Embeya

Sometimes good food is all about presentation. Came to Embeya with a couple of girlfriends tonight for restaurant week. This is the first restaurant I’ve been to this year that participates in the «family style» concept of sharing the $ 33/​$ 44 set meals, which is actually really fitting for an Asian fusion restaurant.
You have the option of choosing between the three course or four course meal, and you get to try everything on the restaurant week menu. Everything was decidedly Thai themed, but with a refreshing twist. Never thought cuttlefish pad thai would be something I wanted to try, but now I’m wondering why that combination has never been done before.
The serving staff was very attentive and accommodating, including bringing an additional plate of entrée when we seemed unhappy with a particular choice. Also split our check between many credit cards without complaint.
All in all a great way to experience one of the most trendy restaurants in the West Loop for a decent price — just a tip, if you want to get a drink, splurge with the $ 25 wine pairing, it ends up being a steal of a deal.

I’ve never been this disappointed in a dinner experience at a nice restaurant. I came here for restaurant week with a friend and we both left very unhappy. The food’s flavor was all wrong, selection was strange, and portions were tiny. We didn’t even finish the desserts — which is saying a lot. Staff was inattentive as well. Definitely won’t be coming back to this place.

I attended this restaurant for a birthday dinner. It was a large group of us so we opted to do the sit down family style dinner. The food was plentiful and delicious, course after course was an array of flavors in my mouth. I can’t recall every dish that we had but the monkfish was one of the main courses and it was amazing! For dessert there was an array of exotic fruits as well as green tea ice cream and mini pastries. Now I will have to say this place is a bit pricey so this isn’t somewhere where you will go every day but the quality of the food was worth it.

This is my favorite Restaurant Week place so far out of four restaurants. I like that everything listed on the menu (minus the optional course) is included and served family style, and all for $ 33/​person!
First Course — both were amazing. The cuttlefish dish is deceptive because the cuttlefish noodles look like ordinary noodles, but nope, it’s just cuttlefish in noodle form.
— Cuttlefish Noodle Pad Thai
— Crab and Green Papaya Salad
Main Course — since I’m allergic to curry and do not like lamb, I can’t comment on that dish except that my friend liked it. I really enjoyed the fried chicken thigh dish, and the chicken was moist and savory.
— Braised lamb
— Fried Chicken Thigh
Dessert — they were sooooo goooood. I think I can just eat these for all three courses of the meal instead.
— Roasted Banana
— Cacao Nib Brownie
I highly recommend going here during Restaurant Week because it’s such a good bang for the buck!

What a wonderful fusion restaurant. Loved the décor, ambiance and menu. We started with the fried squid and cauliflower soup, both of which were absolutely delicious. Then we had the rock shrimp udon and walleye with green curry. Perfection. Just the right amount of spices to complement the seafood. Very fresh seafood indeed. Then we finished with the Thai coffee ice cream cake which was light and unbelievable, as well as the pineapple dessert. What a wonderful addition to west Randolph.

A delicate restuarant！ Each dish here is just like a piece of art with great taste! Dating in this restaurant just makes you feel happy and comfortable. Besides of the food, the services here is also extraordinarily awesome! I love the green papaya and the desserts most!

Can’t believe what happened tonight! We went to the restaurant week to Embeya and unfortunately things have changed so much. First of all, there is no single dish in the menu (except for the papaya salad) that was worthwhile. The noodles were dried, the Chinese bacon wasn’t pairing the trout which barely had flavor, chicken was not flavorous, lamb was just fat and no meat. Even the dessert was just OK. Further, the manu is «family style», but they are just single person dishes that had to be involuntarily shared. But not only the food disappointed us, but also the service. It looks like the waiters were in a rush, hitting the table so hard when leaving the plates.
This has been our disappointing experience. I don’t know what has happened, but we left the restaurant very sadly and wishing not to go back.
PD: I am not the kind of person who writes bad reviews. And I actually brought all my family to Embeya a few months ago when they came all the way from Spain.

Came here for dinner, but ended up just staying for drinks due to a quick change of plans. However, was there for about 30 minutes to provide some feedback. Arrived 10 minutes early, and host was kind and told us they were a bit busy and to wait. They have a BEAUTIFUL bar (that was rather empty for a Saturday night), yet they never suggested my group to go sit and grab a drink while we waited. In fact, we were directed to wait in a corner by the cold door which I found strange. My group and I took it upon ourselves to go to the bar while we waited. Drinks were fantastic, though I had to ask the same server THREE times for a glass of ice water which I found wild.
Loved the ambiance and décor, but from the brief 30 minutes I was there it’s evident they still got to perfect their systems. Will return eventually to try the food!

