Next Restaurant

One of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I had some of the best food I’ve had in my life here. The presentation and the creativity with the flavors of the food was unbeatable. I would come here every year just to see the new menu items. It was such an incredible experience. The non alcoholic beverage pairing was well worth it to me. It was just as creative as the food. Highly HIGHLY recommend the splurge!

Next offers more than just a dinner. They tell a story through food (and wine pairings if you opt to add this), music and tabletop decor. There were dishes that smoked, items you broke with a hammer, and more than one dessert course. I have been wanting to experience the brilliance of Grant Achatz for a while now & I am glad I was able to finally do so with the World’s Fair theme. They were even able to escort us over to The Aviary after dinner, which was an unexpected bonus.

The food was 5 stars, but I was very disappointed with service and ambiance. We went for New Years Eve, and it was our first time. We have been to Roister and Alinea previously, and ordered from Next for carry out during the pandemic, so we knew the food would be great. Service was 3 stars, prompt, pleasant and overall fine. We weren’t offered any options to have cocktails and when I expressed that I didn’t enjoy port or dessert wine, I was not presented with any other alternatives. The reason I cannot give this restaurant a better rating is the restrooms. I was mortified to have to use their restrooms. There was unknown fluids all over the bathroom floors, paper towels every where and overall disgusting. I didn’t even want to continue my dinner after using the restroom, they have several private restrooms, and they were all in a state of disarray. Lastly, the ambiance of the restroom was terrible. Everything was beige and the decoration was a rose hanging from the ceiling, it just felt lazy. So overall the food was great, actually a bit much, the ambiance and service were fine, but the bathrooms were so disgusting that I won’t return. Yes, they were that bad, for the price we paid for New Years dinner, I do t want other peoples bodily fluid in the bottom of my shoes.

We went for the 10 year anniversary menu. The staff was fantastic and knowledgeable. The food was, of course, magical. The hospitality was 2nd to none. Get the reserve pairing, it's worth it.

My husband and I went to NEXT to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary. We dined at the kitchen table side table. It was a wonderful experience to see everyone working so systematically. I have an allergy to mussels, in particular, and I believe the head chef called it out loudly in the kitchen and all of the others had to acknowledge that they heard him. Very neat! The ambiance is very romantic! The room was dark and had real roses hanging above the table. The service was awesome! My husband did the wine pairing and server would explain a little about each wine. The servers that bright the food would also tell a story of where the chef found inspiration for each dish. All the servers had a sense of humor and were very accommodating. The food was very good. There were a couple literal explosions of flavor in my mouth and I’m not complaining! However, there were a couple plates that just didn’t “WOW” me taste wise. Also, the last savory dish was so large with all its sides that much of it went to waste as we were already full from the previous dishes. Very unfortunate that most of it went in the trash. My favorite parts of the night were watching them all work in the kitchen, the serving staff and the presentation of the dessert/final tasting! I’d go back just for the dessert! Yum!

Excellent service. Beautiful presentation of food. Most food is delicious. But 3 of our 9 dishes were extremely salty.. at first I thought it was just me but I was with 3 other people and we all agreed that those 3 courses were REALLY salty. Over all it was a nice experience but personally I would probably not go back. Thankfully Chicago has an extensive selection of top restaurants at about the same price range or even lower

We had the 10th Anniversary menu. It’s an interesting dining experience in the kitchen table to have a private room with the view of the kitchen. The food was well executed but in general pretty salty and too strong without wine pairing. The staff team was not passionate when introducing the food, which was pretty rare in other fine dining restaurants. Also, some staff were professional but cold or even impatient, making the experience not as enjoyable as it should be. Felt disappointed.

Upon hearing that Next has a 10 year anniversary menu, highlighting some of the best dishes of the previous 10 years including Alinea, my wife and I decided to check it out. My expectations were set pretty high, and though there were stumbles, Next achieved those expectations. When we arrived to Next, we were greeted by a friendly host that checked our coats, and were then promptly escorted to our table. The space was equal parts modern and intimate, providing a good ambiance for a large group of friends or a date night. Dinner opened with a bright and fresh Atlantic salmon cornet that tasted as if the fish was pulled out of the water just a few hours before. The second dish was a cauliflower cous cous, explained as a "choose your own adventure" type of dish, and though most of the flavors worked, there was a particular flavor that was a bit too intense for my palette. The other noteworthy part of the dish was the olive that was served on the side, as it was particularly great. After that was the child-like interpretation of fish and chips, which was wonderful in taste and presentation; it was executed perfectly to what it was attempting to achieve, including the way the non-alcoholic pairing was brought to the table. The next set of dishes was easily the highlight of the meal for me. Starting with the sturgeon and caviar, this dish was perfectly cooked and perfectly balanced, with the rich, buttery sturgeon complementing the saltiness of the caviar. The next dish was an add-on, a white truffle agnolotti, with an abundance of flavor and a bountiful amount of white truffle served on top; it was absolutely decadent, though, steep in terms of pricing. The white truffle dish was followed by the black truffle explosion, which was an excellent duality in flavors. The black truffle further accentuated the earthy aspect of both dishes, and set us up for the main proteins of the evening. Unfortunately, the ascension and momentum the meal had going came to a halt at this point. Immediately following the triumphant trio of dishes was a squab dish. I appreciate the unique presentation of the dish, but it was unappetizing to me, and this translated to the overall taste. The naan foie gras did not have much of a positive impact to my taste buds either. It was the low point of dinner, but, the redeeming factor was the cook on the squab, as it was glistening and moist. The last of the savory dishes was the Chicago steak. In terms of presentation, it was presented as it would be at a steakhouse, with the main steak having a variety of acommpaniments, sauces, and coarse salt for seasoning. It was a huge amount of food and it could have almost been an entire meal in itself, no complaints from me as we got to take some home. The steak itself was good, tender to the cut and bite, however, it was a do-it-yourself seasoning as by itself, there was little seasoning, but the steak sauce and bearnaise sauce did elevate it. The side salad was good, the baked potato-esque side was okay, and the onions had too much of an alcoholic taste to them to really enjoy. Overall, a good dish, but with faults. Luckily, the desserts remained, and both were fantastic. Cheesecake came first, and it is hands down the best cheesecake I've ever had. It was a velvety heaven, with the cheese flavor being pronounced, yet, not overbearing. Extra kudos for being presented by itself with nothing else, as it is a confident and bold statement that it truly backed up. The last dish of the night, in contrast, was a theatrical conclusion, with the plating itself being part of the magic; a true joy to see in person. It is a dish that requires being eaten with all of the flavors mixed together, as some components were heavy-handed when eaten alone (such as the marscapone ice cream). Overall, this was the perfect bow to end the night with. To sum the dinner, Next was a great dining experience, and one that I would recommend. It had peaks and valleys, but the former outweighed the latter, providing rare glimpses of culinary ingenuity that are worth the trip!