The first Chicagoan to appear on the wildly popular reality show "Top Chef," Dale Levitski is known for his soulful yet sophisticated comfort foods, bold spicing, game and braised specialties, playful reinterpretations of forgotten classics, and striking plate presentations. He has a love for sauces, so expect deep and complex flavors accenting the plate. Big on taste sensations, Levitski is a student of flavor math, a method he uses to calculate his perfect balance of taste, texture and temperature in a dish. His ala carte and tasting menus spark diner's imaginations with descriptions deconstructed down to the flavor notes and key ingredients.
Sprout's intimate setting offers upscale dining with a relax-your-shoulders vibe.
"The food is very good and somewhat experimental. Everything is cooked perfectly. We have been there several times and it is never as crowed as I would hope - would be good to have a bit more energy. The service is very professional and friendly and it has a very welcoming atmosphere. Although the food is exceptional, you can go in wearing nice jeans / casual clothers and still feel very welcome."
Dined on 5/17/2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem
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"Our first visit to Sprout was a memorable one. The food was fresh and beautifully presented. On the pricey side, so more of a celebration destination. Our server was well spoken and friendly."
Dined on 5/12/2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion
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"Wine and cocktails were great and paired well with the food. The service was excellent as our servers were attentive and knowledgable, but not overbearing. The food, however, was the true highlight of the evening. It was clean, fresh, and tasty. I would highly recommend heading to Sprout for a nice night out of delicious food and beverage."
Dined on 04/26/2013
2012
Special Features: fit for foodies, notable wine list, special occasion
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"Food was quite good, but our service was terrible. It took 15 minutes once seated for our server to greet us and ask if we wanted anything to drink. Once we ordered our drinks, it took another 15 minutes for the drinks to arrive. And mind you, the restaurant was quite empty at 7pm on a Saturday night - maybe 8 tables had people dining. So this was not a matter of the restaurant being too busy, just lousy service. And throughout the meal the server was just not very friendly, almost like she didn't want to be there.
We really had high hopes for Sprout, and despite the food being quite good, the awful service really left a bad taste in our mouth. Hope others have better luck than ours."
Dined on 03/30/2013
2007
Special Features: fit for foodies
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"My wife and I were looking for a place to dine on Open Table and decided to try Sprout.Things got off to a decent start although getting drink to the table took too long. The food was absolutely average, nothing that wowed us at all. Again, the wine pours were slow to get to us and empty glasses sat for too long on the table. Close to the end of dinner one of my wife's final pours of wine was horribly corked. When mentioning this to the waiter he made it apparent that he didn't agree but said he would "make it right"...I collect wine, I invest in wine, I have worked crush at several wineries out west...in other words, I drink a lot of wine :) I was a bit annoyed at his response. He never came back to the table."
Dined on 04/20/2013
2010
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"First time in Chicago and first restaurant we tried - were not disappointed. I would recommend this place to anyone looking for a nice evening experience, especially good for romantic evenings and special occasions. The food was delicious and well presented and the ambiance was perfect for our birthday date/dinner."
Dined on 04/19/2013
2013
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion
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"Every time I eat at Sprout I am rewarded with a diverse and exciting menu and exceptional service. My boyfriend and I have dined here a number of times since its opening, and we frequently recommend it to our friends and family. The Prix Fixe menu has something for everyone and the cheese course may be the best course I've ever eaten-- it remains the same each time for a reason. Go here. Eat. Enjoy."
Dined on 04/17/2013
2011
Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion
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"I took my fiance to dinner here as a surprise before taking her to see the Mowgli's play at Schuba's later that night. It was the worst most expensive meal I think I've ever had, and I'm a very forgiving person. I can't decide what the worst part was -- the service, the atmosphere, or the food... So let's just start with the service.
We arrived for our 8pm reservation at 8 on the dot and were promptly seated. 15 minutes later we still had not had a server so much as greet us. I went up and politely asked the host to make sure the server was aware we were there. The waitress came to our table pretty much right after that and was one of the more unpleasant servers I've ever had especially considering how expensive the restaurant is."
Dined on 04/12/2013
2009
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"Sprout is fantastic. Great wine selection. Excellent food. Nice little surprises with the tasting menu. The only negative was their signature grilled cheese which is far too greasy and heavy to substitute for a cheese course. If I wanted a grilled cheese sandwich I'd go to a diner."
Dined on 04/06/2013
2007
Special Features: fit for foodies, special occasion
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"Delightful meal. Creative menu that focuses on flavor and quality ingredients. The presentation and the pairings are lovely and never move off into "food theater" like so many others do. I look forward to returning."
Dined on 04/06/2013
2004
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem
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"flavors are lacking in most things. the frog legs, snails and foie was a good concept but it's so under-seasoned it's practically tasteless except for the raw garlic, which should have been cooked and makes the after taste of the dish unappetizing.
The main dish was not what it said on the menu. lamb rack and sausage turns out to be lamb rack and loin, with three spoonful size of tough, hard lamb meatballs that were like bullets.
the desserts were totally forgettable, nothing to write home about.
sorry, guys, you just have to try harder"
Dined on 04/05/2013
2006
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"Delicious, different food. Love the 3 course dinner where you have lots of things to choose between - something for everyone. Some of the food is a bit rich, but all of the flavors are wonderful. Very fairly priced for the high level of food and experience. We were there for almost 3 hours and no one rushed us. Everyone was very nice."
Dined on 03/30/2013
2008
Special Features: fit for foodies, special occasion
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"The dinner, wine, service and ambiance were all top notch. We took the recommendation of our waiter to have the Pre Fixe menu with the Wine Pairing, and he was absolutely right. In addition to the explicit first course, entre and desert of personal choice, the extra intermezzo present between each selection was a wonderful culinary surprise."
