Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House

I was downtown walking around with my sister, so we decided to stop at Hugo’s for some dinner. For starters We ordered the firecracker shrimp and calamari . When I asked for a recommendation of a sweet wine my server had no knowledge of one. My sister got a ginger ale. Firecracker shrimp was ok, a bit too fishy tasting for shrimp honestly and the calamari barely had any rings it was mostly tentacles. For dinner I chose the W’S Ribeye medium and my sister ordered the lobster Mac n cheese. When food arrived my sister thought the Lobster Mac n cheese was just ok and to be expected for what it was, My ribeye on the other hand was super chewy and a bit dry and I sent it back. Manager came out and asked what was wrong with it I explained he said “hmm, that’s interesting..ok” and walked away. Our server summer was not as attentive as I would expect being downtown

I ordered take out from Hugo’s through Door Dash.. I had 3 filet mignon sliders and it came with fries. Food was barely even warm when I picked it up even though I was just maybe 2 minutes past the time they said it would be ready. Meat was very tender. Burger tasted ok. Nothing to write home about. They had no option on the Door Dash menu to add cheese to the burger, which I would have preferred. The fries were cold and hard. Also very thin. I couldn’t finish them. I wouldn’t go back here.

Two friends and I came to check out their oyster happy hour one night after work. They actually have their $1 oyster happy hour 7 days a week, which is a rarity in Chicago. Along with cheap oysters, they also offer half off on all glasses of white wines. The oysters were fresh and a good deal! I don’t remember the names of the wines I had, but they were both good as well. After happy hour ended, I ordered one beef slider and the fried shrimp appetizer. I enjoyed both. I liked the cajun sauce that came with the shrimp. My friends ordered their chocolate cake for dessert. I had a couple bites of the cake and was really impressed. It is literally the biggest slice of cake I have ever seen. This is a very shareable dessert.

Great place in the middle of the city with a great lively vibe and great menu. Got a dozen raw oysters and they didn’t disappoint! Also a great selection for beers. Didn’t order any entrees here but wish I had!

Unfortunately, this restaurant was a total bust for us. I was genuinely shook when I received the bill because I did not think our food was worth anything near that amount. We started with the caprese salad and were immediately disappointed. No balsamic glaze…my favorite part. We split the Chilean sea bass and the Brussels sprouts and while the sea bass was tasty, the Brussels sprouts were awful. We asked the waiter how they were cooked and he said they blanch them, which I thought completely ruined them. I would have given this restaurant two stars, but I had to give three because our waiter and the rest of the staff were INCREDIBLE. Our server Keith was extremely genuine, helpful, and very cool. He knew everything about the restaurant’s wine selection and was able to guide us to a Cabernet we loved. Whenever we needed something and Keith was busy, other servers were quick to notice and help us out. We really appreciated the collaborative work from all of the servers, and they deserve all of the recognition. This restaurant is in a great area and it has the potential to be five stars–just needs some different recipes!

This establishment has given up on its First Responders that has supported this specific location for many years. Thank you for supporting your city’s Heroes for as long as you could. We wish you the best!

We started out on a terrible note. We made reservations and asked for Outdoor seating, but it wasn’t until we got there that the ruder than usual hostess told us that outdoors was first come/first serve and that while she saw our request for outdoor seating, it would be an hour wait. I’m sorry, but who makes reservations and then gets there to be told it would be an hour until we could be seated? And who is so curt about it.? no apologies, no we can get you a drink.. just sit inside or wait for an hour. We came inside and the first table we were offered was only a few feet away from another patron.. (someone lost the memo on the whole 6 feet deal).. we eventually got to a decent table and our server greeted us warmly.. from there it went much better. We started off with some Belvedere Martini’s .. blue cheese olives.. and of course these were fine. I was told the Crab Cakes were one of the best offerings and so went that route. And yes, very good. Up there with the best of them. (Came with Fries and Cole Slaw .. which I subbed the C/S for Broccolini – delicious and char broiled.) They had a great selections of wine there and we went with a bottle of the Pride Merlot, which was pricey but worth every penny of it. Entrees come with a half salad or soup.. Will I return? Not sure. That cold hostess greeting really turned me off to that place.

This was a nice place to meet up with friends for a night. The staff is very nice and the ambiance is mellow. The food is unique and pretty pricey, but not bad for the quality. We ordered escargot, frog legs, sliders and a clam chowder. The frog legs were seasoned well and the meat was tender. The slider was made to order how we wanted (medium rare). The clam chowder was fishy in a good way. The escargot swam in butter and didn’t have much flavor. Trying to remove the excess butter and squirting lemon onto it makes it much better. We wish it had more garlic and other flavors added to it. The escargot were cooked well and not too chewy either. If you sit in the bar area, the tables are a first come first served basis. The tables are usually for reservations only or a waitlist because of how busy they are.

Attached to Gibson’s is the fish-centric sister restaurant Hugo’s. Equally as impressive in its ambiance but a far less emphasis on beef, the menu is eclectic with a wide variety of shellfish, fishes, and a notable raw bar – specifically oysters. Extensive wine menu will appease most tastes and some are even half off during their $1 oyster happy hour. Last time I ordered the ‘Steak and Cake’ which came with an awesome chowder on the side. I try to eat here atleast once when I get to Chicago because end-to-end it’s just a really good experience for quality food. The service is on point and the food will leave you coming back. Albeit pricey you won’t leave disappointed should you want to splurge.

The wife and I came from eating at Hugo’s on a Saturday night. Since we are in the midst of reopening, most of the seating is outside with some inside. Since we didn’t have reservations, we were sat inside immediately. I have to say, service was EXCELLENT. Everyone was nice and courteous from beginning to end. Now as far as the food. The best thing I ate was the side salad with blue cheese dressing. I ordered the crab cakes that cake with fries, coleslaw and some sort of sauce. My wife ordered the whitefish with potatoes and grilled tomato and onion. The crab cakes are AWFUL! As a person who adores a great all lump crab meat crab cake, these flavorless, all shredded crabmeat patties were truly awful. The fries we soggy, oily piles of potatoes and the coleslaw was just pathetic. The sauce that came with the crab cake tasted like ketchup, mayo and relish. I didn’t taste my wife’s food but she mentioned the fish could’ve used more seasoning. Service is great but the food is terrible. Maybe it wa a just an off day.