Geja's Cafe

Description:

• A dark, subterranean hideaway, Geja's (pronounced gay-haz) regularly shows up on lists of the most romantic restaurants in Chicago; cozy couples should request a booth off the main dining room for maximum privacy. However, the interior might strike some as too gloomy, and the cook-it-yourself technique won't appeal to anyone who wants to be pampered (you have to work for your fondue -- keeping track of how long each piece of meat has been cooking). All main courses are served for two or more, and the best overall option is the Prince Geja's combination dinner, which includes the widest range of dishes. The meal begins with a Gruyère cheese fondue appetizer with apple wedges and chunks of dark bread. Next, a huge platter arrives, brimming with squares of beef tenderloin, lobster tails, jumbo shrimp, chicken breast, and scallops -- all raw -- and a caldron of boiling oil to cook them in. These delicacies are accompanied by a variety of raw vegetables and eight different dipping sauces. When the flaming chocolate fondue arrives for dessert, with fresh fruit and pound cake for dipping and marshmallows for roasting, you'll want to beg for mercy. Caution: The aroma of cooking oil that fills the restaurant might bother some sensitive noses.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

CitySearch

•  Romantic Dining 2005 – Audience Winner
•  Romantic Dining 2007 – Audience Winner

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2009
•  Recommended 2010