Exterior

Cold seafood sampler for one

10 oz Wagyu NY Strip

Creamed spinach

**** (4 stars)

In a city seemingly overflowing with steakhouses, Chicago Chop House has a few unique things to offer.

First off is the ambiance. Located in a 120-year-old townhouse, it’s definitely cozier and more historical than the competition. And if you’re into Chicago history, the walls are covered with more than a thousand old photos, stock certificates and other ephemera, many with labels denoting their significance.

The third floor, called the “skybox,” is the quietest place to sit. It’s divided into small spaces that work well for intimate conversation. The ground floor bar is by far the liveliest space.

The menu offers the fairly unique option of ordering nearly identical steaks handled differently. There is a section of wet-aged meat (usually my preference), dry-aged, and also American Wagyu.

I tried the Wagyu New York Strip, and it was just okay. It was thinner than the other steaks, and wasn’t as tender or fatty as I would expect from Wagyu. Perhaps that was the result of it being cooked closer to medium well than the medium rare I ordered.

Far better was my wife’s dry-aged New York Strip, which was very tender, juicy, and perfectly cooked.

We started with a cold seafood assortment for one, which was actually enough for the two of use to have a bit of tuna and crab, and to split the oyster and shrimp according to our preference. Then we also shared a Ceasar salad, which was more than enough for two.

Sides are also large. We shared creamed spinach, which was a bit more to the cream side than I prefer, but tasty.

There’s a nice wine list, with a few older gems that are reasonably priced for Chicago.

Service was friendly and attentive, and we enjoyed our very relaxing and intimate meal.

Chicago Chop House
60 W Ontario St
Chicago, IL 60654
(888) 592-8471
https://www.yelp.com/biz/chicago-chop-house-chicago