Vermilion

Has anyone been to Vermillion yet? What are your thoughts?
I was thinking about bringing a small bachelorette party there on Friday night. Let me know your feedback or if you have other ideas about hip and fun places to go downtown.

I went to Vermillion with a group of friends a couple of months ago and was underwhelmed by the food. I ordered a prawn dish that the waiter warned me would be spicy (which I was up for), and it turned out to have almost no spice at all. That being said, the room is cool, the vibe is good, and it would probably be a fun bachelorette place.

A recommendation would be Tizi Melloul. Went with a group of women for a bachelorette party a couple of weeks ago, and it was perfect. They have a great set-up for large groups, the atmosphere was fun and funky, and the food was fantastic! I don't know why this place doesn't get more of a buzz. We had people from LA, NY, DC and Chicago with a range of food interests and experiences, and every single one of us loved our food.

Did you have the mussels? I haven't been in a while, but I still remember the mussels in a harissa inspired sauce if I remember correctly. This is a good recommendation.l

I will be dining at Vermilion with friends this weekend. Any suggestions on what I must order? I prefer meat, while the wife will most likely want something of the fish/seafood variety or vegetarian.

So I dined at Vermilion and had to say I did truly enjoy everything we sampled. I thought the menu was a bit pricey and certainly did not appreciate being served and charged for 2 orders of naan when we thought we were only ordering one, as well as receiving appetizers for 5 (meaning being charged for 2-1/2 orders) of each appetizer when we were more than happy sampling off the regular sized portions. Our bill was significantly higher and had we complained probably would have gotten those items deducted, but seeing how we did enjoy everything, we will just chalk it up to a learning experience.

Anyhow, on to the food.

The appetizers we ordered were corn crusted scallops with a goat cheese puree which were cooked perfectly and of good size. We also had some lamp chops paired with a mint/red onion salad as well as very tasty shrimp ceviche which included passion fruit and a mild vinegarette.

I ordered Chili-glazed, Tamarind Ribs which had exellent flavor and while they slid off the bone, were not too chewy for my liking. The ribs were served with a spicy corn relish which accompanied the entree well. Others had the Tandoori Skirt Steak, which is as good as it is sac-religious. This was served with fried plaintain chips. Others had a spicy shrimp dish, which was good, but very spicy as well as a filet and veal, both of which I did not sample.

Overall I very nice experience, but the cost can add up quickly. Also, if the waiter tells you something is spicy, don't take it lightly as there is a lot of heat in many of their dishes.

Vermilion
10 W. Hubbard St.
(bet. Dearborn & State Sts.)
Chicago, IL 60610
312-527-4060

Thanks for reporting back. Clearly, this is a restaurant that hasn't had much coverage on LTHForum. (only one other old thread)

Best,
Michael

It's been a couple of years since I've been to Vermilion, and I'm not sure why . . . I liked it quite a bit on my prior visits and I find the Latin-Indian fusion menu to be both rare and interesting. But I am very happy that I returned, albeit for a light meal. The menu does not appear to have changed much, but what they do offer tends to be very tasty and well executed. The restaurant has transformed some in the last couple of years. Gone is the DJ area, and in its place a slightly more private dining nook.

My meal consisted of: blue corn crusted scallops on a kali mirch latin calabasa goat cheese puree, duck vindaloo arepa with brushed pomegranate molasses and curry leaf mango, artichoke pakoras with an eggplant chili coconut sauce and garam masala mexican hot chocolate with miniature churros.

The blue corn crust on the scallops did not excite me as much as I expected it would, but the puree was very nice and the scallops were pristine and cooked just perfectly. The condition and preparation of the scallops showed me that Vermilion is serious about food.

The duck vindaloo (shredded duck) was served on what Vermilion calls arepas. Perhaps true to the Latin-Indian fusion Vermilion offers, the arepas were closer to miniature naan in my opinion. But the duck was delicious, and there was some good spice to the dish which pared well with the sweetness of the mango.

