Fig & Olive Awards

Fig & Olive Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: If a speakeasy is the template for Chicago cool, this Gold Coast restaurant is a refreshing departure. In fact, it’s brighter, more effervescent and resort-like. When the weather is warm, book a seat on the well-groomed patio to watch the well-heeled stroll amid the couture boutiques. When it’s not, request a table in the lounge area, where cream-colored sofas and low-profile tables add a ladies-who-lunch vibe.

Likes: The second-floor dining room overlooking fashionable Oak Street.
Dislikes: None.

Food & Drinks: The Mediterranean-inspired eatery, with sister locations in Newport Beach, West Hollywood and New York, holds a chic address on Oak Street, where the posh come to graze over Gorgonzola tartlets, orange- and olive oil-drizzled hamachi crudo, multiple versions of flatbreads (manchego is a standout) and mains such as Kabocha squash risotto and the Fig & Olive tajine with chicken, vegetables, almond, couscous and harissa. Meat gets a starring role with hunky lamb chops, a 12-ounce rib-eye and 10-ounce New York strip sating carnivores. Desserts are a high-point, especially the chocolate pot de crème, which boasts crunchy hazelnut praline and vanilla cream. A citrusy Puglia white wine or the fruit-forward rosé sangría complements the chic plates. Order a cucumber cosmo (organic cucumber vodka, elderflower liqueur, cucumber purée and lime juice, served straight up) before easing back into the real world.