Fig and Olive

Fig and Olive, which has restaurants in New York, Los Angeles, and now Chicago, is to die for. This place has Mediterranean food, with its origins from the South of France, Italy and Spain. You can feel the Mediterranean vibe with the ambiance and decorating. The space is extremely open and airy with two floors, and the decor is almost all white (hello, my dream). The bar is a huge square, so this would be a fun place to post up for a drink. You can easily hang here while listening to the DJ (that plays subtle party music). There is also an open-air garden terrace. This restaurant almost feels like it belongs in an upscale Vegas hotel, and you are going to walk out onto the pool and cabana at any moment. This is also the most well dressed and wealthy crowd I've seen at a restaurant in Chicago. I've never seen more Hermes and Chanel in one place. This is definitely a place to see and be seen.

The food is also great. They are known for their olive oil, and bring out this amazing bread to start with three different dipping oils. I've also learned that they use olive oil in all of their dishes, instead of butter and cream. Also, like most restaurants these days, they have a great small plates and a shared menu. We ordered a burrata dish, a crostini and a pasta dish. We were too stuffed to even look at the dessert menu. The wine pours were also huge, which was a great bonus when you're out for a girls night.

The only cons about this place were that it was extremely cold (although they did turn off the air a bit) and they didn't dim the lights early enough. That wouldn't be enough to keep me from coming back though. I highly recommend coming here, and putting this top of your list. I would have to say this is up there with Bottlefork, Nico Osteria and Cicchetti for me (as far as new River North restaurants go).