Dela Costa Restaurant

Okay, let's be honest De La Costa's atmosphere is superior, but their New Years Eve execution was a train wreck. We sat down at 9:30 for 9:00 reservations, fine no big deal....We did not receive our 6th course until 1:15am!! We waited over an hour for one course, which honestly we weren't really hungry for at that point. The worst was the finale, smoked chocolate truffle with poblano ice cream. Sounds fabulous, but the smoked chocolate was the worst desert I have ever had in my life. I have also been physically ill now for two days and keep smelling and tasting the smoked chocolate.\r This place has a great location, atmosphere, even the wait staff, but the key to a great restaurant is the food...so this place will not stay afloat. more

we were seated at 9:30PM for a 6 course dinner seating. it took over 90 minutes between course 2 and 3 (i am not lying) and the sad thing was the 3rd course was SOUP!!! when it came it was cold. At this point the whole meal was over in our minds due to the fact of the long wait. We did not get done w/ our meal till 1:10 AM. The dessert was the most dissapointing. Smoked chocolate that tasted like smoked Salmon (left a bad taste in my mouth for the next 3-4 hours). PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE do not go to this restaurant it give chicago a bad name. Worst restaurant experience i have ever been too Cons: EVERYTHING more

This has to be one of the best additions to the Chicago dining scene. DeLaCosta is easily one of the best Chicago restaurants out there. The experience id totally complete. They have amazing food with great flavors that is so completely different than all of the the other fine dining places that are out there trying to compete to see who can make the best science experiment out of their dinner!! The atmosphere is also very fun (not stuffy at all), however all the times I have been there, the service is on point. You have to snag a seat in the back dining room that overlooks the River. My favorite dishes are the Fire & Ice ceviche, the shrimp appetizer and the adobo rubbed seared tuna. Moy mouth is watering just thinking about the food. Pros: Food With Flavor, Fun Atmosphere, Great River View Cons: Slow Valet more

I had a large group and we tried about 12 items on the menu. I prayed they would get better as the night went on, but overall a huge disappointment! I would never return for the food - only for drinks. Service was good and atmosphere is great. more

There are few places that excite my tastebuds like this place does. De La Costa is my new favorite restaraunt in Chicago. When money is no object or when a freebe is thrown your way, order it up and try the Lobster Xim Xim. A delicious 8 oz lobster served over 'shredded' coconut chicken with a bacon wrapped banana on the side. The flavors are spectacular and is by far the most delcious entree I have ever had. A close second is the chorizo encrusted Halibut. Generally, I like my fish; fressh with lemon or lime and wouldn't dare order it any differentely. The Halibut took about 5 seconds to be completely eaten..yes it was that good! Now to back track a little, the ceviche. I like ceviche to be very delicate with more citurs then spices. De La Costa's was not what I expected, but was none the less tasty. I would highly recomened the Hamachi, but the other two were just a little too ""meaty"" for my liking. \r Ok, back to the best parts of the meal. Entree's were... FAB U LOUS. We decided to order the chocolate flan and the coconut and lime. To my dissapointment they just discontinued tres leches(grr), but these desserts were phenomenal. I do not know which one I liked better..they really were that good.\r If you go into this place wtih an open mind you will be pleased, if you go in thinking ""ick, that sounds gross,"" it probably will be. De La Costa is not for everyone, but for those with an adventerous spirit this is the place to go. \r Decor=5\r Food=5\r Ceviche-3.5\r Entree-a billion\r Dessert-5\r Waiter=5\r more

Great decor -- the artwork reminds me of Tim Burton's style. Ceviche is one of my favorite things to eat.... this place has a good selection of Ceviche -- just get the Ceviche Sampler if you're not sure what to choose..and ask the waiter for recommendations....\r Dessert was wonderful! Try the ""Quinoa""...\r \r I had the Lobster for my dinner.... it was good and it came with an interesting grapenuts-like side-dish...somehow it worked well with the Lobster....\r \r Pros: Great food, great atmosphere for dinner or drinks more

These guys were pretty good. They're known for their ceviche, of which I thought the halibut was really... more

I had such a good experience here. The decor is trendy, the food is amazing, and the drinks delicious. I... more

