Something has definitely changed. Service was better, food was better (with better selections and half orders) and just the mood was better.
I hope they get their act together stat. This was a great place - better than Paramount  even (which has had its own issues as of late). I hope the owners are reading.
Your service is far from friendly or welcoming. One of your guy bartenders is just not very good at his job. Sorry.
Like a lot of people here have mentioned, when we went to the Point a few times after it had just opened we loved it. Â Great food, a wide variety, and attentive service.
We went back more recently though and it wasn't quite the same. Â It was quiet on a Saturday night and even though there were a few bartenders working, the service was spotty. Â They also changed the menu-- it's much more limited and they took away the half order options from everything but the appetizers. Â We split some of the shrimp/corn eggrolls, which were pretty good and I ordered the chicken paillard and it was aggressively salty. Â
The prices here are steep for a bar-- I'll definitely go back, but probably just for drinks. Â If you want "fancy" bar food, go next door to Paramount Room. Â If you want consistently good bar food at good prices, head on over to New Line Tavern.
Ehhhhhhhhh. I came here last night for drinks and a little bit of food with a decently large group. The beer list is pretty good, although there's nothing Earth-shattering on it. Drinking is on the high end of reasonably priced, with 20 oz beers for $8 (although the $6 12 oz for the same beers feels steep). The bigger issue here is the food. Special flatbread ($12) on this visit came with mushrooms, onions, parmesan (by this they actually mean Kraft fake parmesan from a shaker bottle) and supposedly fennel (which I couldn't taste). It was the size of the inner circle of a dinner plate, which for $12 is highway robbery. Fries ($4) are not the crispiest in the world, and are fairly soggy; I only ate them because I was starving, but they're definitely not worth the calories. Service is pretty bad; it took forever to get served at first, and then once the food and drinks came, we were checked on way too often to "see if everything is okay", which is a pet peeve of mine. Additionally, I asked as soon as I arrived for them to put the Bulls game on in my section of the restaurant, of which I was the only occupant for around 40 minutes. This was never addressed despite my reminding the server multiple times, and I was stuck watching women's tennis. All in all, this is highly overpriced, below average food, based on my admittedly limited sampling. I can't say I'm inclined to take another shot at a meal here. However, it is accessible, and the 20 oz beers aren't a half bad deal sometimes. I'd likely come back to drink at the bar, where service shouldn't be as much of an issue.
Review Source:I recently moved close to The Point, but hadn't eaten here until a friend recommended it. Â My husband and I went in for a casual dinner and were very impressed. Â I'll definitely be back.
It was a Sunday night and there didn't seem to be any waiters other than the bartender, so we sat at the bar. Â I was worried that the service was going to be slow with only one person in the front of the house, but our food was prompt and the bartender attentive. Â
We shared the short rib nachos and shrimp po'boy. Â I really like both and they were much, much better than I expected for bar food. Â The nachos are great, but huge. Â Even splitting it as an entree, my husband and I couldn't finish it. Â
They have a good selection of beers. Â I appreciated that they serve draft beer in 12 and 20oz sizes. Â Sometimes I don't want a whole pint, and the 12oz size allows more flexibility for sampling different beers.
I was pleasantly surprised by how good The Point was. Â I expect it will become part of my regular neighborhood rotation
I like the Point. The food is really good, the atmosphere is load back, and they make great drinks. It's just a tiny bit pricier than I would like and the seating can be tricky if it's crowded and you're with a larger group. But if I lived in the area I think I'd go there quite a bit.
Review Source:Stopped here yesterday for some drinks and apps. Â The place has a good selection of beers on tap and a nice little menu.
We took a seat at the bar and ordered a couple of 20 ounce beers, forgoing the 12 ounce versions. Â It was mostly empty at 5:00 pm. Â The place itself is fairly dark and has a relaxed ambiance. Â The TV's had on the college hoops and football games, but were muted as a good mix of classic rock and Motown played throughout the night.
