Rivers

Rivers Restaurant Review:

About the restaurant & décor: Just a few steps from the Civic Opera House, overlooking the Chicago River, this seasonally inspired restaurant provides a pleasant setting, plenty of space and enough mahogany to give the room a clubby look. But don't read stuffy into that remark – it’s a happy hour go-to for a reason.

Likes: It's a magnet for the Loop happy hour set, thanks to its proximity to Wacker, Union Station and Ogilvie.
Dislikes: It can be spendy.

Food & Drinks: Seafood is as fresh as it gets. Try the hunky Florida grouper or citrusy, garlicky Chilean sea bass. We like to begin a meal with the fresh-as-can-be Maryland crab cakes with wasabi citrus sauce or roasted corn soup with onion confit and red pepper cream before digging into Asiago-crusted scallops with pommes frites. Steaks come off nicely, as does the chicken farfalle with ancho sauce. For dessert, expect what’s familiar: flourless chocolate cake, tiramisu and apple crisp. Beyond the basics, however, there’s not much happening here. Lunch becomes electric, when traders from the Mercantile Exchange descend. By contrast, though, dinners are welcomingly quiet. No reservations are taken for outdoor dining for dinner, and reservations are required for parties of five or more for lunch.