Adobo style pork belly and the crispy pata. Â We also tried the crap cakes, aka Buddhacious, and that was almost all crab meat and no fillers. Â that was probably the best crab cake I have ever had, although I've never been to Maryland. Â we also ordered a bunch of sushi rolls and they were pretty good as well, although nothing noteworthy. Â
Another small gripe, Rice was not included with any of these dishes... and when we asked for rice, we were charged $4 per bowl! Â yikes! Â The rice was really good, but it's just rice! Â being Asian, I need rice with everything! Â especially when it's Filipino dishes that you usually serve with rice!
Another gripe... gosh, there seem to be quite a few of them from me today... but the waitress brought the check to the table and since it was my wife's bday I took care of the bill and sent it back with my credit card. Â the waitress came back and then informed me that she put the 18% gratuity on it (the gratuity wasn't on their when she first handed us the bill), and this was after she had already run my card through for it. Â not a huge deal, as I normally tip 20%, but she shouldn't have added it on after the fact and run it through on my card before telling me about it. Â ah well, 18% is all you get then!
despite all of my gripes, I will be back here, as the food was really good. Â and what's best is that it's really close to home and I don't have to go all the way into the city for great food.
Earth better than ocean.......
Would give 3.5 stars, but since halfsies are not an option, I decided to round up.
My husband and I had to try this out because of the great reviews and the recent write up in Chicago magazine, and we had been searching from something new somewhat it our vicinity. Â The one thing we did not like is the fact that the "tables for two" are basically on top of each other, and we had to spend the evening censoring our conversation, while listening to two snobs next to us.
We decided to try several different things instead of doing an entree each, so we could sample all parts of the menu. Â In conclusion, stick with the earth, stay out of the ocean.
1) Â Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Kale - from the very first bite, outstanding, and probably our favorite of the night, and in fact, going to try and figure out how to replicate at home tonight, but my guess is I will never figure out the dressing - it's a must order!
2) Â Lamb Tartare - first bite, not so sure, got better with each bite. Â Not outstanding and not for everyone, but interesting.
3) Â Tuna Tango signature roll - nothing spectacular, especially at the price. Â Was supposed to be spicy tuna in the middle, but ended up very bland. Â We've had much better sushi elsewhere.
4) Â House smoked oysters - good flavor, but really not worth the price.
5) Â Bone Marrow and Carne Asada Tacos - delicious! Â just not enough
6) Â Hamachi w/jalapeno, tomato jam, etc. Â Fish was good, but it was laying in a pool of soy which completely overpowered the entire dish and made it too salty - could not taste any spice, just the soy.
7) Â Clam Chowder - very good with lots of clam bits - maybe a tad thin and oily, but still one of the better chowders we've had.
8) Â Red Velvet Chocolate Lava cake - very good, but didn't make my eyes roll back in my head.
We will return when we want to return to the area and want to lay out a hundo for dinner, but will stick with the earth portion of the menu, as we were not impressed by any of the ocean entrees. Â Still, it's great to see a new, eclectic restaurant out in the NW 'burbs!
Is this real life? An insanely trendy and delicious new restaurant not just in the burbs...but at Randhurst?! "It can't be so!", you're saying. It's crazy but true. E+O is the hottest thing to hit the Chi City 'Burbs in a long~~~ time!
I went for dinner last night and they were so good about us being late. We had a 6pm reservation and called twice to change it to later thanks to all the roads being closed from the flooding (gr). We arrived at 7pm and they were very understanding and accommodating. The place was packed and poppin'! Reservations are a *must*. A beautiful restaurant with trendy, hip, sleek decor to give it a classy yet casual feel. Beautiful cool colors definitely giving it that ocean feel.
BONUS: Complimentary valet parking! The valet guys were super friendly and polite and definitely deserve your tip for this complimentary service.
Our server was so sweet and helpful throughout our entire meal, timed all of our dishes to come out perfectly, as well. The trippiest thing to my friend and I is that she looked so much like my mom - same face, same haircut, similar age. And then our receipt came and we found out...she had the exact same name as my mama, too! Strangest thing ever! Anyways, Nancy was a fabulous server so many thanks to her.
Literally everything we had last night was beyond pleasing to our tastebuds.
*~Asian Slaw starter - has a bit of a kick to it but very tasty! It was nice they start you off with a little somethin' somethin' gratis.
