Bin 36, Chicago

My husband and I just happened into Bin 36 after a day of shopping in the first snow storm of the season, which was an exciting and rare occurance for us because we are from the very warm city of Houston. Our intent was to grab a botttle of wine to relax in our room at the Westin Hotel, across the street from Bin 36 before going to a nice dinner on our last night in the beautiful city of Chicago. As we were looking at the wines for purchase, Dan, the General Manager appeared to talk to us about the wines. Before we knew it, he had samples of his wines in our hands and we were seated in a comfy setting. We had no reason to go any where else,as there was wonderful food, excellent wine and very personal attention from both Dan and Brian. Brian's attention to us and his willingness to share his knowledge and passion for his wines was some thing a patron does not often get. As he joined us at our table for a time we engaged in a conversation about wines all over the world. All the while we had a very enjoyable dinner of warm celery root soup and delicious cheeses, meats,and olives. We give Bin 36 5 stars stars for their wines and hospitality and will be asking for Bin 36 wines in our home town and in our travels.

Was there in December of 2007. Ordered Salmon and began waiting. After some heartfelt apologies for slow preparation, I received my meal 30 minutes after ordering. My salmon was room temperature and tasted awful. Two bites, and I was sure it was no good. For the rest of the week I was sick. I'll never go back. I wasted my entire business trip making frequent and violent trips to the restroom. I shouldhave known better that to order anything other than beef or pork in Chicago.

Stop in at the cheese bar and order a cheese plate of 4 fine cheeses to sip with your wine.

This is a very nice restaurant. You don't have to be thrown off by the fact of not being knowledgeable of wine your waiter will recommend which type will go best with your meal.

We went to Bin 36 on a Sunday with reservations at 6:30pm. The place was practically empty despite what I had read and expected. The host sat us immediately in the Cellar and the server approached our table shortly afterwards. She gave us the evening's specials and went over the flights and wine selection. I customized my flight and my date chose a standard flight offering. While waiting for her to take our orders, we examined the modern and clean d�cor. It was modern without being pretentious and actually quite cozy. The chairs were For my starter, I chose the summer fig & apricot terrine served with foie gras and salad. The terrine was absolutely adorable and the foie gras was luxuriously tasty. Being that it is illegal to sell foie gras in Chicago, I really enjoyed this treat. The salad was seasoned perfectly and my first wine really shocked me. It started strong, earthy and blunt but mellowed out into rounded out bursts of flavors. I don�t remember the wine by name but I know it on the menu. For my entr�e, I ordered the Saut�ed Georges Bank Scallops accompanied by saffron poached fingerling potatoes, sweet corn succotash and saffron butter. The scallops were pan-seared to perfection. The potatoes were amazing, but I did not taste the saffron. I finished my serving and worked on the other two wines I chose in my flight. One was a sparkling wine and the other a white. They were interesting, but nothing I would remember or request again. At the end of my meal, I tried out the last wine which was a 2004 Gew�rztraminer. It was absolutely amazing. We decided to forego dessert, but this wine would have went perfect with something sweet. I fell in love with the wine and upon leaving grabbed a bottle of it in the marketplace. My date grabbed him a bottle as well. The service at Bin 36 was perfect and the wait staff is very patient, friendly and not pretentious or condescending at all. The manager came over to guide me on my wine choices for my customized flight and explained which wines to drink for the courses. He also came over to my table when my date looked confused while eating. He was very helpful and I loved that about the service. My date didn�t like all of the attention the manager, host and server gave me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the attention. I plan to return this weekend and also the following weekend. I�ll be purchasing a membership and this will easily become one of my favorite spots to dine. The prices are ridiculously low in relation to what you actually get.......my dinner total was just a hair over $100. I couldn't beleive it.

Bin 36 was a totally new experience for me. I'm certainly a wine novice, but the very helpful and friendly staff made sure I didn't feel like a total idot lol. I enjoyed the overall experience, the menu is different from what I'm use to, but it is affordable. The wine selections are plentyful. And the overall layout and atmosphere is pleasant!

