Best Open Kitchen Restaurants in Congress Park

I had the best experience having Thanksgiving dinner here! My father came to town, so I wanted to choose a place that was impressive. Every dish was perfectly cooked. I think my favorite, aside from the New York Strip, was the potatoes au gratin. Really, everything on the menu was impeccable. I definitely think everyone who is looking for a high quality experience should visit Guard and Grace. The service was phenomenal, the food was delicious. and we had the most amazing experience!

All food was wonderful….. Mezze platter, crouchettes, wine, paella, Catalan flan type dessert… disappointed though that no mint or herbal tea was on the menu or in the house. We had requested a city view… texted that it could not be guaranteed and ended up in the furthest back table away from any view. That was disappointing but the food was so good 👍

This was our first time at Stellar Jay, and we were delighted with everything. Our server Preston was very gracious and attentive - he had a wonderful sense of how we wanted to be served. The manager Rhea (we had met before during a tour of the Populus, which they run on Thursdays) came over to say hello - she was lovely and calm. This beautiful restaurant was nearly full on a Monday night. The food was fantastic - the two of us split an appetizer (mushroom tempura), entree (steak skewers) and vegetable (beets). Everything was delicious. We were surprised at how big the portions were and ended up taking leftovers home, which the staff not only kindly boxed but labeled and bagged.

Was a great little spot for brunch. I imagine that they get very busy when there are events and later in the morning. They opened early enough that we were able to beat the lunch brunch crowd. I had the breakfast burger and everything about that was amazing, the home fries were great to go with that. They totally botched the sourdough pancake though. I got it first underdone in the middle and send it back, then they tried again and burnt it while trying to get it done. Seems like whoever was running the kitchen didn't really know how to make this kind of pancake work with their griddle or pan. Lower heat, more time next time. :D Otherwise it was good enough I'd give it another shot.

My friend and K really enjoyed Linger! We ordered the pork belly bao, sweet fries, and charred edamame for a shared dinner. All of the food was packed with flavor and delicious. She ordered an old fashioned and I ordered the Thai tea cocktail. She enjoyed her old fashioned and said it was very orange forward, I was unfortunately not a fan of my cocktail but I think only because of personal preference. Overall I still would give it a 5/5. Ambiance was great but it was a tad loud. Looking forward to going back and trying more things!