A great date night place for sure. Lovely atmosphere, not too loud, so you can hear what others are saying.
Staff is very friendly and accommodating.
I had the scallops which I wish were done just a tad bit more but even so they were great. Hubz had the crispy chicken and it was delicioussss, a unique dish. The Brussels sprouts side was all good as well, I recommend it.
Would come back here.

Came here for NYE dinner with my boyfriend. Food was actually pretty good; it was a set menu for NYE and 4 course meal. However, not only portions are tiny, the time between serving the courses took 30 mins. The course itself would suffice ONE adult person, not an adult men and a woman. We came here around 6:40pm and it took an hour and 40 mins to finish the course. Also after second course (we were still hungry and was eagerly waiting for the main) the waiter mistakenly brought out dessert. Had to wait total 30 mins to receive the main course. For the price it is not worth it. I would expect better service for $ 95 per person course. We went to potbelly afterwards.
Edit: if waiting for 30−40mins (mind you, this is not counting the time we are eating. After we were done with the dishes we waited additional 30 mins for another course to come out) between the course meal is relaxing (especially when the portions are tiny) you are wrong. Also the main dish (the meat) came out cold. The reply also did not address the poor service. The waiter brought dessert when we were waiting for the main course. Mind you, I have had course meals in 5 star resorts and restaurants. This was NOT the best service that i expect from a high end restaurant. I am throughly disappointed with the response, now I am changing my review to one star. Should have gone to another restaurant. Never coming back.

The food was fantastic, but the service was poor and the value just not here for me given the price points.
Let me start with how great most of the food was! Loved the rock shrimp and jerkey specifically. Pork shoulder too fatty but OK. specialty cocktails were well made and not too sweet. The issue is most portions are small for what you pay, particularly the appetizers. Probably better to split an entrée as an app as those were bigger and more appropriate to the price.
I would give higher stars, but I was sorely disappointed with service. It was 12 minutes from sitting down until first addressed, and I had to flag a busser to ask about a server. This is completely unacceptable — keep in mind the two minute rule.
The service didn’t improve from there. My drink was empty and the server walked by 12 times. I counted. It was Friday and I was thirsty. Oblivious to the table. I can’t stand that. I might as well sit at home, spend ¹⁄₁₀ the money on some take out, and be able to get my own beer from the fridge.
I am noticing a serious lack of service quality in many of these ostensibly «high end» places — maybe just a Chicago thing? It’s unfortunate, since dining is about service just as much as food; the two must complement each other and create an experience worth the $$. Service here sank the rating.

My review seconds what Michelangelo V. already wrote below!
I will come back for a couple of dishes but otherwise i think the restaurant is slightly overpriced for the service and food they are offering.
I definitely recommend everyone to try it and experience, however i would like to set realistic expectations for visitors and make sure they are ready to pay $$$$ for 3.5−4.0 stars service and food.

I came here with a group of 11 people. This is a great space for large parties. It’s very spacious and comfortable. I had the tendron & lime cocktail which was very citrusy and I couldn’t taste the young coconut water. I shared the grilled beef jerky appetizer with the bf. This was very delicious. Not so much of a jerky, though. It was very tender slices of beef in a sweet, tangy and spicy sauce. This was my favorite dish. I had the smoked scallops for my entrée. This was a mistake. It was a few pieces of scallops hiding in a handful of salad. This dish was ridiculously small. I don’t recommend getting this unless it’s just as an appetizer. The bf had the hangar steak, which he enjoyed. It was a large portion and was cooked nicely. Some other people at my table ordered the gigantic ribeye for two. This was the thickest steak I’ve ever seen. They slice and plate it at the side of the table. Unfortunately, both orders were undercooked. The couples ended up eating around the rare parts. I would stick to the hangar steak. None of us were interested in the dessert options.
The bill was a bit of a mess. They ended up accidentally charging one couple’s credit card like 90% of the bill. Good thing the couple caught that mistake as they were leaving. I also threw in an extra 20 dollar bill to cover whatever small amount we were short after splitting the bill. They charged all our credit cards and took the cash without returning with the change. I would have left the change anyway on top of the 20% tip we already left, but wth? I’ve never encountered a waiter that just assumed he/​she could keep the change. That was shady.

Husband and I came for happy hour cocktails. We sat at the bar, though there was ample seating throughout the rest of the restaurant. Bartender was very sweet and friendly, if not a bit aloof. The «Pear pressure» craft cocktail was delicious!
We ordered the happy hour portions of grilled pork ribs, shrimp skewers, and lamb meatballs. $ 8 each, with three pieces on each plate. Every one was so, so delicious, especially the pork rib — amazing.
We will definitely be back.

It’s with utter sadness that i write this, but Embeya has gone downhill with their new chef, which i was informed of last night as of June 9^th. I had dinner here in April 2014, and was blown away by the choices, taste, and presentation. It was by far one of the best Asian Fusion restaurants in Chicago. Not only were the menu choices less appealing, but ingredients, spices, and seasoning used were plain off.
We ordered:
Squid app — decent, nothing special
Chicken entrée — seasoning was strange, didn’t mix well, and taste was bland. Chicken had plenty of tendon in it. Also, seasoning didn’t soak into the chicken. presentation for this and squid was nice.
Udon entrée — sad and way over-​priced. It was just a few skimpy pieces of veggies, hard tofu squares, and udon. I could’ve made this dish for $ 1, adding some salt and pepper.
I think it’s safe to say, i won’t be returning unless the old chef comes back, or hire a new one.
Warning: the menu on their website is the OLD menu. Many dishes have been replaced in the new one i saw last night.

Honest review: i saw this on check please thats why i came. The ambiance is really beautiful really romantic wish there were more chandeliers. Service was alright not the best service not the worst. She would be gone for a while and i saw her at the bar i dont like seeing staff chatting with coworkers or doing nothing at the bar should be tryna make the customers feel more welcomed. Food was good not great like the only standouts were the pork belly and the ganache dessert. Because of that im rating 1 star cause i wouldnt come back wasnt worth the expensive price. I dont mind paying alot just it has to be amaizing. All in all just two dished blew me away pork belly and ganache i dont give restaurants a second chance it should be perfect every time
Papaya salad: this was the only dish with alot of food. Its like spaghetti. this dish is really good theres a lot of texture everything is really crunchy. This dish is spicy so if u do not like heat dont order its not overwhelming its perfect. This dish was really acidic wish there was something sweet added to make it not that sour maybe candied walnuts like in the scallop dish. Only problem was there was way to much mint like it wouldnt be a problem if it was just a little bit but there was alot of it kinda ruined the dish would order again though
Soft shell crab: this was my least favorite part of the meal. The crab is fresh so no weird funky taste to it. Its not supper greasy really crunchy. But the sauce did nothing for me u can taste the ginger but there was no wow factor wish it had a different sauce.
Crispy pork belly: this was the best dish of the night. The pork belly was supper crispy supper tender didnt need a knife perfect seasoning was sublime supper rich. When i saw the strawberries i was like wtf but it was the perfect combination i love sweet and salty. The purée was also really delicious really enhanced the pork belly wasnt overpowering i would have ordered it twice i would just come back here for this dish.
Smoked scallop: the texture of the scallops were perfect amaizing sear on the outside perfectly cooked so u didnt need a knife to cut it. I loved the salad it was amazing really fresh and crunchy the walnuts were the best part of the dish! Wish there were more walnuts the sauce was good not great no wow factor
Roasted lobster: i didnt like the dish there was a good amount of lobster but it was overcooked so it was chewy it had a good taste to it. I like the leaks i think they tasted really good. I didnt like the sauce i dont think it added anything to the dish at all. For the price it should have been the best part of the meal it wasnt
Yuzu semifreddo: this was like a strawberry short cake. The cake was really good perfect texture not dry at all wish there was more only like a lit bit i liked the addition of the strawberries added some tartness and sweetness. The ice cream was really interesting i didnt really like it idk if it was the yuzu but i just didnt like it
Ganache: this was the best part of the meal it was a home run a must order. Its like a gourmet smore. Theres marshmallows on top and there toasted perfectly not to burned. Then there more fluff on the bottom. The cracker crumbs were really delicious i just wish they were sprinkled on top not on the plate i dont like when crumbs and powders are on the side. They said it was dark chocolate which i hate but i loved it it was so rich best dessert i ever had. The ice cream was to die for not over turned so good wish there was more of it theres only a little bit.

