Powerhouse

FYI — Powerhouse is closed. My boyfriend has gift certificates to eat there and we’ve been trying for the last 3 weeks. Finally we found out that they’re closed, they’re just using the excuse that they are «closed due to a gas problem.»

There are a lot better restaurants in Chicago. If you are looking for a good place to go for an occasion or to entertain clients, keep looking.
Food: First, the food took forever. From order to arrival, about an hour and a half. The appetizers came about 20 minutes before the main course. I ordered a fillet, medium. It was cooked to my satisfaction but it was bland. I don’t know if they were trying to match quality with Erie Café or if they just completely missed the mark with seasoning. Either way, this was not a $ 35 steak.
Wine: Their menu was a joke as well as way overpriced.
Service: There were 10 of us at one table. There were 2 other tables occupied. The service for us was great, the manager came over and glad handed us and the server knew his stuff. They made helpful recommendations and was generally courteous and attentive.
Overall I will not be going back here. The place looks cool but lacks substance. Way over priced for the quality of food we got. There are plenty of other places in the city that do what they do better than they do.

… More like 3.5. My firm took us here to celebrate the end of our summer asociateship. We went during lunch and it was pretty close to empty. We had a private room right up front. The service was excellent from the get go– but I’d probably chalk that up to the waitstaff’s lack of anything else to do.
The first thing you notice is that the place is HUGE. It’s like a whole city block. It’s called Powerhouse because it’s located in a … wait for it… former power station.
I had an heirloom tomato salad to begin and it was above average. I had salmon for my entrée (I think– the menu has changed since I ate here and it was a while ago). The fish was also good, if slightly forgettable. For desert I had something else really good… but I forget what that one was too.
This review is admittedly a little vague, but I think the fact that I can’t really remember what I had is actually a little revealing of the overall quality of Primehouse. Nothing was bad, it’s just that nothing was good enough to really remember. Oh well.

Eh.
It’s lovely to look at, but I wasn’t totally taken by Powerhouse. I made reservations for dinner there last week with my mom and we were lukewarm about it.
The hostess was fine, the service was fine, but the food just wasn’t that great. We ordered the crab cake to start and the hummus, too. The hummus was *way* too big for even a couple people. It was a trough of hummus. Good hummus, sure, but too much and too many mushrooms on top of it. The crab cake was good but not memorable — maybe it’s my fault for wanting a crab cake outside of, like, Maine, to be memorable.
Entrees were similarly okay, though I know some haters will think we played it too safe and don’t deserve a good meal or something… Mom had chicken (sue her, she likes chicken) and I had the crab ravioli YES after having the crab cake to start. A rare thing for me to do, I know, but I was the one who ordered the hummus, anyway.
The ravioli was sorta gummy and the crab was not terribly flavorful. The sauce masked some of this, but I was too sleuthy for it. I could tell I was not dealing with a terrific dish. Mom’s wine was paired nicely, though, and her chicken was tasty.
We ordered the cheese platter for dessert. I was so excited for the cheese! The waiter arrived and told us that there was no cheese, however. No cheese left. None whatsoever. So he comped us the sweet potato doughnuts which kicked much ass. But I was surprised that a place like that would just be *out* of cheese. Just *out* of all cheese. Out.
Powerhouse is fine. I really liked the room itself and the businessy folks around us seemed to be enjoying themselves. But for the money, it’s just not there for the likes of me or my mom. And we’re all right.

We attended lunch at Powerhouse last Monday, as it is in proximity to my office and a vendor was treating. Notwithstanding the fact that we had a reservation and the restaurant was fairly empty, we were stuck in a tiny table in the corner. We were never provided with bread, despite the fact that all the other tables in the restaurant had bread. We had to ask specifically for a wine list also. When we ordered our wine, we were told 10 minutes later that the by-​the-​glass sauvignon blanc was not available. We were provided with an alternative without the opportunity to choose from the list, even though we asked to see the list again.
When we ordered our meal, the restaurant was OUT of red meat. This place is a STEAKHOUSE and they had no red meat. We were there at noon, not at the end of the night. There was no excuse for this. Also, the chicken entrée I ordered came with no accoutrement… no vegetable, no starch. Additionally, there were no side dishes to order. I asked for any kind of vegetable and was told that the restaurant only had a la carte salads, but no cooked vegetables. I thought they were joking until I saw the waiter sweating and looking nervously at me.
The chicken/​mushroom entrée tasted good, but it was two pieces of chicken and sauce with a sprig of rosemary on the whole plate. Also, it tasted nothing like the prime rib I had initially ordered.
Desserts were blah. We had the chocolate duo, and the espresso cake was all right but the truffle tasted like a stale brownie.
Overall, all I can say is that we were fed. We received no discount for the inconvenience, and this was not a cheap meal. I must note that this review in no way reflects the efforts of our waiter… it was his first day and he tried hard. It was not his fault that the STEAKHOUSE had NO RED MEAT.
I have specifically contacted the restaurant, demanding satisfaction, and will see what happens. When and if I receive a response, I will update my review; until then, ONE STAR.

