Restaurant Review – Atwood Restaurant

Having a friend in town is the perfect excuse to find a new restaurant! While toodling around The Loop this weekend, we stopped in at the Atwood Restaurant for a downtown lunch. Located in the Staypineapple Hotel, the Atwood is a gorgeous, modern space. There are plush leather booths, hanging industrial light fixtures, white marble table tops, and a stunning central bar. We came in right around noon and were seated right away at the bar. They have an extensive cocktail menu, with six signature cocktails and The Atwood 50; 50 of their favorite cocktails spanning over 200 years of cocktail history. I started with a Pisco Sour: porton pisco, lime, simple syrup, and egg white. Pisco is a brandy produced in winemaking regions of Peru and Chile. This is one of my favorite cocktails, but it can be difficult to find it done well. The Atwood knocked it out of the park! It was perfectly balanced and the egg white was light, frothy, and wonderful. My friend ordered a Pimms Cup: Pimms No. 1, ginger ale, and fresh fruit. Pimm’s is a British gin-based liqueur with bitter herbs and citrus, also known as a “fruit cup” because it’s meant to be mixed in a tall drink with an effervescent mixer and fruit garnish. It was light, fruity, and perfect for a midday cocktail. The food menu is simple and small, but every item looked just delicious. My friend decided on the Grilled Cheese, made with provolone, pesto, stracciatella (a soft, Italian buffalo milk cheese), and tomato, served with fries and pesto ranch. This was very tasty! The cheeses were perfectly melted and the addition of the pesto gave it a rich, robust flavor. I loved the pesto ranch for the fries! I had never had anything like it before and it was so good. I decided on the Chop Salad: chicken, bacon, arugula, romaine, dried corn, cucumber, radish, roasted tomato, asparagus, and pesto ranch. First of all, the portion was truly gigantic! I easily could have shared this salad, I barely made it through half. But it was delicious! All the veggies were super fresh and crispy. The chicken was really nicely grilled, crispy on the outside, but juicy on the inside. I would absolutely come back to try other things here! 

The Atwood is open Mondays through Thursdays from 7 am to 9 pm, Fridays from 7 am to 10 pm, Saturdays from 8 am to 10 pm, and Sundays from 8 am to 9 pm. Find more information, make reservations, and inquire about private dining/catering on their website.

RACHEL HOOVLER & DEAN’S TEAM CHICAGO