*~Crispy Brussel Sprouts & Kale ($10) - This is much more of a salad type of dish than a straight veggie dish. That being said, I'm not too into salads but this was so pleasant. It also has a bit of a kick to it as it has sweet chili vinaigrette throughout. Yum!
*~Chicken and the Deviled Egg ($2) - Loved it! An above par deviled egg! My friend and I shared this so we would have room to try a bunch of different dishes but best to order one per person when getting this.
*~Miso-candied bacon, pumpkin seed popcorn ($4) - This is more like a dessert to me than an appetizer. I lovvvved the bacon flavor to it (bacon makes everything better) and could have eaten a bucket of this.
*~Smoked pea "hummous" ($8) - Holy goodness! This was my second favorite dish of the night and I am going to order this every single time I go. It was so cool to have a 'hummous' made of smoked green peas instead of the usual chickpeas. The fried cauliflower and toasted almonds added a perfect crunch to the dish. I can't even explain how well the smoky flavor tied in with the veggies and the bit of crunch puts it over the edge. Total explosion in the mouth. You must get this dish!
*~Chicken and rice ($10) - A runny egg on top of rice, crispy skin & chicken confit. Nancy offered to stir this for us but we took the task on ourselves so we could make half spicy and keep half unspicy. Loved this dish! I was so happy I got to take home half of it and eat it for breakfast this morning. Yay me.
*~Chicken wings with a sweet & spicy glaze ($8) - These were glistening with sauce and looked so good, little drumstick lollipop style. My friend told me I would die from the spice though so I didn't even try them. :P
*~Sweet Corn Cream Linguini ($12) - BEST DISH OF THE NIGHT! Holy goodness. I heard their pastas were good but this was unlike any pasta I'd ever had. Awesome flavor combinations, pretty creative in my mind, and just so delicious. My friend and I had a rough time sharing this because we both were just so in love with it. My dilemma now is how can I get this every time I go + try new dishes?! Ack!
*~Carrot Pineapple Cake ($8) - Wow. I usually am not into desserts that aren't chocolate, let alone carrot cake! I've never been a fan but this was so flippin' good. It came out nice and toasty warm on a iron skillet topped with a dollop of cream and pretty edible flowers. The cake was moist and perfectly done with flavor unlike I've ever had. I'm not carrot cake connoisseur but this was the best I've ever had, hands down.
*~Had a Krankshaft (tap for $6) and a Chainbreaker (tap for $7) beer with my dinner. Both were good and I was happy they have a decent selection of interesting craft beers on tap and in bottles.
So many of the dishes were inventive and included harmonious new flavor combinations I haven't ever had before. They weren't just new flavor combinations but each bite was packed with scrumptious flavor that blew me away.
At the end of dinner, my friend asked if we could come back every other week. I'm down for it and I'll be back often!
Most of my Yelp reviews come in higher than this. Â I'm giving it 2.5 stars, even though I'm not given that option.
At E&O, I went in with very high expectations. Â Despite this, I was definitely underwhelmed, as were my part of 4. Â
The place is gratuitously trendy and doesn't have much character, in my opinion. Â There's no warmth or charm to this place at all. Â It seemed like the place trendy suburbanites like bc they feel cool there, but they never head into the city and therefore are easily satisfied. Â Sounds harsh, but just my take. Â
Service: In a word, poor. Â Our server was not very energetic. Â We asked that the small plate came out with the food. Â The plate came out ahead of time. Â Followed by ONE entree while the rest of us just sat there with nothing for another 10 minutes. Â Finally we see a server with our steaks looking around wondering where they're supposed to go. Â At the end of the meal, the server pretty much could not be found so we had another person take our check.
Food: Just "okay". Â We started with the spinach and ricotta dumplings. Â We all agreed they were cold and bland. Â The temp of all of our entrees was not warm enough. Â The Argentinean steaks over all were pretty good. Â The one thing that struck is is that the portions are skimpy. Â We paid well over $200 for the 4 of us and left there hungry. Â With an app and dessert. Â The dessert (red velvet cake) was small and looked almost like a processed hostess cake. Â
Interestingly enough, we walked down to BlackFinn's next door and the person celebrating her birthday was given a very large and tasty dessert that was big enough to share.