Powerhouse is a hidden gem. Located just below the green line elevated train tracks, Powerhouse provides a great place to gather with friends and/​or co-​workers after work. It provides a central location that is close to the office buildings in the Loop, yet close to the Metra trains for those friends or co-​workers who wish to socialize, but still need to be aware of the train schedules. This review is solely about the bar area as I have not dined there yet.
The atmosphere is perfect with semi-​dim lighting. The bar space was large enough to accommodate our big group from work of at least 30 people. The bartenders were very attentive and offered refills whenever we needed them. The drinks are priced at the normal charge for a bar in the Loop (i.e. $ 11 for a glass of Syrah).
The bar at the Powerhouse had a nice and relaxed atmosphere and served wonderful drinks, but I will have to go back to try the restaurant at this convenient location.

We really liked this new restaurant, and waited for it to get it’s routine down before our visit. The service was excellent, and the new chef does amazing things with the entrees. I posted a detailed review with photos here:
Give them a try and enjoy the evening!

Gorgeous building, and the interior feels quite classy. The bartender makes an excellent martini. Also love the train sounds overhead.
My companions raved about the meats (trendy, as others have noted), but I thought the execution on them was only soso. I did really like the squab/​foie gras appetizer however. My wild boar entrée was slightly overseasoned, but was made up for by a great decaf espresso for dessert (I was being good) and the best pinot noir i’ve ever had (Neudorf Nelson, not sure what year)

A lot of money went into the décor — this used to be the powerhouse for the train and you can still hear the train rumbling by occasionally. Hence the name and also the theme — it is set up to have the feel and look of a beautiful train car. Very stylish, subdued and elegant.
The food is fantastic. We had the lemon risotto (wanted to lick the plate) and chicken thigh with artichoke. They do the deboning so you don’t have to. Both dishes were outstanding. For dinner I had filet and my husband had a rib eye. OK so its hard to screw up steak — but it was perfectly cooked, perfectly flavored, nice char — it was outstanding.
It is a little pricey. It also seemed pretty empty for a Friday night so not sure how long it will survive, but I would go back and would recommend it for the food and the ambiance as long as you can handle the bill.

I came here with a client for dinner and it’s a very nice classy restaurant. The service was excellent and the food was tasty overall. The appetizers were quite scrumptious from the scallops to the pork belly and my bass entre was good, however I was very disappointed with the portion size. I also got to try some of the rib eye and that was pretty enjoyable. The highlight of the dinner was the dessert as the sweet potatoes donuts were very delicious and I could have ate a lot more of them.
I’m only giving this place 3 stars because although overall it was good, the food wasn’t so out of this world to justify the price. I appreciate my company paying for this meal because there are many restaurants that I’m willing to spend good money on but Powerhouse unfortunately isn’t one of them.

I had been almost going to Powerhouse for a while now, but never quite made it until last night. I was really pleasantly surprised by everything about it.
The service was great. Nice and fun and handled my table of young and old. Everyone totally went out of their way to help. The manager even got me a lighter from the chef so I could have a cigarette. I think that’s sweet:)
We all got three courses. We had every appetizer. I had the tartare of ono which was great, but extremely gingery (we were warned by our server), so if you like ginger get it, if you don’t then definitely pass. The risotto was really good! Almost perfect, but just a little overcooked. They had fresh hand-​dipped ricotta which is extremely rare to find and definitely appreciated by us.
We also had every salad. They were also excellent. The crab and quinoa salad was really light, fresh and tasty.
Entrees were winners, too. I had the halibut which got better and better with every bite. Rumor at my table was that the squab was the best thing on the table. It had of course the squab cooked perfectly and it also had foie (yay!) and: pulled” squab (looked like pulled pork, so I named it).
Anyways, I’m really surprised by the negative reviews. I’m a pretty tough critic, and for a place that I didn’t even think I was going to like, I will definitely be back!

