Flatwater

Not the same without Chris behind the bar. Definately a ‘scene’ place but o so nice outside in the summer.

I’d give Flatwater five stars for ambiance and scenic views but only three for food — it’s not horrible, but I’ve had better. Even so, it’s a definite must see for the location.
I’ve been here several times after work for drinks, a first date and once with a group of friends from out of town. For my Canadian buds, it provided a really nice snapshot of the city’s old and new architecture, not to mention the water. It made me proud to show off Chicago on a nice, warm September evening. I’ve only sat at the outdoor patio which is right on the river. Stunning.
Once I saw a group pull up on their yacht, dock it and grab a bite. Different. Cool. The wait staff is alright, the hostesses, a little snooty, but that’s to be expected.
I will be back. I’d like to check it out in the winter as the place is surrounded by dark wood framed windows on the inside. I love the roughness of water in the winter and being close to it while dining would be an experience.

The Unilocal Gods have really been smiling down on me lately. My plus one was the lucky winner of a $ 100 giftcard to Flatwater from the group of guys at FineDineDEAL at my very first elite event.
I coerced my plus one to take me here for dinner a couple of weeks later (otherwise no more mooching my fabulous elite perks for him). He (lovingly) obliged and reservations were made.
Unfortunately it was rainy on my scheduled Flatwater date night. I was really looking forward to dining on the patio that sits on the river and enjoying the fabulous cityscape views but we ended up indoors. We were on time for our reservation and still had to wait about 10 or 15 minutes, despite it being a weeknight.
The crowd was a little viagra triangle-​ish, which I sort of expected. (I prefer the young and quirky folk.) But food-​and-​drinkwise, this was one of the best meals I have had in awhile.
Here’s what we got:
–Riverside Salad (Spiced Almonds, Cucumber, Dried Cherries, Goat Cheese, Cherry Vinaigrette). It was huge, satisfying, and I loved the texture of the spiced almonds.
–Beet Carpaccio (Shaved Beet, Blood Orange, Goat Cheese Mousse, Arugula, Shaved Fennel, Balsamic Glaze). Awesome. My date has a love affair with beets (used to eat them from his gramma and gramps farm in Indiana all the time as a kid. Aw.). This was his favorite part of the meal. The goat cheese mousse was so fluffy and divine. I’m sure it’s what the clouds in heaven are made of.
–Pork Chop. My date loved it.
–Sea Bass. I was worried when I saw a bunch of tomatoey looking sauce on it, but it was suprisingly a great fish dish. It tasted better and was more satisfying than the piece of fish I ordered from the very reputable seafood joint, Glenn’s Diner, recently.
We shared a homemade chocolate chip cookie dish for dessert, which was the perfect gooey sweet treat to end the meal.
The cocktails here were solid and there were some pretty creative concoctions on the menu, but they were expensive.
Bottom line, the food is great even if the crowd isn’t exactly my cup of tea. Next time my parents are in town, I might bring them here.

If I ever win the lottery, this is where I’ll be docking my boat for lunch.
Seriously. They allow their nautically inclined patrons to park their boats on the side of the restaurant for a bite. Beware, you must put a shirt on, half naked men will be denied service no matter how big your boat is.
Now let’s talk about the view. On a warm summer day with a cool breeze, this is the spot to enjoy the Chicago River with canoers (word?), boaters, and tourists on tour boats passing by. Beautiful view of the river, city bridges, and some of the skyline too.
Just make sure you bring a hat or watch out for the birds! Nothing like bird doo doo to spoil your meal!
No problems getting a table outside on a Thursday afternoon, but they do take reservations. Service is a bit on the slow side. So ask for everything you need at once… you never know when your server will decide to return.
I tried two of their cocktails. It was hot. I was thirsty. The first of which, the mixed berry mojito, was my favorite! Perfectly refreshing with a touch more mint than usual and sublty sweet. My new favorite mojito (since the bartender @ Sushi Samba left… I miss my fresh blueberry mojitos!).
Now for the second cocktail, well, that should have come with a warning label… I’m talking skull & cross bones. And I’m describing a pear lychee martini here. If I ever drank rocket fuel, I’m guessing it would taste a little like this. I’ll stick with the mojito next time, a little less harmless.
The food was lovely. I ordered the braised pork tacos ($ 13): 3 tacos served on corn tortillas with a generous topping of sweet pineapple salsa and cilantro. The pork could not have been more tender. It was well seasoned, not too salty. Loved that my plate also included salted tortilla chips with a side of fresh, chunky pico de gallo & guacamole. Needless to say, there was no room for dessert.
Julie R. had the BBC (10 oz Angus with Bacon, Blue Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickle Spear). The burger appeared to be the size of her face. Big portions… understatement. Great grilled flavor. May have to order this on my return visit.
Street/​metered parking is not that hard to come by. Just try the side streets. Put a little extra time on the meter too so you can walk off your meal and enjoy the view!

Nice view. Saw a couple of crazies kayaking by us… very interesting.
The food is very good. Very, very good. It’s also very, very expensive. Go for brunch though, the steak and eggs or the steak sandwich are really good. My sister got the burger, also really good (she ate the whole thing! she never eats her entire meal! she’s usually asking for a box). Next time though, we’ll probably go for a drink and desert instead of an actual meal since the 4 of us spent over $ 130 for brunch. Or for a special occasion. I’m sure it’s beautiful in the evening too.
Our server was really nice and attentive. We sat outdoors which was pretty cool except for all the high winds that kept blowing our napkins or coffee out of our mugs. We really enjoyed it and would definitely come back just more frugal in our ordering. Maybe just do a couple of salads and appetizers… The crab cakes were delish and fresh, just really expensive ($ 11 for 2 tiny crab cakes). Also, they charged extra for the some items (a dollar or so more, so I figured I made a mistake with the actual cost, but I don’t think so.)
Now, the bad: The bathroom has that yucky sewer gas smell — I hate that! and the ugly, one of the runners picked up a piece of toast that fell out of the waiters’ dish and proceeded to put the bread back into the plate and serve it to some poor schmuck. I didn’t say anything cause I was shocked. I just pray that it was an accidental action (sort of a reflex) and not a true display of what happens in that kitchen. I am also glad that he wasn’t my server or anything…

In real estate, one of the most overused phrases is «location, location, location,» but that pretty much sums up Flatwater. In good weather, it is difficult to conceive of a much more dramatic urban restaurant setting in Chicago, or in any other city, for that matter. The outdoor seating right along the Chicago River features spectacular views of both the water and a several famous architectural landmarks (e.g., Marina City). The dark interior seemed to be affecting a slick, clubby, modern, vaguely Middle Eastern look.
The somewhat overpriced (entrees ranging from mid-​20s to low-​30s) menu features rather generic, semi-​Med fare. The prices are a high admission fee to pay for these views, but on the 68-​degree night we were there, it was well worth it. Rack of lamb with a goat cheese dressing was nicely prepared but served with uninteresting accompaniments of green beans & mashed potatoes. My fellow diners’ entrees seemed to be similarly uninspired, if competently put together. The chef here is not exactly challenging himself or herself.
Service was adequate but not much more.
If I were to visit Flatwater during the many of months of the year when outdoor dining is a non-​starter, I suspect my rating would be three stars or less. Four stars is almost certainly overly generous, but on a beautiful moonlit evening with some good company, it was hard to beat for the surroundings alone, and that’s the nice memory I’ve got locked in.

As everyone has already stated, the dead-​on view of the Chicago River is the best thing going for this place.
Randomly stopped in this past Friday afternoon after work as it was a pretty nice day to eat on the river. The host asked us if we had a reservation (of course no) and if we planned to eat or just have drinks (we wanted to eat… starving). He told us if we wanted to eat we had a little over an hour to do so as they had reservations coming in @ 7PM. We took the seat and new we would not be there more than 45 mins depending on how long the food took to come out.
Our server came over and she was nice. I went with some pasta, green pesto dish which was okay, but needed a bit of salt. My meal came out before I even had fork and knife to eat it with. To drink, I decided on a belgium beer that was very subpar (not Flatwater’s fault, the beer just was very average).
No place I would be rushing to return, but if someone mentioned it I would go for a drink. Nice view though!

