Cooper’s Hawk Winery & Restaurant — Restaurant in Gurnee

Overall just a mid experience for what it costs this far out in the suburbs.

The food is good, not mind blowing but also not really any different than competing restaurants at similar or even half the cost. You also don't get a lot of food. You'll easily finish it without a to go box. And to be fair, you won't go hungry. It's kind of like some of the smaller dishes at olive garden.

When we were approached if we wanted more bread and said yes, we still never got more bread.

The waiter was busy, nice and knowledgeable. We didn't care for the gentle nudge they do to sell you a wine membership. I wanted to tell him to be quiet and leave us alone tbh.

I didn't go out to be advertised to, there's plenty of that everywhere else in life and it's annoying. A luxury place wouldn't annoy it's patrons but then again this place is just fake luxury so I suppose that explains it...

But going back to the topic of food...

Texas road House gives you twice as much food at half the cost and their steaks are hard to beat not just in price but also in flavor, and texture.

What you really pay for at C.H. is for the experience they try to sell... Which seemed half baked tbh.

The place is modern and luxurious looking style without many actual luxuries, it's in the design, it's the kind of cheap fake luxury you also get at Olive garden which I also give about 3 stars. But to be fair, Cooper Hawk looks better with their choice of modern style and lighting. Will it feel the same in a few more years, I don't know.

The very simple and open floor plan is like highschool lunch all over again but this time with adults dressed nicely and who are equally as loud and annoying as the lunch room kids you grew up with.

They consider themselves a winery yet they keep a ton of wines on a wall rack at very warm room temperature.... So ehh. Maybe they got a cellar somewhere but still. Room temp wine? I bet that room temp will be different in the winter vs the summer too.

The more I analyse this place, the more I think about lowering my review score lower than 3 stars and if I'm being honest I'm never coming here again.

My wife felt the same about the place without me even telling her how I feel about it since it was her who picked the place. I didn't want to be the first to say how I really felt.

The lack of privacy when eating and those loud people can just keep that to themselves. There's nothing luxurious about that. Nobody whispers. It might as well be a pub.

If I want that atmosphere I can just go to Chicago, it's not that far and there's more to do than out here in the middle of nowhere Gurnee.

You can definitely find more luxurious, private, and quieter dining experiences downtown with a more distinguished crowd.

The first red flag btw was even before we went inside we could hear loud cackling from half way across the parking lot from just two people making their way towards the door. It was like a preview. Lol

That's my 2 cents. Though it seemed most of the people inside loved the place. You might be one of those people who enjoy the loudness and lack of decorum imo, you won't know...

When I heard Cooper’s Hawk was coming to Gurnee, I was quite excited. We have dined at this restaurant at other locations in Illinois including Lincolnshire and St Charles. The Gurnee location has a long way to go!

The restaurant is a beautiful establishment, inside and out. And it’s more than just a restaurant. The lobby boasts a wine bar for sampling a wide variety of in-house created wines. It’s a fun experience for those who have never partaken. The lobby also doubles as retail space that offers products to support everyone from a wine novice to the most truly wine-informed aficionado. Get ready though - a simple wine glass is $60!

This particular location is quite busy, with mandatory reservations for dinner. What I learned after four visits to this location for both lunches and dinners is that everyone waits. Even if you have a reservation, you are put off to the side where you wait 15-30 minutes for your table.

The highly diverse menu boasts both vegetarian and gluten-free options. The appetizers are quite good and well-portioned. Not the case with the main entrees. Most run between $20 and $35 and they barely fill up half the plate. We have been there for both lunch and dinner and found this to be true. I had a lunchtime Cesar salad that came out on a very large salad plate with shallow sides. There was 50% less salad than I expected. I opted to add chicken, but had to hunt thru my salad to find it. Very disappointed.

The hostesses and wait staff need to go back to training! Three to four hostesses fill their station tripping over each other and struggling to manage the work. One would think with that many people, it would run more smoothly. But no. It’s just chaotic and impersonal.

Most of the wait staff seems to run frantically about, and yet fail to be productive. Every one of our dining experiences here resulted in looking for our wait staff at some point in our meal. We asked for things we never got for our son’s birthday celebration dinner. Then we had to point out those errors as the charges appeared on our bill!

As if this were not enough, the biggest disappointment would be the seriously inflated prices for what most people would review as average quality food and wine. My husband and I had lunch there recently. We both ordered salads (which were missing 25-33% of the anticipated food). And we split the basic flatbread appetizer. No alcohol; we drank water. Our tab was over $60! Plus tip!

Coopers Hawk is a decent option for something new and different, but there’s nothing making me want to come back again. After four visits, this location will not become a regular haut for us. Not at that food quality, those portion sizes and certainly not at those prices! Part of what we pay for to dine out is ambiance. Cooper’s Hawk has plenty of that. But it doesn’t make up for what’s lacking, poorly done or just downright unacceptable. You can put make-up on a pig and it’s still a pig wearing make up. So...

I'm giving this place a 5 star or even more if I could. Bianca and her staffs have been wonderful, competent and been very attentive to everyone in the restaurant and I would like to just respond to Michael F's negative review:

I am truly shocked that this person has the nerve to put this review... I was witness to the events this person is describing in his review... We have been going to Cooper's Hawk in Gurnee since it opened and have NEVER encountered such rude fellow customer behavior at any restaurant.. I may not be an Ambassador but every interaction I have had with ALL the staff including the manager Bianca have been nothing but enjoyable and welcoming. I even had family in from out of town who had allergies and the staff was able to accommodate their needs. I am sure if he had been more polite instead of calling young hard working servers IDIOTS anyone would have been willing to accommodate their requests... And as for obnoxious he and his lady friend were just that... This person was rude and distasteful with his comments regarding Bianca's staff by calling them idiots because he and his lady friend were acting like spoiled children who couldn't get their way... It was appalling especially since this was an Elderly couple with plenty of years on them...

They were goading Bianca at every interaction after insulting her employees they then proceeded to tell her she was a bigger idiot than her employees. The lady friend went even so far to tell her that she needed to be retrained...

I am not sure if I was lucky to have been sitting so close to watch this whole interaction but I'm sure glad I was so I can tell everyone this review definitely does not tell the whole story... Shame on these old people to be so rude to the younger folks. They should be kinder and gentler with people sending an example of how to behave in public and how to interact with dignity with others. It was a very very busy day to have to deal with such nasty people...

My heart goes out to Bianca and her staff and I'm sure if that old man's mother was alive she would be ashamed on how he treated this young lady and her staff...

Obviously being Mother's Day weekend it was very busy and the restaurant should not have been bothered with such rude people and if they think the staff and managers are such idiots why did they become Ambassadors? They insulted Bianca on several occasions in many different instances... This review is one of bullying and should be removed from this establishments...