We ended up ordering the short rib nachos, wedge salad, and Mac n cheese.  The food came promptly and was delicious.  The short rib worked well on the nachos with jalapeño sour cream and corn pico de gallo.  The wedge salad was standard, which is to say very good.  Finally, the Mac n Cheese had 3 types of cheeses, fresh tomatoes and bacon, topped with Panko.  It may have been the best Mac n Cheese I've ever had.
The place livened up around 7:30 and we stayed until 9 drinking and enjoying ourselves. Â Will definitely be going to this little spot off the beaten path to try the entrees.
I went to the point a few weeks back with some friend after work. It is not in the best location for walker or people who take public transportation but very accessible by car. Â The ambiance is hip and modern, good lighting with a young and fun energy. Â I had the burger, of course which turned out to be surprisingly top notch. Â Cooked to perfection, high quality ingredients and very tasty. Â My friends were also impressed with their meals, the meatball sandwich, pasta and burger. Â Overall it was a great experience.
Great Ambiance, Good Food, Bad Location.
Perfectly decent place for food, but just don't order soda/pop here. Â Went for lunch and got the lobster po boy which was ginormous and pretty good. Â The aioli was not that remarkable though which was unfortunate because a good aioli can really make this kind of sandwich amazing. Â I ordered a diet coke with the meal, and it was pretty bad soda, but I needed the caffeine for a long trip later on that afternoon. Â The serve asked if I wanted another, and I said sure thinking it would be a refill. (Generally when someone asks if you want "another" it means you would get charged again, but in other places in Chicago servers have used the word "another" to mean refills, so I have no idea where things stand.) Â However, it turned out I got charged for 2 sodas, and they were $3 each (which wasn't listed on the menu, and honestly what pub charges $3 for soda??), so I wound up paying $6 for soda. Â I get that it's a pub, but this was lunch, and if it were night time, I actually would have gotten these for free. Â So it was irritating to be charged so severely. Â I may go back for food, but I'll stick with water.
Review Source:Sometimes it's necessary to eat nachos for dinner, particularly when it's already taken you about 45 minutes to even decide where to eat. Â Only nachos will solve that kind of hunger. Â Particularly short rib nachos which I'd been dying to get here since I read their menu.*
When the plate landed on my table, the chips were casseroled over with cheese. Â They were not skimpy here. Â The shortrib pieces were pretty evenly distributed as well. Â These nachos aren't super spicy which was ok with me but if you need a little zing, I'm sure some hot sauce will pump up the jam a little. Â My friend went for the ahi tuna BLT which she liked but thought could have been a little more on the rare side. Â The eyecatcher on her plate for me was the fried pickle spear. Â I'll take more of those please. Â
I avoided the cocktail menu on another friend's advice, though other people seem to be into them, and I thought the drinks were a little on the pricey side (for example I saw one of the beers on the Fountainhead menu for $1 less and Fountainhead isn't really known for its value pricing) but nothing completely outrageous.
Small, but uncrowded, I would absolutely come back for those nachos. Â
*I read menus when I need some riveting reading material.
The sign said open on Sunday at 6:30 pm looked kinda dead. Â There was only one table of 3 ladies in the dining area and two people at the bar not packed. Yet the bartender was standing around cutting veggies and the waiter was watching television.When we walked in no one was at the hostess stand and the bartender just stood there looking at us. Â We asked if there was a table and then the guy from the back came out and said oh you can sit in our dining section. Â He asked us if we wanted anything to drink but we had no menus so we asked if he could kindly bring over some menus to make our selections. Â We then asked for some suggestions didn't give much help. Â I ended up getting the midnight train it was very STRONG! and nothing like rum which I asked if it was similar too. Â My husband bloody mary was the worst drink ever it tasted like pasta sauce and vodka terrible. Â He was offered another drink free of charge so he tried the appeloni and it was so strong and nothing of orange accent at all it tasted like gold schluager. Â YUCK! Â
Prior to our visit I always view menus because of my husband dietary needs we saw they had half orders on their menu this would worked out perfect. Â Yet when we got there we were informed they no longer served half order portions. Â So bad service so far and the website is incorrect shouldn't those be your top two things to be on top of daily. Â Most people view a menu prior to visiting a restaurant.
