Alinea Review - 2 Stars Now With a Completely New Menu

Alinea

1723 N Halsted St,

Chicago, IL 60614,

United States

Our Communal Table at the Gallery

Alinea at 21 feels less like a retrospective and more like a deliberate reset. For a restaurant that has defined modern dining for 2 decades, Grant Achatz's latest menu does not lean on nostalgia. Instead, it pushes forward with intent, less spectacle for spectacle's sake and more emphasis on flavour, structure, and a global perspective that reflects both his personal journey and the broader shift happening across fine dining globally.

For those who are interested, I highly recommend that you read Grant Achatz's write up here. He talks about his perspectives as a chef, what Alinea symbolises for him as well as how his world tour has given him a stage to test and try, and a very concious move away from comfort into challenge.

The experience now unfolds across 4 transitions, which I shall call Acts, each tied not to just the dishes but to shifts in space and energy. The theatricality remains, but it has matured. The helium balloons and overt fire driven spectacle are gone. In their place, controlled staging, dramatic music and subtle environmental transitions that guide the meal within overwhelming it.

Our menu is as extensive and dramatic:

Act I, The Bees Nest

• Spring Onion Cream

  • Sweet and Sour ramps, Charred Ramp Top Butter, Nuggets of Golden Honey, Amontillado Sherry

• Regiis Ova Osetra Caviar

  • 2 Month Aged Delice De Bourgogne, French Chamomile Honey, Transparent Leeks

• Preserved Trumpet Mushroom

  • Jicama, Toasted Coconut Vinaigrette, Papaya Confit in Local Honey

• Confit Abacaxi Pineapple

  • Jamon Iberico Bellota, Whole Grain Mustard Oxymel, Opal Basil Buds

• Alpine Sorrel Leaf and Frecura Blooms

  • Honey and Propolis Droplets

• Shattered Giant White European Asparagus

  • Roasted Michigan Straw Cream, Charred Strawberry and Nicoise Olive Compote, Caramalised Honey

• Wax Mango

  • Ataulfo Honey Mango and Organic Beeswax

The Bee's Nest starts with a hive in front of you. Dishes are already there by the time you arrive. We particularly enjoyed this set of dishes. The menu feels most balanced, leaning into lighter, intricate compositions with a throughline of sweetness, acidity and floral notes. Dishes like the preserved trumpet mushroom and the alpine sorrel leaf and frecura blooms or the shattered giant white european asparagus all showed remarkable clarity. These are clean, highly composed plates where every element has a defined role. Chef Achatz's claim that each ingredient has a place is not theoretical, it is evident on the palate.

At the same time, there is a mix with bolder flavours, with the spring onion cream and confit abacaxi pineapple introducing a more assertive profile early in the meal. This is not the restrained, ethereal Alinea of old. It is an embrace of spice, fermentation and intensity over delicacy. Alinea makes it work and in a compelling manner.

Act II, Kitchen

• Fear Factor

  • Duck Leg Tsukune, Salted Plums, Juniper, Branch Aroma

• Akashi Japanese Whisky, Plum, Sakura, Sudachi

We move into the kitchen for the second act. It starts with the introduction of a handcranked Imperial Shaker for our cocktail before moving into a dramatic act of reaching into a conical tube to extract our tsukune. On our visit, this was the second night of this completely new menu and the pressure in the room, particularly in the kitchen was palpable. Chef Achatz himself stood in the kitchen, arms crossed, watching guests react. It was a rare, almost vulnerable moment. Whether this intensity is specific to the new menu or simply the baseline at Alinea is hard to say. But as a guest, you feel it. The stakes are clearly high, especially in the context of the restaurant recently losing their 3rd Michelin Star.

