A short stay in Chicago that started with lightning and tornado warnings and torrential rain unfortunately finished on a similar note. This meant that the walk to GT Fish & Oyster bar involved trying to avoid the heavy bursts of rain while enjoying the view Chicago’s mix of skyscrapers. Dodging the worst of the cloudbursts wasn’t too successful so I was fairly drenched by the time I got to the restaurant.

Guiseppe Trentori (GT), originally from Milan, has been active in the Chicago restaurant scene since starting as a sous-chef at Gabriel’s Restaurant and then Charlie Trotter’s. He is the Executive chef at Boka in addition to GT Fish & Oyster.

Although it is possible to reserve a table, I turned up hoping to get a seat. The restaurant was already buzzing and busy so the wait for a table would have been about an hour. However, there was the additional option of waiting by the bar to grab a seat there on a first come first served basis.

The menu is a mixture of hot and cold dishes of varying sizes with an obvious emphasis on fish although a few meat options are available. With no real structure to the menu, the barman was happy to accept orders any time you felt ready to move onto a new course. Starter was a foie gras and shrimp terrine served with pickled onion, apricot chutney and Szechuan peppercorn. Each slice of the terrine was served on a piece of toast and garnished with flat-leaf parsley. The rich foie gras was the dominant partner in the terrine and was really lovely. The shrimp was more muted but had a good flavour by itself. In combination the salty shrimp and foie gras were good although they benefitted further from the the vinegary push of the pickled onions and sweeter chutney. 

Next up was the oyster po’boy slider with kimchi and peanuts. The cornmeal coated oyster and kimchi combination was delicious, especially with the lingering burn from the kimchi. The soft bun was not great but the overall impression was more than satisfactory because the filling was so good.

The main course was another winner. Alaskan halibut with basil and pea broth, roasted fennel and squid ink couscous worked really well. The steamed fish flaked apart nicely with the fork and had an excellent flavour. The broth was good by itself but when it combined with the couscous the whole took on an almost liquorice flavour. The star of the dish was the couscous with its luscious yet gentle squid flavour. 

Dessert was pecan pie with orange mascarpone and Burton’s maple syrup ice cream. The pecan and almond paste pie filling was delicious and not oversweet but overall it suffered from a high pastry to filling ratio. The blend of the intense orange mascarpone with the nuts was good but the highlight of the dish was the ice cream. 

Overall verdict.
I liked GT Oyster Bar a lot. The service was the friendliest I’d seen in Chicago and food was good.

Would I revisit GT Fish & Oyster Bar?
I’d be very happy to go back any time. Many items of the menu sounded good although I’d happily eat the same things again with the oyster/kimchi a particular craving.

Overall Rating - 4/5