Not bad at E&O, but not worth the hype unless you're easily impressed with what passes for trendy.
Was so excited to hear that the original chefs from Sunda opened a new restaurant in the burbs. Â Went there for Easter brunch and dinner earlier this week. Â We enjoyed the brunch (our faves: pork belly and short rib egg Benedicts, spam fried rice, smoked oysters) but really fell in love with the food during dinner. Â Everything we ordered was so yummy!!
Our top 3 faves:
-Crispy Brussels sprouts and Kale  (this is a dish we normally wouldn't    order since we don't really care for Brussels sprouts but decided to try it since we've heard so many great reviews.  Glad we did, it was delicious!)
-Argentinian Gaucho Ribeye
-House made pappardelle
All excellent!!!!
We also tried the pork belly fried rice which was good. But we really missed the garlic fried rice that used to be served in Sunda. We remember the chef would even make it for us when it wasn't in the menu and it was the best fried rice ever! We asked that night at E&O but unfortunately the executive chef Rodelio wasn't working that night and they said he would be the one who would have made it in Sunda. Looking forward to our next dinner at E&O and hopefully we can catch Rodelio then. Â
Nice ambience, Friendly staff, Great service, Delicious food!
Remember how great Disney World's Captain EO (<a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DvAvMkZQBIXk&s=fadf81064248eb0b0057d13de7617e3f76e1c481c5b6116f592f415e4550d9f5" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/w…</a>) was (and still is) starring Michael Jackson and Anjelica Huston? Well, this E+O *might* be better. #StrongStatements
I'm no foodie, I'll be the first to admit that, but I know when I've had an Outstanding Experience, and E + O demonstrates that absolutely.
For all intents and purposes, I veer more towards food slob than food snob. If I had to describe my diet, I'd say it's orphan-style. I just kind of eat whatever is around and doesn't require any cooking or effort on my part. Yesterday I ate a doughnut that a stranger handed me that was stuffed with two kinds of cheese, fruit jam, then grilled, glazed and deep fried for breakfast and followed it up with a half a lemon for lunch, and (leftover) movie theater popcorn, instant Korean coffee and a side of spicy pickle rounds for dinner. It sounds gross, but luckily I know *exactly* how to repent from my food slob sins: Enter E + O.
If you want the inside scoop on what will be all over 'Best Of' lists this year, honestly, look no further. E + O will absolutely be wallpapering every article and local foodie show looking to help you find the best of best, best of the Midwest, best of the 'burbs -- you name it, they're on top.
In the last week and a half I've gone to E + O twice, which is something I NEVER do. I'll be upfront and just tell y'all to bring your wallet. Part of the menu is tapas style, part 'snack-style' and part has meals, but if you're a glutton like me, you probably won't consider a meal and tapas alone enough.
I'll be frank about the service, it's wonderful, but a bit over-extended. On one hand, it was really refreshing to see people who are so excited about their job and place of business, but on the other hand, there's a point where having what seems like every employee stop by your table and ask how things are and tell you what they love is more disruptive to the dining experience, and also trying to take plates away that are *almost* done, but not quite. I'm a plate-licker and multiple times servers tried to take away plates that were not only not finished, but still being actively eaten. I'm certainly a fan of the hands-on approach, but if there's anything to improve on, it's maybe being a bit more hands off --- then again, they *just opened* last month so starting strong on the service, where most new businesses fail, isn't necessarily a bad thing.
As far as grub, it's hard to know where to start now that it feels like I've had or been-witness-to friends having probably half the menu, so I'll do this as stealthily as I can, with just a few faves in a good ole fashioned list.
**Smoked Pea "Hummous" w/ fried cauliflower and toasted almonds - $8 - Get this. It's veggie, but the smokiness tastes like everything you love about meat. Defo a star.
**Ricotta-Spinach Dumplings w/ brown butter, currants and pine nuts - $9 - Get these. Nuff said. I got them on both my visits and both times this was the unanimous favorite.
**Linguini w/sweet corn cream, scallion, cracked pepper and pecorino - $12 - I kind of hate pasta but I was drawn to this. Perhaps my love of corn. I think this will be my go-to dish on my regular visits. LOVED it.
**Hamachi w/jalapeño, tomato jam, citrus-garlic butter and scallion - $12 - STAR DISH. Get this if you dig hamachi and spice. My favorite menu item.
