Maple and Ash Danny Grant Maple & Ash

Maple & Ash Awards

In a city whose heritage was built on steak, this Gold Coast restaurant sizzles to elite status.
Openings: Dinner nightly, Brunch Sat.-Sun.

Features

Maple & Ash, Chicago, IL


Maple & Ash Restaurant Review:



About the restaurant & décor: Thanks to the service and style, the entire experience at this Gold Coast restaurant feels sumptuous from start to finish. Amping up the level of secrecy, guests take the elevator to the third floor to a series of rooms, starting with a long bar lined with burnt sienna bucket seats and sleek sofas. The main dining room is refined, with floor-to-ceiling curtains and tables graced with single candlesticks or candelabras for larger groups. (On a weekday night, the room was bursting with girl groups, couples and suits.)

Likes: Swoonworthy dining room overflows with dramatic details (sweeping curtains, candelight); pastry chef Aya Fukai and her decadent desserts.
Dislikes: The entryway isn't the most obvious, which might be confusing to some but lends to the mystique.

Drinks & Food: Warm the palate with a glass of Barolo or the Straight Shooter Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, or one of the many well-balanced cocktails such as the Ketel One-based Ma’Am I Am Tonight. Sommelier selections embody global varietals (the Soter Mineral Springs Rosé Brut is celebration-ready). To open the meal from executive chef Danny Grant, the Fork and Knife Caesar salad veers off course (a welcome departure from the cold preparation) with roasted hearts of palm and a soft-boiled egg, while the seafood tower goes against predictability, too, with its base of warm garlic butter and chili oil swimming with Manila clams, scallops, oysters, Alaskan king crab, half Maine lobster and Gulf shrimp. Steak, fired over a wood grill, is the star; try the bone-in Cowgirl, a solid, juicy choice at 16 ounces, the filet mignon, also available bone-in, or any of the Butcher’s Reserve selections from Slagel Farms for bold flavor. Flaky wild Alaskan halibut is elegant and fork-tender. Shareable sides complement the decadence; dig into the loaded baked potato to find a surprise of shredded short rib. Leave room for the coconut cream pie, a lengthy, skinny, fluffy slice of coconut custard and rum Chantilly.