The Aviary

Science experience and flavor explosions in your mouth. From the basal to the ice cubes and steam, foam and vacuum suction, you will be thoroughly entertained and enthralled. The drinks are very strong so we could only have two, but we will be back to experience more. The appetizers are delicious and definitely leave you wanting more. Eat a bite prior to arriving, you cannot eat a full meal here.

The Aviary has such a cool, unique atmosphere. The drinks were pretty much works of art. Each drink had its own uniqueness. An ice ship in a bottle, an ice ball that you crack with a slingshot to release a drink and a terrarium looking whiskey cocktail. All were very delicious!
I highly recommend reservations if you plan on going here. As we waited an hour to get in, luckily the doorman, Marco, was super friendly and provided great drink recommendations.
Offering a few small plates, we enjoyed the salt and vinegar pork rind, the snickers foie gras (AMAZING. Get this), and the crab (very tasty but not as good as the others).

I believe this is the sister restaurant/​bar of Alinea. Both are absolutely amazing! i love the vibe here, service was on point! I love how they are experimental with their food and drinks! definitely something that truly different and unique. If you are interested in the tasting i believe you have to purchase your tickets online. (I believe it was $ 135 a ticket for a 5 course cocktail tasting with paired food). Great hang out spot, and a must visit if you’re from out of town!

Someone could argue that the Aviary’s set menu and resulting lack of improvisation put it at a disadvantage compared to other leading cocktail bars, but I won’t be the one to do it. These are the most original, captivating, clever and exciting cocktails I’ve ever seen.
No matter your taste, preference or mood, The Aviary dazzles. How about a cold moonshine ‘tea’ with fennel, saffron, honey bush and ginger that changes colors and flavors with every sip? Or what about the off-​the-​menu ‘blue’ mezcal drink that sits atop a cloud of smoke and a layer of sand-​like ice until you gently blow the mix together? (see photos)
Having a drink brought to you at The Aviary is like a magician giving you a bundle of balloons as a child, and it brings the same sense of thrill and amazement. Can’t wait to return.

Amazing place, beautifully crafted cocktails. And a long wait.
We came into Chicago on a last minute trip for work, and waited for about 2 hours (make reservations if you can — they fill up weeks in advance). Apparently, people from the neighboring restaurant had a bottleneck wait, and took up all of the walk-​in tables at The Aviary for hours. The wait in the bitter cold was worth it, as we finally got a prime standing table right next to the kitchen. My bf lost his mind — this experience is worth the price and the wait. Why even bother sitting inside when you can witness these skilled mixologists and chefs create such beauty?!

This is not cocktails, this is art. Thank you Mr. Achatz and the team. Sure, it’s expensive, but if you have the money, it is so worth it. It’s worth it because you can easily tell that mixologists are doing these drinks as if money is not an object, doing crazy and unbelievable things. And they are spectacular.
Tasting Menu:
Three course tasting menu was mind blowing. From cocktail glasses infused with wood smoke to breaking the ice on top of a cocktail with rubber bands to the custom created bubbles inside the cocktails, presentation was just spectacular all around.
Romantic Interior:
The place is so romantic. It’s a setting where a number of couples sat across from one another but far enough to where it still felt very private. Social, yet private, strange combination. On a Saturday night at 11:30pm, they were completely full. So, make a reservation and buy your «tickets.» Excellent date spot.
Intense drinks:
Whatever they put in these drinks is intense. I thought I was losing it for a minute, some of these exotic elixirs really do make you feel like you are on another planet mentally.
Flawless service:
They check your coat, they attend to every detail and the Italian fella at the door was cool. The servers tell you about each drink, part of the intriguing experience.
To sum this up, I will say that these are the most amazing, the most creative and the most mind blowing cocktails I’ve ever tried. And, I have tried way more than I should have.

I like my drinks strong or maybe the price put me off when I had to score reservations. It’s definitely a place for a date on a Saturday night. The staff was wonderful — attentive, patient, engaging but and lots of folks from NY were in that night.
I’d like to give them another shot and aesthetically — it is creative but I’m a woman who likes her drinks stiff or at least be tantalized by the flavor.
None of the drinks were memorable and I try not to compare them to others but based on all the cocktail joints I’ve been to, this is considered a hazy memory.