Act III, Dining Room

• Skatewing a la Pharos Siamois

  • Fermented Green Peppercorn, Tamarind, Bai Horapa

• Barely Cooked Aleutian King Crab

  • Cheddar Popcorn Velvet, Crab Shell Caramel, Kinome

• Cracked Maize Snow

  • Frozen Butter Chips, Tellicherry Black Pepper

• Sunflower Sandwich

  • Jerusalem Artichoke Wafers, Roasted Sunflower Seed Butter, Sunflower Petals

• Hand Harvested Hokkaido Scallop

  • Passionfruit, Dijon, Shaved Vegetables

• Softened Togan

  • Perfumed with Saffron Mussel Tea

• Seedless Concord Grape

  • House Milled Lightly Toasted with White Sesame Seed Oil

• Steamed Spanish Turbot

  • Perigod Black Truffle and Banana Mousseline, Butter Braised Sauerkraut, Caraway Cabbage Sauce

• Carbonized Rio Red Grapefruit

  • Extra Virgin Avocado Oil, Scotch Bonnet Chili

Act III is where the menu expands fully into its global influences. The barely cooked king crab is a standout, rich but controlled, playful yet precise. The Hokkaido scallop had a beautiful sharp clean balance. The others that stood out were the seedless concord grape as well as we the cracked maize snow. A quieter, more textural moments that reward attention.

Service, while professional, we thought could be improved. It felt slightly distant. A forgotten wine menu request and slightly disjointed pacing hinted at a team still finding their rhythm in this extensive menu.

Act IV, Intermission

• Roasted Peanut Sponge

  • Massaman Curry

• 14 Day Aged White Pekin Duck

  • Twizzled and Poached Rhubard, Szechuan Peppercorns, Rhubarb Rouennaise Sauce

• Bing Cherry Juice Braised Kombu

  • Fermented Cherries and Perigord Black Truffle

• Ribeye of Japanese Wagyu Beef

  • Italian Udon Noodle Flavoured with Smoked Paprika, Toasted Bread Puree, Castelvetrano Olive and Artichoke Emulsion

Still, the sheer scale of the menu beings to weigh on the experience. At 22 dishes, this is one of the largest tasting menus currently offered at this level. By the time the roasted peanut sponge arrives, as impressive as it looks and tastes, the food fatigue starts to set in.

Act IV is the most intense of the menu. The 14 day aged duck is powerful and direct and the Wagyu pushes richness even further. Interestingly, the Bing Cherry Juice Braised Kombu was one of the most memorable bites. It is composed, restrained and arrives almost as a break from the richness of Act IV.

Act IV, The Finale

• Paint

  • Date, Chai, Chocolate

The iconic Paint at Alinea

Dessert returns to familiar Alinea territory, though through a different flavour lens. The iconic "Paint" finale incorporates chai, date and chocolate, leaning into Indian and Middle Eastern profiles. Like a chai latte to complete your meal, it is comforting. Our very pleasant Sommelier, whom we had the chance to speak more about the wines, decided to offer a beautiful Royal Tokaji selected specifically for the restaurant unprompted, an exceptional service moment. This Royal Tokaji was exceptional with the dessert and paired better than the relatively young 2016 Chateau D'yquem we had. The D'yquem as honey and layered as it was, definitely needed another 20-30, maybe 50 years to develop that signature D'yquem flavour profile.

The wine program remains a clear strength. A 2007 Domaine Jean-Louis Chave Hermitage stood out immediately - structured, mineral and expressive. We got plenty of cassis, soil and floral notes. A Ridge Santa Cruz Cabernet Sauvignon from younger vines offered a more restrained American profile than expected with a beautiful vanilla and american oak notes. There is confidence here: bottles are opened without hesitation.

Booking

Seats sell out within minutes of opening if you are interested in the Gallery experience which we just shared about, so if you are interested in the Gallery experience, know when the reservation window opens. There are still seats in the Salon for those who did not manage to get seats at the Gallery approximately 3 weeks out on a weekend.

Accessibility

Alinea is located in Chicago's Lincoln Park and is easily accessible by Uber, with the nearest L stop about a 10-15 min walk away. The team will also be very happy to call a car for you if you need.

The Damage

At 495 USD per person, with taxes and a 20 % service charge on top, Alinea's price point is definitely sitting at the top end of fine dining.

Would We Recommend?

Absolutely yes! It is our second time at Alinea. We had tried the previous greatest hits menu and this new menu. I feel like the new Alinea is tighter, the menu more cohesive and has a better story line with a stronger execution. Every single item on the dish is meant to be there and I like it. It is clear that Chef Achatz is not repeating himself, he is pushing forward. Alinea for us remains at the top tier of global dining. But this is certainly not a victory lap, it is a work in progress and makes it one of the more interesting places to dine at right now.