Tabor Hill Winery & Restaurant — Attraction in Oronoko Charter Township

This review is for the restaurant, not the winery or vineyards. Our experience, sadly, could have been better.

First the good: The venue is pretty. We made a reservation and were seated fairly quickly. But the restaurant was very noisy. Tables all next to each other. Felt kind of like a cafeteria. But the views of the vineyards were nice.

The waitress was very kind, but service was S-L-O-W. I mean like it took a long time for anything to happen. We did get water right away, but then we waited and waited to order food. Finally, ordered food and waited... like we're talking an hour. Ordered dessert.... waited 30 minutes for thawed cheesecake. Staff seemed new, unsure. The waiter dropped cups at least twice, not a big deal, but just felt a bit jarring. There was ice in some people's waters but not in others (not ours).

Now the food. First, the bread was delicious. Menu says it comes with whipped feta cream cheese, but it came across like garlic butter to my taste.... and we're talking SPICY garlic. It wasn't bad, but our breath was after, LOL! It was actually very tasty. Olive oil might be good with the bread.

My husband ordered the prime filet, which was decent, but they put some kind of shaved things on top that reminded me of tortilla chip strips, didn't enhance it.

The food felt kind of like Applebees or something. It tried to be special, but came across as sub-par. I ordered the raspberry chicken. The description just says "Our classic raspberry chicken". I was hoping for a grilled chicken, but no. It is very fried. Encrusted with pecans, which sounds good, but it was just so dry. Felt like it had been under a heat lamp. My mashed potatoes were bone-dry and cold, actually crumbled apart. It came with asparagus, but the worst part.... the raspberry sauce. It was basically like a sugary sweet dessert sauce, and everything was swimming in it: raspberry mashed potatoes, raspberry asparagus. For $34, I was hoping for something a little more fresh and special, maybe a glazed grilled chicken breast with a sprinkling of pecans and a drizzle of raspberry?

Three choices for dessert: raspberry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, or flourless chocolate cake. Wish they'd replace the blueberry (my choice) with something else. It tasted like a cereal bar. It was cloying to me, and I have a sweet tooth. Flourless chocolate was yummy, but very rich. It all felt like it came frozen and was thawed. Not very "real" or fresh feeling.

Just re-reading my review it sounds really snobby. I'm sorry for that. The place is nice and deserves a chance, but I just thought some feedback might help management to improve. I hope so. I'd give it another chance for faster service and fresher ingredients (maybe locally sourced)? Also, a little local artwork or a history of the vineyard in photos might be nice in the entryway on the big, blank wood wall. Maybe some sparkly lights? Partitioning the dining area somehow might make it a bit more intimate. Just a thought.

They did seem to seat families with kids a bit apart from the couples, which I appreciate. We love kiddos! But when you're out for an expensive, intimate evening, it's nice to have a bit of quiet atmosphere.

Hope they can make some little improvements. If so, we...

I took a shuttle of 12 clients on a Winery Tour to Michigan from Chicago on Saturday, September 13th. Tabor Hill was our 2nd stop and where we'd planned to have lunch. Prior to arrival, I made reservations online. The winery's reservation system wouldn't allow me to make a reservation for a table of 12-13, so I made 3 separate reservations for tables of 4. I'd planned to just eat alone at the bar or outside in the lounge area. I tried phoning several times in advance and I could only reach an AI assistant. I was finally able to get through via email by inquiring about the cellar. The individual that I corresponded with via email regarding possibly reserving the cellar and general winery questions, gave me misinformation about the pricing of tastings. It was only confirmed after I sent a screenshot of the website's pricing. She copied the manager on our last few emails and he never responded. None of this interaction prior to arriving made me comfortable taking my clients here. The Friday night before, I was searching the internet for a backup plan. However, Tabor Hill seems to be the only winery in the area that has a sit down restaurant. We arrive, I go in and they say wait one moment, we'll see if we can seat your party together. This was the purpose of the person I had emailed with, copying the manager on the email to see if this could be done prior to our arrival but no response was ever received. We wait, we go back and it's still two tables of 6. We see a couple of other large parties with tables put together. But we just let it go. The server comes up and asks would we like separate checks. The website said only up to two payments are accepted but I figured maybe she knew something that we didn't. I said that would be phenomenal, thank you. It took a while for our server to take our orders and it took even longer for us to receive our orders. Most were okay with the taste of their meals. Now as we're trying to close out we were told checks could not be separated. Shocker there! It's now time for our tasting, I made a mental note of this to mention in my review but didn't say anything to my clients. I felt our tasting sizes were below the normal 1oz pour. Near the end, I gave each of the ladies who were assisting us, the customary 20% gratuity and the remaining tastes were the appropriate amount. I never mentioned this to my clients; yet, one mentioned she noticed this after we arrived back to Chicago. Of the 3 wineries that we visited, I preferred the taste of Tabor Hill's wine but refused to buy any bottles of wine based on the level of service that we received. I wouldn't return or take another group to this winery. And it's a shame because the vineyard is gorgeous. I have a colleague who took a group 1-2 weeks prior to me and she agreed that the customer service is lackluster. Hopefully this can be improved on. I've been asked to plan another Winery Tour; I'll be taking my...

I WOULD LEAVE 0 stars if I could. I am writing to formally report a deeply disturbing and discriminatory experience that occurred at your winery location on Friday, June 6, 2025, during what was meant to be a joyful celebration of my 21st birthday with my family. While dining at your establishment, we were subjected to severe racism, microaggressions, and prejudice by one of your employees—our server, Christiana—solely due to the color of our skin. My family and I treated her with nothing but kindness, respect, and courtesy. We asked her name to address her properly, engaged in warm and polite conversation, and even remained gracious when a piece of hair was found in one of our entrees. When it came time to settle our bill, we paid via card and left a portion of the tip on the card while intending to leave a larger portion in cash—a common practice encouraged by those of us who work in the service industry, like my sister Alexia, who is employed in fine dining in Atlanta, Georgia. However, before we could complete the cash tip, we asked Christiana a friendly question about where she was from. When she answered “Kalamazoo,” my sister mentioned she attended Western Michigan University. Christiana then sarcastically and aggressively responded: “Well, Western clearly didn’t teach you how to tip,”
rolled her eyes, and stormed away from our table. This behavior was utterly unprofessional, racially charged, and humiliating. None of the other guests in the restaurant were treated in such a manner. The assumption that we, as Black women, were not going to tip appropriately—despite our clear intention to do so—is a painful example of the racial bias and mistreatment we too often face. We immediately asked to speak with a manager, who took over 15 minutes to arrive. When he did, we were told that the server was “going through something” before her shift. That explanation does not justify the disrespect, mistreatment, and outright prejudice we endured. I am in healthcare and currently studying to become a doctor. My siblings work in the hospitality industry. We are all taught that personal matters must never interfere with professional responsibilities—and that behavior like Christiana’s would result in termination. This incident ruined what should have been a memorable milestone in my life. It also raises serious concerns about how your staff is trained and how your company handles diversity, equity, and inclusion. I am requesting a direct response to this matter and a conversation with a corporate representative. I am also pursuing legal counsel, as I intend to take further action regarding this unacceptable incident. Please consider this my official written complaint. I expect to be contacted in a timely manner regarding the next steps you plan to take to address this...