Now onto the food i ordered the swedish meatballs hoagie with truffle fries the portion was normal enough to take the other half home for lunch the next day and very tasty I wasn't so sure of the pickles served on it but it definitely works. Â The swedish meatball was delicious by itself with the sauce and pickles and the grilled bread it was served on had a nice crunch to it. Â The fries were truffle fries good but like every other bars signature fries. Â My husband order the special Mac and Cheese with bacon and tomatoes. Â Okay I just have to tell you my sandwich was so good but this Mac and Cheese was so creamy and sprinkled with panko crunchy breadcrumbs with salty smoky crumbled bacon and a few sauteed tomatoes was melt in you mouth delcious one of the best we've sampled since moving to the city. Â We love our mac n cheese and this is definitely worth coming back for. Â I have to say the food was so good but the service was a easy reason not to return. Â There is not much room for dining so you may get stuck eating at the large bar and the drink menu is not that extensive if your a vodka or rum drinker just order your usual vodka cranberry or rum and coke but if you do like beer their list is pretty extensive. Â Both food items we ended up taking half home and reheated nicely still with great flavor the next day. Â Our bill was $50 for two full entree's and 2 drinks. Â I think that is reasonable for the quality of the food that was served but the service still rated a zero for us. Â
With this being the equal distance away from our home as Jefferson Tap I would have to say I would do take out from here if offered and visit Jefferson Tap for my drinks and friendly atmosphere and a staff that is attentive to each its patrons.
I would love to give The Point a 5+ star rating if it were the same as when it originally opened. Â However, our experiences since then have been a bit of a let down. Â The biggest problem recently is the removal of the half-portion option from most of the menu. Â One of the best parts about this place was not only how great the food was, but also the fact that you could order half-portions and be able to try several different things on the menu, as well as keep it budget-friendly. Â Now, this unique feature is largely gone. Â Staffs' response for this has been that the kitchen just couldn't figure out how to keep it straight between half and whole orders. Â This seems like a staffing problem that should be addressed as such, rather than reduce services for customers. Â
Another recent issue comes with a chef change in the form of adding a couple great things to the menu (Crab Gratin) but seemingly at the expense of other REALLY great things. Â Case in point, the grilled calamari with polenta was easily one of the best dishes on the menu and I was powerfully disappointed to see that it was gone on our recent trip there. Â Otherwise, the food was great as always and service was at least adequate. Â
Other things about this place is that they seem to still be figuring out what constitutes portions, as you can never be sure that what you order will be the same size as what you ordered last time. Â After talking this place up to some out of town friends, we took them there for brunch and were pretty disappointed with the portion size as compared to what we had just 1 week prior. Â Last comment would be that - although the food is great - the drink prices make it unlikely that you will want to stay here and hang out for too long. Â They would benefit from some regular weekly drink specials to bring people in on weeknights when they are mostly empty.
The most striking thing is that the restaurant area is really small and is dominated by the large bar in the center.
The drinks were delicious and the food was decent. I was a little disappointed that you can no longer get half orders on the full menu. Half orders are only available on the appetizers.
Ratings:
Spicy dry rub wings: 3/5
Truffled fries: 4/5
Block burger: 4/5
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 3/5
Went for an early dinner with my daughter. Â I had the mussels and the truffle fries. Â Unfortunately, the fries were barely warm. Â Really??? Â There were barely any tables in there.... When I pay $7 for fries, they need to be hot. Â The mussels over all were pretty good, although I had a few mushy ones. Â My daughter had the duck salad, which she enjoyed very much. Â No cocktails, just food. Nice menu and a cozy atmosphere.
