Nacional 27
Chicago, IL 60610
Phone: (312) 664-2727
- Price:
- $$
- Cross Street:
- Orleans Street
- Directions:
- El: Brown/Purple Line to Chicago
- Hours:
- Mon-Thu 5:30pm-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 5:30pm-11pm, Bar open until 2am Fri, 3am Sat
Editorial Review for Nacional 27 – by J.P. Anderson
The Scene
Warm earth tones, sensuous Latin music and low amber lighting make for a sultry South Beach atmosphere. Couples get close in booths and watch weekend salsa dancers strut their stuff. Cordial servers know their stuff.
The Food
Chef Randy Zweiban keeps things buzzing with continual additions to the Nuevo Latino menu, which rounds up the best of 27 different Latin American cuisines. The latest addition? Tapas. Small plates like chicken arepas and grilled shrimp adobado make for delicious nibbling. With two tantalizing appetizer platters already starring on the menu (one heaped with empanadas and croquetas, the other a seviche tasting complete with bloody mary oyster shooters), it's easy to dine here without touching any entrees. But then you'd miss out on winners like grilled salmon with wilted greens and zesty chimichurri bistek Latinero. Tres leches cake topped with ice cream is a moist, sigh-inducing dessert.
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Insider Tips
When to GoFriday-Saturday at 11pm, tables come out and the DJ goes on, spinning Latin tunes until 2am (Saturday till 3am).
What to DrinkCheck out the special list of reasonably priced wine, featuring 27 bottles less than $27, from French syrahs to Chilean chardonnay.
Save MoneyIndustry Mondays feature bottles of wine at retail cost plus $1; Tuesdays feature live music and a tapas tasting for $8.95 per person; and Wednesdays feature free wine pairings with the $44, five-course tasting menu.
User Reviews for Nacional 27
07/07/2008 Posted by RobertTurner
My friends and I had a BAD experience here and we would NEVER go back. The food was very uneven in quality. Many of the dishes were simply left on their places... we couldn't eat them. I have had tapas many times in good Latin restaurants, but I've never had tapas I simply couldn't eat before. The service was also VERY BAD, and all the wait staff and hosts were rude and had a bad attitude. Finally the prices were WAY MORE than they should have been, especially because the food was not good. And WORST OF ALL, they rushed us out of there so our table could be used by others who were waiting, so we didn't even have a chance to watch the dancing, which we had wanted to do. All in all, this was a VERY BAD restaurant experience for all of us.
Pros: Atmosphere is kind of nice, but that's the only "pro" here
Cons: EVERYTHING... food, service, price, value, etc.
06/13/2008 Posted by badjuju
I always feel I can write better reviews when my parents are in town. We end up looking for nice new restaurants and everyone orders different items on the menu, giving us a better chance to truly taste a variety of items on the menu. First off, great setup, great ambience, great lighting. Had a patio which would be nice in the summer. Wine list impressive. I was surprised at how affordable those bottles were. I regret not trying a bottle, because I was eyeing the mojitos already. Now the food. This is what wins it for this restaurant, original, themed, saucy food. We started with the mojitos (don't be too original, stick to the N27 mojito, it's good). I read good reviews for the ceviche but I felt they weren't anything to rave about. Good, original, fresh is what they need to be at baseline. But I wasn't overly impressed, maybe because my new standard now is this amazing ceviche I had in Costa Rica. It will be hard to beat but I honestly can see how people could like the ceviche here. It was very well presented, first of all, and it tasted good but it's my fault for having had something too good before. So definitely try it yourself. The meats were excellent. Can I say that again? Excellent! The market fish dish was great also but the filet mignon and Australian lambchops were well cooked and well seasoned. The sauce and sides were perfectly complimentary and very flavorful as well. Portions were all the right size. Made for a very enjoyable dinner. For dessert, we had the flan > guava cake > creme brulee. Disappointing coconut creme brulee. The next time I come here, it will be for the ambiance, the mojitos, and the meats. Waitstaff... very nice host. Our waiter did his job but didn't add any extra. Which is good because we had not particular requests and he didn't come ask us every 3 minutes.
Pros: Meats, mojitos, ambience.
Cons: Desserts
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