Girl & The Goat (Chicago)

After hearing so much about the Girl & The Goat, I finally made it! It’s awesome that an amazing restaurant like this is still innovating and offering great food for more than 15 years. It’s no wonder that other restauranteurs have followed suit and established this area as restaurant row in the West Loop. Since we were all looking forward to this reservation, we made sure to try as many things as we could. We ordered multiple items that are to be shared family style. We opted for the pita & dips, chickpea fritters, sautéed green beans, roasted asparagus, pan roasted halibut, and sticky glazed pork shank. Their house Manhattan was a little sweeter than I’m used to, but it was delicious, and my mom thoroughly enjoyed her espresso martini. Since three out of the four of us were celebrating birthdays, the staff even surprised us with a sweet treat to end the meal. The interior of the restaurant was dimly lit and inviting. It was a total vibe. However, the weather was perfect so I was happy. They had a wonderful patio option. Their staff was absolutely top-notch.

I've loved Girl & The Goat since my very first experience for my birthday six years ago. I've loved it so much that I've taken each of my coworkers in town from San Francisco, every March for the past three years. I've loved it so much that, this year, after moving to DC, I flew back to Chicago just to share the experience with my coworker who came to town. I've loved it so much—until that experience. The top-three things that have made this restaurant my favorite in Chicago have been the quality of food, the consistency, and the service. All three were lacking this time around, but the absolute most disappointing was the service. This used to be a dining experience, with the staff as thoughtful guides. This time around felt reminiscent of the churn and burn of a Cheesecake Factory on a Saturday night. We weren't guests, we were customers, transactions. The love and care that previously went into the experience was a distant memory and the dishes were dropped at our table at an uncomfortably fast pace, sometimes with the name of the dish, sometimes without; sometimes three at a time. We ordered five dishes in total and we were done within the hour. The quality of food was still good, but not as great as it had consistently been. The pig face was exceptional as always. The green beans were noticeably undercooked, void of the depth of flavor they're known for. Everything else was tasty enough, but unfortunately soured but the overall experience. I left slightly stunned and overwhelmingly saddened that this was the last meaningful food memory of a city I gave six years of my life.

We had heard great things about this restaurant so we scheduled our visit a couple of months in advance of coming to Chicago. It did not disappoint. The food had such a unique blend of textures and flavors. At my age it is difficult to excite me about flavors, but I was. Our server, Jasmine was friendly , patient, personable and menu knowledgeable. She was awesome. If you are will to take a little food adventure then this is the place , yet not over the top at all. . Meat and potatoes it is not. And to top it all off the prices were reasonable considering it is part of a big city. Enjoy!

Had to try out Girl & the Goat! Two of us ordered: glass coste sauv blanc $17 glass educated guess chard $17 green garlic brioche $16 green beans $20 halibut $37 skirt steak $40 roasted pig face $27 4% surcharge Booked a reservation in advance for an earlier dinner. Flavors were good, though a bit on the saltier side throughout. Overall, smaller dishes. Would probably pass on the brioche.