I did the Kitchen Experience for my birthday and it was truly amazing!
We got to sit in the kitchen and watch all the madness go down. All the drinks were excellent and the staff were super nice and accommodating. I mentioned that there were two drinks I wanted to try and they made sure that those were included in the seven drinks.
Really had a great time. Totally worth the money for a once in a lifetime experience.

I’ve always loved this place. Ever since it opened. It’s definitely for a select crowd who’s open to spending extra money on a unique but a brilliant experience.
Drinks are priced at about $ 18-​$ 50. With twenty perfect grat automatically added. Sounds steep??? It’s actually a good value because not only do the drinks taste amazing they are very strong too. They also start you off with a free small cocktail in the beginning as an amuse. The menu is constantly Changing too. Very few places like this even exist. I feel lucky to live in a city where I can go here. Definitely try this place!

We could not get reservations so we put our names on the list. 45 minutes wait they said… We decided to pass the time down the street at the Betty (see my review there).
Wow cocktails took us to a whole other world here.
I love horchata and I love peach so when I saw the «up the ice ante» drink, I squealed with excitement. The peach came in ice fruit discs on a rod which you pull quickly to drop straight in. So good and interactive haha.
The BF ordered the hallow which I would describe as a tea alcohol drink in a glass canteen. The flavor changes the longer it sits in the canteen which is also pretty to look at.
We really enjoyed people watching here with all the different drinks. There was a drink called «in the rocks» that came with a slingshot that you break an ice ball to get the drink! so cool. One came in a plastic bag (!?) and one came in a glass ship bottle!
I had to take one star off though because it was hard for me to justify paying this much for two drinks! EEKS. This is definitely a place to celebrate something…

This is a great place to bring a date but make a reservation because this place fills up quickly. The classy aura of the venue reminds me of something you’d find in meatpacking district of NYC.
This was my first mixology bar experience so I was blown away with the kinds of drinks which were being concocted behind the fenced off kitchen.
Top two recommendations: The Hollow and In The Rocks

All aboard the hype train! CHOOCHOO!
This is one of those places that I’m so glad to know about and have had the pleasure to experience. Sadly, I don’t think I’ll be in Chicago again any time soon.
We ordered everything we could stuff in our faces after having a full meal in the area. We ordered the O’Doyle Rules, Up the Ice Ante, Rum Manhattan, Levels, fresh Oysters, Salt & Vinegar (pork rind), Fried Mushrooms, Bar Nuts.
My favorite was the Up the Ice Ante, which was unique in both presentation and flavor (s). Being from New York, I’m glad my buddy ordered the Rum Manhattan, because that’s a hilarious concept. Maybe they should change the name to the Rum Beijing given their recent smog issues?
The Salt & Vinegar pork rind is enormous and well worth it. I would’ve ordered at least two more if I wasn’t already topping off my stomach.

Went with reserved seating at the chefs table which is exclusively seated behind in the kitchen area.
Overall, the experience of watching this amazing restaurant work it’s magic was worth it alone. The specialty drinks were absolutely magnificent and their pairings of small bites were superb. I absolutely loved the seafood portions were my favorite. And the spicy bottled beverage was my favorite drink.
It’s worth every minute there. The only thing I can recommend is to pace yourself throughout the stay. No need to rush drinking and eating. They also instill this when you first seat not to rush and to enjoy and sip and drink at a leisurely rate.
Having this experience as my first I will only do this form of seating again. It’s worth it. Don’t bother seating in the lounge area. Spend the extra money and get a truly memorable and special experience!