The pakoras were less pakoras as I know them, but rather, very lightly battered artichoke pieces with a delicious and spicy dipping sauce. But the star here was definitely the perfectly fried artichoke - crispy and not the slightest bit greasy.

My favorite part of the meal, however, was definitely the hot chocolate: thick, rich, hot and spicy. Even Mindy Segal of Hot Chocolate should give this version a try. The churros could have been a little more crispy on the outside, but nonetheless, this was a fantastic finish to a very nice meal.

Overall, a very nice re-introduction to a restaurant that seems to be forgotten in this city. The menu and presentations are quite creative, the food is executed very well, and for those considering a meal along the lines of a Marigold, for instance, I think Vermilion offers much better food (and a lot more spice). In addition, one thing that has impressed me on each visit to Vermilion has been the excellent and well informed servers. I will not wait so long to return to Vermilion.

Friends are taking me there for a b-day party. Any recs or suggestions? Thankyou

I was just there last month and posted this review. I hope you enjoy - I think Vermilion is sadly ignored by too many. I find the Latin/Indian fusion to be both very interesting and very well executed.

I love the menu at Vermilion and I've always been impressed with the flavors. No, I wouldn't go there if I'm looking for traditional Indian food, but some of the fusion dishes are quite good and interesting. But my latest experience - dinner on Sunday night - was extremely frustrating.

First, I find it annoying when a waitperson begins by telling his/her menu favorites, and they just happen to be the most expensive dishes on the menu. I just don't buy it. The waitperson's inexperience showed throughout the meal, but that wasn't the only problem on this visit to Vermilion.

I started with a tomatillo gazpacho, served with pappadam, which had a nice flavor at first, but slightly one dimensional once halfway through the dish. Also, I prefer my gazpacho less pureed. Nonetheless, not bad. It was a small group of us and I tasted a few other starters. While I have enjoyed the blue corn-crusted scallops in the past, I thought the scallops were poorly cooked and mushy.

Things fell apart as the wait staff brought out the entrees just as we were finishing appetizers and before the plates could even be cleared. In this group, no one wanted to address the issue with the restaurant, but of course from Vermilion's end, they never should have let this happen and should have at least apologized.

But then one of the entrees, the lobster, was not only terribly overcooked but also lukewarm at best. And the Brazilian seafood stew had great flavor (both Indian and Latin flavors), but the texture of the shrimp in the stew was more akin to a Goodyear tire than shrimp. Butter chicken was meh but oh well.

We were all pretty annoyed by the time the entrees were finished, so we opted for frozen yogurt around the corner. On the plus side, I really enjoyed the flavor of the seafood stew and loved my ginger/lychee martini. But with all of the great restaurants in Chicago, I doubt I'll be finding my way back to Vermilion, even as much as I love the menu . . . too much money to take the risk of another subpar meal.

Went to Vermillion with a group of 6. We thought we would hit Purple Pig after the Sox game but the game went long and by the time we arrived at the restaurant we were informed that the wait for 6 was 2hours and 45 minutes. A quick consult to my open table app revealed that Vermillion had space for us now.

Having never been there before I had no expectations. We ordered several appetizers and entrees. Everything was exceptional. Our favorites were the kabobs and mysore lamb chops for appetizers. The combination chimichurri new york strip with lobster portuguese was the favorite entree. The cocktails were fantastic especially the Bloody Mary. We will definitely be back soon.

Here's another thread: viewtopic.php?f=14&t=12995&hilit=vermilion . . . there's actually only one "l" in the name so the two threads may not show up in the same search.

The threads are now merged and the spelling error corrected.

Thanks,

=R=
for the moderators

Indian Pioneer Vermilion Switches From Latin Fusion to Indo Chinese

https://chicago.eater.com/2023/2/1/2358 ... tos-images

After 21 years of serving Indo-Latin and Indo-Chinese fare in River North, restaurateur Rohini Dey closed Vermilion.

https://www.axios.com/local/chicago/202 ... losed-2025