Dined on 03/27/2013
2011
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, special occasion
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"Perhaps our expectations were too high. The meal was excellent in every regard but fell short of a "once in a lifetime" experience. Certainly worthy of a recommendation, particularly for the "foodie" type."
Dined on 03/26/2013
2003
Special Features: fit for foodies, special occasion
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"We absolutely love Sprout. We have been there several times before, but we hadn't been there in more than a year. It was so good to come back! The flavor combinations that Chef Dale comes up with are amazing. I wish I could try more things on the menu. We'll be back again soon."
Dined on 03/22/2013
2007
Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion
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"Beautiful,warm and immaculate interior. Bartender was friendly and enagaging as we had a drink while awaiting our guests. Table service was efficient and informed. Three course prixe fixed meal offered plenty of options. While the presentation was visually appealing, everyone in our party of four was either OK or disappointed in the taste of their meal. Restaurant was one-quarter full on a Friday night, not a good sign for the menu."
Dined on 03/22/2013
2010
Special Features: notable wine list
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"Third time @ Sprout. Each time has gotten worse. I have been here several times because I love a good tasting menu. To our dismay, while their website still lists a tasting menu, one is not currently being offered. I almost got up and walked out. Instead, we stayed and ate the worst $150 I have ever had. My chief complaint previously was that there were too many flavors competing in each dish. During this visit, each dish (two appetizers and two entrees for a couple of two) lacked almost all flavor. My duck was dreadful and the meat extremely tough. I was emabarassed to have brought my bf here and won't be back."
Dined on 03/15/2013
2007
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"Since we've been at Froh 'n Snail we wanted to try the chef's other restaurant Sprout. The food choices were interesting but the food quality didn't measure up to the expectations I read about in the reviews."
Dined on 03/09/2013
2009
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"This was our second time dining at Sprout. Last time we left with a "wow"! This time we left with disappointment. The subtlety of the creative flavor combinations just wasn't there. Even plate presentations were sloppy. The worst part of the experience was our "affected" server. I'm sure she was moonlighting as a server, waiting to get her big Hollywood break. Won't go back."
Dined on 03/09/2013
2001
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"A beautiful restaurant but tough location. Food and wine list was extremely overpriced and the food definitely underwhelming. I cold have made a better beet goat cheese salad and mushroom risotto than what I had. I will not be going back. We were also one of three parties in the restaurant - it was odd how empty it was (esp. considering the high prices! Is this place popular enough to warrant such high prices?)"
Dined on 03/07/2013
2007
Special Features: romantic
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"We were there on a Saturday night for a business dinner. The food was good, but the portions were excrutiatingly small. Very upscale and interesting, but also a very short menu. One of our party was a vegetarian and they offered to modify any of the meals to fit her needs. Nice presentations of the foods. Everything was good, just not spectacular."
Dined on 03/02/2013
2006
Special Features: fit for foodies
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"Sprout has some of the very best food in Chicago. And the menu changes and even remain so tempting you might want to come back and back. Moreover, while the tasting creativity might well rival the late great Trotter or Tru, the prices are very reasonable considering the excellence of the food. I had an amazing frog legs/snails in a sauce based on foie gras. My wife had a seafood/seaweed broth that was magnificent. Her main course salmon was magnificent, but I still prefer my lamb.
While this is a restaurant for foodies that can fully appreciate the creativity and artistry, anyone and everyone will much enjoy the cuisine."
Dined on 03/02/2013
2000
Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic, special occasion
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"I was really disappointed by this place. It was our anniversary, a special night, so we had decided to splurge. But truly, I just felt had, because if the food was good, it clearly did not meet the prices on the menu. The worst part was the wine, when the cheapest glass was 13 dollars and was tiny and not good at all!
No wonder the place was empty..."
Dined on 02/22/2013
2009
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"If you can tolerate a menu that doesn't tell you much other than major ingredients and you have a waiter that is reasonably good at describing what you are ordering, this is an excellent place. In our case, we found the waiter's descriptions and attentiveness a bit lacking, but the food more than made up for it."
Dined on 02/14/2013
2005
Special Features: neighborhood gem
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"Overall nice experience. I was expecting to be blown away by the food, but it was just "very nice", not a 10/10. Also, the portions were perfect in size, not too small for a restaurant of this caliber."
Dined on 02/14/2013
2008
Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic
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"Dale Levitski and his team cannot be beat! Thank for you for continually impressing with your inventive creations AND for your commitment to the community. The Sprout team donated their time and food to support my nonprofit, Spark and they also mentor deserving students on how to become the next Top Chef. THANK YOU!"
Dined on 01/20/2013
2007
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, romantic, special occasion, hot spot
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"Really enjoyable meal and overall pleasant experience. Good food - tasting menu was a little too much food - couldn't finish all courses. But service was exceptionally good - from waiter to servers to filling up water - clearing dishes away - not stuffy - friendly - very nice to have such professional waitstaff."
Dined on 02/02/2013
2010
Special Features: neighborhood gem
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"Our second visit was very satisfying. The food was well prepared and the presentation excellent. Portions were a bit small, not uncommon for this type of establishment. Service was excellent. I was not pleased with my drink - however without my saying so, our waiter (Adam, I believe) sensed this and offered an alternative that I enjoyed. My only regret is that the pureed pea Ravioli dish we had on our first visit is no longer on the menu. It was the best pasta I have had in decades."
Dined on 02/01/2013
2010
Special Features: fit for foodies
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