We went to Bin 36 on a Sunday with reservations at 6:30pm. The place was practically empty despite what I had read and expected. The host sat us immediately in the Cellar and the server approached our table shortly afterwards. She gave us the evening?s specials and went over the flights and wine selection. I customized my flight and my date chose a standard flight offering. While waiting for her to take our orders, we examined the modern and clean d�r. It was modern without being pretentious and actually quite cozy. The chairs were For my starter, I chose the summer fig & apricot terrine served with foie gras and salad. The terrine was absolutely adorable and the foie gras was luxuriously tasty. Being that it is illegal to sell foie gras in Chicago, I really enjoyed this treat. The salad was seasoned perfectly and my first wine really shocked me. It started strong, earthy and blunt but mellowed out into rounded out bursts of flavors. I don?t remember the wine by name but I know it on the menu. For my entr�� I ordered the Saut� Georges Bank Scallops accompanied by saffron poached fingerling potatoes, sweet corn succotash and saffron butter. The scallops were pan-seared to perfection. The potatoes were amazing, but I did not taste the saffron. I finished my serving and worked on the other two wines I chose in my flight. One was a sparkling wine and the other a white. They were interesting, but nothing I would remember or request again. At the end of my meal, I tried out the last wine which was a 2004 Gew?miner. It was absolutely amazing. We decided to forego dessert, but this wine would have went perfect with something sweet. I fell in love with the wine and upon leaving grabbed a bottle of it in the marketplace. My date grabbed him a bottle as well. The service at Bin 36 was perfect and the wait staff is very patient, friendly and not pretentious or condescending at all. The manager came over to guide me on my wine choices for my customized flight and explained which wines to drink for the courses. He also came over to my table when my date looked confused while eating. He was very helpful and I loved that about the service. My date didn?t like all of the attention the manager, host and server gave me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the attention. I plan to return this weekend and also the following weekend. I?ll be purchasing a membership and this will easily become one of my favorite spots to dine. The prices are ridiculously low in relation to what you actually get.......my dinner total was just a hair over $100. I couldn't beleive it.

We went to Bin 36 on a Sunday with reservations at 6:30pm. The place was practically empty despite what I had read and expected. The host sat us immediately in the Cellar and the server approached our table shortly afterwards. She gave us the evening�s specials and went over the flights and wine selection. I customized my flight and my date chose a standard flight offering. While waiting for her to take our orders, we examined the modern and clean d�cor. It was modern without being pretentious and actually quite cozy. The chairs were For my starter, I chose the summer fig & apricot terrine served with foie gras and salad. The terrine was absolutely adorable and the foie gras was luxuriously tasty. Being that it is illegal to sell foie gras in Chicago, I really enjoyed this treat. The salad was seasoned perfectly and my first wine really shocked me. It started strong, earthy and blunt but mellowed out into rounded out bursts of flavors. I don�t remember the wine by name but I know it on the menu. For my entr�e, I ordered the Saut�ed Georges Bank Scallops accompanied by saffron poached fingerling potatoes, sweet corn succotash and saffron butter. The scallops were pan-seared to perfection. The potatoes were amazing, but I did not taste the saffron. I finished my serving and worked on the other two wines I chose in my flight. One was a sparkling wine and the other a white. They were interesting, but nothing I would remember or request again. At the end of my meal, I tried out the last wine which was a 2004 Gew�rztraminer. It was absolutely amazing. We decided to forego dessert, but this wine would have went perfect with something sweet. I fell in love with the wine and upon leaving grabbed a bottle of it in the marketplace. My date grabbed him a bottle as well. The service at Bin 36 was perfect and the wait staff is very patient, friendly and not pretentious or condescending at all. The manager came over to guide me on my wine choices for my customized flight and explained which wines to drink for the courses. He also came over to my table when my date looked confused while eating. He was very helpful and I loved that about the service. My date didn�t like all of the attention the manager, host and server gave me, but I thoroughly enjoyed the attention. I plan to return this weekend and also the following weekend. I�ll be purchasing a membership and this will easily become one of my favorite spots to dine. The prices are ridiculously low in relation to what you actually get.......my dinner total was just a hair over $100. I couldn't beleive it.