Girl & The Goat

Food is always great. Nice staff. Good beers. ambiance is spot on. Would definitely go back and highly recommend it.

For starters, this is a good restaurant. Nearly every dish is different, pretty inventive, and notable. However, they do something that more and more restaurants do: smaller, lower calorie portions with a "shareable" tag, and that means you have to order more, spend more to be full. In the end, adding drinks, dessert, etc. you get a bill that is, frankly, a whopper. For $400 and 4 people, I KNOW we can do better in Chicago. So, unless you can get your firm / boss to foot the bill, there are many, MANY better options, in the same neighborhood. I honestly felt underwhelmed for what I paid, and it felt like the prices were over the top. read the reviews carefully. They all touch on this in multiple ways.

BTW, the elote (corn) is really good, and should cost very little to make. It's also slippery, and it must be eaten with the hands. One member of our partly tried to shave the kernels, only to have the cob slip from the plate onto the floor. That alone is ok. It's an accident. What you don't want is to go to a restaurant and feel like you just lost a chunk of money because that happened. Here's a hint to the girl and the goat: please consider some cheap bamboo skewers so people can hold it and eat it.

This review is specific to a private event with the California Fig Advisory where we had a customized menu highlighting figs as our event & menu theme.

After going down some stairs, passing the restrooms, storage doors and even an exclusive staff only security door, we were brought to a dimly lit, secret room. It was beautiful, quiet and perfect for our dinner away from the loud, bustling main dining room upstairs.

For each course, we were presented with figs prepared in various ways. Everything from a fig mostarda, fig & olive oil vinaigrette, sliced figs in salad, stuffed figs, cooked & spiced figs, fig sauce, and caramelized figs were represented. Each course was beautifully presented, as seen in the pictures below. I thought everything tasted wonderful, given the focus of incorporating figs. The service, food, and ambiance for the entire event was outstanding!

- Pretzel Ring Bread whipped butter & fig mostarda

- Goat Carpaccio w/fig, olive oil vinaigrette & smoked whitefish roe
paired with '08 Lemelson Six Vineyards Williamette Valley Pinot Noir

- Kohlrabi Salad w/mission figs, queso de mano & ginger maple dressing
paired with '09 Graham Beck South Africa Chenin Blanc

- Escargot Stuffed Figs w/smoked tomato, bacon & mizuna
paired with '07 Conde de San Cristobal

- Grilled Baby Octopus w/guanciale, wax beans, radish, favas, pistachio-lemon vinaigrette

- Green Beans w/fish sauce vinaigrette & cashews

- Seared Scallop w/smoked goat, spiced figs & cucumber
paired with '07 Larachette Manciat Les Vielles Vignes Pouilly-Fuisse

- Rogue Smokey Blue Cheese w/fig sauce & Marcona almond florentine
paired with '08 Hedges Family Estate Mountain Cab-Merlot

- Pork Fat Donuts w/caramelized figs & candied eggplant
paired with NY Louis Boillot Crement de Bourgogne Blanc de Blancs

Every dish was delightful, but I absolutely loveddd the strawberries and cream semifreddo (this is special since I generally prefer savory dishes). The roasted pig face had a wonderful crunch to it with the potato sticks beneath the pig cheek. The sautéed green beans were also flavorful, but perhaps a bit on the saltier side.

The bartenders were also attentive despite a busy night!

Where do I even begin? Let's start with the "sharing sizes". My husband and I ordered the sichuan salad and it was barely enough for one adult, let alone two adults. Our reservation was for 745 and we received our brioche at 830, and the salad at 845. It's now 918 and the branzino just arrived. Sigh. The ambiance is frenetic-loud music and loud speaking. I was easily overstimulated.

Overall, a mediocre experience for an exceptional price tag. Do not dine here if you're hungry!

A must try if you're visiting Chicago or wanting a nice date night! Easily can make reservations online. We were a group of 4 and for dinner time we shared 7 dishes because everything is family style.

Salmon Poke: 9/10 (simple but perfectly executed!)
Goat Empanadas: 7/10 (wish there was more goat meat, not gamey at all)
Naan and Dips: 5/10 (nothing new)
Sautéed green beans: 6/10 (great aroma but waaaayyy too salty)
Halibut: 9.5/10 (must get!!!)
Pork Belly: 9/10 (very delicious)
Chickpea fritters: 8/10 (perfect Mediterranean blend)

Apparently the halibut is seasonal for the summer so you must get it! It was cooked perfectly and the blueberry complemented it so well. Our waiter was excellent in his recommendations and the vibe was great.