Review Source:I have had two experiences at The Point. The first - myself, my husband and two friends from out of town stopped in for brunch on a Saturday around 12:00 PM. The service was good and we each split a spicy skillet with out respective spouses, which was delicious.
The most recent time was this past Saturday where I stopped for dinner and a few drinks with two other people. We ordered the short rib nachos to start (which were pretty great) but then the waiter took ours menus. Um, hello? I don't think one order of nachos split between three people constitutes as a meal - in any country! So I asked for the menus back and we order two more appetizers and drinks. Our waiter then grabbed the menus off the table again! OK starving artist, you have to pay rent this month, right? At this point I was pretty annoyed and fed up with his bullshit. We finished our apps, got the check and headed elsewhere to finish dinner.
I think I'll stick with brunch - seems to be better service with the day staff.
Ok. So I started out loving this place. The food is still amazing and I love the interior. That being said, the service is god awful. Â Thankfully there are big windows that allow me to see who will be serving me. Not kidding when I say that I will literally walk in or walk by depending on who's behind the bar. The tall guy is great. Super friendly and provides good customer service. There are a couple sub par girls and one that is god awful. Seriously, get out of the service industry of you don't like people. If I sit down and it takes you ten minutes to get me a menu when the place is near empty that is a problem. You're a bartender, smile and give me a reason to give you my money. I have had numerous instances of crap service with this person.
So, if you're looking for a fun time walk in but beware if blondie is behind the bar.
And order the short rib nachos. They are mind blowing!!
I live right down the street and recently tried The Point for Sunday brunch. Â We've been back several times since then, and the food is absolutely fabulous. Â I've tried the short rib omelet, the chilaquiles, and the skirt steak and eggs and have loved them all (also LOVE that the potatoes come with caramelized onions - my fave!). Â I've stuck with a mimosa every time, and I love that it's served with the full bottle of the champagne split since I feel like most brunch places overload on OJ while skimping on the bubbly.
The space itself is very interesting, and it's a great place to sit and  watch football (though with all the TVs, I'm surprised that they only show a single game at a time)
Everything is very reasonably priced and is always delivered quickly once we place our order. Â However....
The service is decidedly underwhelming (I have only gone for brunch, so I can't speak to the service at night, though I do see a lot of positive comments). Â We always sit at the bar, and the last time we went, although we were given menus immediately, she didn't return until about 10 minutes AFTER we had finished looking through them to see if we were ready to order. Â Plus, when our order did come out, my extra side of potatoes was missing. Â She rang it in immediately and brought it out but never acknowledged the mistake or apologized. Â In addition, it always takes a while for our plates to be cleared and our credit card to be run after we're finished (though from looking around, that seems to be the case across the board). If the place was packed, I could easily understand the slow pace, but the bar has never been more than half full when we've gone, so the fact that the service is so minimally attentive just ends up being all the more frustrating.
Even though The Point has one of  the best brunch selections in my area, always has seating available, and is ridiculously convenient, sometimes we opt not to go there solely because of the pace/general apathy of the service.  If they can get that worked out though, it'll be a no-brainer for me every Sunday.
What a great location! Â We have often lamented on the fact that someone needs to plop on this corner since there is so much traffic, car and bike, that goes by. Â In goes the Point!
We have enjoyed their bar area on several occasions. Â Its nice to not be smushed into a corner or be shouting to be heard. Â The servers are always very prompt and cordial. Â I love the little booths that you can tuck into to hide away from the world.
The highlight for the menu for me is the half portion or the full portion aspect. Â What that says to me is to order more food! Â Clever marketing Point. Â I am totally falling for it! Â Their wedge salad is one of my favorites that sometimes I grab on the go. Â The polenta is also a great staple when you need a touch of homey food. Â One of my favorites is the shrimp and mussel nage. Â The roasted vegetables are so hearty. Â Yum. Â May have to push here for dinner. Â
All together a great addition to the neighborhood that I am more than happy to hike to.
