Fountainhead Rooftop Garden - Chicago

I went on a few dates here both before I met my wife and with my wife and this place was always one of my favorite spots in the city. I was honestly heartbroken when I found out they closed down. I moved closer to this establishment as I was one of the COVID surge homebuyers but alas this establishment did not survive the pandemic. I do enjoy there little market but there market is not a game changer like I felt like there actual Gastropub was. If a comeback is at all possible please reconsider owners.

Fountainhead was open for carryout during the pandemic and now their rooftop is open. FH is a gastropub and is known for their rooftop. They also have an extensive bourbon list, which is why it's on my radar. I ordered the Manhattan Cocktail Kit and the Fountainhead Burger. The cocktail package was pretty cool. I believe it was $50, which came with a 750mL bottle of Buffalo Trace FH barrel pick, vermouth, angostura bitters, and one serving of fresh cherries. So the price isn't too expensive. I wish they would give you a jar of cherries instead of one serving of cherries so you can make more Manhattans. The burger had a lot of toppings on it and it was slightly above average. The cheese was good, but overwhelming. The bun was soft and oily. The burger patty was the biggest disappointment. It really lacked flavor and it was dry. Again this was carryout so I expect it to be much better in the restaurant. The fries were crispy, but only average. Food prices are decent and the burger was a good portion. The best part was the Manhattan Cocktail Kit, which I thought was worth the price. Food was meh, but it was carryout. During normal times, they had a special for half off Whiskeys (I believe on Wednesdays), which is an awesome deal. When they had their bourbon list on their website, prices were above average, but there were some good deals and they have some rare ones. I will have to come back and try out the rooftop sometime!

I'm so bummed Fountainhead is closing. I have been going here for six years. When I heard that they will be closing in mid-November I immediately made a reservation for their rooftop. As per usual not disappointed. I treated myself to some ten year Whistle Pig, because why wouldn't I? The cheeseburger was cooked perfectly medium. They put the cheese sauce in a little creamer pourer, which I loved. I used the cheese judiciously for the burger making every bite perfect. The Mussels had some kick! That was a nice surprise, because my friend who was with me hates heat. So this fatty got to go ham on the Mussels, broth, and bread. Service was awesome. The Covid ordering and payment was all through my phone. Go here if you can before they say goodbye. Their spirits menu is one of the best in the city, and my spirit will be broken when they close their doors.

I'm really only giving Fountainhead three stars due to a decent experience downstairs. Upstairs probably deserves a one or two star rating. We came to Fountainhead on a whim as it was on of the first nice days in a while. We were quoted a 1 hour wait for the rooftop, which was expected, given the fact that it was dinner time and a beautiful night. We decided to get an appetizer and a drink downstairs during the wait. We were seated at the bar and both bartenders were fantastic! They were attentive to our needs and were friendly. We went with the cheese curds, which was probably the best thing I ate that night. Lucky for us, the one hour wait ended up being more like 35 minutes. This is where the night took a turn for the worse. The other reviews were spot on that the service on the rooftop was HORRIBLE. Literally some of the worst I have seen. It took almost 20 min to order and get our first drink (I ordered a vodka/soda and my husband a beer). The waitress didn't even take our food order after she dropped our drinks off. Another 20 minutes later, we managed to place our order. I got the fried chicken and my husband ordered the shrimp roll. The food took another 30 or 40 minutes before we finally received it. You could tell it was ready a while before it was dropped at the table because it was already cold when we got it. The chicken was average at best and the Mac and cheese was flavorless. It took us another 30 minutes to flag our waitress for a second drink and our check. She eventually dropped both off but then never came by to cash us out. I think after 20 minutes of waiting, we finally gave up and walked to the bar to pay our tab. She did finally stop by to ask us how we were doing, but never once apologized for the wait. If we come back here, I really hope it's not the same experience.

This place should be able to get such a better review. GREAT location, engaging decor, nice space to enjoy dinner with another couple, really excellent beer list that I would love to sample further. If I had just gone here to have beers, I would have been impressed and likely given it a 4 or 5 depending on how many beers I had, and how good they were along with the service. But we didn 't just go in for beers, we came to eat AND drink a few beers. And it is not that the food was bad, it was tasty. I liked the charcuterie board, we all thought it had some tasty selections. It was a very positive start. But then my meal, grilled spanish octupus, was brought out. This was a meal? Are you F*ing kidding me? SEVENTEEN DOLLARS??? Sure, it tasted great, and would have been wonderful as part of a 6 course meal, or even a $7 appetizer. But the paltry serving size was a $17 embarrassment. It was not a meal, it was merely an enticement. Two more of my party felt the same about their serving sizes as well, for two other menu items. Just not what you expect at a beverage destination pub for dinner. Thankfully, half an FH burger that another in our party had was my savior. The woman who ordered it only ate half, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I 'm not one who is a huge mushroom fan, so I wasn 't sure I would like the mushroom condiment that it is served with. Wrong. It was a very tasty burger, prepared as requested. It was delectable, if a just a bit overpriced at $15. This place needs to decide what it is. Pub with outstanding beer list and a meal to match beer drinking, OR, a fine dining restaurant with delicate serving sizes that are really tasty and high end. Both types of places work in Chicago. The hybrid here is a fail if you ask me. Don 't call yourself a beverage destination and not have the meal to match that. Will I go back. For beer, yeah. I would love to have a session going through a few of their beer selections while sitting in the back bar area with a seating area that overlooks the bar from the back room. Go back for a meal? Not so much. You can get a heartier, and equally tasty meal for the same dollars in lots of other pubs, even high end ones, in this town.