Boltwood

We came in for Sunday brunch. This relatively new business (about 3 years) was vibrant, festive, and busy. You get quality and tasty servings here with premium pricing as well. This is definitely not an NU student hangout, but rather a place for more like their well-established and successful graduates (and similar others). Our brunch group had:

- smoked whitefish with cream cheese
- eggs, bacon, and crispy potatoes
- corned beef sandwich
- Boltwood English muffin
- chicken sausage, scrambled eggs, french toast bun
- kid's burger ($6)

It's a good, upbeat place for that little bit of a special occasion.

Which of the following do you enjoy?
A) a date night atmosphere
B) perfectly crisp potato cubes
C) a focused menu
D) polite service with a smile

If you answered one or more of the above, Boltwood may be worthy of a bookmark! Bonus: they're on OpenTable.

Dined in here - the former Lulu's (Americanized) dim sum location - on a bustling Friday night and kickstarted our meal with some warm pretzel bites and beer cheese. Yep, nothing like carbs and dairy to rev up your appetite.

We both opted for the (a la carte) burger. I appreciated the juiciness of the patty and softness of the bun but would change 2 things about it. 1) Toast up that bun! Would've really taken the burger to the next level. 2) I would've preferred a firmer, sliced cheddar cheese vs. the runny cheddar spread that was served. All in all, a solid meal.

I have walked by this place multiple times. And I finally walked in tonight, yay! Lol. I loved how well the lightening was, really made the food look more attracting hahaha.

We started with the winter squash salad. It was definitely our favorite of the night. The flavors were so unique, but so balanced and well married with each other. You'll get the sweetness from the roasted squash, the crunchiness from the granola, the richness from the coconut cream, and also the spiciness in the sauce. Be careful to run into the heat lol. Also, the presentation was amazing. And it made us even more excited about our entrees.

However, we were a lot bit let down by the main dish. We decided to share the hanger steak and the octopus. The steak was quite burnt on the outside, bringing the dish a bitter aftertaste. Other than that, a pretty standard steak dish. And the octopus dish was really different from what I expected. There weren't any charred bites. The octopus was perfectly cooked to tender, but the whole dish was just... boring. I wish they would bring more interesting flavors to the main dishes as well.

Overall, I believe this place really have high potentials. And I have high expectations. I was told that they change the menu seasonally. Maybe I'll try out some other menus in the next quarter.

We came here for North Shore Restaurant Month 2018. Atmosphere was inviting and intimate. The host was very polite and showed us immediately to our table. Our server was on the way to another table, but first stopped to let us know he'd be right with us. Our server explained the Restaurant Month offer of our selection of 3 items from 4 categories: appetizer, greens, entree and dessert. He told us his favorites and offered his suggestions based on some of our questions. I love that they support local and their menu lists all the local farmers and vendors where they get their ingredients from.

We started with the pretzels with beer cheese and ham with brunuusto cheese and cranberry jam. Both very tasty. We ordered the grilled hanger steak and the Korean short ribs for our entrees. The steak was tender, perfectly seasoned and tasted great. The Korean short ribs were a bit on the fatty and tough side that made it hard to chew, but it did have great flavor. We ended with the apple tart and lemon sponge cake. The apple tart with the vanilla ice cream was amazing. The lemon sponge cake was moist with the perfect hint of lemon. The lemon curd in the middle had a strong lemon taste that our server warned us about, but it was good to have a little with every bite of cake.

Service was impeccable. We were checked in on often, but not overdone. Our waters never hit the bottom of the cup. Empty plates were picked up immediately. Every staff member had a smile.

It was an overall incredible dining experience.

Boltwood has been on my radar since they opened with a whole lotta buzz and a james beard nomination but just never made it over until recently. The interior is modern yet minimal in design. The service was laidback yet attentive. Nice selection of wine and wonderful stemware. The food is where the road split. For me my tofu curry and beat salad selections were both average at best. The tofu dish was rather dry and uninteresting. While my dining companion ordered a persimmon salad and the Sea-bass dishes which both were very good and more of a 4 star level. So with the hit or miss food it was really a middle of the road experience balancing out to a 3-star experience for me. Being they are a farm-to-table establishment I shall be back when more things are in season and hope for a better all around experience.

Boltwood serves flavorful food from a roomy but reasonable menu -- burgers to chicken to mussels to fish to octopus to steak to tofu on the mains list at dinner.

Veggie dishes are on a separate list and cover a similarly wide but appropriate range -- beets to squash to potatoes.

I think it's best to get at least one veggie with every two mains, as the mains come full solo.

We had the appetizer potatoes and they were great. The burgers got thumbs up and my delicata squash dish was super.

The noise level is pretty high between music, the kitchen and other guests. Tables and chairs aren't super comfy, so this isn't a place you're gonna eat and linger for an hr.

However, the bar mixes very well-made cocktails and they almost get an extra star just for that!

I've only been to Boltwood once for brunch on a Saturday morning and overall, I was very impressed during my visit.
Boltwood's brunch menu is unique and diverse. I had a hard time choosing since there were many offerings, but I decided to try the Boltwood burger & crispy potatoes, thanks to Yelp. I was debating between the breakfast sausage and the burger.
I definitely was not disappointed by the food. The crispy potatoes were crispy to perfection and the burger was juicy with a delicious tangy sauce. The potatoes were a tad bit too salty for my taste, but they were all devoured in one sitting.
I really enjoyed the decor and vibe of Boltwood. Everything was aesthetically pleasing and the glass windows let in a good amount of sunlight.
The service was also great and I felt they were very attentive and helpful.
I am very interested in checking out their dinner menu and maybe their $1 oysters on Wednesdays.

