Armitage Alehouse, Micro-Pub From Hogsalt, Opens In Lincoln Park

Table Of Content

• All sharing options for:
• Au Cheval Ownership Opens New Gastropub With Cacio E Pepe and Tandoori Chicken
• Armitage Ale House, A New Restaurant By Hogsalt Hospitality, Opening Soon In Lincoln Park
• How To Get Into White-Hot Basque Steakhouse Asador Bastian
• Review: Armitage Alehouse is a dreamy escape that deserves better food
• Chicago’s Newest Restaurant Openings, Now on Resy
• Armitage Alehouse
• Take-Out/Delivery Options

Give this one another couple months before rushing to log onto Resy every day, unless you're a diehard Anglophile who can't resist a proper pint and a pie. The team behind downtown spots like Bavette’s, Ciccio Mio, and Trivoli Tavern is exceptionally good at copy and pasting. Step into any of their restaurants and you’ll notice the same dim lighting, antique decor, attentive service, and occasionally even the same dishes. A $2.50 per person reservation fee will be added to all reservations made online. We do not charge a reservation fee for walk-in guests. The restaurant supplies ingredients and instructions, and bar director Christain Shaum provides live demonstrations on Zoom.

All sharing options for:

I’d also stake a bet on the restaurant’s decor, an intimate homage to the pubs of 1920s England that offers some of the most gorgeous dining scenery I’ve ever experienced in Chicago. In a city full of restaurants favoring a certain sleek, spartan design to signal their high-end credentials, that’s a real accomplishment. We use the Notify list to let guests know if there were any cancellations day-of. They will receive a notification so they can book themselves for those open reservations. But once we start our own in-house waitlist and service begins for the day, that will take priority over the Notify list. Usually that can be as long as people on a Friday or Saturday night.

Au Cheval Ownership Opens New Gastropub With Cacio E Pepe and Tandoori Chicken

I stopped by for weekday dinner with a few friends after seeing the place on Instagram. I went here last week and loved the experience. Aside from the food, one thing this place nails is ambiance and service. A beautiful atmosphere with incredibly friendly staff. As many others said, this is not an easy place to get reservations (I have tried many times over the... As with all of the Hog Salt restaurants in the group - it's incredible.

Armitage Ale House, A New Restaurant By Hogsalt Hospitality, Opening Soon In Lincoln Park

Once you’ve made it inside, you’re basically in a Peaky Blinders episode. 1920s jazz circulates throughout the dark space. A warm, soft glow from pineapple lamps and a flickering fireplace provide just enough lighting to accentuate ornate paintings that look like the result of a very successful estate sale shopping spree. Like its River North and West Loop siblings, upscale vintage dinner energy (or UVDE) is a part of Armitage Alehouse’s DNA. But first, you have to get in, and this place is always booked.

How To Get Into White-Hot Basque Steakhouse Asador Bastian

But for those not interested in the motif, curried chickpeas can be passed over for items like cacio e pepe carbonara, a wagyu burger, or a dry-aged New York strip steak. The website says Armitage Alehouse serves “hearty pub fare and dishes with their roots in India.” Anyone who has lived in London knows that’s a common combo. The oddball menu also lists a chopped wedge salad ($19), glazed black cod with a sweet miso glaze ($43) and matzo ball soup ($13). If Winston Churchill, who was chancellor of the exchequer in 1926, made a surprise visit from beyond the grave, he’d have a lot of questions.

Review: Armitage Alehouse is a dreamy escape that deserves better food

But, because the British colonized various parts of the world, the influences in Anglo-Indian food are diverse. It’s not just a fusion of South Asian cuisine. In Wicker Park, Pub Royale’s menu has included Anglo Indian food since 2015. Hogsalt Hospitality’s restaurant, on the northwest corner of Sheffield and Armitage, finally answers the question “what restaurant serves both samosas and matzah ball soup?

But hype and covetable antiques can only go so far. Could people be flocking here for the food, too? That’s not to say that you’ll leave disappointed with your meal, but it’s difficult to pinpoint any single dish among the menu’s selection of elevated pub fare that makes Armitage Alehouse a culinary destination. London-style curries, like the chicken tikka masala, are hearty but favor the Brits’ conservative approach to spice.

Armitage Alehouse

The 20 Best Happy Hours In Chicago - Chicago - The Infatuation

The 20 Best Happy Hours In Chicago - Chicago.

Posted: Tue, 23 Apr 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]

Just come in as early as you can and add your name to the waitlist if you don’t have a reservation. And once you’re on the list, you can go out and have a drink somewhere in the neighborhood and we will reach out and try to get you back in so you can enjoy a beautiful experience with us. Since becoming one of the Tribune’s food critics last year, I’ve been trying to center reviews around the food, with everything else (atmosphere, service) orbiting around. But Armitage Alehouse is one of those exceptions that’s too stunning to deny. It’s lovelier than Au Cheval, cozier than Bavette’s, and more polished than Maude’s Liquor Bar (which sadly closed in 2020). If you’re looking for Chicago’s most transporting space, the only competition might be the Cherry Circle Room.

Take-Out/Delivery Options

Instead, they gave rote answers to questions I never asked. I still don’t know if there is an executive chef. But this is no bawdy tavern full of pint-chugging lads.

So much about this version feels so wrong, it’s hard to even know where to begin, but to be particularly petty, it’s anachronistic to the 1926 vibe. While the origin story of chicken tikka masala is hotly debated, the dish didn’t gain national consciousness in the U.K. What’s more, the Indian-influenced dishes on the menu are bizarrely disappointing.

I think that our concept is pretty unique compared to everything else in Lincoln Park. Armitage Alehouse at its core is meant to be a fun pub that’s accessible and open to everyone. It’s a watering hole where people can come in and have a beer and a pot pie at the bar.

And while relatively new to the block, Armitage Alehouse seems like it’s always been there — and like it’s always impossible to get into. Typically, Hogsalt restaurants open under the radar, and Armitage Alehouse continues that tradition. Still, even though the company hasn’t made a big deal of the opening, reservations are already scarce. Anglo-Indian food is a genre that’s confusing to many Americans. It was born out of the 190-year British occupation of India. Colonists ordered servants to mix cuisines to give subjects — from dignitaries to soldiers — living in India something that more reminded them of home.

Less traditional takes on Anglo-Indian cuisine, like an endive salad topped with shaved paneer and glistening cubes of mango, make for Armitage Alehouse’s most memorable offerings. Still, the menu’s price points are enough to make you wince sometimes—it’s hard to justify springing for a side of $9 fries, or $13 broccoli dressed simply in butter, oil and lemon. And while we devoured an order of pillowy, stone-fired naan, the assortment of chutneys and spreads for dipping will cost you $3 a pop, so choose your options wisely. It’s very classic and consistent, and consistency is one the values of the group. We don’t really have specials, so it’s kind of like, what you see is what you get. If there are any changes (which happens rarely), it will be adding an ingredient or removing an ingredient.

I feel very comfortable here and I really feel like I’m at home. When you’re in the space, it feels like you’re transported. Sometimes I can’t even tell if it’s daytime or nighttime, or if it’s raining or snowing. When you’re in here, it’s like you’re inside this beautiful bubble and you don’t want to leave.