For $28 an entree, I at least expected my fish to be cooked all the way through, esp. since two measly pieces of snapper I had in front of me were the size of golf ""orbs"" (apparently Citysearch doesn't like the b-word and censored my review). There was a sprinkling of about 10 fava beans between the two pieces and some mashed up luke warm grapefruit sections mixed in as well. Sound yummy? Not at all. I'm all for quality over quantity and I am by no means unversed when it comes to seafood but I was pretty UNpleasantly surprised when I cut into my little bitty snapper to discover that it looked more like a raw, partially microwaved chicken breast. Talk about unappitizing! The music was so loud and monotinous, my friend and I could hardly carry on a conversation. Ironically, it was quieter in the bar area than the dining room. It's a great place for cocktails but go anywhere else for dinner!\r \r ***UPDATE 3/6/08: What a difference a few months makes! I went there on a date for the first time after my last horrible experience and the place was transformed...not as dark, not as loud and the food and service were great! I'm glad to see they turned things around over there! Pros: The food, service and ambiance are so much better than nearly a year ago. more

We had a girls night out and loved it! Great food and Le Reve Champange is on the menu and that's a big plus!! Everything was great, no wait, cute server, tasty food. A great place for a girls night out. Lots of eye candy! Club dinning. Pros: Loved it Cons: Wish they had Domaine Carneros Rose more

By far the best restaurant that I have been to in Chicago. Great food, great music, great atmosphere and awesome service. Definitely for a more hip crowd that does not mind spending your money on good food and a cool experience. Our waiter was friendlier than I have seen anywhere else. I am going back ASAP! Make sure you try the taco appetizer. more

This restaurant is very hip, very cool and very fun. The drink menu is terrific and the bar is nice and big. But the chef is way to focused on ingredients rather than taste and the service is truly below expectations. We have been there 4 times, hoping that it will improve...but it remains the same. Could it be that they hire based on looks vs. actual experience? Pros: Hip, Fun...Great drink menu Cons: Food is uneven, can be bad. Service is terrible. more

Obviously, this place has read the negative reviews on this site and made changes. Atmosphere is awsome and everything we ordered was great. The only exception was the chorizo app. suggested by the cute and efficient server. We did not like it. Otherwise, three boys from L.A. give it two thumbs up. Pros: decor, flat bread, staff, dj Cons: seating was not ideal more

The atmosphere was loud and uncomfortable. The service was horrible. We sat there for 20 min before we even got a server. We ended up leaving before we even ordered! It was not worth our time! more

The food was overpriced and terrible. The service was almost non existant. I actually had to go to the bar to ask someone if I could just pay there because our server was no where to be found. As some others mentioned the music was too loud and made conversing with people difficult. I would not recommend this place to my worst enemy. more

Could it be any louder and could the service be any worse? Looked forward to visiting this new restaurant as I had heard good things but my experience was terrible. First, they made us wait in the cevich bar and the woman who waited on us, while seemingly trying to service us properly, came off as cold and inattentive. A pretty girl but she clearly did not want to be working there. Then, we were finally seated and the waiter, while nice, really didn't know his food and wine selections very well. We were very disappointed and do not plan on returning. Pros: Food is good Cons: Very loud and service was terrible more

i woke up PARCHED the next morning. \r i dont know what it was ... everything was so delicious going down! \r it's truly a beautiful restaurant - very opulent and warm. \r but, the food doesnt live up to the luxe decor - it was just okay - nothing spectacular and certainly not worthy of the price. but, i do rec the lobster ceviche & their pan de queso is addicting. my friend's verde chix was bland ... my xim xim (shrimp and chicken) was better ... but, the steak was the best entree at the table. \r \r next time, i'd go for their cocktails and wine before/after a movie or shopping. Pros: lobster ceviche! Cons: reeeally salty food more

Apparently our expectations were too high for De La Costa. Unlike the review we had read, the atmosphere is just ok, there was not a DJ spinning the latest music, in fact, the music was somewhat bad, and most importantly, our appetizers were inedible. Main courses were an improvement, flavors were good, but the meat was somewhat dry. You can find better food in Chicago for a lot less money and if you are going to spend this much, there are much better restaurants. One positive note, their desserts were very good and reasonably priced. Pros: views from bar, desserts, service Cons: pricey, some bad tasting items more