This place is all right. Some of the menu options are quite overpriced. I couldn't believe that two pancakes and some eggs and bacon cost $16. Anyways, I ordered the corned beef sandwich. It was super greasy, and left me feeling a little gross afterwards. The crispy potatoes and the accompanying sauce are not bad. Overall, average to good food quality. I personally would not come back because it probably isn't worth it.

It is a nice location and well-kept. Service was also friendly and prompt.

All I can say is... stick with the brick chicken.... now on to the review.

Ambience: Guys... it's STILL noisy in here even after the panels have been installed. We had to yell to hear each other. The decor is nice and simple, but they really need to do more to fix the noise problem. Also, with winter coming they need to fix the huge draft that comes in when ever anyone opens the door. It wasn't too bad last night, but it was "ONLY" 50 degrees or so.

Drinks: I liked my negroni. Hubby's saz looked good. So all ok in the drink department. My sis had a "house chardonnay" for $11. :-/

Bread: TO DIE FOR! They only bring it upon request, but it's free. It is so delicious with the salted butter. The was one of the highlights of the meal.

Entrees: BIL had the halibut, sis and I had the brick chicken, hubby had the pork shoulder. All were $21 - $26. The best meal was the chicken. I almost ordered the pork, but I asked the waitress which I should get. She told me the chicken. That was a good recommendation, because the pork was about 2 ounces of meat and the rest was fat. Hubby had to fill up on bread. Now I am one of those people that LOVE pork fat... but even I thought it was way TOO FATTY. BIL liked the halibut, but didn't rave. The brick chicken was a good portion, crisp on the outside and tender and juicy meat on the inside. I gave half to hubby since he really had no meal.

sides: the entrees don't come with much of a side. The chicken had onions. Hubby said he had a few beans. We ordered the fries to share based on fellow yelper reviews. They were good and crispy. A nice addition to our entrees. One order was enough for us to each have a few. I felt the sauce could have had a little more spice, but it was still good.

Dessert: We all shared the apple fritters. They were good. How can you go wrong with fried dough and a salted caramel sauce? One order had 5 big round fritters. It was enough for all four of us to share.

Service: Our waitress was good. She was attentive and gave good recommendations. The helpers are johnny on the spot with water, but seem to want to clear dishes before we are done. I had to shoo them away a couple of times while covering my plate. I guess that is better than being ignored... but there IS a happy medium they need to strive for.

Price: We all felt this was a bit expensive for the experience.

I was going to give 3 stars... but "meh" describes my feeling more than "a-ok". We MIGHT be back at some time in the future to see if they have fixed some of their issues that a lot of yelpers are pointing out. I love having good restaurants in Evanston the give that downtown feel without the hassle. This one just needs to work out the kinks.

Evanston has a new high end restaurant to be proud of. The chef from Publican, and one of the owners of Brothers K coffeehouse have teamed up to take over this space, formerly a (good) noodle shop and turn it into a very trendy and noteworthy restaurant.

As others have noted, there is one major downside to the place. Because of its austere, hard-surfaced decor, it is VERY LOUD. In fact, if I had been at a regular table entertaining guests I would not be able to give it a five-star review. But since I was alone, and seated at the chef's bar facing into the kitchen, the sound level was tolerable.

Of course, it's wonderful that the place is packed all night after being open only weeks. And lots of people like vibrant restaurants. But when the quietest place in the establishment is the kitchen, there may be a wee acoustic problem!

So therein lies my tip for pleasant dining: ask to sit at the chef's bar. Not only will you not be deafened, you'll see the fascinating parade of dishes as they leave the kitchen.

Anyway, the food is wonderful. Since the menu changes often, my selections won't necessarily be available to you, but I loved everything I had: grilled Brun-uusto cheese with sweet and sour cherry sauce, pickled cauliflower, quinoa salad, crispy potatoes (quite possibly the best potatoes I've ever had), a whole sardine with fennel and orange, and chicory ice cream.

There is a somewhat eclectic selection of wines, with about a third of them available by the glass, but I opted for the cocktails, because there were several interesting offerings. I prefer drinks with bitter or sour components, and these didn't disappoint. I tried: El Mescalero del Norte (mescal, grapefruit, Compari), Evanston Sazerac (rye , bitter, absinthe), and The New Georgian (peach, bourbon, mint). They were all excellent, and I've listed them in increasing order of sweetness. The mescalero was probably the best, combining earthy and bitter flavors.

Given the quality of the food, I felt pricing was fair. Some of the starters and veggies are under $10, and most mains are about $20. Plan on a starter, main and vegetable, and you're looking at $40 per person. If everyone at the table does that, and you want to sample everything, you'll all get reasonable sized tasting portions and won't leave hungry or broke.

Service was very friendly and professional. I'd read some uneven reviews on this, but I don't think it's completely fair to criticize a restaurant that's not running like a well-oiled machine during its first few days. The service I received was faultless.

As the meal ended and I emerged onto Davis Street, a fire engine was passing with its siren on, and I noted how quiet the city was now that I was outdoors!