Galit (July 2023)
Galit oozes coolness, but coolness with efficiency given how quickly our dinner service played out. I’ve been to Galit five times in the last four years, often to celebrate a birthday—or, in 2020, a dinner on then-closed Lincoln Avenue due to dining restrictions—and each experience has been distinctly similar. I think this is a great testament to the quality and consistency of the entire team at Galit, from service to kitchen.
Inside, Galit is smartly decorated with muted wood tones and booths lining the windows and walls. The central focus is the open kitchen and prominently featured wood-fired oven, and the seats that line it—at your time of booking, you can opt to sit at this counter or for standard seating. We enjoyed our time sitting at the counter previously, but it’s far from a true counter experience given that the seating is not high enough to get a full view of the kitchen in action.
The Galit experience is more or less a set menu with some choices, with the evening beginning with a selection of hummus and a variety of salatin chosen by the kitchen, an assortment of pickled items, labneh, and other vegetables, all to share. One of Galit’s hallmarks is Bubbe’s Brisket, a delectable hummus with brisket, roasted carrots, tomatoes, and cinnamon. The concept of braised meat with hummus isn’t revolutionary, but this dish is perfect and a must-try for any first-timers at Galit. It’s rich with deep flavor, and the hummus is exquisite. It’s an incredible beginning to a meal at Galit.
Moving to the Mezze course, a choice of one per person is allotted; I found Galit’s interpretation of beef tartare to be spot-on with flavors and smokiness giving continuity to the menu. I love heavy acidity with tartare, and this delivered in a big way. I also opted for the lobster, which incurred a $10 surcharge compared to the other options. I’m glad I did—it’s an outstanding dish and one of the best lobster dishes I’ve ever had. The menu header of this section is appropriately titled (mostly) Over Coal; Galit’s smart use of cooking over coals resulted in a perfectly-charred finish on the butter-poached lobster, accompanied by lovage, chicories, and aleppo pepper. I still remember this one frequently.
The wine list is certainly one of the most interesting in Chicago, and I can’t say I found one French-produced bottle on the moderately-extensive list. A heavy focus on Israeli, Greek, Palestinian, and Lebanese producers stick true to the ethos of Galit, with the occasional California, Willamette Valley, and—gasp—Michigan bottles popping up throughout the list. The descriptions are concise and direct (“Sancerre but cooler”) and it was a well-done way of guiding drinkers like myself to push their boundaries outside of classically old-world wines. We’ll order a bottle next time.
Service was prompt—almost too prompt, in fact, as I alluded to earlier. Whether it was good timing or timing mismanagement, a food runner came to our tables with our third course before our plates had been cleared and quickly left with this realization. It’s hardly a problem, and was the only potential point of attention from the evening.
On an unofficial “quality for dollar” scale, Galit comes in on the pricier side; a dinner for two, with two drinks a piece, and 20% tip was close to $350, a far cry from the $88 per person (at the time) advertised on the menu. Galit is discreet but honest about the 5% surcharge listed in smaller print at the bottom of their menu, mentioning that this surcharge helps cover a majority of their employees’ healthcare premiums. This is neither the time or place to discuss in-depth the ever-more-common practice of optional surcharges, but I feel like the 5% could have been added in subtle ways to the menu cost (charge $95 a person?) to avoid having a surcharge altogether. However, in comparison to other one-star restaurants in Chicago, it’s still on the lower end.
The mostly prix-fixe menu makes ordering easy, and provides a comfortable entry into the tasting menu world that some new diners might be a little intimidated by. The assertive focus of flavors and textures allow you to become immediately familiar with the soul of Galit. It’s experiences like this that make me thankful to be 30-minutes away from one of the midwest’s greatest restaurants.
Would I go again? Absolutely, without question.
What should you wear? The upper-end of casual would be most comfortable, but it really seems like anything casual works. I wore slightly-scuffed white AF1s with black pants and a button-down chambray shirt, if that helps.