Entering the beaux arts style structure, you expect something different, but clean lines and a traditional, almost steak-​house, décor await. The dining room floor is carpeted and the bottom half of the walls are encased in dark leather with a dark wood border above. The pillars are lined with wood, and the entire feel is rich and strong, streamlined and structured. The service is quite the same, with servers being clothed in white shirts with a tie and white tablecloths prevail. The service was professional and attentive, after being open for a few months — things have started to work out. The attention to detail is very apparent — the white and whole grain bread came in a cloth lined basket, and unsalted butter was placed in a dish with a dash of fleur de sal — you can choose to have salt or not.
The food selection was very limited, but the dish I ordered seemed to be in stark contrast to the feel of the establishment. The pork was true southwestern style, sliced and coated with a spicy zest. The plate was topped with fried tortillas, sliced avocado, cabbage in a sweet barbeque sauce, and a mix of sweet red-​onions and true south american maize — alomost hominy-​like corn. The food was solid and an interesting mix, and supposedly it changes quite often. So next time, a new experience awaits.

I recently went here with a large group of people. I’ll admit I had a chip on my shoulder before we even got there (I did not want to spend $ 100 to go to dinner with 12 people from work). We had reservations and were seated in a private room. The atmosphere was nice, nothing special with some annoying Norah Jones music playing the entire time. Our service was o-​kay, not what you’d expect from a restaurant of that caliber. Both times he brought a bottle of wine, he poured some for me to taste and then forgot to actually fill my glass.
As for the food, it really wasn’t anything special. I shared the romaine salad, which was actually pretty good (albeit very garlicky). For my main course, I had the venison. Nothing to write home about. The people on either side of me both ordered the tenderloin cooked medium, and both came out well done. I had the banana peanut butter dessert, which was really good but not amazing. We ended up spending $ 100 per person, and the food was not worth it.

You know, the price range categories of these reviews are completely innaccurate. It’s very interesting to me that Powerhouse, where entrees range from $ 30-​$ 50, has the same «3-​$$$» rating that Bar Louie has — where I don’t think anything on the menu is over $ 15. Unilocal,you may need to regulate this as it seems some reviewers cannot perform simple math.
Anyway, I think Powerhouse would actually be in the 4-​$$$$ category as it is expensive. Good, but expensive. I like the scallops and their salads are great. Service is friendly and the environment is really nice. Very classic décor. The bar section is pretty cool too and they have a great bar staff.
One cautionary word — be careful about valeting your car. While Powerhouse has an underground parking garage that they are SUPPOSED to use, they actually just double park the cars down the street where they may very well be towed. I know a lot of people in the neighborhood repeatedly call the police and the towing folks about this. So you may want to ask the valet guys where they plan to stow your ride while you dine…

First off, this place is disappointingly sterile. My fiancé and I showed up about 30 minutes early and sat at the bar. The Bartender where really nice and accommodating. The mixed together a special drink for me which I have grown to love in Italy. We were surprised to see they had a separate bar menu that they wouldn’t server in the regular room to give us more app options.
Once we sat down it did take awhile to get some service and the place was hardly full (on a Friday night). The service was slow, I’m fine and appreciate a slower pace but this was too long. The server did make a great recommendation on the wine (wish I could remember it, a pinot that started with an S).
We started with the lobster risotto (OK) and some seafood tartare (also OK). The moved onto the onion soup (very good) and the romaine hearts salad (good).
For dinner most of us ordered the pork chop, which surprising they wouldn’t take a temp on. (the chef cooks it perfectly they said). Well the chef cooked it all the way through med-​well at best. The Chop wasn’t dry and still had some good juice to it but I couldn’t help but think it would have been much better had it been cooked med-​rare. It was still a very good chop.
Overall it was such a sterile place with good but not great food. The service needs to be improved also. I wouldn’t go back.

