Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Downers Grove

I rarely leave reviews - and when I do it’s typically because of incredible service that should be rewarded. Sadly, that is not the case after my most recent experience at Cooper’s Hawk in Downer’s Grove, IL. Let me start by saying - I currently hold 2 memberships at CH - one Elite Ambassador and one Ambassador membership. Additionally, the friends with us on our last (and final) visit hold one Elite Ambassador and one standard membership. Between the 5 of us, we spend approximately $35,000 per calendar year at CH (not including our VERY generous tips). We have found it to be a relaxing spot to entertain, not only ourselves, but some corporate clients as well. We have developed great relationships with many of the outstanding team members you have at that location, and that’s what I’ll miss the most about going. That said, our last few visits to your Downer’s Grove, IL location have been so terrible, that I’m disappointed to say, several of us will not return and will be permanently canceling our memberships.

On our last visit, after our wine tasting with Monica (who was amazing as always, by the way), we decided to sit at your bar and have lunch. You had a new bartender working that day, and (though his name escapes me) he also did an excellent job. However, once Devon (I believe that is his name) arrived behind the bar, our experience dramatically changed for the worse. We overheard him making an incredibly rude comment to our friend (one of the other Elite Ambassadors I mentioned). When I asked her what he said, he overheard me and made a point to shout at us from across the bar. I couldn’t hear him well, but it was something to the effect of, “What…? I’m right! You know I’m right!” At that point, he made a point to cross the bar to us and said, “I know you’ve complained about me to my managers before. Would you you me to get them so you can complain some more?” Absolutely unacceptable. Also, inaccurate. I have never complained to anyone about Devon in the past. (Though, two of the members in our party apparently had a terrible experience with him on their last visit, where Devon followed them out to the lobby shouting at them. I was not aware of this interaction until after my incident with him.) Devon would not stop harassing us at this point - so I finally told him he needed to walk away. I paid our tab, tipped generously per usual, and left. I asked to speak to EJ (your General Manager), with whom we had just spoken to less than 30 minutes prior, when he stopped by the bar to say hello. I was told he was still on-site, and would be right down to speak with us. I was eventually greeted by a management trainee, who informed me that “EJ had to run to the grocery store because they ran out of something.” I doubt the validity of this, as he was most likely still attending to the guests of Tim McEnery’s private party upstairs. (Clearly they were more important than us.) Either way, I left my contact info for him and did not hear back. And for the record, I waited nearly a week to hear back from him, with the hope of avoiding a negative public review.

All in all, we had a terrible experience and I am incredibly disappointed that I’ve wasted so much money with your company. You clearly do not appreciate my loyalty. Devon should be fired immediately, and EJ should treat his (your) devoted regular guests better. I am very aware that our measly $38,000 annually will not make a dent in your bottom line. That said, though I cannot speak for my friends, I’m taking my personal $15,000 annual purchases elsewhere, as I refuse to spend any additional money with a company allows their staff to treat guests with such disrespect and doesn’t value my loyalty. There are many places that will welcome my business. I’ll seek them out, and will be canceling both of my memberships immediately.

Thank you for your...

We had a reservation for at 715 for 6 people to celebrate a birthday on a Saturday. We got there at 7pm and we were told it would be a short wait while they turned some tables. 720 rolls around and I check again and the hostess tells me that they are still waiting for tables to be cleaned off. There were other people that were waiting too and being told the same thing. 740 and still no table. I have checked at least another 5 times and kept getting told the same thing. Several other people were waiting for their table and also being told the same thing. When we looked in the dining room, there were quite a few tables that were empty, just not fully cleaned.

750, we finally are seated. Mind you our reservation was at 715. Why take reservations on Open Table? 10 minute wait, fine. The hostess also couldn't give a time frame. After being seated, we wait another 10 minutes for the server to get a drink order and another 10 mins for our drinks to be dropped off. Terrible. Now for food...we order kids filet medium rare, skirt steak medium rare, filet and grouper (filet medium), kids hamburger, shrimp risotto and one grouper. Also ordered 3 lobster bisques. Soups were great! Our food came out after 35 mins. My daughter's filets were RARE...she was starving so she ate them. My son didn't eat his burger, they put some lettuce with dressing on it. I told the server a plain burger. He didn't want to wait for another burger so he ate fries and fruit. Now my filet and grouper, filet was medium rare, I wanted it medium. My husband's skirt steak should have been medium rare it was well done! We would have sent the food back but everything was dragging and lagging and our server didn't even check to see if we needed anything so, we just wanted to get out of there already and not wait for dishes to be made over.

I put on our open table reservation that we were celebrating a bday. We have celebrated birthdays here before and they have brought out a little dessert with a candle. Nothing. Just a bad experience. Will stick with Naper location. $285 check, not worth it. We got there at 7, we didn't get out of there until 945 and not by choice...it was because of waiting forever for our table and for the slow service. Not one apology from hostess, mind you a ton of people were asking what was taking so long. She gave everyone the same answer, waiting for tables to turn. Servers not cleaning the tables. If you are understaffed, don't take all those reservations.

One last thing to note, a server dropped a couple plates that broke and some of the debris hit my leg and my 7 year olds. Thankfully neither one of us got cut or hurt, but the server that dropped the plates didn't even check the tables around to see if...

Cooper’s Hawk was absolutely terrible, and I’m still in shock over how rude and outright racist the staff was. This place needs serious management overhaul and a refresher on basic decency.

It all started when we arrived and ordered drinks. As we were toasting, one of the glasses broke and spilled on the table. Instead of handling it professionally, our server Alex aggressively interrogated us, demanding to know how the glass broke. We calmly told him we didn’t know, and his immediate response was to threaten to check the security cameras. Why would he say that? What was he implying? I told him to go ahead, and his only reply was “I will.” He then completely ignored us for over 30 minutes, and we had to send someone to the host stand just to get a new server.

To no surprise no new server ever showed up. At that point, we went up to the host stand AGAIN to ask where our waiter was. Finally, the assistant manager Alexa came over to take our order—and her entire attitude was condescending. But the real shocker came when we ordered drinks. The manager looked directly at the only Black person in our group and asked, “Are you sure you want to do that?”

It was clear that this was not a simple mistake—it was racism, plain and simple. We immediately confronted her, asking why she singled out the Black person in our group. She defensively responded, “My fiancé is Black.” Why did she feel the need to say that? It came across as a desperate, dismissive excuse, and it only made things worse. The way she treated us was unprofessional, rude, and deeply offensive.

And the service didn’t get any better. We had to buss our own table, which is something I’ve never had to do at a restaurant, especially when I’m paying for a full-service meal. When we told the manager about it, she casually said, “I don’t have to look; I know.” If she knew there was an issue, why didn’t she do anything to correct it? Why didn’t she take responsibility or make it right?

Throughout the meal, the staff kept staring at us and whispering to each other. It felt like we were being watched, judged, and singled out for no reason other than the color of our skin. The disrespect and racism were undeniable.

Cooper’s Hawk was a disgrace—not only because of the terrible service but because of the outright racist behavior we experienced. We were treated like second-class citizens, and it’s clear this place has a serious problem with how they treat their customers. I will never return, and I will make sure to share this experience with others. If you value your dignity and respect, do not waste...