ParkSide 23 — Restaurant in Brookfield

I wanted to go as soon as I looked them up online. It looked so quaint and cozy! Went there hoping that the pictures weren't just pictures.

The actual location was as beautiful as the pictures showed. Even the parking lot pretty on this spring May Day, with lilacs in full bloom. Just gorgeous.

We had an appointment at 11:30, though we probably didn't need one at that time. the place didn't really start to fill up until around 12:15. One thing is that though we were seated immediately upon arriving at 11:30, it wasn't until 12:15 that we all got our food. There was only one other table ahead of us that our server was helping.

Our server was totally, superbly nice. Taking a little too long to take our order was the only thing that kind of irked us, but she did explain that their machine went down just as she was putting in the order form the table ahead of us. Appreciate little explanations like this!

Cobb Salad - I was oscillating between the Cobb salad and the burger, and decided on the salad cuz they didn't have keto buns. Great choice. Remember they are a farm to table restaurant, with their own farm on one side of their lot! I was reminded of this when I saw the salad, because the greens were absolutely fresh and delicious! Ranch dressing was made in house (per our server) and perfect along with the salad. Chicken was grilled perfectly, without over drying. Portion was amazing, and I actually couldn't finish the whole salad. Brought half of it home.

Roasted bell pepper - didn't expect the pepper to be sitting on top of the risotto, rather than stuffed in it! Which was better anyhow. Friend said it was delicious and finished the whole thing.

Risotto - just the regular risotto was very plain, especially compared to the bell pepper... It was straight risotto only, without any garnishes, but friend said tasted great.

Chicken sandwich - this was gone in 3 bites lol. Friend didn't comment on how good it was, but it looked scrumptious, and the arugula inside also looked so fresh.

Overall, great service, great food,...

Pretty much everyone in my party really liked the food but I had a problem with mine. I ordered the 8 oz filet which was a special. The first problem was that it was way overpriced. At $60 it was 3x more than anything else on the menu. Even for a nice filet, that is pretty steep.

Then, when it came, it was raw! I wasn't super picky as far as temperature goes. (I ordered medium.) Pretty much anything above medium rare would have been fine but it was deep red/purple! I sent it back to be cooked some more and the waitress said it would only take a few minutes. After waiting about 45 minutes it finally came back and was STILL way undercooked! 😤 I guess it was better than before but still below rare because they just seared it off again instead of putting it in an oven.

The waitress then asked if it was better and I told her that even though it was slightly more cooked than before, it was still below rare. She then responded by defending the cook and dismissing my complaint. I don't want to be too hard on her because she was really nice besides that and I'm not the kind of person that complains normally. Who knows, maybe I wasn't assertive or insistent enough. She did give us a free dessert but I would rather they take it off the bill since it was a lot to pay for something they never ended up getting right. But, in the end I was not satisfied.

Everyone else was happy so maybe it was just an anomaly but I wish they would have done a better job making it right. I've worked in food service before and my number one rule was "Always...

We’ve been going to ParkSide 23 for years and I don’t think we’ve ever been disappointed with a meal or drink here. The menu leans toward American comfort foods, with a few surprises mixed in. There’s nothing too fancy but it always is perfectly prepared and presented. The menu, both the food and also the drinks, do seasonally change which offers some nice variety to their offerings. The restaurant features its own large vegetable plot providing incredibly fresh veggies in season and allowing them to do special garden events in summer which are always well done and enjoyable.

For quick meals after our kids’ school events or after an evening out-and-about we’ll often just stop and have a drink and a snack in the bar. The drink menu offers good variety without being overwhelming, including some specialty drinks that are very good. There’s a good selection of local/regional beers on tap as well as a nice variety of wines by the glass.

The real stars here, though, has to be the staff. Many of the servers have been there for years and are always friendly and helpful with questions, and the bartenders are exceptionally personable. They even remember my wife’s favorite drink (the “Make Me Blush”) and let her know when it’s back in season before she has to ask. In what is the strip-mall and chain restaurant hell that is Brookfield, ParkSide is unique...