Frontier

Review summary

1. B

   Beatrice

   Chicago

   5 reviews

   3.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 1 day ago

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   The restaurant itself is very nice and beautiful I thought. The service was good and the food fine. Because they smoke their meat, it gets very smokey which was a little uncomfortable after a while. Our waiter was great but when they give you the bill on the machine you don’t see that they automatically added a 20% gratuity. So when I was asked for a tip, I added 20% and ended being charged 40% for the service why is upsetting.
   

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2. m

   melvin

   Chicago

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   First time customer at Frontier. My wife and I will definitely return. A hidden gem!! The mushroom fritters and the crab stuffed sea bass were phenomenal!
   

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3. V

   Veronica

   Chicago

   5 reviews

   5.0

   5 reviews

   Dined 2 days ago

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Passionate, skilled, original--these are the words that leap to mind after my first meal at Frontier. As a former restaurant critic, my standards are high. Every single dish was skillfully done with a core of creativity and lusciousness! As a lover of the best of NOLa (and not all New Orleans food is great), I immediately recognized the influence of the Crescent City. To be honest, I was afraid that the dishes would be corny, as they so often are in the North. Instead, they were expertly executed on the core flavors and techniques and ingredients, but with a modern flair. For ex., the gator bites were perfectly chewy and crisp, but the crispy kale and saucy bits would earn it a place on any creative menu. Chargrilled oysters are nothing without quality, salty Parm, and here Frontier delivers, too. The burnt edge mac cheese ranks among the best eats in the city in my book. Similarly, the smoked and braised elk shank has my whole heart--fall-off-the-bone tender, elegant, and still wholly accessible. Not overthought nor showy, but a skillful dish that speaks for itself and the skill of this kitchen. I also want to give a shout to the thick-cut salmon, roasted on a cedar plank, with crispy edges and a silky, luscious, rare center as requested. I also want to thank whoever set the prices. They are more than fair at a time when so few menus are. Making food at this level is insanely time-consuming, but the pricepoint makes Frontier much more accessible than many of its peers. Frontier is a place we will return to again and again because of that. Chicago...support these incredibly talented and passionate kitchen and front-of-the-house teams! This is not a paid review or a bot. Merely one diner who was truly impressed and appreciative of a great meal for our family for my birthday.
   

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4. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Chicago

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 10 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   It was such a great dinner overall. My daughter and I really enjoyed our evening. The Fried Gator Bites are a must, Great Cocktails, and vibe.
   

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5. L

   Lori

   Chicago

   1 review

   5.0

   1 review

   Dined on 4 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   The bartender was excellent at recommendations and conversation!
   

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6. j

   johnathan

   Milwaukee

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 1 January 2025

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   It was a great experience. Service was great and the food was too
   

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7. D

   David

   VIP

   Chicago

   25 reviews

   5.0

   25 reviews

   Dined on 29 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 4

   Excellent quality BBQ. Lamb ribs were very good and I’d order again. Burnt end Mac & cheese is a must every time I go to Frontier. Our server was very knowledgeable and friendly. Really good experience overall.
   

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8. N

   Niekera

   Chicago

   1 review

   1.0

   1 review

   Dined on 22 December 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 3

   It was ok not what I expected could have been better
   

   FrontierResponded on 22 December 2024

   Hello, so sorry we failed to meet expectations. Can you please share some details of your experience so we can use them to improve? Thanks
   

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9. J

   Jasmine

   Chicago

   3 reviews

   5.0

   3 reviews

   Dined on 21 December 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Always a wonderful experience! Oysters were a bit overly charred this time around but won’t hold it against them. Drinks were great! Branzino was amazing! Loved the brussel sprouts!
   

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10. D

    Dealia

    Chicago

    16 reviews

    3.0

    16 reviews

    Dined on 21 December 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4

    The hostess greeted us and accommodated our request to change our seating on a holiday Friday evening. The restaurant's enclosed patio area was beautifully decorated and cozy, which was great for photos. The food however, was average. We started with the chargrilled oysters which had the saltiest brine/ buttery sauce and the oyster meat was so small, it was almost invisible. Our server we great, she removed it from our bill and we decided to go ahead and pick a variety of items from the menu. We order a fried chicken thigh and fries for our toddler, 5 cheese mac and cheese, Brussel sprouts, smoke lanb ribs and crab stuffed seabass. Once again, the lamb ribs were overly salty for taste. One bite was all I took before returning it for something else. We were told the restaurant cures all of their meat in the same seasoning as we steered clear from any other red meat. The safest choice was the crab cake appetizer, which was not too bad but nothing to rave about. The bread pudding was sweet, so oof course it was tasty. Overall, we dine out at restaurants frequently and I have never experienced salty food like I did at Frontier. I expect that kind of flavor from fast food restaurants. Safe to say, we probably wouldn't return because the foom we did like, we're just average items that we can buy anywhere (the seabass was good though). I'd say, try the red meats and oysters at your own risk.
    

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