Had a late dinner here on a Friday night with my wife and her friend, and overall a good experience. Â The bar is huge and dominates the space, which kind of takes away from the restaurant feel. Â Not a big deal that night for the three of us to sit at the bar, but if you're with 4 people the table options are really limited. Â
Some quick positives..
- ribtip nachos were fricken awesome, absolute must have
- My wife LOVED that you could get 1/2 orders of everything on the menu
- The ice-cubes they use for their drinks are stacked perfectly somehow which looks cool and keeps them from melting too quickly
Only negatives are again the lack of tables for a place with full dining menu, and the location is a little out there on its own. Â But overall a great place to start a night for a good dinner and drinks.
This place is pretty damn good. The fact that you can get half of most of the things on the menu is pretty great. And their selection is very good. Their beer selection is also good, not great. Their cocktails on the other hand are pretty strong I would say, too strong for my taste. But the food was fantastic. We had the Grilled Calamari for the appetizer and that was very good. The Lobster Po boy was also delicious and big. I would definitely recommend this place for late night drinks or even a date.
Oh and I almost forgot, the service was excellent, our server was on it the whole night and the rest of the staff were also very nice.
Nice bar, good atmosphere, service was ok, and food was ok.
The drinks seemed a little pricey, but that may just be how much drinks cost in Chicago. Â I wouldn't be surprised.
As for the food, here's what I tried:
-Truffled Handcut Fries - very good, especially with the Sriracha ketchup. Â This might have been my favorite dish of what I got to try.
-Preserved Duck Cake - nice flavor and good texture of the duck. Â I would also recommend trying this dish if you like duck.
-Polenta Cakes - I appreciated the firmer texture of the fried polenta cakes, but if you're not a fan, then this isn't for you.
-Swedish Meatball Hoagie - it sounds good on paper, but it was not. Â The meatballs were overcooked, the flavors were somewhat bland and non-existent, and it was awkward to eat.
-Shrimp and Black Mussel Nage - the vegetables were nice, but it didn't taste like much. Â I wasn't a fan.
-Bagna Cauda Artichokes - way to heavy and creamy. Â It tasted like I was eating creamy spinach artichoke dip without any chips (only one toasted baguette).
-For dessert, I ordered the cheesecake, which was only ok.
There were some good dishes and some not-so-good dishes. Â For the price you're paying, you'd expect a bit more quality from the food. Â If you choose the right dishes, it would make for a good meal.
Bring your earplugs because this place is LOUD! To the point you have to give or receive a mist of saliva in order to hear or be heard. Yes, it is a bar but even holes like Barleycorn know the limit.
We sat at the bar the service can be good or wonderful depending on your bartender. Go for the bartender with the beard.
Like most new places, they have a solid selection of beers and wines plus some custom cocktails. The food ranged from average to astronomically delicious:
Shrimp and sweetcorn spring rolls - I don't remember these much.
Random lake popper - unexpected and nice change from the typical appetizers. Flakey and lightly creamy.
Spicy dry rubbed wings - crispy flour coating and perfectly cooked wings. They were just light in the spice.
Bagna CÀuda artichokes - There are very few dishes in my life that I would say are perfect. This is one of them. Even the LOUD music didn't bother me while I was eating this lovely dish.
Growing tired of the bars in my River North area, we decided to venture west one Friday night not too long ago to check out the Point. And I like what I saw (And ate. And drank).
First of all, you can't deny that there is something special about this space with the triangular bar. It welcomes you--invites you to sit there. Granted, the tables behind the bar are hard to see, so you may enter in thinking that your own option is to sit at the bar or the tiny tables along the windows. So bar it is. Not sure I would bring a large group here given the logistics, but for groups of 2-3, it's perfect.
Plenty of brews on tap, with a decidedly midwest/Wisconsin theme going on. Unfamiliar with a lot of the beers, the bartender was more than happy to let me sample before deciding.
Food is diverse and hearty. Short rib nachos caught our eye, and they did not disappoint. The arugula salad was large and fresh, pleasantly surprising given that this feels like more of a bar than a restaurant.
