Gilt Bar Menu Prices: River North Chicago Pasta, Steaks & Bar Fare

Gilt Bar sits in the upscale-casual range. Starters run $17.99-$31.99, handmade pastas $19.99-$25.99, and larger seafood and entrees $28.99-$74.99. A typical two-course dinner (a starter or pasta plus an entree) lands around $45-$70 per person before drinks, tax and the house surcharge. Prices are transcribed from Gilt Bar's published menu; confirm the current menu on the restaurant's site.

Gilt Bar is best known for its Slow Roasted Meatballs ($17.99) in beef-pork-veal red sauce, its handmade pastas like the Tagliatelle Carbonara ($25.99) and Vodka Rigatoni ($22.99), and larger-format mains such as the Coal Fired Ribeye ($74.99) and Wood Fired Bone Marrow ($31.99). The candlelit River North room and its cocktail program are as much a draw as the food.

The Coal Fired Ribeye is $74.99 -- a 16oz center-cut USDA Prime ribeye finished with herbed bone marrow butter. It is the most expensive item on the standard menu and the closest thing Gilt Bar has to a steakhouse main. For a full steakhouse experience, Hogsalt's sister restaurant Bavette's is a few blocks away.

Yes. Vegetarian dishes include the Ricotta Gnocchi ($19.99), Vodka Rigatoni ($22.99), Truffle Mafaldine ($23.99), Truffle Mozzarella Sticks ($23.99) and the Delice de Bourgogne cheese plate ($18.99), plus most of the sides -- Vesuvio Potatoes ($12.99), Brussels Sprouts ($12.99), Grilled Asparagus ($14.99) and Fried Onion Rings ($15.99). Ask your server to confirm preparations if you have strict dietary needs.

Yes. Gilt Bar's menu notes a 3.25% surcharge added to all checks to offset rising restaurant costs, which guests may request to have removed. This is separate from tax and gratuity, so factor it into your budget alongside the listed menu prices.

Gilt Bar is an upscale Italian-American bar and restaurant -- part cocktail bar, part dinner destination. The menu pairs Italian classics (handmade pasta, meatballs, crudo) with American grill-and-tavern fare (a wagyu cheeseburger, prime rib french dip, fried chicken sliders). The mood is dark, candlelit and clubby rather than white-tablecloth formal.

Gilt Bar is at 230 W Kinzie Street in River North, Chicago, near the Merchandise Mart and the Chicago River. It opened in 2010 as the first restaurant from Brendan Sodikoff's Hogsalt Hospitality group. Use the official site at giltbarchicago.com for hours and reservations.

Yes -- Gilt Bar is as much a bar as a restaurant, with a well-regarded cocktail list (classic and house cocktails, martinis, old fashioneds and spirit-free options) plus wine and beer. Specific drink prices are not listed here; check the current drink list on the restaurant's own menu, as bar pricing changes more frequently than the food menu.

Yes. Gilt Bar was the founding restaurant of Hogsalt Hospitality, the Chicago group behind Bavette's Bar & Boeuf, Au Cheval, Maude's Liquor Bar and others. If you like Gilt Bar's dim, vintage-styled rooms and classic-American-meets-bistro cooking, its sister restaurants share the same design language and kitchen sensibility.