Oliver's Bar & Grill — Restaurant in Bradley

Let me first say I had never had a bad meal at Oliver's -- Kankakee or Bradley. Both places I've enjoyed some stellar meals. So I'm hoping Friday night (6/13) was just a hiccup. I'm giving my overall Oliver's experience 4 stars but this last meal was 1 star at best. My wife opted for two appetizers as her meal. Bone in hot wings and the pretzel bites with hot cheese. She's a former restaurant manager so she knows a thing or two about food quality. She thought the chicken wings tasted off like they was near their expiration date. The pretzels weren't as she remembered from a previous visit. Not fluffy but kinda hard and stale. My meal was the all-you-can-eat fish. I loved the French fries and the coleslaw was some of the best I've ever had. But the first order of fish came out with breading soaking wet -- like the oil temperature wasn't hot enough. I asked for two more pieces of fish and they were very crispy and far more appetizing. I washed down my meal with a 3 floyds gumballhead. The beer is my all-time favorite and I know what it drinks like. Oliver's needs to clean its tap lines. We paid $62 with tip. Not the most memorable meal at Oliver's. There's...

I went there tonight with a group of colleagues. This was my first time. It was an unusually busy evening because it's the first day of lent and they had a special. It took about an hour to seat us and the waitresses were truly wodnerful despite being stretched thin because of the volume of people. Our appetizers came out pretty timely, the spinach dip was pretty good and so were the large sized mozzarella sticks. We ordered buffalo wings but did finish them. I ordered the bayou shrimp that's supposed to be Cajun inspired but honestly it tasted like nothing. Like the batter was never seasoned and the shrimp were pretty soft and squishy so I just stopped after the third one. The sauce that was served with it didn't really help either. The skinny fries were pretty great. A side order is GIGANTIC. My coworker ordered a chicken pot pie that was served in an overbaked bowl and then served on a flat plate so she couldn't really break the bread own without risking the entire contents of the bowl/pie...

I dine in at Oliver’s on a regular basis, and this review is a long time coming.

The food is always delicious, filling, and affordable! I usually get the Steak Poutine, which has never let me down. And that goes for every other dish I’ve tried. And the Friday Fish Fry is next level. It’s all you care to enjoy, reasonably priced, and the fish is some of the best Fish Fry I’ve ever had.

And I’m always happy when Nicole is my server. Nicole is a prime example of someone who excels in providing extraordinary service. She always recognizes me and welcomes me in. Nicole is very knowledgeable with the menu, offers friendly suggestions of new menu items to try, and she never lets my drink go empty. Nicole always makes me feel genuinely welcome with her smile and hospitality.

I continue to look forward to each and every visit to Oliver’s. I just had some today for lunch, and I had another amazing experience with the food and Nicole, yet again. Never a...