**Crispy Brussel Sprouts and Kale, minced shrimp, sweet chili vinaigrette, peppers, shallots - $10 - This seems to be the star they're pushing, and while it's definitely great, I'd just come off having the best crispy brussel sprout dish ever at Burmese restaurant in SF, so I wasn't as into it as I probably would have been had I not had that other dish.
**Pressed Watermelon "Sashimi", sweet and spicy sauces, shaved, radishes, microgreens - $9 - Creative and refreshing. I would get this as a dessert for it's slightly sweet but clean finish.
**Smoked Seared Sea Scallops, pickled tomato, chive, fried capers and
sun choke puree - $15 - So good, but also a portion size that doesn't last long. I would like to order 8 orders of these so I could fill up, but that just wouldn't be budget friendly.
**2-Way Potato Tarte, potato puree, goat cheese, mint, umami - $8 - Honestly, this was just okay. I think my potato crisp was a bit too well done and I couldn't taste any of the ingredients beyond the sort of burnt hash brown taste.
**Braised Beets w/ artisan yogurt cheese, spring mix, port reduction - $9 - Loved this. Would have liked to see more beets, but otherwise a great and beautifully prepared dish.
**Tuna Tango Roll- spicy tuna inside, super white tuna outside, crispy onions, tobiko, unagi sauce - $15 - Sushi done EXTREMELY well.
**Earth No Ocean Roll - mango, gobo root, meslun, avocado, cucumber, miso aioli, soy paper - $10 - Probably the best veggie sushi I've ever had... I know, I know, veggie sushi is not real sushi, just pretend.
GO NOW. EAT TONS. DIE HAPPY.
I had read all the reviews and possibly went with expectations that were too high??
The atmosphere is fun for the 'burbs - but after that E+O lost me.
Our server quality was less than average. He seemed to be annoyed that he needed to wait on us. umm, isn't that the point? The food was just fine. We tried a pizza, ehh and a app that was a baked onion dish, bland and not too sure how to eat it.
We all agreed that the dressings on the salads were the highlight.
I was bummed -
Good food but a victim of it's own popularity.
We had an 8:00 reservation and arrived at a few minutes before 8. The place was super crowded, and we weren't seated until 8:30 (and only after I went up and asked again how much longer). The manager apologized and said he would 'send us a dish'.
Food was excellent. Highlights were the Brussels sprouts and kale, bone marrow and carne asada tacos, Â and hamachi with jalapeno and tomato jam. Shashito peppers were also great.
Not many places like this out in the suburbs. And they should open more because this place was jam packed. Four stars for the food but two for the wait and slow service. And the manager finally got around to sending our dish after we were done eating!
I will attest with the previous reviews, that the food is delicious here. The mixture of ingredients, and how everything was served, was excellent. Our table of 5 started with the kale salad, which of course was delicious. We also had the Tuna Poke as well, which was great! The waitress was on point the entire time as well, and very informative!
The only issue we came across was how slow everything came out. The place wasn't super busy for a Wednesday night, however, food kept trickling out of the kitchen. This was understandable, seeing that the waitress explained that the tuna had to come out before the rest of the food because it was sushi grade fish.
The issue was when the dinner came out, the chicken cutlets were cold, and the garlic noodles that were ordered were not very good either. When we voiced our displeasure, the waitress kindly apologized, and offered a substitution for the same price. She seemed to be unable to do anything about our displeasure, but only said "That's what management had told me, I'm sorry". On a slow Wednesday night, you'd think at least someone from management would come say something!
The idea of this place is great, however it seems like it's just out of place. I really hope they do turn Randhurst into something like the Woodfield area, or Glenview, but something seemed off putting about it.
I had dinner at E+O tonight and I must say, it was outstanding. Â After living downtown for 25 years & moving to the burbs, the only thing I miss is the restaurants. Â Now, I can get a diverse offering of outstanding items, beautifully prepared/served in an upscale atmosphere with excellent service.
Like many before me, I had the kale salad, a chicken dish beautifully spiced with Moroccan flavors and a cous cous salad that was delightful. Â I also had a lovely glass of wine and the best dessert I have ever had. Â The carrot pineapple cake with cherry compote and marscapone...so amazing.
GO, GO, GO!
