Mott St

We arrived to Mott’s to celebrate a birthday, prior to arriving we read they allowed walk ins. We tried calling several times but no one answered, so when we got to Mott’s, we approached the server and asked for a table for the patio area (they had more than half the patio empty). The server was very unfriendly, kept saying that they did not allow 9 people on a regular menu or on the same table, and was rude when we tried to asked for some flexibility. Mott’s was on our try list, we left and WE WILL NOT TRY TO COME AGAIN. Mott St, if you want customers to come and enjoy your food, you should put your customers first!

We were here to celebrate a high school graduation, and unfortunately the experience was not what we expected. It's a cool, casual space and the food OK, but unfortunately the service/kitchen coordination seemed nonexistent. Our server made a big deal about getting our entire order in together so that the kitchen could coordinate everything. One of two appetizers came out right away, but then out of the blue, one of our mains showed up. Then after a good while two other entrees. Then the second appetizer. Then after asking for it twice, the last entree. So, basically we got to watch each other eat, instead of eating together. The poor service ruined what was supposed to be a fun celebration. There are so many good restaurants in Chicago that, needless to say, we won't be going back here.

It was my first time dining at Mott Street but it's been on my list of places to visit for the longest especially since it's on the Michelin guide. We made a reservation for 6:30pm to make sure we're able to order their burger since it's only available for reservations before 7pm. We were seated fairly quickly but sat at the table for 10-15 without water and no attention. I don't think it's the server's fault because they were clearly understaffed and I could see our server hustling and sweating by the time he reached our table. That being said I think Mott's "family style" dishes and way of churning out dishes did not hit the spot. Family style is the concept of sharing food through multiple dishes and considering how it's a Korean-fusion spot I'm appalled by the small dishes and how slowly dishes come out. Typically in Asia, food are served all at once so we can share and try all dishes at once and not eat one dish per 10 minutes like omakase. To each their own but food in general did not impress. Papaya salad - did not have any thai chili... not even cayenne pepper. It was not spicy at all. Flavor was very mild. Kimchi Tobiko Udon - this was the only dish I somewhat enjoyed because it had great flavor and texture. Fire Chicken - small pieces of diced dark chicken meat infused in a sweet gochujang based sauce with cheese on top. There was absolutely no fire in this dish... not even a lick of black pepper. Burger w/ egg - was so disappointed in the burger because the patty was only salted in 2/10 bites. Rest of the patty was bland and overall burger lacked flavor. I was also shocked that the pickled in the burger was only a tinge sweet and not flavorful. I get that some people prefer sweet pickled over sour ones but it was truly just bland with a hint of sweetness. Steak Kalbi - this dish was alright. Meat was tender but the sauce was sooo sweet and it came with a side of an even sweeter soy. Strawberry Daifuku Sticky Rice - it came out warm which was a pleasant surprise but strawberries were sour and mint did not go well with the sticky rice at all. The crispy mung bean was cool. I was under the impression that daifuku was mochi but I guess this is what happens when you go to a fusion spot that experiments on traditional style of food. Overall, my experience was okay and food was edible but I think we should stop experimenting on food that already tastes good from its origination and not change it to suit the palette of people who mainly likes to eat chicken nuggets.