Flatwater

The night at Flatwater for me started about a half-hour before the TravBuddy meetup was to start. I stood on the Clark Street Bridge watching boats, but mainly listening to the fine jazz band across the river play.

There was a large group of us for the meet-up, so we had a long table that was pushed off into the far to one side. It was at times a tight squeeze, and probably not conducive to the number of people we had there.

I ordered a spinach salad. You pay for the location here a bit. As is the case with everything else I've reviewed in Chicago, a big city premium applies to this restaurant. My spinach salad was pretty good. It had some tomatoes, which I do not like and had to pick off one-by-one, and some bacon. It was topped with a poached egg. Very well done, very tasty, nice combination of tastes and textures.

As it was a Friday night things got pretty crowded. Some people were just there to be at the bar and drink, and some were there to eat. Boaters came up and tied their boats up nearby and climbed up into the area to eat or drink. A great atmosphere and a great time, especially if the weather cooperates. It can also be a good starting point if you want to go to another nearby establishment.

This was the setting for our TravBuddy meet-up dinner. Fantastic location, right on the edge of the Chicago River. It was nice watching the boats going up and down the river. We even saw a group of kayakers!! As day turned into night, we were treated to magnificent views of the sky's colors reflecting off the tall buildings.

Flatwater is trying to portray itself as the hip place to be. The small interior is dimly lit and decorated in cold colors. The bar was packed and every dining table was occupied. Obviously a popular place. They don't have an extensive menu but there are enough choices to please everybody. Everybody at the meet-up seemed to enjoy their food. I was boring and had an angus cheeseburger. But it was very good.

Here are my negatives about the restaurant. It is too crowded. The tables are too close together and with so many people, it gets very loud and makes it difficult to have a conversation. We were seated along a wall by the river where boats tied up. People were climbing around us to get in and out of their boats. Irritating. Then we were asked to leave when our dinner was over in order for them to use the tables for other parties. What??? That wasn't cool.

Overall, I had a nice time at dinner. Would I go back there? Probably not, but mainly because there are so many other restaurants in Chicago. There wasn't anything exceptional that would make me return.