BOLD American Fare — Restaurant in Algonquin

We finally decided to go and check out this much talked about restaurant. We had high anticipation, but unfortunately we were a bit disappointed. We went on a Sunday evening and it was not crowded at all, we actually could have chosen where to sit. My wife wanted to sit up front with tables that had booths and chairs, the waitress 'steered' her to a higher table closer to the back claiming; "There is a large group celebrating at the bar and it will be easier for me to get to you vs getting around them" Really?! That's our fault? So my family and I ended up at a table near the back as we didn't want to 'argue' not knowing anything about this place. Now, we are not restaurant snobs, nor critics and rarely do I write a review, but when you see the prices on this menu you should expect a certain amount of service to go with this. I had to ask another waitress to bring me water after waiting 15 minutes. Strike one. Now, the appetizers were good and so was our first cocktail, no complaints there. Atmosphere is very nice as well and no attitudes detected and the menu has great and unique options. We then ordered our dinners, I ordered the Halibut, my wife the Sea Bass, my son the Wild Boar and my daughter the BBQ Salmon. All dishes came very well presented...........mine, however, was overcooked and the risotto it sat on was cool and barely luke warm. My son's wild boar (the special that evening) literally came to the table raw and had to be sent back. My wife's Sea Bass was under cooked as well and also had to be reordered. The salmon, my daughter enjoyed, however it did smell slightly fishy and they did say it was the 'last one'....her rice was also very dry. So, now here we sat with two meals and two getting re-cooked. My son's finally came back and he was pleased. My wife's fish took so long we decided to cancel it, then it came out within 2 mins surprisingly. (now cooked correctly, but the rest of us were finished eating). So, no manager comes over to apologize, only our waitress, who was also the bartender and who barely came by to check on us. What did we get at the end? A free desert, and only we only took that as the kids wanted it. My opinion is if you're going to charge downtown Chicago 5 Star restaurant pricing, then you need to make sure that the service is also 5 star. This was far from it ("ok, it's Algonquin Dan!", I can hear some saying....but no, that's no excuse, or you should then charge far less). Again, it was a Sunday evening so maybe they were burnt out from a busy weekend, but if I'm paying $200 for a family meal (yes, that was the tab for 4), you better be better than what we experienced. I have spent far less at restaurants in the city and had twice the service and attention. If you're going to be in the restaurant biz and charge people these costs, you need to get it right every night your open or charge far less than what you are...

My fiance and I went there this past Saturday after seeing someone's post on my Facebook that they had Lobster Poutine. We have never been here before and since we had the ability to go out we thought we'd try a new place.

We got there about 7:30-7:45 and there was a decent crowd and waited about 20-30 minutes, which wasn't a big deal since there is an upstairs lounge/deck.

We were seated and it took a little bit for our server to get to us. When she got to us there was no real introduction she just asked if we wanted to start off with drinks. We ordered our drinks and she returned a WHILE later with our drinks.

She asked if we were ready to order and I asked if there were any specials. She listed off specials and I told her that I wanted to try the lobster poutine. She said sorry we were out. My finance asked about another dish on special and she replied sorry we are out of that too. I asked what specials do you have and she named off something and then followed up with "if we have any left." So I told her we will need a minute.

She came back and took our order. My fiance ordered her dinner and also order a salad because her dinner did not come with one. I ordered the ribeye.

She asked me what 2 sides I wanted. I asked for the baked potato and she said they are out of the baked potato. I said the asparagus which she replied that they were out of that too. She offered me the Brussel sprouts. I said ok and she then told me that it was a $4 upcharge.

$4!!! You are out of everything else. She said yes. I said I don't feel I should have to pay the upcharge since you are out of everything I wanted. No reply. SERIOUSLY???

So I conceded and ordered the Brussel sprouts and mashed potatoes and my finance ordered her meal and a salad.

After we ordered our server never came back to the table to check on our drinks.

Our food came but guess what no salad!! My fiance wanted to get up and walk out.

A food runner brought out our food, not our server, and about 5 minutes later our server showed up with her salad. My finance was not happy!!

My steak and sides were pretty good and my fiance did not like here dish.

While were waiting for our dinner I noticed the manager or possibly owner walking around to tables asking how everything was. Table touches. He never came to our table.

Our bill came out to just under $80 and we left the server $5 to let her know that we didn't forget the tip. Her tip was a direct reflection of the poor service we received.

It's too bad we will not be back because the place is cute and my food was good.

I hope this review will be used as a training opportunity so that other dinners do not have the...

I used to like this place until I recently had dinner with a friend there. First, we were going to be seated next to a loud table that had about 5 inches in between them And the table we were going to sit at. When we asked if there was another seating option- the owner or manager told us that they reserved the other tables for customers who were coming in soon and that “ the whole room with be loud soon anyway.” We ended up sitting by the window and by the door so it was cold. And an hour into our stay, there was barely anyone there and all the tables we asked to sit at alternatively were still empty.. Then, I ordered a side salad to start and was told it was 8 bucks instead of the 4 bucks that was advertised. I was told that the 4 dollar salad is only if you upgraded your side from an entree. That’s fine- but can you please update your menus to eliminate confusion? The worst part was that I ordered their Waygu burger medium. Whatever they brought out to me looked absolutely disgusting. I did not realize it was possible to make a small part of the inside of the burger a little pink, but the rest like a burnt hockey puck. No joke. I’ve had better burger at McDonalds. The bun was dry and crumbly and was about 10x bigger that the meat patty. The patty fell apart as soon as I picked it up. The outside of the patty was burnt and black. I had It sent back to have it redone. The owner or head manager guy came out and said that is basically how their burgers turn out because it’s an “ open flame grill” that makes no sense to me as this was a complete garbage burnt nasty burger that would have charged me 23 bucks. He basically said that this is how they make their burgers - translation- you better get something else. I did not want anything else off their menu. I was so disappointed by then, all I wanted to do was leave and not come back. Do better - if you’re going to charge astronomical prices for your food, please actually make it worth it. Also, the male owner or manager- I appreciate that you attempted to do service recovery but you may need a lesson in customer service and how to grill a proper burger. We did have a very nice server who...