Sepia

As the last dinner of Gabe's visit, we went to Sepia, another contemporary American restaurant in Chicago. We had so many other options for our dinner date during his visit, but apparently a ton of restaurants close for vacation in the beginning of January, which was a bit of a disappointment. We ended up having to settle with Sepia, however I am not disappointed by that choice at all. My attention was caught when I came across their beautiful website. The music and design had a certain allure about it that screamed romantic but casual and hip at the same time.

Upon entering the door at Sepia, the atmosphere felt cool, hip, and elegant all at the same time. The lighting is very warm (very "sepia"), and they have beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. It's ideal for a date or even a group of friends. Our waitress was very kind, attentive but not intrusive, and extremely knowledgeable. She described the dishes so well and even knew where exactly some of the fishes came from.


It seems like most people order a flatbread as one appetizer, but since Gabe and I went to Avec right before Sepia just to eat the chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates, we were no longer starving. We decided to try the charred baby octopus with a toasted baguette and tomato sauce. The portion was quite generous for octopus, and while it wasn't as amazing as Babbo's octopus appetizer, this one was also wonderfully prepared. It was not overcooked, and I loved the charred taste.


My entree was the roasted cod with spaghetti squash, wild boar sausage, and paprika sauce. There were also carrots and cauliflower. The paprika sauce was a bechamel sauce, but it was not too thick or heavy by any means. I had never tried cobia before, which is partly why I wanted to try this entree. Cobia is quite rich in texture and body, but does not taste fishy at all. It's pretty meaty and firm, so the strong flavors of the accompaniments complimented the fish well. The portion was very generous. In fact, I could only eat half of the entree, so I think Sepia is ideal for people with big appetites. Believe it or not, I think I actually enjoyed this more as leftovers haha. Gabe ordered the skate wing with braised collard greens and a grape-pine nut sauce, which I know he really enjoyed.


Our dessert was the pistachio ice cream with pistachio financier with dark chocolate sauce. This was a good way to cap off the meal, however the dessert didn't stand out to me either. I actually really liked the very firm texture of the ice cream, but the pistachio taste didn't come out as strongly as most of the pistachio ice creams and gelatos I've had.

My drink of the night was a French 75, which I believe is Sepia's most popular cocktail, as it was one of Time Out Chicago's best 100 things they tried in 2008. It was tart and very easy to drink. Sepia is also known for it's cocktails and mixology, but I'm happy I settled with a simple classic drink.

Overall, I think Sepia is a wonderful restaurant. For contemporary American, it has not reached the refinement and creativity of Blackbird, but I would say it's pretty solid. It has a great atmosphere and generous portions, so I give it lots of points for that. The food is more simple without being too simple, and the service is very good.