Bartenders were friendly, as were the other patrons. On a Friday night around 9pm, seemed to be a good mix of young and old. Not a chad or trixie to be found, so a welcome reprieve from the River North scene.
The Point is a gem--as long as it stays low-key, I'll be back. A bunch.
As a design snob, anything with a minimalist triangle motif is bound to grab my attention. Â For months prior to The Point's grand opening, I would be a mega-creeper and peer into the windows to watch the unveiling of the beautiful wooden floors and count just how many taps the bar would tout.
The day finally came where The Point opened and due to a combination of impatience and curiosity, I sat at the bar with friends in lieu of waiting 45+ minutes for a table. Â I ordered an IPA that was on draft, but my friend ordered the Me No Laugh, which has recently won an award for one of the best cocktails in Chicago. Â It reminded me of a much smoother, slightly sweeter Old Fashioned due to the whiskey and bitters.
Not only are the libations great, but the gastropub fare had us very impressed. Â We ordered the shrimp and sweetcorn spring rolls as an appetizer. Â They were crispy, slightly sweet due to the shrimp, and had a little "kick" to them due to the sriracha aioli.
Because the bartender warned us that the portions could be big, we shared the shrimp and black mussel nage. Â Thank goodness for the generous helping of crostini that we received with this entree; the white wine-shallot broth was delicious and rivaled anything you could find in a Belgian restaurant.
If you're not seated at the bar, be sure to get a table near the floor-to-ceiling windows to people-watch and gawk at everyone (yeah, I guess I AM a mega-creeper) on Milwaukee.
I'm a straight sucker for Gastropubs so The Point had me at hello.
It's great for both dinner and drinks with buds or a cuddly night with that special someone. Lighting is low, the menu is fantastic, and the drink list is large and idiot proof. (You'll see what I mean)
DO: Get the preserved duck cake, roasted peppers and truffle fries. All three were standouts. Also order a half of either of their burgers cause it's basically a normal portion at most other places.
DON'T: Sit at one of the tables closest to the back right wall. The seating is awkward and more like you're at a baseball game than a restaurant as the only place to sit is next to the person your dining with. Â It's just a little uncomfortable, but certainly not a deal breaker by any means.
Overall it was an excellent experience. A tad pricier, but it's a Gastropub so you get The Point.
This joint, definitely places a more sophisticated twist on the local chicago neighborhood bar.
The food, is good, consistent, and very fairly priced. Â Yes, yes, yes, it's no nursing home when it comes to the volume, but it's a bar. Â Remember...? Â I tend to be a little snobby when it comes to my beer, spirits and vino, but this place has me pleasantly surprised after every twist and turn.
I almost forgot, service! Â The whole staff, is great! Â After having imbibed and gorged myself here a few more times then I have fingers, I have yet to have any sort of poor experience.
Conclusion: I am super stoked to have this place as an at least once a week watering hole. Â Maybe, possibly, home away from home.
This is a great place for some drinks and food. Â Like others have said, the music is kind of loud, but we sat in the back area where it wasn't too bad. Â
We had the truffle fries which were super good; the lake poppers were also very good but a little heavy on the cream cheese; the shrimp and corn spring rolls were really good too. Â The best however, were the short rib nachos. Â Holy moly, those were some of the best nachos I've had. Â
To drink I had the comb-see comb-sah with pamplemousse rose which was to die for! Â I loved it. Â My fiance had some beer and had no complaints. Â
The service was quick, food piping hot, and the price is not bad. Â We are fans!
Random Lake Poppers!!! Â What a great appetizer. Â That and the Shrimp/Sweetcorn Spring Rolls are two reasons to eat here.
They also have an interesting selection of beers and wines, so if you like trying new stuff, definitely check it out.
Oh, and they have Mezcal! Â Not that I'm a fan, but I think it's interesting to find four different kinds of mezcal in a bar outside of Mexico.
