Lucky Monk — Restaurant in Barrington Township

I bragged to my son about the grilled cheese cheese burger awesome I had it years ago I said ....finally after years of time finally was able to set it up n make reservations on mothers day , my family and I made reservations for 645 we live about 30 minutes away...got there at 630 got inside and waited like the all the others n over hearing that reservations are 20 minutes behind finally getting a table at 710 not once made a stink understanding the holiday etc...sat n ordered after about 10minutes later....got our food about 55 minutes later...noticing all the empty tables around us as we sat and waited, started wondering what was and what is the delay on seating n food ....?? Possibly the pathetic busboys they have working there?? we have never seen such slow moving busboys ever, no matter if the table were needed or not , as they (2) chatted at every table they cleaned at snails pace ....eventually getting caught up in about the hour we waited..at one point one of the two busboys put this right behind my sons head?? Not to safe or smart ...even the hostesses shook their heads at their pace of work of their busboys while we were still waiting for our table.....Food wise now ..my wife and daughter had the cheese pizza which was fine but nothing to brag about and the big pretzel unfortunately the one dipping sauce was a chocolate butter that was super cold totally unspreadable , ..I have to say the burgers took a dive since I last visited the grilled cheese cheese burger was more toasted bread then grilled cheese, meat patty was smaller in circumference also there for extra toasted bread with no meat to throw back on the plate . , (I never had a issue paying for a great burger or steak etc no matter the price)...now I dont know if it was the "backed up kitchen" as i was told for the reason the burger sucked or a new cook since last visit?...but Obviously the kitchen cant be backed up with all the empty tables??? I Rather would of had liked the truth if I'm gonna be told something about the extended delay even without asking about the delay...bottom line theres no reason to come back now ....over all I hope their issues get figured out ...the facility is very nice though....thanks for listening Good luck. As you saw the Lucky monk responded to my review and offered something in lue of our poor experience at the restaurant...unfortunately the Lucky monk has yet to full fill their promise of their offerings....again I could care less for free stuff because all i ever wanted was the great lucky monk food experience I came back for ....shame it goes this way ....thanks...

Sorry, long post.. We made a reservation for 7pm and got sat right away. The host and person who sat us were friendly. It was pretty packed, understandable considering it was a Saturday. Also, I get it’s a pub but the music was so loud especially in the secluded lounge area we were seated. Our waiter, Mario G., kindly greeted us at our table after a few minutes, asked if we had ever been there before and took our drink order(water and coke). He had asked if we had ever been there before, we said no, and he explained to us that the tap was not working but other alcoholic beverages were still available. We don’t drink beer so we paid it no mind, but I guess this has been an issue for some time reading previous reviews. Anyway, he came back with our drinks, my husband ordered an alcoholic beverage and the nacho appetizer. Mario came back with the drink and we ordered two of their burgers(I ordered mine medium well). Then we waited.. and waited. During our almost 1hour wait, my husband ordered another drink which was brought to him quickly and Mario refilled our waters. We sat there awkwardly watching other tables eat wondering where our nachos were. I looked at the time and it was 7:50pm. A few more minutes later, and another waitstaff person came by to drop off our burgers. But wait! Where were the nachos!? Mario came by to ask how things were. I told him we never received the nachos and we needed utensils. He apologized and made the excuse that he was so busy… I was offended by this …what terrible thing to say. Were we not important enough to be serviced properly like we watched you with the surrounding tables? I’ve worked in food service and there’s alway someone to run food to your tables(like some did with the burgers). He asked if we wanted the nachos still but at this point we declined. He then brought our utensils. I took a bite from my burger and it was medium rare. Still bleeding! I didn’t say anything about it, I will still eat it. But it was not what I wanted and had to remove some of the beef from the middle. Mario checked on us maybe one more time while he was cleaning his section. Seemed like he was first to get cut and wanted to leave asap. We were never asked if we wanted refills on the coke. I heard about this place a long time ago so my expectations were pretty high. The burgers were really good and I want to try other things in the future. I’m just extremely disappointed in the service we received tonight. I’d like to come back but I doubt my husband...

You have to have a burger here! it will change your life! I was not expecting to eat burger at this place when I arrived, I was expecting to have a steak or maybe some pasta but the moment I asked our server what this place is known for he said "hands down our burgers." At that point I decide to ask him my favorite question, WHATS GOOD HERE? He pointed to the Smoke Daddy IPA BBQ burger. I accepted his recommendation and ordered some calamari to start. Walking in, this place looks fancy but once your sit down you get the feeling this place is super relaxed. My server was super easy to talk to and friendly, he had no problem giving advice and his suggestions on what to try. A friend and I sat near the bar area. My appetizer arrived in the right amount of time, it only took about 5 to 10 minutes and once they arrived we noticed that they looked bigger than your average calamari. We started to dig and noticed that the Calamari were lightly crispy on the outside and had the right amount of chew on the inside. Not rubbery at all, just right! We were impressed. There was enough Calamari for two people to share and not get full or be disappointed in the size. Then there was the burger. OMG I was not ready for the height and flavor from this dish. When the burger arrived it looked like it was made for a camera. The bacon strip were perfectly fried and where just hanging off the burger asking to be eaten first. The bund held everything together nicely and was the right amount of softness and crisp on the outside. Yes you will need to slice this burger in half before you take a bite and man does it look nice when you cut it open. I had my burger cooked to medium which was just right for me. There was plenty of flavor from the meat, cheese, bbq sauce, and that oh so good bacon. The Bacon is the start of this burger and wow was it good. The crispy onions added a nice crunch and brought the dish together. Sadly to say, the fries were lacking flavor. They needed a seasoning salt to really make them standout. With a power house of a burger the fries really needed something to standout. Once I salted them they were okay. My friend order a swiss burger with mushrooms and bacon and she loved every bite. In short the service is relaxed and fast. The Burgers are the best thing on the menu. And the French Fries needs improvement. So would I recommend this place? Yes, but you better invite me and have a burger...