I had a very tasty brunch, with great (and amusing) servers, and I’d definitely be back if it wasn’t so pricey. The groupon made all the difference! But… if it was 75 degrees and sunny, and I could get a table by the river — then I bet it’s worth the price. What a view!
We ate inside, since it was rainy and gross. The servers were all friendly, and had a joking, casual manner that I really enjoyed. I like it when servers have some personality! I had some orange juice, and the crabcake benedict. Benedict was great — the crabcake was really well made, with great flavor. The potatoes on the side were really tasty as well. It was a big, hearty brunch, I hadn’t a prayer of finishing it!
If you have money to spend and you want to enjoy a scenic view with your brunch, it’s worth it!

You really should heed the reviews and three-​star rating of Flatwater. I think Unilocalers tend to rate up at least a star because they want to be nice. On that basis, I would say most places with 3 ½ star averages or less are avoids. The Groupon was the hook. I’m finding that many places with Groupon deals are misses, including this place. As such, Flatwater is a miss and an avoid.
I will give an example of how mismanaged Flatwater is. There are televisions on either side of the bar that many of the patrons can see. Most of the time they were set to CNN. But then someone pulled up the satellite channel index that shows what’s on now and going forward. They had it stopped and highlighted on the «Nude» channel for a good 60 seconds. I think it showed «Totally Hot Horny Housewives» or something like that was playing. This was on a Sunday afternoon during brunch with a few blue hairs in the house. Imagine if someone had dropped a quarter in to play it. This is an indication of how this place is flying blind.
As to the food, well I ordered a burger medium well. It came out pretty much sanguine. They also brought out the wrong omelette. I’d put the food on a par with something like a Houlihan’s. It actually seemed re-​heated to me. Re-​heated is not so hot to me.
Service was a bit lacking, but I’m not huge on being pampered or catered to so it’s not a big deal to me. I will say that the check was brought out without the Groupon included, so that needed to be corrected.
I’ve been here for drinks and would probably return for the same if someone else dragged me. But I don’t think I will return to eat.
Signature-​esque and all sizzle. Two stars.

A very nice, little restaurant off the river. We came here after I proposed to my fiancée at the Buckingham Fountain. Problem was, it rained earlier in the day so we could not eat outside on the patio.
From what I remembered they did not have a broad variety on their menu. However, their food was good and the prices were decent as well. I think I would come back again for nostalgic sake.

I went here for a friend’s birthday dinner and I wasn’t expecting much because of the Unilocal reviews I saw for it but wow… I don’t know how the place used to be but I had a great experience. The scallop appetizer was great… very meaty and it’s actually more filling than it looks. I had some kind of salad which was kind of like a caprese salad which was pretty good as well. But the superstars were the entrees! The rack of lamb and a pasta with sausage were fabulous. I dream about that pasta, it was that good. Our server was attentive and great as well.
I’m all about the deals like Groupon so it’s great that I bought two for Flatwater but for exceptional places, I don’t mind paying full price and this has been added onto that exclusive list.

My husband and I had a little bit of time to kill in between when I got done with work and my company holiday party at Hub 51, so I thought the prudent thing to do before downing an arseload of free booze (thanks, boss!) was to line my stomach with something a little more substantial. I had a groupon for Flatwater, and in the mood to not spend a lot for dinner, decided to utilize it.
It was freezing outside on Friday, but we were seated next to the fireplace, which felt fantastic. Our waitress was totally charming and very on the ball.
I ordered a mixed greens salad and the market vegetable risotto. The salad looked fantastic. Really nice presentation, a castle of lovely greens all tucked into thinly sliced cucumber which held it in place, and surrounded by a moat of toasted walnuts, dried cherries and shaved parmesan. My only problem with the salad was that it seemed to have been seasoned with LIBERAL amounts of celery salt. Totally unnecessary.
My risotto had butternut squash, which I ADORE, and was absolutely delicious. I was a little too full, so I finished half and brought the rest home for leftovers (the next day revealed that the risotto was also a little on the salty side… Flatwater, CHILL on the salt!)
My husband got a Caeser Salad, which he claimed to enjoy and the pasta with vegetables. I tried a bit of the pasta, but after my sodium explosion, it tasted a bit bland to me. He liked it, however.
All in all, thumbs up for service and atmosphere. It was a little more expensive than I would have preferred (we owed an additional $ 40 on top of our Groupon), but it was still a nice start to our evening. I wouldn’t mind sitting outside in warmer weather.

Went here for BRUNCH yesterday and loved it — the food, atmosphere, service everything!
Their portions are very big so keep that in mind! We had the brioche french toast — excellent and topped up with lots of fresh mixed berries!
The freshly baked muffins were very good indeed, especially with the jam!
The guac was a little less perfect and sort of on the bland side.

I kept going back and forth between 3 and 4 stars for this place, but I’ve decided that its not just the location and the riverside seating that makes it 4 stars. It’s also got amazing interior deco and really quality food. The only downsides is that their food isn’t… special. Just well-​crafted, quality standards with average service. But on a beautiful, warm Chicago day I’m really not sure that a great meal on the river with a beautiful presentation and a live Bossa Nova band can be beat.
I think the staff there in general is a little, confused? But kudos to our server who was sweating his balls off. It was like 70% humidity but he was hustlin’.

Came here for a visit thanks to a groupon deal I bought. It was quite busy for Sunday brunch so we were lucky we had made reservations in advance. It was about 90+ degrees outside so we opted to sit inside. There was no AC in the restaurant except for the bathrooms. We were sweating without being in direct sunlight! Maybe we should have opted for outside… at least there was a breeze by the river. The best part of the restaurant is the riverside seating. Too bad we didnt get to enjoy that!
The food was pretty good. I had ordered the huevos rancheros and my friends ordered the spinach salad and classic benedict. We all cleared off our plates without a problem. Our waitress did take FOREVER to serve us though. If I wasnt so busy catching up with my friends from out of town, we would have sat there staring at each other for 20 minutes before she finally took our order. It took so long for us to get our order in that the table next to us (that got seated AFTER us) had their food served BEFORE us. The prices are on the high side so I’m glad I had my groupon. =) Otherwise, I dont think its worth it to come here.

So I bought a groupon (thank you groupon for saving me money and making me poorer all at the same time!!!) for this place after reading a few reviews here. It seems that this place can be streaky, but luckily I am happy to review to rate this place well.
We did come earlylish on Sunday after deciding brunching in my neighborhood spots was passé. Reservations were made in advance (about an hour before arriving) and we were accomodated perfectly. It seems like this may be a key to getting a table that you want.
I had the steak and eggs with a bloody mary while my counterpart got the crabcake eggs benedict with an orange juice. Also, got the calamari as an appetizer.
The calamari was good with it’s two dipping sauces. One was like a thai sweet chili sauce and the other was a spicy mayo. No complaints for this dish at all. My steak had hollandaise sauce on it which was really good combined together. I don’t think the quality of meat was up there, but it’s definitely better than other brunch places. The potatos with the steak were fine, but nothing to rave about. The crabcake benedict was really good I thought. Usually, I don’t go for eggs benedict, but I did try some and was impressed. We also saw the normal eggs benedict on another table and the ham slices were really HUGE! Made me want to of gotten that instead it looked so good!
Drinks were good. OJ was fresh as it should be and Bloody Mary was good. It was nice to know that they make the mix for the Bloody Mary everyday and that they use sriracha in it… let’s face it. sriracha can go on anything! well almost.
Okay, so the food was good… now the location/​décor… it’s really nice. It’s located right by the Chicago river and that by itself puts it up there for me. The place itself was laid out nicely. Only sat outside and I did like how they had it set up.
So why is this place 4 stars and not 5? Well, I did like the food, but I could go without it. It was the service that swayed me more towards the 4. Our server was excellent… very friendly and helpful. He even split my potatoes before they came out so that they could be shared because only my dish came with potatoes. Totally great service on his part. However, the hostess did seem snooty as although we did like the table right next to the river we decided to sit in the shade one table over. Our waiter asked for us, but we were told that this couldn’t be done because others had reservations for those. Too bad that no one else sat in that seat by the time we were done with our whole meal. Our waiter even asked for us again, but ah well.
If only we could of had a little shade on that really sunny day you would of garnered 5 stars. too bad.

