I have eaten at The Gage Restaurant in Chicago for either lunch or dinner at least 20 times. This restaurant is on Michigan Avenue, and, while on one of the most touristy streets in Chicago, right across from the Art Institute, The Gage remains stalwart, providing excellent food and service. We ate here most recently with Eli and Clara after seeing the Christmas Concert at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, just two blocks south of the restaurant. This is a bit of a delayed review because when we came here that night, I completely forgot to take any photos of the restaurant itself. So, Brian and I came back here recently during restaurant week to eat some more delicious food and take a few more photos for the blog. Check out my reel here!

The atmosphere at The Gage is always electric. It is a very large space (for Michigan Avenue) with a large bar in the front, and some booths and tables alongside it. In the back is another section with very large semi-circular booths, and a big room full of tables. Tile is everywhere in black and light-green hues. It’s kind of like a bistro-meets-steakhouse vibe.

We were seated in one of the booths near the bar, and it was pretty dark. There was a TV that was turned off above us, but that meant that there was no overhead lighting in the booth. (Hence the more blurry quality of the photos – so sorry about that!) All of the other tables are lit quite well, but this didn’t bother us too much. We started off with a few cocktails and the kids, being Shirley Temple connoisseurs, ordered them up. They enjoyed basically getting a glass of ice with a cherry and grenadine so they pour the sprite in and make their drink as “strong” (read: SWEET) as they wanted.

We ordered two starters – the “Poutine Royale” with braised short ribs, and the fried pickles. Do not skip the short rib poutine! It’s super rich and delicious, but is a massive amount of fries, meat, cheese and gravy. I think it filled us all up so much that almost no one finished their main course! The fried pickles this time, in my opinion, had a bit too much breading. I remember the last time we had ordered these the breading was more like a tempura, however this time is was thicker and breadier. They were still delicious, but I prefer the old way. The smoked serrano aioli which is served with the pickles is incredible, and the best condiment for this side dish. The other side that I would recommend here, that we didn’t have this time, is the Pub Scotch Egg. If you’ve never had a scotch egg before, the Gage’s version is a delicious example: perfectly cooked egg, wrapped in sausage and then deep fried. Does food get any better?

For our main meals, both Brian and I ordered steaks – he, the ribeye, and I ordered the filet mignon. I honestly have to say that this filet mignon was one of the most tender I have ever had. I usually will ever only get a ribeye when ordering steak at a restaurant, but I didn’t want such a large cut this time, so I reluctantly ordered the filet. Seriously, I thought that the Gage’s filet was better than the ribeye. This never happens! The steaks were accompanied by a creamy and crunchy potato gratin, and we also ordered brussels sprouts as a side, which were good and flavorful.

Clara ordered the burger, and Eli ordered the Thai Coconut Curry, and added shrimp to it. The burgers at The Gage are consistently excellent, and I have often ordered one for lunch. The french fries are second-to-none. Eli’s curry was enormous, and it looked delicious. Eli devoured the shrimp and ate as much curry as he could, but I think we were all full from the poutine!

My other favorite standard meal that I have ordered over and over again here at The Gage, which we didn’t have this time, is their Fish n’ Chips. Really solid preparation, and you get lots of food. I highly recommend ordering.

Despite our fullness, we had to try a couple desserts as well. Brian ordered the “PSL” Sundae, which was super pumpkin-spicey and tastes just like Starbucks’ latte, if you’re into that. Eli and I split the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee which was perfectly prepared. We pretty much raced to see who could eat more of it! It came with a strawberry sauce which was a nice little tart addition to the sweet, rich cream.

Before I finish discussing the desserts, I have to mention that The Gage has one of the absolute best dessert/apres-dinner drink lists I have seen at just about any restaurant. There are at least 10 sweet and fortified wines on the list, as well as a solid choice of at least 10 cognac & brandy producers, with multiple options from each one. I was so happy when I saw this list, and it was tough to choose just one wine! With the creme brulee though, I had to go with the Auslese Riesling – a perfect pairing every time!

As I mentioned, the service at the Gage is always consistently good. Shout out to our server this time, Wayne, who was charming and chatty, and always attentive. When we were ordering, he made sure to let us know that the kitchen was moving pretty fast at the moment, so he would pace out or meal, holding off on ordering up the entrees until we were at least part way done with our appetizers. This was a super thoughtful offer.

There are a ton of mega-touristy places to go eat in Chicago, and Michigan Avenue is jam packed full of places you should probably avoid if you care about food and service. But The Gage, open since 2007, has been a solid option for tourists and locals for the past 15 years. I highly recommend making a reservation here, because it’s no secret that this place is excellent, and will hopefully continue to fill our happy bellies for at least another 15 years to come.