From the moment the tagline "Absinthe & Oysters" first tickled my ears, I was enticed. I knew it wouldn't be long before I dined at
The Savoy - and what better occasion than my 29th birthday?! A cozy little seafood spot tucked neatly away on Milwaukee Ave in Wicker Park, The Savoy offers a number of sultry seafood dishes, craft cocktails & various absinthe-laced concoctions for you to enjoy in an eclectic, voyage-at-sea-like setting. From the thick, vertically hanging twine ropes dividing dining sections, the exposed brick, Edison bulbs, white washed walls and nautical touches of the interior, to the delicious & eye-catching preparations of seafood and the sweet & smoky libations, we were more than smitten with our experience at The Savoy.
We had a larger party (eight total) and we were almost 15 minutes late for our 7:00 pm reservation - "Not a problem, we're happy to hold the table" replied the hostess to my sister after she called to let them know we'd be arriving closer to 7:15. As we walked into the door we were immediately seated at a perfectly-sized rustic high top table in the middle section of the restaurant with views of the bar & both ends of the operation.
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| The Savoy | Interior |
Our {cute} server made helpful suggestions to my father (not a big drinker, ever) for beers similar to Bud Light since they didn't carry the brand, as the rest of us surveyed the extensive drink menu. We each ended up with something different - I with the Sweet (sweet) Jane - a saucy and slightly smoky mix of La Penca Mezcal, Maurin Quina, Jasmine, Absinthe Rinse & lemon. Jane proved herself to be such a satisfying compliment to the seafood that I ordered her a second time. Simply delicious.
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| Sweet (sweet) Jane |
I was initially a bit worried about the menu offerings - now don't get me wrong, everything looked amazing to me & to the majority of people I was with - but there were a few inexperienced, heavily traditional diners with us that night. As we searched for some generally familiar items my dad took note of the seared scallops and lobster mac and cheese. Unbeknownst to me he was also an oyster guy, so we ordered a half dozen of each featured oyster that evening - one described as creamy, the other as salty - both tasty. The scallops only came with 4 per dish so we ordered two, then two more after we all saw the look on my father's face - sheer flavor happiness. The lobster mac was also a huge hit with the table.
Our entrées fell into both traditional and somewhat adventurous categories - there was the applewood smoked Amish chicken, cooked perfectly & so juicy, served with a crispy polenta cake and shaved brussel sprouts with lemon vinaigrette - and then there was the special of the evening, a form of sea bass prepared like nothing I had ever seen before. "Is that thing still breathing?" my sister gasped only half joking. The way the sea bass was presented looked as if it belonged mounted on a wall in someone's cedar den - but I knew immediately it belonged in my belly. The flaky, perfectly seasoned fish blended harmoniously with the Romesco sauce for total melt-in-your-mouth goodness.
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| Amish chicken | Brussel sprouts | Crispy polenta |
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| Sea Bass | Green beans | Olives | Romesco |
The night was capped off with a slice of pie & my family singing me happy birthday. It was extra sweet to hear that this particular treat was the peanut butter pie recipe of the head chef's grandmother. You go grandma - that was one heck of a pie! An excellent way to end dinner and the perfect amount of sweet before we headed to
Bar Deville to toss back some more hardcore cocktails & dance ourselves silly.
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| Make a wish | Chef's grandmother's peanut butter pie |
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