City Mouse

City Mouse Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: Fulton Market (Chicago's answer to Brooklyn), home to former warehouses and a burgeoning restaurant center, is the location for this hip all-day restaurant and lounge inside the modern Ace Hotel. Off-the-clock professionals (Google is across the street and the McDonald's headquarters is nearby), West Loopers and destination diners gather around the firepit on the patio, grab stools at the long bar or tables inside the main dining room (with views of an indoor courtyard). Think the airiness of a mid-century modern home meets the industrial chicness of Chicago.

Likes: The bartenders are incredibly talented and make you feel welcome.
Dislikes: Its open concept can feel sterile and even more empty when business is slow.

Food & Drinks: Helmed by the trio behind Giant --- Jason Vincent, Ben Lustbader and Josh Perlman --- City Mouse commits to its adopted Chicago home with Midwestern flair and an all-day menu catering to hotel diners. The signature Country Mouse is a can't-miss appetizer as a cheddar, caramel and caviar shooter. Fried artichokes benefit from the richness of pork ragù and Taleggio. Pastas and a house burger sate larger appetites, while a gas station breakfast sandwich is a brunch favorite (brunch is served daily). Skip sweets for the real dessert: a well-designed cocktail menu. The foamy, made-with-TLC Second City Sour (gin, aperol, egg white and Kina L'Aéro) and the pink-hued Show Pony are worth seconds. An abbreviated wine list favors reds and whites from Europe.