We're happy there is a new restaurant in the neighborhood. Â The food was pretty good. Â We really liked that you can do half orders and almost everything. Â I ordered a half burger, and it came out well done. Â It then hit me that I never was asked how I wanted it cooked. Â I always like medium rare. Â Remember to tell your server what temp you want your burger in case they forget to ask. Â My manhattan was perfect. Â I love that they use the rye instead of me having to ask for rye. Â
The one issue was with the noise level. Â It was Sunday afternoon and a little more than half full. Â The song selection was great, but it was so loud. Â At every new place we've tried lately, the music is just blaringly loud. Â I guess that we are too old to enjoy this trend, but I like to have conversations without having to raise my voice. Â
We'll be back, probably often.
Its so difficult to venture out of my neighborhood coz there are so many choices here!!
The point is a new addition to our Fulton River District and i am so happy that they are here
We sat at the back bar and was well taken care of by our bartender Hillary, good selection of beer and although i didn't try the cocktails, they seemed to have a number of interesting choices there
We shared the dry rubbed wings (very smokey), short rib tacos and my fav the ahi tuna BLT
atmostphere is relaxed and i can't wait until they open up the outdoor patio
Good beer list, but not the best prices I've seen. Some of the beers throw quite the punch, but I hate it when they don't provide the alcohol content on there for you. Also, Guinness for $8? No thanks, I'll go elsewhere for my irish stouts. Their special cocktail lists look decent and very powerful, but they run over $10. They better have some specials to survive in this hood...
However, the food menu is really eclectic. It's a bit upscale for this area but I like how you can get a full or half order for most menu options. The half orders of burgers and sandwiches are a plenty, esp if you plan on boozin it up after a hard day's work. I'd suggest the chicken sandwich or the nachos. You get to pick your own side with sandwiches. You can be bad (chips or fries) or good (spinach, salad, or broccoli). Nice!
There is actually quite a lot of seating and there is a back room if you have a party. The furnishings are still new and need to be broken in to be more comfortable, but I can't harp on them too much for that. The staff is a little reluctant to make splitting bills easy, so you may as well pay up at the bar :( Bein' honest.
Other than that, not too shabby for west of the mart and it's a little more poshy than Emmitt's (even though I love me some Emmitts!)
The Point is a reasonably priced gastropub with a decent beer selection and a large and innovative menu, housed in a cozy space full of natural light. It is the epitome of what a neighbohood pub should be.
The Point has a great menu - we tried the short rib nachos, which were delicious once we got some Cholula to give it a bit more of a kick, and the truffle fries which were great as well. They came with a bernaise sauce and Siracha ketchup, and they actually gave us enough sauce that there was some left over when we were done. None of those tiny ketchup cups that are empty after the first 2 fries! Our waitress was friendly and responsive as well.
I also really liked the atmosphere - every table or bar seat has some sort of view. No one is stuck in a corner facing a wall. Only issue is it seems tough to go with a group for dinner. Most of the seats are at the bar or at small tables so it might not be easy to show up with a larger party.
I'm so glad this bar opened!
I met a friend  on Thursday evening for drinks.  It wasn't crowded, but there was a lot of people watching the Hawks.  This is a great place to watch a game.  It appeared to have a late 20s-early 30s demographic.  Not my running crew, but I can hang with the younger crowd.
We had a talking and drinking focus, so I didn't even realize that they served food! Â It's a very convenient location for me, so I will return soon for a bite.
The great things about the Point are the location, the service and the prices. Â Staff was friendly, short walk home, and I had a decent sauvignon blanc for $7. Â WOW.
That's all I need.
Amazing!! I got the polenta cake, and while the consistency was a little softer than I prefer, the flavor was...just...I could cry thinking about it right now. Delicious. My friend ordered some kind of grilled chicken that came with toasted french bread, corn, and lettuce (I think it was for making into a sandwich). It was tender, savory, and really, really good.