The fact that E+O is within the Randhurst Mall area shouldn't deter you from stopping in. Granted, the location may be odd and not necessarily appealing, but everything else within the restaurant is nothing short of fab.
I could literally write a book about everything that was wonderful about E+O, but instead I'll keep it short and sweet. Amazing food. Zen-rific atmosphere. Over the top, wonderful customer service. So with that being said, it's imperative you check it out!
For 2 of us, we ordered enough food for at least 4 people. And we ate nearly all of it. Upon leaving (and feeling like a total pig) I left satisfied, happy, and full.
Out of all the amazing sounding dishes, we settled on the 8 small dishes below...
+ ricotta-spinach dumplings/brown butter/currants/pine nuts
+ crispy brussel sprouts and kale/minced shrimp/sweet chili vinaigrette/peppers/shallots
+ smoked pea "hummous"/fried cauliflower/toasted almonds
+roasted duck and daikon hash/60 degree egg/crispy onions/frisee
+ pressed watermelon "sashimi"/sweet and spicy sauces/shaved radishes/microgreens
+ braised beets/artisan yogurt cheese/spring mix/port reduction
+ "earth no ocean"/mango/gobo root/meslun/avocado/cucumber/miso aioli/soy paper
+ tuna tango/spicy tunas inside/super white-tuna outside/crispy onions/tobiko/unagi sauce
Things you don't want to miss - the roasted duck & dikon hash, smoked pea hummous, and crispy brussel sprouts and kale salad. These three gems stole the show for the evening. As for the prices, it varies. If you get an entrée for one person, expect to pay anywhere between $13 and $25. The small dishes however, are small enough for a couple people to share and are significantly less. What was I most bummed about? Being too full to even want to look at the dessert menu.
Customer service was incredible. We had a few members of the E+O staff stop by to make sure we had everything we needed. They were interested in what we liked and didn't like, and were quick to offer up a recommendation of their favorite dishes. It was great to see that the owner and staff take such pride in serving and pleasing their customers. Two thumbs up, my friends!
I am definitely eager to get back to E+O for another amazing experience, some more duck and kale, and hopefully some dessert.
So nice to finally have a gourmet restaurant in the burbs that's comparable to restaurants in the city!
Delicious, gourmet food at reasonable prices, complimented by tasty cocktails, easy parking, and a short distance from home!
This restaurant I would actually revisit several times.
House-smoked oysters : interesting flavor
Bone-marrow and carne asada tacos : love food that comes from and is placed in giant bones :P
Strawberry Sling and Lychee Debonair are sweet & tasty!
Yep fell in love on the first try with E + O.
The decor is Asian zen which is quite relaxing. The service is perfect yet in a low key setting and not overwhelming, again relaxing.
The menu is so diverse that you can mix and match depending on your desires of the moment and that's pretty neat. You can choose from tapas, sushis, salads or more traditional entrees.
All we tried was excellent including the wines by the glass that were priced right.
A sincere effort is also made on dish presentation.
A must try place and for me a definitely coming back to place.
The Beef, sushi roll and mozzarella roulade all had subtle flavors. I'm glad we saved space for dessert, the chocolate rice pudding was totally worth the calories.
City worthy food in the burbs!? Sign me up! Sadly the positives end there this time around. We ordered 3 small plate appetizers, 1:20 later they still had not all been served. After politely voicing my disappointment with the manager, the pace picked up. However, the entre (Chicken) failed to impress (overcooked) -- all-in-all the experience ended-up being totally unimpressive.
My advice: don't boast about the chef's NYC talk shows appearance earlier that day when he should have been at the restaurant ironing out wrinkles.
Bottom line: Big room, mostly good food, just trying a little too hard and doesn't quite have the show together yet. I'd try it again in hopes that this is just teething problems.
E+O is more than just a dining experience, it is an entire culinary adventure. E+O food achieves a wonderful balance of flavors and textures that delight the palate. The careful design of each dish in taste, smell, and view shows careful consideration of a complete dining experience. It's hard to describe a general theme to the food -- sophisticated yet simple, creative but playful, a perfect harmony of earth and ocean.
This restaurant is a truly enjoyable experience on every level,not just the food. The decor is simple yet elegant. The washroom is impeccably clean. The service is excellent from the valet staff opening the door before you even notice you've reached it, to getting a wide variety of quality food suggestions from the wait staff. The attention to these little things, in addition to excellent food, make E+O a winning combination.