A very interesting flavor profile. This was my second time at Embeya, and while I personally did not enjoy my experience this time as much as my first, objectively, this was a very well-​done menu.
Green papaya salad: I started with the green papaya salad, which I thoroughly enjoyed when I first came during Restaurant Week. The first few bites were every bit as good as the first time I had it; however, as I had more, I found the vinegar a bit overwhelming.
Fried squid: This was my favorite item of the night. The batter was extremely light and done very well. Combined with the yogurt sauce and diced pears, this was absolutely on point in balancing the different flavors.
Duck: While I thought the dish was very interesting, I wasn’t a fan of the curry sauce that it came with. The duck itself with the hoisin sauce was very tender and flavorful, and I ended up eating that by itself.
We also got the greek yogurt panna cotta on the house. The matcha crackers were a nice crunch to the otherwise smooth texture of the panna cotta, and I liked the burst of sweetness from the grapes as well as the refreshing flavors the ice cream brought.
Overall, the spring menu presented a very cool flavor profile; most of the items on the menu were infused with mint in some way. While I personally am not a fan of mint infused foods, I really liked complexity of each dish and am quite excited to see what else Embeya has in store.

Came to Embeya for a dinner date with another couple and very much enjoyed our time. We’d made reservations with high expectations, and Embeya delivered.
The four of us ordered the scallops, quail, pork chop, garlic chicken, and the short rib with a side of sticky rice — family style. Our server was very attentive and came around multiple times for questions and accommodations. My favorites were the pork chop and the garlic chicken; perfect texture, the seasoning tasted great. I ordered the tequila-​based Snapdragon to accompany my meal.

Came here for restaurant week with a party of 4 and went with the 3 course because I am not a huge fan of duck and prawns, which is included in the optional course for 11 $ more. Everything came family style, but portions are pretty small so you might need to order from the regular menu as well.
First course – the cuttlefish and papaya was amazing. The cuttlefish was prepared perfectly with just the right amount of flavor.
Main course – the braised spare rib was just okay IMO. I definitely had better and honestly was not too fond of this entrée. The seafood stew reminded me of the coconut curry dishes you get at a Thai restaurant. This was really good and probably the best entrée here, but again the portions were pretty small for 4 people. Taste exactly the same as my favorite Thai restaurant, except there you get a lot more for a good price. The caulifower with roasted mushrooms was good as well. They served everything with a side order of sticky rice, which was nothing special. Again, the portion of rice was so little that we were still hungry. We decided to order an extra noodle dish with scallops from the menu and it was very flavorful for the most part. However, it was just a bit too salty for my liking.
Lastly, the dessert was a nice compliment to end the dinner.
Overall, this place was good and I probably would come back in the future to try more stuff from their regular menu. My experience with restaurant week here was okay for the most part. The service was okay and we felt we were waiting for a long time for some of our food to come.

I came here with two friends for Chicago Restaurant Week and for the most part, Embeya impressed. The atmosphere was sophisticated and the décor was so beautiful (great date lighting — not too dark, not too bright). The service was friendly, but not perfect. And the food was admittedly really great fusion.
We had the green papaya salad and the cuttlefish for apps (everything was served family-​style) and both were really fun to eat, with lots of interesting flavors and textures. I feel like the beef jerky got lost a bit in the salad though, but the cuttlefish was really delicious. We opted for the flash-​fried prawns and duck salad next — both were great, but the first time our prawns came out, they were very undercooked (like the inside part was still clear). The waitress got us a new serving of prawns, but she didn’t seem convinced that they were undercooked, which was a little disappointing. The duck salad was delicious though with a delightful mix of textures and flavors and once the prawns came back thoroughly cooked, they were great as well. I especially loved the sauce.
We had cauliflower, spare ribs (braised with shallots) and seafood stew for our entrees and to be honest, I feel like this was the most underwhelming course. The cauliflower was good but I felt like I could’ve just tossed it together in my kitchen given some wild mushrooms. The seafood stew tasted a lot like a curry dish and there weren’t really any other flavors present. The braised ribs were probably my favorite, as the meat fell right off the bone. The sticky rice I also felt was super impractical to have because we almost knocked the dish over a few times trying to get rice out.
Dessert was amazing — ice cream was perfectly creamy and I loved the jackfruit accompaniment. The mousse was so good as well — not too sweet, but perfectly chocolate-​y as well.
Overall, I’d say it was worth a visit, but there were definitely hiccups in the dishes and the service. We had to wait 20 – 30 minutes for our main course, which made our dinner last over 2 hours. But it’s all good — Embeya does serve up some really delicious fusion.