This restaurant is worth the high reviews overall!

Overall, good bites, but definitely very pricey. Marketed as "sharable bites" there are definitely some dishes that are very small (might need two plates) to share. Expect to spend a decent amount, but the quality is good (minus the dish below). All the dishes were different, but our favorites were the pork belly and pork face! Very rich and homey.

The low stars is because 1) the green beans (which they are known for) was definitely over salted. My friends had visited them before and was surprised by this dish they had again ( probably an off night?). I was dissappinted. 2) Also, there is a weird optional surcharge (4%) in some places in Chicago. When I asked for it to be removed, the waiter agreed, but when they came back, it was still on. Why make it optional and not just a surcharge? Very confused.

The ambiance on the inside is very nice, but it gets very busy, so it would be best to make a reservation.
Service here is fast, but because of the size of the dishes, pacing is a little off.

Food overview:
The espresso martini 4 of 5 [not on the actual menu]
Chili Crab Noodles: 3 of 5
Chicken Skewers: 5 of 5
Crispy Short Ribs 4.5 of 5

The chili crab noodles were unique but underwhelming for the price, and I would only recommend if you just want to try the dish. [It's basically a fried whole crab with a chili sauce, noodles, and strawberries].

The chicken skewers are probably the best bang for your buck for price and flavor. The seasoning on the chicken is delicious and combines flawlessly with the mushroom oil and cashew butter.

Finally, the crispy short rib. This definitely packs the most flavor for sure, but it leaves you wanting more since there are on 5 or so pieces. But the chili crunch and pineapple do elevate and carry the dish.

The earliest reservation that I could get was 8:15, and it was still super packed at that hour. We had to wait 20 minutes to be seated, which was a bit annoying, but the restaurant generously compensated our wait by giving us a free beer brioche appetizer.

My table ordered a whole array of dishes, as Girl & The Goat is a family style restaurant - the naan, Szechuan tomato salad, green beans, pig face, crab noodles, pork shank, shrimp salad, and the goat belly.

There wasn't one dish that I didn't like, and most of them were phenomenal. My favorites were the green beans, pig face, and pork shank. They definitely don't skimp out on salt, but oh my gosh it tastes so good.

You'll be paying a fortune to eat here, but the food is wonderful.

I am not exaggerating when I say this is my favorite restaurant ever. I've dined here every time I've visited Chicago and the food is always top notch. Most recently, I came with friends for dinner on a Friday. We made a reservation about a week in advance so seating was quick and easy. Service was amazing-they never let me have an empty water glass. The ambiance is great for a date night or an intimate gathering.

We ordered so many dishes including:
- beer brioche
- green beans (my favorite!! a classic must try)
- roasted baby squash
- chili crabby noodles
- roasted pig face
- sticky glazed pork shank

Everything is beautifully plated and exceptionally delicious. My personal favorites are the green beans, pig face, and pork shank. The meat on the pork shank is so tender and falls off the bone.

For dessert we got:
- yuzu coconut milk cake
- hazelnut praline sundae
- strawberries and cream semifreddo

They were all scrumptious but the yuzu coconut milk cake was a stand out. Such a perfect combination of textures and flavors.

I think this place is best enjoyed in a group of 4 because you can try a bunch of dishes but it still doesn't feel too crowded. Cannot say enough good things about this restaurant. You just need to try it!!

This was my first time here and it did not disappoint! Food was absolutely delicious. I came here with another foodie friend and we wanted to try everything, but settled for green beans, pork shank, halibut and branzino. Beans were soooo full of flavor. They were a bit on a salty side which I loved, because usually dishes don't have enough salt. Halibut was delicious as well. Branzino was my absolute favorite. It was cooked to perfection and the slaw that came with us was the star of the dish. I wish I could buy that slaw by the pound. It was perfect now of spicy and acidic.
Pork shank came out last, by that time we were stuffed. We still tried a bite and it was so tender with a touch of sweetness.
I would definitely be back next time I'm in town!