Something is going on with the feng shui in that place, in a good way. The gigantic wall-windows give the effect that the room is big and spacious, but somehow it also feels cozy. I will be back. Often.
As previous reviewers have noted, opening night was packed. I had an idea of what to expect based on what friends have said about the owner's other establishments, and was pleasantly surprised that the service and staff both exceeded my expectations.
First off, the service was great despite the place being slammed. Everyone working there seemed genuinely inviting and were always smiling, and not in the clenched-teeth stiff-faced kind of way that might be expected when it was as packed as it was on opening night. The team there was really efficient and smiley- a good combination in my book.
The food was great and I went on a semi-full stomach since I had not planned to go on opening night. I went with two other people and the three of us have vastly different food preferences, but all found dishes we loved. I had a veggie dish, the others an ahi tuna B.L.T. and a Swedish Meatball sandwich.
If you would like to see pictures of our dishes or more about my experience there, check out my full review: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.babbleandbezotes.com%2F2012%2Fthe-point-a-new-chicago-barrestaurant-i-heart%2F&s=4d249f7174137230e8da98e5c69e5617d709caf4b5d69a1f6be317492ff16342" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.babbleandbezo…</a>
The beer list was great; once again the three people in my party have vastly difference tastes in beer, but found ones perfectly suited for each of us.
The prices of the food were really reasonable considering the quality and portions.
I am eager to check it out after opening week.. It was truly packed and very loud, so it was hard to talk to one another. I'm happy that opening night went so well despite selfishly want things to chill out a bit so I can eat there a little more comfortably (and thus more often). If not, I may carry out (if possible).
I do hope they'll add their fried pickles to their appetizer or side item offerings (as opposed to only along with certain sandwiches)!
Had an opening night experience at this inviting new bar/restaurant in the River West area, and will definitely be returning. Wedged into the unique intersection corner of Milwaukee, Kinzie, and Desplaines, The Point is most easily identified by its shape. Though I was only there at night, it's obvious the huge windows running the gamut of the place will illuminate the place brilliantly during daytime and early evening hours. And besides, it was rather exotic drinking beers and viewing the intersection's busybodies from the perch of a bar. The interior smartly accommodates the otherwise challenging building design, crisply occupied by a roomy bar, brick walls, bulbous hanging lights, and urban deco. There is also a generous patio in the back that will likely serve nicely once the weather warms up.
Draft selection is good, albeit not as selective as the variety at its familial Clutch. I didn't get a good look at the bottle selection, but I'm sure it more than suffices. Cocktails served are a solid blend of classics (think a well-done Sazerac) and a handful of special concoctions. These guys know how to mix a drink.
I had the chance the gouge myself on several food items with a ravenous group with which I attended. The dry-rub wings are most certainly worth your time. The sriracha-ketchup dip for the fries has a welcome fiery kick from the typically mayo-heavy gastropub fare. And strangely enough, I tried the arugula salad, doused in lemon, white mushrooms, truffle oil, and some other stuff I can't recall - but it made a damn good entree. As such, the whole menu is worth investigating, and luckily the prices are more than fair.
Lastly, the service -- for an opening night -- was outstanding. Attentive, efficient, and hospitable servers and bartenders alike make the place welcoming for return visits. No pretentious vibes. No bull.
We went in on opening night and boy were they having a hell of a first day. The place was packed!
We were seated right away in the back bar, which is pretty cool. Lots of exposed brick and cool light fixtures. The front bar is triangle shaped, which considering the location and space makes sense. There are huge wall to wall windows that let in a ton of light. They have a pretty large back patio that I imagine will be awesome in the summer.
The bartender we had makes a great sazerac. I overheard that he came from Piece as well. The dry rubbed wings and cassoulet of duck confit and merguez are fantastic too. The staff was very attentive and friendly and for an opening day, everything went smoothly. The chef was walking around making sure that everyone was enjoying their meal and taking care of his line.
We will surely be back to try out some other menu options. This place has potential to be a new hot spot for us!!
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