Bryan’s American Grille — Restaurant in Downers Grove

[Edit: updated after owner response]

The karaoke was better than the food - Sysco-disco. Locals-only - allergies need not apply.

-- update --

Bryan, First of all, thank you for the response. I will admit that my review was not constructive criticism, but your response was appropriate and polite. Let me explain the reason for a poor review. We visited your establishment based on the 4.7 star review. When we got there we did get that it's a 'local' place, and it does look good inside. Got seated quickly, kids got to the dart board, and were having a pleasant time. Locals were turning up for the karaoke, and they look like a good bunch. You should be commended for that.

However two important points: The handling of allergies was terrible on the front end. The server was 'clueless' and should have had the same response you did, but not only was her knowledge poor, she didn't ask for/get help, and didn't check in food that we asked about, and just didn't handle the whole thing well at all. We've walked out of places that had issues before, but figured that the message got through to the kitchen and ordered items that would be hard to 'mess up' in terms of ingredients or cross-contamination. The food came out fine and no issues with allergies. You can fix this with talking to your manager and wait staff - your explanation was good, but should come with guidance from kitchen and/or owner. The food that came out was across the board just bad, I'm sad to say - I don't think it's something you would be proud of: it was obvious from the amount of good left on the plates. We were a group of nine, and had a diversity of items, including appetizers. The pretzels were ok, but the guacamole was inedible and the chips that came with it were bland. I got the special fried chicken and the sweet potato fries were okay but the coleslaw was bland and the chicken while well cooked was in batter that was nauseating - I think it was the oil used. The chowder was inedible - my brother in law tasted one spoonful and showed us what it looked like. The sandwich my sister in law got was the same - one bite and done. The chili tasted horrible - I appreciated that it had more meat than usual, but didn't taste good and had a weird spiciness. I could go on through each dish but it's probably pointless. If I could make a suggestion based on your point that it's a small kitchen: make your menu smaller and use higher quality ingredients. 4 appetizers, burgers, pizza and 2 salads, 2 desserts. Keep it simple, do it well.

Now, to the rating. We are not fancy people with unreasonable standards. We are complicated because of the allergy request (two out of a family of five), but I usually have whatever the server recommends. We eat at local places like yours all the time, but also Chipotle, McDonald's, Jersey Mike's, etc. I.e., nothing fancy. I rated you one star, which was unfair as you point out - I had the intention of bringing the average down. However, while the atmosphere was a 4/5, you are nowhere near 'above average'. I would put food 1/5 and service 2/5. I have adjusted my rating accordingly. A 2.4 would be 'fair'. Do yourself a favor and go to Fuller House, and see what a 4.5 is compared to the 4.7 you managed to acquire.

Now, what you do with this information is up to you - I have gone to the length of detailing my experience, and I hope you do well and prosper - and eventually earn the rating you deserve. I get that it's hard to run a business, keep good staff and give a good experience, so I wish...

Date of Visit Jan 26th 2018 First time going to this bar and never went to it when it was Shanahan's, I guess the former owner still owns the one in Woodridge but shut down this one about 2yrs ago. . The parking is pretty tight and small and I have no clue where you would park if the place was actually filled to capacity. I do think they should add a security light to the back of the building or neighbor friendly lighting for the lot in back of the building. . The bar is a small hometown type of bar with a few TV's on the wall that you didn't notice because they were not blasting. The decor is a simple old style decor with perfect lighting so you didn't feel you were in a fast food joint. The crowd was of the older group and it seemed many knew each other and had the family bar crowd environment. We did get to meet the owner Brian (the guy in the hat) who told us a little history of how it came about and wanted this to be a bar where you could feel safe and not deal with the drunk younger crowd. . The drinks were reasonably priced and the bar tender even remembered my friends name each time he came back to ask if we needed anything. The food we had was awesome, my friend and the chicken dinner meal which is suppose to be famous, I did try a bite but didn't eat enough of it to make an opinion but it did look good. The chicken dinner came with fries which were fantastic and I did steal quite a few off his plate and a serving of coleslaw which was pretty tasty. I myself had the Reuben quesadillas and they were to die for, they had plenty of every ingredient and a lot of flavor and I will def get these again. I liked them so much I even thought of order for pick up. The dessert I had was a brownie topped with ice cream and it was okay, it looks really good but the brownie itself was on the dry side and not very brownie tasting, I think they need to find a different brownie vender and they could have a great dish. I did see a car outside and they did run inside to get food so I need to find out if they do offer take out which would be great. We did end up staying for karaoke to watch not participate and it was a nice set up and everyone seemed to be having fun. These were not people who are pro's doing the karaoke circuit and it was entertaining but is was a small crowd who sang and it could be the same people that are always there so that could get a tad boring if the same people sing every karaoke night. All in all I did really like my food and will def go again. We did sit at the bar to eat so I couldn't tell you how comfortable the small dining area was or how the service was. We did see 1 bar tender, owner and one server. We will be going again and I will see if I like it the second time around as much as the first time. . Feb 5th 2018 Went back and tried new dishes and again as pleasantly surprised. We got the Fish Fry Hamburger Soup of the day Onion...

Have spent at least 1600 dollars in the course of 2 years dinning here and tip generously. Returned approximately 4 meals over the whole course of time, due to not being cooked to order, tasting bad, etc.. The last three weeks have not been good. Fryer oil was overdue for changing, so fries and other fried food tasted bad.. only happened once, problem fixed. Then last week I ordered tacos. I literally pulled 3 long hairs out of my mouth, one which got stuck between my teeth ---gross! They voided the bill! That's enough for most not to return, but because I've been a long standing customer I decided not make a big deal of it. Several days ago I ordered a "new" item, a breakfast burrito. It was practically refrigerator cold and smothered in sour cream inside. I asked the server, "shouldn't this be served hot, because of the eggs and potatoes?" Yes, she replies. When she went back to the kitchen to ask the cook to warm the other half they were snickering and smirking. I noted that and felt very disrespected. Seriously thought of not returning again after witnessing that. I didn't say anything, instead noted it. I didn't demand to not pay nor was it offered to be comp- I paid for the meal and left. Decided one more time to try Bryan's this evening and was insulted by the owner, Brian, for returning their new "jalapeño popper" item. In the past they had them they were filled with cheddar cheese. The new ones were filled with cream cheese and not denoted on the menu as such. And too, very heavily breaded. Brian looked disconcerted as he approached my table to ask what was wrong. He was defensive off the get go. I told him why I returned them and he contorted back with "It says on the menu what they are and I'm NOT taking these off your bill!" I was shocked at his approach towards me, because its usually a friendly interaction with him in the past. He then again declares he will NOT take them off the bill. Btw, it does NOT denote on the menu what they are filled with. Some restaurants serve them with cheese and others sour cream. I exclaimed that for all the money I spent over time at his establishment that I've only returned 3-4 meals. I was incensed! I dont regret cusing at the end... especially, after I said I will never return, to which he replied, "that's a good plan"

You lost a good customer and one who appreciates his servers with good tips...over (a) specific disrespectful server and cook and especially because of your ridiculous greed.. you should have reflected on my buisness throughout the last 2 years before arguing over a 10$ appetizer! Would you pay 10 dollars to earn another 1600 plus dollars over two...