I had an amazing time at the Aviary, it leans towards the experimental side but it’s probably the best mixology experience of my life. I purchased reserved tickets ahead of time on their website for the 3 course prix fixe tasting. Their prix fixe cocktail menu is split into 3 sections with 3 – 4 offerings in each section in which you select one from each. We also decided to add on takoyakis ($ 5 each) to snack on. They were probably the most expensive takoyakis I’ve had but they were amazing. Below is a breakdown of what the girlfriend and I ordered along with the description they attached to each drink. Part of the experience is ordering based on the vague descriptions and just trusting the process. We thoroughly enjoyed all of our drinks and were pleasantly surprised by them all.
For her:
Pacific Sand — fruit and smoke
Levels — tropical & spiced
Rum Manhattan — sherry & sherry aged rum
For me:
Mad World — savory & dry
Jungle Bird — tropical and bitter
In the rocks — boozy and bitter
The mad world has a savory, onion flavor that sounds weird for a cocktail but surprisingly works! The jungle bird is a delicious, easy sipping drink that includes alcoholic rum boba that explodes in your mouth and adds a nice hit of alcohol with each one you pop. In the rocks is sort of their take on an old fashioned; the alcohol is contained in an ice sphere and you slingshot it open at the table to release the alcohol inside. The girlfriend enjoyed all of her drink, each one filled with their own great surprises. Our waiter Max was very helpful with the menu and gave us some great recommendations, he also gave us a card to visit the Office speakeasy downstairs :) I definitely recommend the Aviary to those wanting a memorable craft cocktail experience.

This is owned by the same Grant Achatz of Alinea. I’ve never been to Alinea, but The Aviary is world-​class all on its own!
I’ve heard of the Old Fashion which comes in a ice sphere. Wanting to be a little more adventurous, I went for the Good Night, Good Morning — it is a $ 27 cocktail (pricey, but well worth it). Let me explain — my drink came in this glass contraption. The alcohol was in the bottom glass, which was connected to a top glass filled with tea, vanilla, and other spices, separated by a strainer or some sort. When the waiter brought it over to the table, he lit a small flame underneath — the alcohol evaporated and went up, through the strainer, into the top glass; then the flame was turned off and the alcohol condensed back into the bottom glass, now tasting like a strawberry hot toddy. Pretty cool huh?!
Other notable mentions: a drink that comes in an infuser, which you sip in a shot-​sized glass to allow the drink to infuse for a long period of time and changing its flavor as you drink. Drink with dry ice. Gin & tonic ice cubes.
Tip:
1. Buy tickets ahead of time to reserve your spot. There are a couple different ticket options, including pre fixe ones. The ticket price will go towards your total bill (like a deposit).
2. Buy early! Reservations fill up quickly!
Also, just going to leave this here:

Had an amazing experience at the aviary. We made a reservation online ($ 20/​person, total goes towards your bill) and were seated promptly at our reservation time.
You have an option to do the 3-​course drink tasting for $ 65 per person, but those drinks are smaller portions and not the most unique presentations so we opted to do a la carte.
The a la carte drinks are all quite large, $ 20-​$ 30 each but you can share them with 2 – 3 people. This made it fun to share everything.
We tried 5 drinks and our bill was $ 180, pricey but completely worth it for the 3-​hour experience.
The seating is open and allows you to mingle with other parties easily.

Drinks were creative and tasty, though definitely pricey. The dim lighting and intimate seating is perfect for a second or third date. I feel this is definitely a place for special occasions, not for happy hour with friends.

I had a great experience in October 2015! It’s super-​easy to get to using public transport, which is prime after the consumption of delicious and boozy drinks. A girlfriend and I dined at the Girl & the Goat (a close walk and also ⁵⁄₅ goodness) and waited about 10 minutes without a reservation. It was a Wednesday night, though.
I got the Alternate, which consisted of bourbon smoke, amaro, and applejack. The drink literally came out with a warm and smoking piece of bourbon barrel, which had just been torched. The wonderfully smoky aroma was trapped under the glass until it was overturned and the drink poured and presented. It was beautiful.
My second drink was even better! In the Rocks (fifth edition), which consisted of curacao, grenadine, dry vermouth, and aged rum. It was super fun using a sling-​shot to break open the ice sphere containing the drink, and the drink itself was well-​mixed.
The couple next to us also shared their GIANT pork rind with us, which was perfectly crackly and seasoned with a hint of sugar and spice.
Great experience! Great, innovative, and tasty drinks. Much recommended.

