ERIS Brewery and Cider House — Restaurant in Jefferson Township

If I could give this place a zero I would, but it is specifically due to our interaction with just one person - the woman who claimed to be the manager there, Angie.

My sister, boyfriend, and I walked over to Eris last night (Sunday April 14th) to enjoy the beautiful weather we were having and sit out on their patio. We walked up to the host stand, told the host we were wanting to sit outside of course for a table of three, and wanted to see if there was a wait. She said it would be about 25 minutes for the patio. We put our names down, and we even in fact spent money and ordered three ciders to have while we waited. We stood outside, and we couldn’t help but notice the 5-6 empty tables. With that being said, my sister and I have both worked in the industry for years, and I myself have managed a restaurant before, so we gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed that those tables were perhaps reserved for later reservations.

30 minutes had passed, so I just stopped back inside to check in with the host to see how much longer it would be for our table, and she says to me “We’re actually closing our patio and are no longer seating out there”. Which I followed up with “Well we reserved the patio with you so we could sit outside, that’s why we’ve been waiting 30 minutes, so we could sit out there”. A good 10 seconds of silence goes by and she says she’s gonna go get her manager because that’s what her manager said, fair enough.

A few minutes pass by and my sister and boyfriend come inside because I had been gone for just under 10 minutes now. A woman starts to make he way down the front stairs and shouts down “Are you the people who wanted to sit outside?” Which we said yes, and she says “Yeah we’ll we’re not doing that anymore”. To which I say, well 30 minutes ago we had reserved the patio, the host confirmed we’d be seated on the patio and that’s why there was a wait. To which the “manager”, Angie, immediately cuts me and my sister off, FULLY INTERRUPTS US, and says “Well I can’t do something we aren’t doing anymore”. We told her we didn’t want to eat inside and that we clearly weren’t eating here anymore (obviously because the disrespect and lack of professionalism that we’ve witnessed) to which she makes the snide comment of “So you’re not going to eat dinner anymore tonight because you can’t sit outside??” To which my sister and I almost laughed at becuase of course we’re not eating here spending our money on you, and we want to go sit outside somewhere!

Like I said, I have managed a restaurant before, ran front of house service, dealt with customer relations, and that was a horrible performance from a FOH manager. She was incredibly condescending. The three of us are in our mid 20’s and there was a large age gap between us and her, so ageism definitley played a part in how she thought it was okay to speak to us, it felt like we were being reprimanded. She was interrupting, which blows my mind because that is just terrible behavior from ANYONE, regardless of relationship or position.

She mentioned there were some people who called off today, but in this industry, you need to adapt, and never almost pick a fight with a customer. She was lucky that it was the three of us, who have compassion and admiration for this industry, but a huge shame on her part and maybe even her superiors for either allowing this kind of behavior, or even be unaware of it. There was also a good 7-8 people standing behind us, so it’s safe to say that she embarrassed herself and the business, because it was obvious those around us understood the situation.

My final point, it drove us nuts that they got us to even spend our money there while we waited for something that never came around. Not that my business would make much a difference to them, but we live in the area, and we’ll never go back there again and will definitley tell those around about what...

I've found my new favorite cider and ciderhouse! Easy to access from the suburbs or city (see below), great atmosphere, absolutely amazing drink and food, I'll be back soon.

Wanted to try ERIS cider but hesitated to buy a four-pack of a single flavor--solution, visit the brewery and try several! So glad I did. Had six cute little 5-oz tasting glasses with on-tap options and a surprisingly fantastic fried cauliflower appetizer (note the "chili" in the sauce, which offers a nice but not overwhelming kick). The brewer(s) here really, really know what they're doing, with so many options for different palates:

Pedestrian - their mainstay, light but flavorful, just as described, like a glass of granny smith apples (though not too tart, not at all dry or boring).

E-Phoria - their new take on Pedestrian with a pop of vanilla -- note I don't say "hint," as it's sweet (Gala rather than Granny Smith) and vanilla-forward, but delicious if you like that flavor. This will be my new regular fave.

Melessence - less melon-y than I expected (I'm a Midori sour enthusiast), but if you draw in air to your palate with a nice mouthful of Melessence, the melon comes through nicely. Light and refreshing.

Van Van Mojo - the mention of hops put me off, as I hate beer in all its forms, but this blueberry cider was not at ALL beer-like. More like Uncle John's seasonal blueberry cider (which I love), with nice body and very pleasant farm-fresh berry flavor. The hops seemed to give it a bit of an earthy nuance--nice!

Punx - a limited edition twist on E-Phoria (it seemed to me) with cherries and pineapple, VERY flavorful, again vanilla-forward.

Rhubarbenheimer - saved the best for last, this is like a unicorn exploding in your mouth! One of the best flavors I've ever experienced. A bit tart and sweet, this is cider for sweet-tooths. The rhubarb is fabulous, too. I wish this were produced at least seasonally if not regularly, but it wasn't even available to go (no howlers or growlers, as with most other on-tap options). When I return, as I surely will, this will be my dessert drink, after E-Phoria with the main.

Bonus: it was a great little tourist adventure using the Metra from the western suburbs. ERIS is conveniently right next to the Irving Park Metra and El stops (!), and the timetables to/from Ogilvie (OTS) meshed perfectly to give me a short "layover" between my UPW train and the UPNW train to Irving Park (same short wait on the return trip). Bought a day pass and so took the whole round trip for $6. Much easier than I had feared, so this place is easily accessible from anywhere within either the Metra or CTA El systems. Well...

We went on Thursday at 6pm ordered appetizers: Smoke Veggie Wings that was good and the Beer Cheese Pretzel. It was ... meh! .... the sauce was bland and to soupy. I asked for salt and never received it. Not photographed I forgot to take pictures.

The Steak was $24 and arrived to us cold. The Chicken Piccata tasted like it was in just a light gravy with capers and no lemon it was $19 and was at most luke warm. Both were very bland and lacking flavor. I again asked for salt and never received it. I never salt my food because I use spices. Both of these dishes were very average.

The Moon Garden Cider was good and very light. I will get to the Mac and Cheese in a minute. We were seated in a booth; myself, my 17yr old and my 10 year old with my 74 yr old Mother. While we were eating appetizers they seated a family with a baby, a toddler and 4 adults. The baby was sitting on the table to the right of that Mac and Cheese. That toddler sitting so close to me is not my child. Just because I have a 10 yr old at my table is not a reason to sit other children with me. I come out to eat to relax. Not to share a table with a toddler and an infant who is literally sitting on the table! When I asked the hostess why she would seat a toddler with us when there were plenty of open tables she said "well we sat them with you because you have kids too." In fact, this is true one drives a car at 17 and the other is 10. Quite an age difference here. Mine don't sit on tables with their feet on it!

So while that Mac n cheese looked tasty it wasn't mine but it was so close I took a picture of it too. I think its creepy to sit a child that age so close to a complete stranger. I was surprised the adults did seat her between them. I guess I look like a safe mom. We did ask for the Manager to complain about our bland cold food. They never came and we never received salt or pepper. Once we were done it also took our check 15 minutes to come.

Service was slow. Our waitress seemed afraid of her own shadow and really couldn't describe the food. She described the portobello mushroom sandwich as smothered in BBQ sauce which is why I didn't order it.

The place has potential but you have to wonder if the chef ever tastes their own food because it is very bland and very average. With some tweaks here and there this place could be top rated. This is my 3rd time here. The first time it was good (Mother's Day Brunch) each visit it seems to get worse. Sadly. This is my local community and I really want to love this place...