Roister | Chicago
After sleeping on this West Loop favorite, I was surprised by my sister with a birthday dinner at Roister! Three time Michelin Star recipient, Roister is an incredible dining experience led by Chef Grant Achatz. As soon as we arrived, I was excited to here the amazing music, smell all of the fantastic food (being fired up in the open kitchen) and embrace the relaxed and modern atmosphere. All of that said, let’s dig right into what we ate!
Starters
We kicked off the night with fried green tomatoes that were the best i’ve ever had! If I could fly back from Dallas (where I’m working this week) right now to get them again I totally would. Full of flavor, perfectly crispy, and accompanied by a delicious whipped ranch spread, this starter is a must try during your visit!
Next up were the steamed mussels served in a delicious lemon butter, roasted garlic and smoked bacon broth. The mussels were super the tasty, but i would be remiss if I did not communicate just how ridiculously amazing and tasty this broth was. We finished a whole serving a the bread, dunking it into the richly flavored broth and asked to take the rest home haha.
Entrées
Trying to make sure we would have space for dessert, my sister and I decided to pick 2 entrées to share. Splitting the Roister Lasagna and the Mediterranean Sea Bass we found the consistency of their quality to be persistent throughout. Between the two I’d recommend the lasagna as it is made with arrabiata (one of my favorite sauces that has a bit of a kick). Both were delicious, but I would caution that if you are going to roister with a younger child or someone who isn’t patient when eating…the sea bass is cooked whole so there are quite a few bones to dodge in the process. Still worth checking out, just be careful!
Dessert
Last - but certainly not least - were two phenomenal desserts. By this point in the meal we were STUFFED and I was wishing I had worn stretchy pants; however, getting these desserts was 100% the right call to end our night. We tried the Ember Ice Cream which was an ice cream made of sweet cream that is infused with embers from their hearth and served with milk chocolate, cherry and hazelnut. This was hands down on of the most interesting and different desserts I have had in a long time. Not overly sweet, it was the perfect ice cream and pairings dish for a variety of pallets.
Meanwhile, I was also being blown away by the Hearth Roasted Banana Split served with passionfruit, cashews and caramelized white chocolate. With warm and cool elements from the roasted bananas and ice cream, this dessert was one for the books! So many flavors and varying textures made it a unique twist on a classic dish. My only recommendation for desserts is to make sure you save space for them because you definitely don’t want to miss out on these and others from the menu that sounded equally incredible!
Roister was an amazing experience and I know that I’ll be going back to try more of their amazing plate and getting some of these dishes again! I encourage anyone in the Chicago area or planning a visit to add this spot to your hit list. A fun environment, extremely kind staff, and incredible make it easy to see why Roister is a gem of the city.
With COVID-19 going around and many restaurants in Chicago being shut down, it think it is important that we try to help where possible in keeping all types of restaurants, ESPECIALLY local small businesses, afloat. For a list of restaurants open in Chicago for delivery / takeout, click here.