How did I forget to give my two cents about The Aviary?! Not that it matters, there are more than enough reviews… but I’d like to note: YES IT IS AMAZING.
My then-​boyfriend (now fiancé, what?! He’s a keeper if he brings me to the aviary, amirite?) made reservations to celebrate our anniversary & surprised me with the cocktail flight. Everything was seriously so delicious. We had a bunch of amazing drinks, the world’s largest pork rind, and all was right with the world.
For the life of me, I can’t remember what the cocktail was that came out in a giant plastic bag, but good Lord was that amazing… smoky, tasty, beautiful presentation. Not sure if/​when I’ll be able to afford to go back, but it was definitely a once-​in-​a-​blue-​moon type of date night & it was great!

I made a cocktail reservation online ahead of time for a table for 2. Online ticketing requires a $ 20 per person deposit applied toward the final bill. My fiancé and I arrived exactly at our reservation time, and were seated right away after the hostess offered to take our coats. The space is dimly lit, with tables lining the continuous upholstered bench dotted with throw pillows along the back wall. Definitely a great cozy date night atmosphere.
Our server greeted us with a starter cocktail; this particular evening we received some sort of strawberry tea with scotch cocktail. I usually don’t care for either tea or scotch, but the drink was a lot smoother than I expected, although the warmth of the liquor certainly caught up to you on the aftertaste. I ordered the «Loaded to the Gunwalls» which arrived in a bottle with a pirate ship in it, hey now! I forget the name of what my fiancé had, but it came smoking with dry ice and a brass straw in what looked like a round science beaker, so we were both happy with the presentation and taste of our choices. We saw several other interesting looking drinks arrive to the tables nearby, and would love to try some others another day.
To snack on, we ordered the fried mushrooms and the pork belly. The fried mushrooms came with truffle mayo and mushroom ketchup and both dips were delicious. The fried mushrooms reminded me of FunYuns; I don’t know how they got mushrooms into that fried crispy ring, but I would definitely get those again! The pork belly was cooked well and flavorful, I just happened to hate the celery root purée it was served with (personal taste). We were basically done with our cocktails by the time the appetizers showed up, so plan accordingly; they take a bit to prepare. The drinks are all priced about $ 25-​$ 30 range, give or take a few bucks. They also automatically add on a 20% service charge to the bill. In total we ended up spending about $ 90 for 2 cocktails, 2 appetizers, plus 20% tip. Not an everyday go-​to spot for most of us but absolutely worth a special occasion visit for the creativity and quality here!

LOVE this place. What a unique and unforgettable experience! This isn’t a every week (or even every month) kinda lounge, but on a special occasion or if you’re visiting from out of town, definitely make this stop for drinks.
My review/​Tips:
1. Go on a slow day-​we visited on a Sunday night and there were barely any people there. We also didn’t have to wait in order to get inside. Dim and quiet interior. Very private setting and you’re actually able to have a conversation and hear the person sitting across from you.
2. According to the bouncer, they do take reservations
3. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of their cocktails, but we tried: Levels, In the Rocks, Hollow, and the drink with horchata (can’t remember the name).
4. Whatever dessert they pass around to compliment your drinks are not free! haha! We got a couple of their foie gras snickers at $ 6 a square.
5. Service is amazing here. They even offer to get you a cab if you need one. :)
6. Yes, it’s expensive, but where else can you get an experience this unique? (If you know of others, please do tell!)
The Girl and The Goat is in walking distance to The Aviary, so go eat dinner there and then walk over for drinks! The perfect way to end a night out in Chicago!

