Summer House Santa Monica Chicago
It may be fall in Chicago, but its always sunny in the Californian themed Summerhouse Santa Monica up in Lincoln Park. Yeah, you read me right. This restaurant is designed to emulate the Californian dining experience. Offering fresh bites, lovely ambiance and abundant natural light (well as much as Windy City is willing to share on any given day).
For awhile I had been wanting to check out SHSM brunch, and the fateful day arrived about 3 weeks ago…I was PUMPED! There is lots to love about Summer House buuuut there are a couple of things that sadly were misses in my book. See what I ate, thinks a loved, and what to maybe steer clear of during your visit below!
Service
The service was prompt and mostly pleasant. Not going to lie to you, things got tense for a moment when our waiter suggested that I had ordered too much food -_- I know that might sound petty, but in my opinion, I think it was a little uncalled for as I had not asked for his input on the matter. However, let’s focus on the positive! I enjoyed the fact that he appeared when we needed him, conversed when appropriate, and left us alone when we had everything we needed. He also did a great job on drink comparisons, app recommendations, and made sure dishes were in even counts so everyone at the table could try.
Food
The perk of eating in groups is that there is so much more you can try, especially if you don’t like your dish. For the table, I ordered a stack of pancakes and the locally handmade burrata. The pancakes were lackluster; not bad but nothing special. The burrata on the other hand was fantastic! I would go back and just order that for my meal.
Our drinks arrived next, I had the Sucker Punch which is made with bourbon, lemonade and peach. A bit stronger that I can take with an early brunch, but SUPER delicious. I had the Santa Monica Egg White Omelette and added the Jalapeno based pesto. It was not spicy at all and I would recommend trying it. That being said, the omelette was pretty singular in flavor…i.e. it became monotonous about a third of the way in. So, I suggest splitting this with a friend and getting a side dish.
Speaking of sides…the bacon was alright, nothing to write home about. We also ordered hashbrowns and truffle tater tots. I would not recommend getting the hashbrowns but will defiantly advocate for the tots; you won’t regret getting those.
Last but not least on the food front, Avocado Toast. As any good millennial does, my roomies got the avocado toast for their main dishes. I didn’t have the stomach to keep going, but here is what they told me: “It’s good! Very rich and creamy, and it seems like they fit a whole avocado on here. Dang!”
Have you been to Summer House Santa Monica? If so, let what you ordered and things you liked in the comments below!