El Che Steakhouse & Bar 845 West Washington Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60607

"Stopped in for Happy Hour after work (5-6pm at the bar) and really liked the food! The grilled shrimp were amazing. The lobster was great and the beef empanada was flavorful and delicious. The service was great! Water didn’t get below half a glass. Sexy atmosphere and cool open kitchen. Would definitely recommend!"

"We got a reservation for 2 here during restaurant week. We didn’t see a restaurant week menu but we ordered a lot to try everything. The empanadas and provoleta were pretty good starters. Empanadas were crispy, a good size, and fried fresh. I liked the almost “chili crisp” side to it, and the truffle and cheese filling inside was hot, but didn’t burn our mouths. The provoleta reminded me of saganaki (saganaki is still better though) but I enjoyed the dish. It’s easier to use your fork to take the peppers and cheese and slather it onto focaccia bread. I wished the foccacia bread was soft instead of crispy though, it would have been a nicer texture contrast. Onto the steaks - I was eyeing the dry aged ribeye but I ended up going with the picanha. This was my second time having picanha, and I was expecting something way more tender and way more flavorful, but unfortunately, this didn’t live up to what I had in mind. I’d prefer a ribeye or a NY strip steak definitely (though I don’t know if they would have been tender here either). I ordered it medium but my friend ordered it medium rare and both weren’t tender. The sides were pretty good though - the fries were thin and crispy, and the papas bravas were basically what’d you get if you went to a Spanish style tapas place. Both done really well, and those sides were a lot of food for two people. It’s best for 3 or even 4 people. The dessert was the molten chocolate cake. Decadent and tasty for sure, though I didn’t really taste the coconut a whole lot. I had a great meal here, though I don’t think I’d come back here for the steak, which is a little sad to say. I enjoyed everything else on the menu more than the steak."

"El Che was a slam dunk. Although we were not able to enjoy the bar before being seated (Understandably busy) we stepped out to a local bar and came back to be seated. Christian was our waiter and he nailed it. The food, the service, and the atmosphere was all on par to comparable restaurants with a reasonably lower price. Overall, great experience and a huge part was because of Christians service!"

"I think this is the type of place where you need to take notes on what is recommended and what isn't. I wish we ordered something else because our food wasn't as amazing as everyone else states (or the guy next to us who was chowing down on the Mar de Plata) so to be fair I think we ordered wrong. The bone marrow was bleh after one piece I was over it, the Tira de Asado was skimp with a lack luster presentation and the truffle fugazza tasted like just cheese - didn't taste much truffle. So I do not recommend any of thoseeee dishes. I did however enjoy the zucchini vegetable side. Ambiance is sultry and great for date night."

"This is a nice little spot in west loop, the food was good and the service was outstanding. The highlight for me was the wine, they have a great South American selection of wines and the Pet Nats are specially outstanding. We had a reservation at 7:30 but where not seated until 8:00 which makes sense since it was very busy specially on a Tuesday night and we had a large group so that’s completely understandable. The food was good however I personally feel that it was a little under seasoned to my taste. Other then that great experience."