Epic

Came here for dinner on a cold Saturday night. The food is OK-ish however the service was great. Will definitely come back for their roof-top bar and/or lounge. Their cocktails look tempting!!!

If you name a place after an adjective such as EPIC, then your goal is to exceed any preconceived expectations that you probably have given a customer from the name EPIC.  To quote another reviewer, this place is far "less than epic."

I ate here once when it opened years back.  Like any River North Restaurant/Club/Lounge (this seems to be the mold) it's opening months were it's prime.  In a way, this business model reminds me very much of NYC -- why not just open a place with a goal of longevity, instead of a 5 year lifespan.  I guess this is part of the service industry that I will never understand.

The food was mediocre, but being a veg, I really do not like to dish out bad food reviews since I am so bias.   The portions were small (or shall we call it "tapas") and the service was just as sceney as the cliental they hope to attrack.  

I came here once more and the place was completely desolete.  A group of people actually warned us how terrible their experience was as they were exiting and advised us not to go. We ignored their warning just to check out this rooftop bar that we've heard about.  

We get to the rooftop bar, AND.... crickets...

... we were the only people on the rooftop bar.

So, you'd expect excellent customer service - right?  Hah.  I asked the server if they served fresh grapefruit juice (if I'm paying over $10 a drink I want my fruitjuice to be natural, not ocean spray --highly processed and dyed with cochineal).  She then radioed the manager and he came us to see if we were overly intoxicated.  I suppose they are not accustom to someone caring about processed grapefruit juice (whatever).  Every interaction here was just strange.  This place did an awful job at welcoming us and making us feel at home.  We left and shared the warning we had ignored to the next group of patrons.  

Hey, River North, you're not better than the rest of the city.  You are a strange combo of Wrigleyville bros, club hoes, and young professionals wanting some r&r via happy hour and conversation.   Be kind to your customers -- maybe this is the way to create a better model for longevity in your business.

Epic?  Not exactly, but a solid meal.  Definitely a Patrick Bateman-esque establishment in the heart of River North.  Go for the lamb carpaccio, and the short ribs, but pass on the risotto cake and the crab louis.  Service is friendly, but very heavy on the upsell.  The outdoor roof deck seems promising when the snow is cleared.