restaurant review: tru in chicago

Tru.

I really wanted to like Tru. It has been around for a long time and has received many accolades. Although I have visited Chicago many times, this visit was my first at Tru. It was not Mr. Sazy Rock's first visit. I think his last visit was about a decade ago and he found it decadent, memorable and very good. So, he wanted to revisit the restaurant to see how it has changed through the years. And, I came with plenty of expectations. Sadly, I left with most of them unfulfilled.


The Scene 

The scene at Tru,

Located in what looked like the ground floor of an office building just off Michigan Avenue, we walked past Tru without realizing we've missed it. Once inside, there were plenty of impressive works of art on display. It felt like I walked in to a very small but posh museum. 

Once we checked in with the hosts, we were led to an open room that was minimally decorated. The room was full at 8 pm. Diners were dressed very nicely and spoke in hushed tones. It definitely gave off the aura of an expensive restaurant.


The Food

The restaurant offered a seven and nine course prix fixe menu. Except for a foie gras and a wheatberry dish, both menus offered the same dishes. Some courses also offered a choice of one of two dishes. Where there was a choice of dishes in a course, we each chose different ones so we could try all the dishes. We opted for the seven course menu because we found that, as we aged, we could not eat as much. So sad. To make as less sad, we decided to also order some caviar.

• Amuse: Gougere - This amuse bouche was not served warm. That meant that the cheese inside was coagulated and not creamy and soft.  

Gougere.

• First: Frozen beet with apple consomme - This first dish was refreshing and bright. 

Beets.

• Royal Russian Ossetra Caviar - The blinis and caviar were delicious. Mr. SR said that when he ate at Tru a decade ago and ordered caviar, it was served over a container that had fish swimming underneath. It sounded cool but when our caviar arrived, the serving dishes were served on a coral. The dish was still tasty though. 

The Caviar.

The blinis.

• Second: English pea soup with salmon confit, smoked trout roe and bacon - The pea tasted very fresh and had a hint of mint. The salmon was perfectly cooked and flaky.

Salmon confit and pea soup.

• Second: Morels with toasted pecan and sunflower - The morels tasted very earthy and the custard underneath was rich. It was a tasty dish.

Morels.

• Third: Ramp with arugula blossom and almonds - This dish had a very clean flavor.

Ramp.

• Third: Asparagus with roasted onion - The asparagus was cooked perfectly with a sweetness that reminded me of an oyster sauce.

Asparagus.

• Fourth: Alaskan halibut - This was one of the courses that had no option so both Mr. SR and I had the same dish. His was perfectly cooked. Mine was a tad bit overcooked. The croissant served with this dish had black truffles. I enjoyed the bread and the butter, which was very creamy.

Halibut.

Croissant.

• Fifth: Ribeye with greens and sunchoke - We had no choice but to order the same dish for this course because the other option - duck - could only be ordered - with a $40 surcharge per guest - if two people wanted it. The ribeye was cooked medium rare but a bit salty. The dish came with a pumpernickel bread that was served warm. I thought the best part of this dish were the bread and that creamy, delicious butter.

Ribeye.

• Selection of cheeses - At this point, we ordered a selection of cheeses, which looked pathetic. I will let the picture do the talking.

The cheese plate.

• Sixth: Sorbet with tea - This dish did not work for me at all. The tea sat while we had the cheese. So, the tea got cold and the sorbet cooled it even more.

Tea.

Sorbet.

I don't remember this dish.

• Seventh: Sugar snap peas with cardamom and marshmallow - This dish was a dessert course option. It did not work for me at all because, honestly, I wanted chocolate.

Snap pea puree with marshmallow.

• Seventh: Valrhona chocolate with spearmint ice cream - This dessert course theoretically sounded great. But, the cardamom in this dish was too powerful and overpowered the dish. The chocolate itself was terrific, however. 

Chocolate with cardamom.

• Madeleines - The honey orange madeleines were served hot and were very tasty.

Madeleines.

• Petit Fours - The chocolate had a bit of basil, the financier tasted like it was burnt then rewarmed, and the gelee tasted sour.

Petit fours.

• Chocolate - this dish had something liquid inside and some liquid nitrogen. I liked the chocolate but that was about it.

Fancy chocolate.

The Service 

I was so disappointed with the service at Tru. But first, the good things. Everyone we encountered at Tru were all friendly and polite. They also passed Mr. SR's Napkin Test, which was supposed to indicate that the servers were looking after our table.

The Napkin Test: staff re-folded Mr. SR's napkin when he left for the restroom.

Now, the bad things. For such a pricey restaurant, we expected top service. Sadly, I do not think we got it.

As noted above, we ordered caviar. But, our server forgot it. They served the first course without serving the caviar. As they prepared to serve the second course, we inquired where our caviar went. The captain asked our server whether we ordered the caviar to which she replied that we did and that she forgot. The captain then asked whether we would like to have the caviar served as an intermezzo, to which we replied, "no," because, if we said "yes," we would have had all the savory dishes before the caviar. They then took off the second course and brought our caviar. I know mistakes happen but we were paying a lot of money for two mistakes to have happened all at once (i.e. the missing caviar, and the offer for it to be an intermezzo). To be fair and without us asking, they graciously took off the caviar off our bill.

We also ordered a bottle of white and a bottle of red wine. During the halibut course, the servers over poured the white wine and Mr. SR was left without any. I understand they were likely trying to coax us into buying more wine. But, that just seemed cheesy, especially because the next course was the ribeye.

Which leads me to the cheese plate. The server with the cheese trolley was near our table and we inquired about the price (because it was not on the menu). She did not know the price for three and five cheeses. Also, as can be seen from the picture above, that cheese plate might be the crappiest looking plate I have ever seen. Mr. SR took it upon himself to tweet a picture of the plate when we got it. I think the powers that be at Tru saw the picture and comped us the cheese.

While everyone were very pleasant and friendly, for such a well regarded and Michelin starred restaurant, I really expected better execution.

The Price 

A nine course menu was $158. A seven course menu was $125. With booze, supplements, tax and tip, it was not a cheap meal. In fact, even with the caviar and cheese courses taken off our bill, we still spent a lot of money.

The Verdict 

I was so disappointed with my meal. For the price they charged, I expected a whole lot more from the food and the service. Sadly, I can not recommend Tru.

What fancy restaurant have you tried that failed to meet your expectations?