Play On: A Review of Forte, Downstairs in the Chapin & Gore Building

Forte dining room/Photo: David Hammond

Inspired by what Chuck Cowdery tells us about Chapin & Gore, we went to dinner at Forte, a restaurant on the first floor of a Chicago landmark building and part of Chicago Symphony Center.

The Forte menu leans heavily toward Mediterranean cuisine, specifically Greek, which is probably what you want to eat before you attend a concert at adjoining Orchestra Hall.

We had the octopus with pickled peppers and confit potatoes, which was flavorful and delicious and unlikely to induce a snooze during a concert, as well as the lamb shank, which was very good and meaty though probably not the kind of heavier menu option you’d want to eat before a performance.

Octopus at Forte/Photo: David Hammond

There was no concert the night we were at Forte, and just a few tables were filled; but Forte is packed when the symphony is playing, or another local attraction brings people to the Loop after dark.

Down the street from Michigan Avenue, the Art Institute and the Chicago Cultural Center, this area of town attracts visitors, and having dinner, with the mashup of automobile and pedestrian traffic outside the big windows of Forte, and the El rumbling by (silently, as the room is practically soundproof), you know you’re downtown. Next time we have out-of-town visitors, we’ll recommend Forte after a day of touring Millennium Park and environs.

Forte at Symphony Center, 65 East Adams, (312)294-3013, forterestaurant.com.