Went to Flatwater on our first stop during the St. Patty’s day chaos. The place was packed by 11 am and there were some idiots throwing miller lite bottles into the river. I must say that they do have a nice outdoor, riverside seating here. The food was surprisingly good… of course we got the corned beef sandwich.
My one complaint is that the management here needs to seriously examine the service efficiency here. There were two bartenders working that day and the woman was super slow and actually forgot customers orders on a repeated basis. Aside from the guy working (who was working his ass off by the way) she was just horribly inept. To make things even worse… we were sitting at a table and asked the server for drinks and she told us that we should get them ourselves because the bartenders were ignoring her drink tickets! Unbelievable.
The one thing the people here are good at is taking your empty (and half empty glasses away). They were like glass vultures here. I seriously had to beat the manager away with a stick to keep my ¹⁄₈^th glass of Miller away from him!

The view! Forget the wine. Forget the food. It’s all about the view!
So a few months ago Colleen C and I showed up for a
event at Flatwater. We hung out coats on the rack up front, took in the beautiful view of the river, whispered about there being only 5 other people huddled together in the entire restaurant, and made our way to the bar for some wine. When we asked the waiter for some wine he told us they were closed for a private party– we know, we were there for it! He then informed us that there was not a
event going on that night (even though we rsvp’d for it!), but a corporate party and we’d have to leave. Hmmm… a bit strange he resisted our $ for a corporate party of 5 people, but we left. After all, there are plenty of spots to get a glass of wine in this city!
Tonight I revisited flatwater with a different friend for another one of these mysterious
parties. We hung out coats at the rack up front, took in the view, and made our way to the bar. However, this time the room was packed with media peeps– whoo hoo! And this time the bartenders gladly took our $ for a few glasses of wine. Their sauvignon blanc was very nice.
While that view sure is nice and makes for some nice party talk I found the space to be a bit narrow for the group of 60 – 80 people who attended the event. There was some pushing and shoving to get by and I now have a nice sauvignon blanc stain and my nice new white t-​shirt! Sigh…
The servers were also pushing their way thru the crowds with platters of food. I helped myself to lots of meatballs (delicious), a few crab cakes (mmmm), and chicken on a stick (it was pretty disgusting).
As I mentioned earlier there are lots of places to get a glass of wine in Chicago so not sure if I’d go running back to Flatwater, but I may come again… just for that view.

The only reason I’m giving this such a high review was that I was there for an even that had free food and free booze (my fiancé’s line of work has parties and junk like that)
So lots of scotch, tuna tartar, coconut shrimp, and a nice view equals pretty sweet.

Flatwater is perfect for brunch. For starters, it has a wonderful view of the Chicago River and the Clark Street bridge. There’s plenty of seating indoors, at the bar, and on the tented deck, good for gatherings. (Friends and I sat outside, and, unsurprisingly, it got windy at times.) For entertainment, we listened to a combo of low-​key music, and a live singer and bossa nova band.
For an appetizer, we shared an order of insalata caprese ($ 8 for a small; $ 11 for a large), handmade mozzarella with vine-​ripened tomatoes and fresh basil leaves, lightly seasoned with a balsamic and basil-​infused extra-​virgin olive oil. It was fresh, and went great with a freshly-​squeezed orange juice.
My entrée, an Indonesian salad with chimichurri flank steak ($ 17), with Napa cabbage, snow peas, seedless cucumber, shredded carrots, red bell peppers, and chow mein noodles, tossed in cilantro-​soy-​ginger vinaigrette. The dressing would have been better on the side, but the generous serving size — for the price, I’m glad it was! — offset that. (NOTE: Also tried my friends’s BLT sammiches — those were definitely delish.)
Service was spot on. Our server (Kevin) got us everything we needed. Sam, the bartender, made me the best damn shot — it was the tastiest, GREENEST dirty girl scout shot ever.
A calming setting, delicious drink, and light fare all add up to a quality experience. Worth a try.