avec Restaurant
Mediterranean restaurant · West Loop ·
Mediterranean-inspired small plates with chorizo-stuffed dates
![avec Restaurant by Nick Solares [Official Photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62561394/koren_grieveson.0.0.jpg "avec Restaurant by Nick Solares [Official Photo]")
Mediterranean-inspired small plates with chorizo-stuffed dates
"Avec is one of the best restaurants in the city. They are known for their bacon wrapped dates, which you can buy at PQM to bake at home by the way (you're welcome.) It has been known as a dinner spot, but in the last year opened up for lunch and brunch so while there is an hour wait for dinner, you can pop right in for lunch no problem. Everything is so fresh, local and beautiful." - Linsey Rosen
"Celebrating its 20th anniversary in 2024, Avec hosted The Bear’s writers several times as they researched the world of fine dining by chatting with chef Dylan Patel and Donnie Madia, the co-founder of One Off Hospitality. Madia plays a big role in Episode 3 as he gives Sydney advice on hospitality, while Patel, general manager Claire McDonald, and many other Avec employees are seen going through a pre-service and spotlighting the Mediterranean restaurant’s popular short rib hummus." - Ashok Selvam
"The Mediterranean-inspired wine bar from One Off Hospitality Group has been a runaway hit since day one due in large part to the efforts of Koren Grieveson. She helped open the hugely popular spot and developed the small plates menu full of crowd-pleasers such as chorizo-stuffed dates, housemade focaccia, and slow-roasted pork shoulder. Grieveson left the company for New York in 2012, but Avec hasn’t missed a beat under its new leadership. In 2021, Avec opened a second location in River North in the former home of One Off’s Beard Award-winning Pacific Standard Time; the kitchen is now run by Dylan Patel." - Naomi Waxman
"Part of the Michelin Bib Gourmand list, Avec also offers a great deal for brunch drinking, with bottomless orange and grapefruit mimosas available for $24. Gather some friends to share small plates such as brioche doughnuts with sea salt and vanilla bean and their signature chorizo-stuffed dates with piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. Bottomless brunch is also available at the restaurant’s River North location" - Sam Nelson
"When all else fails, go to Avec. The food at this West Loop Mediterranean small-plates place always makes us happy—particularly staple dishes like the bacon-stuffed, chorizo-wrapped dates, and the taleggio flatbread. The communal dining room feels like a wooden shoebox, so you’ll probably be sitting elbow-to-elbow with strangers. But these strangers are having a wonderful meal, which means this crowded place is always enjoyable whether you’re here celebrating a birthday, or on a 76th date with the person you share a Netflix account with. It’s imperative to eat at Avec at least once a year to remind yourself how reliably outstanding it is." - adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru