Balmoral Restaurant — Restaurant in Campton Hills

Went here for our 19th wedding anniversary for the first time. On our 40 minute drive over I asked my husband if he wanted me to read him the items on the menu! It took the whole ride! But mostly because after every item from the starter to dessert we kept gasping about how unique and tasty the menu was. We arrived to see the cutest brick building with wonderful warm and inviting exterior with great photo ops like an English red phone booth and gorgeous flowers. Our hostess was welcoming and gave us not the menu, but the drink menu. We didn’t see that online and were delighted with the choices. Scotches from ashtray to cask flavors and old and young. I wished my parents would have been able to try their scotch menu. We happily chose a specialty manhattan and a martini which were both perfectly made and arrived in sturdy crystal classes - very elegant. We excitedly spent two seconds holding the newly arrived menus only to tell Kylie our drive over helped us carefully decide on our selections. We ordered the haddock dip and of course - why not - the haggis appetizers. While we waited we received three breads which were all light and delicious. It was fun to use the beautiful English china. The Haddock dip was outstanding- so much so that the haddock entree could very well be our next entree next time. The haggis (made into a dip) was nothing like I thought it would be and I was very glad to see a unique take on it that was delicious with the toast points.

Now the main course - Pheasant for my husband and the famed Beef Wellington for myself. Both were complete showstoppers! After many seasons of Hell’s Kitchen I know a Wellie is a difficult one. Gordon Ramsay would sell his firstborn for this. Perfectly tender and the mushroom, pastry and glaze were the best I ever had! So tender it melted in your mouth! The pheasant was also truly spectacular- so tender, juicy and uniquely seasoned. Both of us chose the herbed marbled potatoes as a side with carrots for him and brussel sprouts for me. All three came home after one bite each and were very good but we didn’t want to waste prescious space on sides.

How on earthy did we manage the banana dessert? They had us at carmalized bananas!!! A lovely touch to include a scoop of grahams chocolate (a legend of a place in this area) on a lovely matching china heart plate with gold candles for our celebration! Kylie was the best server and really made our night special and sweet!

The decor is cozy, elegant and warm. Highland murals and tartans abound. It felt like eating at your wealthy Scottish grandmother’s family table. Definitely a gem of a place and we look forward to many returns. Wished we found you...

This has been on my list for quite some time. Originally, I wanted to do the tasting menu but it’s only limited to Mon-Thurs. I think it’s too busy on Fri-Sun and they don’t have enough staff if multiple people wanted the tasting menu. When you walk towards the restaurant, you are greeted with a bag piper. Shout out to Savanna P. She was our waitress. She was very kind and attentive. We ordered William Wallace’s deviled eggs 4 ways, Rosyth haggis drambuie, Young Bonnie Prince Charlie’s Beef Wellington, Manor house duck legs, creamy butter mashed potatoes, and ye auld sticky toffee pudding. Prices are very fair, Scottish food is not very common in Illinois. Portions are very sufficient, you’ll be full. Parking is easy. If you go on Fri-Sun, I recommend making a reservation. Just a note, the bread and butter was one of the highlights. If you know, you know,

-deviled eggs 4 ways 5 - you have smoked salmon with egg roe, crispy bacon with red onion, spicy jalapeño, and traditional with mustard. They’re all pretty good if you like deviled eggs. My personal favorites are the traditional egg with mustard and the smoked salmon. -haggis drambuie 5 - first time trying haggis. Haggis is made from sheep’s pluck (heart, liver, lungs). It’s very savory and goes well with the crisp toast. I took the leftovers home and ate it with rice. -beef wellington 5 - it was prepared and cooked well. Great price for this. The pastry on the outer layer was flaky. Meat was a perfect medium rare. You don’t want to have it cooked longer otherwise it won’t be the same. -duck legs 5 - this was my personal favorite. I would rank above the wellington. Duck is super tender and juicy. That golden maple citrus glaze and the herbs made this dish very delectable. -butter mashed potatoes 5 - mashed potatoes were perfectly creamy and buttery. It has a nice texture. Honestly, I could eat a bowl of this alone. -sticky toffee pudding 5 - We thought it was going to be sweet but it wasn’t at all. Maybe just a hint but it’s a good dessert to finish the meal. The date cake is very moist. Definitely try to eat the date cake with the whisky custard and toffee sauce...

Yesterday 8/28 was my birthday and since it was my officially old now birthday, I did not want a fuss. We decided on Balmoral as my husband is from Wales and Im from Canada and we both love visiting Scotland. Since it was a birthday I really did not want to mix with the rest of the restaurant, so our waitperson was nice enough to let us take a 4 top in the corner. We had the Chicken Liver Mousse and Scotch Eggs for appetizers, so good, the mousse was perfect light, great flavour, seasoned well, and the Scotch Egg had the perfect banger and breading, just enough spice so that we both knew they used traditional ingredients. For mains I had the Pheasant, my husband had the Duck, both were perfection on a plate, I decided on Pheasant since the last time I had it in the UK, it involved me trying to discretely remove shot from my mouth at the table, this however was cooked perfect so moist and tender, seasoned perfect-no shot so it was trapped, thank goodness, for sides I had the creamy mashed potatoes, and broccoli, my husband had the sweet potatoes, the sides were also so good, I ate all of mine which I never do, and my husband who doesn't like sweet potatoes ate most of his. The drinks also 10 stars if I could give them, I had the 007 Martini to start and 3 others on recommendations of our waitperson, also we ended it with a 2ox pour of an outstanding Whiskey. At the end I thanked my waitperson for making my birthday a lovely experience, and she brought over a dish of ice cream, which was so nice as I didn't mention it during our meal. The service was the best Ive ever experienced in the States, not rushed, very informative about the dishes, no waitperson coming over every 5mins so we could have a conversation. The atmosphere is very traditional, understated and cozy. During the car ride home, we talked about our next visit and if we wanted to do the Sunday Lunch or the Tasting menu. We will be back, worth the drive, I cannot recommend Balmoral enough. If you want fantastic food, professional waitstaff, the best Whiskey selection this side of Scotland, and a cozy old world atmosphere, dine here, you will not be...