Buckinghams Steakhouse and Bistro — Restaurant in Elgin

Treated my dad for father's day. We arrived 30 min early for our reservation but were seated immediately. It was a phenomenal experience. Our server honored our request for a slow and relaxed time. Attentive enough but none of the table servers/bussers were intrusive at any time. This fine dining experience may have been too much for dad. My martinis were fantastic, he had Jack and Coke. The French onion soup was definitely "high end;" it had flavors I wasn't accustomed to and you could even see all the fresh herbs that were used. Not out of a can like most other restaurants. We shared the chateaubriand for 2. The steak was cooked perfectly. Dad prefers medium while I prefer med rare. Served table side, our server did a great job of serving the two of us accordingly. Yes, the more narrow end of the filet will cook to a higher temp than the thick end, but that is expected. I loved the potato au gratin but dad thought the potatoes were underdone. He "[prefers] the ones out of the box." Dad thought the carrots were underdone. I thought they had the perfect balance of bite and sweet, but may have benefited from a bit more color. We had a mudslide for dessert that was delicious - not watered down with too much ice cream or chocolate. Dad thought the straws were too narrow - sorry dad it's meant to be sipped not chugged. We also shared a delicious creme brulee. I do appreciate a "personal" experience with our server and don't recall him giving us his name, but I know that's not preferred by everyone. My receipt had the cashier name as Matt, so if he served us I hope he will be informed of our compliment. He helped me provide a beloved dad with a very special experience. For a lower-middle/middle class consumer, definitely worth it for a special occasion! I will budget for...

Buckinghams is an interesting place to try and review because of the strange experience I had here. To the point that even though I am just getting around to the review after a month or so, it still sticks in my mind very clearly. The food was great, or at least, the steak, the spinach, and the desert we had was -- the bread was okay at best (but that isn't the star of any steakhouse, clearly!) What really gets me is that for as good of food as they had, and for as much as they were charging, I would've thought the staff would've been a bit better. It's actually such a splitting thing in my mind because I would be rating them a 3.5 if I could and I keep changing my review between 3 and 4 stars because I can't. Overall, a good portion of the staff was just generally inattentive and a bit full of themselves. I get that you are working in a fine-dining restaurant, but that doesn't mean that you should act better then those around you. We were still paying customers. There were certainly exceptions to the rule, one of the gals, I wish I could remember her name, was an absolute delight, and I think she is why I am sticking with the 4 stars now instead of erring on the side of three. While she did have an issue with missing the glass while pouring water, it was easily overlooked because of how funny she made it, and the fact that it was a breath of fresh air to see someone with such personality. On the merit of food, I do think I will give Buckinghams another try when we are looking to go to a finer establishment in the area, as it certainly was not a bad experience -- I just hope the staff is a bit better when I come in next. I don't want to feel like a burden for coming into a restaurant where I am about to drop a pretty...

Waited a long time to try GRAND VICTORIA CASINO’S BUCKINGHAMS STEAK HOUSE & I’m sadly disappointed in most of the food I chose, and particularly the service from our waitress. INDULGE was a place I would frequent, until changes made it unappealing. Everything at BUCKINGHAMS STEAK HOUSE was OVERCOOKED...lump crab cakes, calamari, salmon, chicken Parmesan (chicken had to have been rushed cooked from frozen because I’ve never had chicken that tough to eat..especially in chicken Parmesan). Blonde-haired lady was our so-called server, (barely seen her the entire visit) but a gracious Hispanic gentleman with a low haircut mostly tended to us, clearing our table & taking our drink orders. $130 later, I was left with a feeling of lackluster, because this place was actually a goal of mine. In their defense, we did arrive at 10pm & they were closing at 12am. Also, we did not order steaks which may be their signature, so maybe that’s why the other items where prepared the way they were. All in all, I was mostly disappointed by the service and personally I don’t mind well done food but everything was just plain overcooked. Please do better for the...