Here are some highlights from my experience
Coffee: Lavazza coffee, made to be strong and full of body yet smooth and not bitter. This complemented the rest of my meal perfectly and was refilled often to keep it warm.
Clam Chowder Soup: Made with manila clams, leeks, bacon, and potatoes. This is a bit saltier than your normal soup, but it certainly packs a lot of flavor. Imagine mixing a loaded baked potato soup with fresh clams and then adding some crispy croutons for texture contrast. If you love the idea of mixing bacon and potatoes together, you will love this soup.
Island style tuna poke: WOW WOW WOW... this is amazing on so many levels I think it's an injustice to try to describe it. Imagine a super crispy wonton wafer with fresh tuna on top of it that's slightly chilled. Now add some chili oil to give it a kick which is cooled by creamy avocado. That's essentially the story of this dish and it's better to just experience it rather than try to explain it.
Crispy chicken thigh sandwich: What do you get when you mix beer battered chicken thigh with miso aioli, house made pickles, topped with crunch red cabbage all housed within a fluffy brioche roll? You get this delicious sandwich, served with your choice of a colorful salad or delicious handcut fries. The amazing thing about this sandwich is how simple it sounds, but how sophisticated it tastes. The entire dish walks you through a ton of textures that you're sure to remember.
E+O Angus burger: Do you know how you know a burger is really good? If you are too busy eating other food that you let it get cold and you still love it! The burger is complimented by french dressing, american cheese, and spicy pickled jalapeno all housed within a brioche roll. As with any burger, the star of the dish is the patty which is cooked exactly to perfection -- juicy yet packed with condensed flavor. Burgers are a sign of pure chef skill and this one did not disappoint.
Pappardelle - This contains shortrib ragu, sour cream, and noodles that match texture of the meat. It's hearty yet light. The noodles are bouncy but bold. The sauce doesn't overpower the rest of the dish. So far this is the best interpretation of this dish I've had in the last year.
Malaysian pork and shrimp fried rice: This dish is beautiful to look at and a delight to taste. It contains a variety of textures from the crispy egg to the slightly sticky rice. The spiciness was perfect -- strong but not lingering, just enough to know it's there but not enough to make the diner drink multiple glasses of water.
Churritos: Crispy dough with a custard center, decorated with flower petals and served with a chocolate / pistachio fondue. This is a lighter way to end your meal with a set of little bites and a chocolate sauce that is delicate but creamy.
Baked ricotta cheese parfait: This looks simple but don't be fooled. The  calculation is perfect when you mix all the elements together so the blueberries and ricotta heighten each others' flavor.
Just writing this review makes me excited to try this restaurant again soon. I had an amazing experience today and I'm sure this is just the start of many more to come.
I was a bit skeptical at first heading out here but it was a good excuse to get all my friends who live and work in the burbs together. Â We often have dinner together but its a hassle for them to always make the trek into the city. Â
From the moment you walk in, you can tell this is not the usual suburban spot. Â The design is what sets the tone so take a moment and check it all out. Â Our waitress came over promptly and took our drink order. Â Unexpectedly, Paul, one of the owners, came over to make some suggestions which we put to good use. Â Maybe it is something I should expect more of but its nice when you have an owner who is a visible presence in their restaurant. Â Makes the place seem way more approachable.
For small plates to share we started with the kale and  shredded brussels sprout salad which is on my new list of favorite salads, the sweet pea hummus served with crispy cauliflower that  was totally unexpected meaning you would think what more can you do with hummus but yeah its different than anything else I've had, and the bone marrow and carne asada tacos which is probably the best use of bone marrow I've had in the Chicagoland area.  My friends and all I commented how we are accustomed to expecting a smaller portion of marrow elsewhere but we had so much we needed additional tortillas.
For our entrees, we ordered the pork belly adobo, crispy pata pork shank, chllean sea bass and free range organic chicken. Â Honestly, not a bad entree to be had. Â The menu is almost overwhelming but it really does make you want to go back for more. Â I'm hoping to try the house made pasta my next time around. Â
If you want the downtown/River North experience at a reasonable price point with free valet (!) in the suburbs this is the place. It is great to finally have an upscale independent restaurant alternative in the suburbs.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