Powerhouse has been open for about 3 weeks. That is probably why it was such a mixed bag when we ate there last night. The headlines? The food was great, and I mean absolutely delicious, but the service really missed it’s mark.
Powerhouse is located in the old Beaux Arts style building which used to be the powerhouse for the Chicago Railroad (thus the name). I wish that they had not sterilized the interior so much because the décor inside is very «Room and Board» and being an old building person, I would have liked to see some detail from this building other than the beautiful arched windows. The bar area does a little better as it kept the tile window surrounds intact– the chips and imperfections adding interest to the more predictable drop ceiling and cookie cutter tables.
We ordered a couple of appetizers (scallops and pork belly) along with a couple of salads (spinach and pomegranate, and pear and cheese) and finally the entrees (braised ribs, tenderloin and strip steak). We also split an entrée sized lobster risotto which was sweet and creamy. The food was delicious and done to perfection. I even had a «picky» friend with me and she was raving about the food which is rare. Thus the three star rating
However, the food is only half of the experience with the service bringing it together and this is where things fell apart. The server never brought us any bread until we asked, yet all the tables around us had some (BTW– it was great bread, some all nutty and crunchy and some soft and white) The appetizers never showed up at all and when we asked about them– the server said he forgot to order them but he would and then comp them for us. Well at that point we already had our entrees so we said no thanks.
Our server totally disappeared for 25 minutes at a time. People around us were trying to flag someone, anyone, down to pay so that they could leave. We had no less than 5 different people waiting on us including the owner at one point (the owner showed up when I flagged him as we were waiting with empty cocktail glasses on our table trying to order some wine).
When I talked to the other owner on the way out about our experience– he said that they were having trouble finding good help given it is a busy time in the industry and finding good help is hard.
Both of the owners know what service is. One came from Charlie Trotters where service is king and the other came from Pegasus– where I’ve never had an issue with service. They know what needs to be done to make their new venture a success.
So– will I go back? Sure. But not for a while to give them a chance to get their service up to the level of their food.

Powerhouse is new to my area and I’m glad I checked it out. Originally thinking it was a gym (I think there is one above it), it is actually a small bar, nestled into a quiet and inconspicuous street near the train stations.
The food is supposed to be excellent, sadly I didn’t try any when I went. I did get a chance to talk to the owner and he was very friendly and even comp’ed us a round of drinks as a Metromix photographer snapped away for their review.
I will definitely go back here, it is a little more upscale than other places around the area, but not as high-​brow as N9NE. It seems good for a casual drinks-​after-​work kinda place…

I just had dinner there tonight and I have to say I was disappointed, not sure if most of the other reviews are from the «friends and family» night… but for the price we paid for 3 people over $ 150 (without tip) and I only had 1 drink and even the drink was not that great. The gumbo could have had a bit more rice and maybe some other fixings, it was like half a sausage, cut up into small chunks, it was good but on the small side. The drinks are expensive, not sure if that’s because they don’t give you a choice — they automatically used Kettle One but in a Cosmo I think its OK to use a cheaper brand — I actually couldn’t even taste any of the usually fruity flavors as the drink was heavy on the alcohol and I just lost interest in it as it was a Sunday night and I had to drive. I just wanted a fun drink, I’m a wimp OK!
The Shrimp poorboy was a mass of deep fried shrimp and it was mostly batter, I was having a hard time finding the little guys and the plate included homemade chips which were good but too salty. The Oysters on the half shell were very good, but I really disliked the braised calamari, which was very small and really bland for the price and portion.
We did have desserts and the Pumpkin bread with the marscpone and walnuts were really good and great for $ 6 but I have had better Churos filled with chocolate by the Mexican vendors around town, this was a strange dessert for an up scale place and nothing special, even though the waitress swore that it was the house favorite and raved about it.
I don’t think I would go back if I have to pay myself, but I suppose if somebody wants to take me there and pay for me, I could give it another try.

I went yesterday for Thanksgiving, which was their first official day of being open to the public. It was a pre-​fixed, four course menu (which is to be expected on Thanksgiving) and it was not disappointing.
I decided on two entrees; the beef tenderloin, which was cooked to perfection, as well as the turkey with sage stuffing which was equally as great. (we ordered the turkey entrée for the table…) The portion size was perfect – not too big or small.
Our waiter, who was not pushy what-​so-​ever, was helpful about which wine to order and my lemon drop martini was cold, prefect and came with an optional sugar rim. (such a bonus)
I really liked the vibe, especially because we were seated in a big plush booth which was comfortable and semi-​private.
I liked this place a lot and look forward to seeing how the menu will evolve.

This place has the potential to be five stars. My only complaint was our server was a little too bossy. I don’t like being told what to order, and he didn’t get the hint.
I ordered their Grapefruit Arugula Salad and the Heirloom Squash soup. Both were amazing, but the soup was phenomenal… It really wowed me. I could drink gallons of it.
The atmosphere is very Chicago, and I think it is a great addition to the area. It is on the pricey side, but I don’t even want to know what their rent is…