The Aviary takes the creative freedom of an executive chef with the cocktail knowledge of a craft cocktail bartender. It’s in the intersection that you see how far and away they are with their game over some Vegas mixologist slinging peanut butter and jelly martini’s.
I had the pleasure of being guided by both a well known chef and cocktail bartender on my visit and it was in this, along with my conversations with the ice chef and head bartender where we were invited to enjoy the rest of the evening downstairs. Well that was easy. «The Office» is less a speakeasy in the typical sense, but it’s really more of an exclusive invite only room to lounge. It’s more private, quieter, but you don’t really get some even more extravagant cocktail service. There is lots of leather and wood and class, much less outspoken in nature than upstairs. You can get a # to text if you really want to go. Price is expensive, you get what you pay for it in every quality ingredient.
Back to the ice chef, what’s an ice chef you ask? It’s a cocktail chef dedicated to making crystal clear cocktail ice. Most places use a service and have it delivered, but here they make on site. Most do this because the machine that makes this ice is 5 figures. I do mine small batch style so in chatting with an expert (the rarity is probably somewhere between master sommoleier and cicerone) gave me a few great insights. Small, crush, cubed, cocktail cubed, sphered, speared, blocked, they do everything.
The décor and ambiance upstairs is a little more test kitchen than lounge and you can tell the set up is geared around the bartender and their craft. I came here not for food, Chicago has tons of great food, but with a specialty place like this you play to their strengths. The staff is great from the doorman to the servers to the chefs and bartenders. The bathrooms are nice too.
Reading up and chatting about the cocktails I decided many drinks were a bit for show, but the In the Rocks was a masterpiece, rubber band broke the cocktail ice sphere releasing the drink to melt and change the flavors over time. Ingenious. Amazing. I’ve currently been playing with a white viex carre which peaked their interest quite a bit.
For a normal craft cocktail there are better places to go, but for something beyond that come here and live in the world they’ve created.

3.5 stars
Made a reservation online weeks in advance that required a deposit… so don’t expect to walk into this place!
Is this place expensive? Yes, it’s the epitome of $$$$.
Was it worth it? Probably not.
Should you come here if you’re in town? Yes if you feel like spending an exorbitant amount on cocktails or you just have money to throw around for funsies.
While this place is definitely unique and different in their presentation of cocktails, I don’t feel that the up to $ 26 price tag for a cocktail was worth the taste. Don’t get me wrong, the cocktails are really good, but just not $ 26 worth… or even $ 19 worth. My friend and I stopped by The Violet Hour the day before and felt that their $ 13 were actually better than The Aviary’s.
What you’re mostly paying for here is the presentation and experience of drinking a cocktail. Cocktails here come in crazy forms like in an inflated plastic bag or with a ring of flavored ice cubes that slowly change the flavor of your cocktail as they melt.
Great date place to impress a girl and you probably won’t get an experience like this anywhere else, but don’t think I’ll be coming back here even though I’m glad I tried it.
Overall interesting experience but way too much money for a cocktail.

The Aviary totally lives up to the hype. But… I wish that they made all of the drinks equally fun. Some of them are more fun whereas others are a little more boring, and it’s a bummer to get a boring one while your friend gets a crazy fun one.
We showed up at 1am on a Saturday (yes, it was late… but there was no wait at all!). We were seated quickly at a large and beautiful booth. I love the creamy color of the walls and booths.
We got, in total, four drinks between the two of us.
Zombie Panda — delicious, a great mix of sweet and tart, and the raspberry liqueur ice pearls at the top were super fun to pop in our mouths.
The Hollow — the best drink we tried for multiple reasons. Not only was it creatively served (in what looked like a fish tank with a spout), the flavor changed every time we took a drink and it got progressively more deliciously sweet.
Carrot cake Ramos rum fizz — really bad. Way too sweet and creamy. I did not feel like drinking a foamy milkshake. This was boring and didn’t feel like any effort at creativity was made — it just tasted like a carrot cake milkshake. I basically had to force myself to keep drinking because didn’t want to waste the money!
Levels (agave releases pimento) — a delicious drink, but also a little boring. The allspice smoke definitely added a delicious flavor. They put smoke under a disc of pineapple and then dissolve the pineapple disc with the drink. Very yummy! Kind of sad that the fun goes away fast.
Here’s what I wish — as someone who can’t really afford to constantly go to the aviary and try everything, the servers would be a little more forthcoming with what the drinks are presented like (or at least say, «you’ll have a lot of fun with this one», which doesn’t ruin the surprise!). I’d love them to be able to give more info on the drinks, because when I asked about them, I didn’t get much. The service itself wasn’t awesome, which is surprising and disappointing. I get that we came in late, but I shouldn’t have to constantly wave down a server and I had to multiple times (we wanted to order more drinks, we wanted the check, etc).
Still, it was a great experience. If I can ever afford it again, I’m definitely going back.

