Jude's — Restaurant in Crystal Lake

What a disappointing experience! The atmosphere had a super chill vibe when you walk in. We had a reservation for 7pm, and when we walked in we’re surprised at how slow it was. We requested a seat at a high top in the bar. At first, the bartender was our server and he was great and very attentive, until they got busy. Then he seemed overwhelmed and took a while before coming back to see if we needed anything.

The drinks were pretty good. I tried a couple different of the gin drinks, and my husband had the classic old fashioned. The only criticism is that was brought to the table in this capped bottle which he then poured out himself. It would change up the whole feel if they poured it table-side.

The food - let’s just say this place is trying really hard to come up with some very unique plates but it seems like a fail to me. It Started out with some cracker like thing brought to the table with 3 dipping sauces, not sure what each of them were. We told the bartender we had never been there before so it would’ve been great if he shared what they were. Then we had the charcuterie board that comes with a pretzel, meats and cheese. The meats were literally a few slices of pepperoni and salami that seemed like they came from the grocery store, nothing special at all. The cheeses were ok… then we had the ahi tuna tacos, which were completely smothered in the sauce so you could not taste the ahi at all. Followed by the Moroccan beef skewers which I’m pretty sure was just ground beef, made into what seemed like a meatball then flatted up and around the skewer with some weird seasoning, with dried out awful tasting rice - the rice tasted burnt or as if it had been sitting in the pan all day! Then we got a dessert, the deep fried bananas fosters cheesecake in a puff pastry with a rum caramel sauce and vanilla gelato. We thought this was going to be the best part of our meal. Unfortunately it was not! First off, the server brought it to the table and when she placed it down spilt half of the sauce out onto the table - but somehow didnt notice she did that and just walked away. The ice cream (gelato?) was completely melted into the sauce, the “puff pastry” was more like a sad egg roll wrapper, and the cheesecake filling was still cold inside. (Flavor was pretty good - does that count?)

After this experience, the only reason we might return is to sit outside in the summer to enjoy a drink, otherwise overall, not impressed which is too bad - I feel like there could be a lot of...

Friends invited us to go to Jude's. Reservations at 5:30pm Saturday. This is required, this place was full already and for good reason. While it is a smaller venue, it feels spacious and very inviting. It is a bar / restaurant. I was very pleased with the atmosphere. It was not loud and it was full. I sat at a table for 6 and was not cramped at all. It has a very pleasant clean and contemporary look. The staff were impressive. Host immediately approached as she saw us enter. Big smiles and warm greetings. She walked us to our table while chatting and another server was also greeting us as we walked to our table. Our table server was bright, smiled, very informative and helpful and attentive the whole time. The food is very tapas like. Small plates that can feed one person modestly, but two plates is a meal, very filling. Yet as a group, we just ordered two or three plates to share, like appetizers and then ordered more. They had no issue with that and it keeps the items warm if you do not order all at once. What we had was very good. My favorite was the lamb chops, but there are so many choices, vegan, gluten free, meat and all were very well prepared. I do not drink, so I cannot comment on how the drinks are, but our table did have quite a few glasses removed, so someone must have enjoyed. I would definitely recommend Jude's, but strongly suggest a reservation, since this place is a gem in Crystal Lake and there are not that many, so it is...

Jude's is more than just a gin bar. They serve tapas from all around the world. Our server Paul made it a memorable dining experience. While waiting for our cocktails, we enjoyed crispy papadum with mint cucumber yogurt, mango chutney, and tomato and onion. Throughout our meal, each of us had 2-3 cocktails. Quinn enjoyed Jack & Coke and Smoke on the Water. My boyfriend enjoyed the Cold Toddy, Moscow Mule, and Smoke on the Water. Among the 3 cocktails (The PPG, Be My Cherry Pie, and Chai Some Pumpkin) I had, my favorite was The PPG, which tasted like a spiced sangria/wassail. If you didn't drink the Chai Some Pumpkin cocktail fast enough, you'd be drinking a shot of gin at the end.

Since we weren't super hungry, we shared four tapas - Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds, Crispy Peking Duck, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Black Angus Burger Sliders with Blue Cheese Crumble. The Fried Wisconsin Cheese Curds was a fan favorite. It consisted of battered and fried fresh Wisconsin Curds served with a tangy tomato aioli. I liked how the Crispy Peking Duck came pre-wrapped in a chinese pancake, crisp and fresh...