If you are looking for fancy place for a quality cocktail. Aviary is definitely the place to go. Those drinks aren’t just cocktails but the piece of art. Me and my BF arrived right before the reservation time and we had to wait for 15 – 20 minute outside. Then we were lead to a waiting section indoor and they provided complimentary appetizer drinks to fresh our palate. The inside of the lounge is dark and classy and we can see how bartenders made those artistic drinks. The décor of the lounge and ambiance is really nice. A great place to have talk and catch up with friends while not being bothered by crowd and noise. I also saw people ordering food there. Those food looked fantastic but too bad we had reservation after this.
«The Hollow»
I wanted to try something fruity but since I saw The Hollow’s picture, I decided to abandon the idea of sticking with fruity drink and tried this one. It had ingredients like honeybush, fennel, ginger, saffron, corn whiskey. I was concerned if Whisky would overpower the whole drink. However, this taste was surprisingly smooth. The server told us that every sip will taste different and it did taste different every time. I enjoy the drink a lot. The ingredients also have different color so you got to see everything floating around while pour the drink.
«In the Rocks»
My BF ordered this one. Old fashioned locked in the ice ball and you will have to do a slingshot to break the ice ball. Once you break the ice ball, the drink will leak out. Best drink to record a video. I am not a Old Fashioned type of person but my BF loved the drink.
I would definitely come back again if I visit Chicago. I would also love to try their food and drink pairing menu. Make sure you purchase ticket on their website if you plan to visit here because space and time are limited. This was definitely by so far the coolest drinking experience I have had.

I went on Nomad cookbook release night, so things were a bit different. The space is fairly open, so it can get pretty noisy, and there are a few pinch points which makes it a bit problematic for a party event.
The food being served was from the Nomad cookbook, and most of it, by necessity, was pretty simple.
The cocktails were great. I’m not sure whose recipes were at work, because I couldn’t find them in the Nomad cocktail book, but I loved the use of bitter ingredients in several of them. The Yaya Colada was a standout.

Wow! What an amazing and unique experience this was. Every body has heard of Alinea by Grant Achatz. The Aviary is Alinea’s sister restaurant. Don’t let the «sister» fool you. It is an amazing place (granted, I have never been to Alinea — my wallet won’t allow me to). The best way to get into this place is to purchase tickets online. You can book about 1 month ahead, but due to limited seating its hard to find the best hours. We were lucky to score a seat for 2 at 810pm. Every time slot was already sold out by then.
We arrived at 8pm, but didn’t get seated until 845 which was a disappointment. We waited outside for about 20min before we were taking in to WAIT inside. When we were inside, we had to stand and wait around until a table cleared up for us to sit. The positive of this was that the area where you wait you can see the people mixing up and making the cocktails. They also gave us a tiny whiskey shot thing to taste which was pretty good. Aside from this disappointment and let down of time management from the staff, the experience was pretty good.
«In the Rocks» — I saw this drink on Unilocal and I had already decided to get this. Basically, it’s an old fashioned that is hidden in a ball of ice. They bring a slingshot to the table and you crack the ice open yourself. Once the ice ball cracks, the rum oozes out. Perfect!
The Hollow — My GFs drink — which I enjoyed as well. This was served in a pretty unique container. It was like a flat fish bowl or a pretty big, round and clear flask. It contained a ton of ingredients like fennel, ginger, saffron, and whiskey. You can see all these ingredients floating within the drink and then you pour it out of the container. The staff recommends pouring a serving, finishing it, and pouring it once again. The flavor is supposed to change as the ingredients sit with the liquor so its better to finish what you have in the cup before refilling. Very refreshing and flavorful.
Overall, it was a very unique and special experience. I wish they sat us on time so we could’ve enjoyed 1 or 2 more cocktails. We had dinner reservations at 945 so we weren’t able to stay and sample more drinks. Next time I’m back, I am getting that tasting menu they offer. Awesome!

I finally made a reservation for The Aviary. It’s was everything we thought it would be. Beautifully prepared and presented cocktails with an eye toward quality ingredients. However, if you are making a reservation and planning on it being a date night I’d see about getting one of the tables along the wall. The décor is modern and asthetically very pleasing. However, the chairs at the tables make you feel far away from your date. We ended up having to lean way over the table to talk to each other.
The waitor was wonderful and very informative. I loved that he knew we had dinner reservations down the street and made sure that we didn’t miss them.