Wood — Restaurant in Lake View Township

Tldr - terrible server, super slow food to come out, 2 of 5 dishes did not match the menu. Food was overall was fine.

I've been here several times, good cocktails, service in particular time to get dishes out is always slow - particularly so on this visit.

We are on the outdoor patio which is nicely covered and protected us from a brief downpour

Our server was not good. He said about 10 words in the 2 hours we were there. He did not talk about the menu, did not suggest ordering all at once - in fact said "no rush" when we ordered wine and small plates to start. Checked on us maybe 2x in the 2+hours we were there due to...

Super slow food, I assume this was the kitchen not the server but I don't know. It was over 20 minutes from when we ordered mains until they came out.

We ordered a bottle of Buena Vista Pinot Noir as we know and have visited the winery. It came out already opened which was sus - I'm giving the "benefit of the doubt" that the server just didn't know how to use a wine key so they opened it inside? Best possible scenario I can come up with. It took at least 10 minutes to get the wine after we ordered. We were not offered a taste of the wine it was just poured (in terrible tiny glasses) and he left.

We ordered "Heirloom tomato toast" and beef tartar.

The tomato toast was very much not heirloom tomato - just regular grocery store beefsteak. They were mealy and completely unseasoned. The only reason we didn't send them back was because the waiter was nowhere to be found.

Beef tartar was good - very fine texture and very creamy, maybe a bit under seasoned.y partner thought it was too finely chopped and too creamy/overdressed, but a matter of preference...

Again when we were (finally - over an hour after our arrival) served the "Spaghetti Alla Chitarra al Pesto" was not the "hand-rolled ramp pasta" listed on the menu. It was very average machine produced spaghetti. It was over-sauced and the pesto was very watery. The past was properly cooked and the dish was well seasoned - and hot, so the timing issues weren't with running the food or one dish waiting on another.

They were out of the Halibut my first choice, and fortunately our server remembered that after taking the order, but before walking away. So I took my second choice "Catalpa Grove Pork Duo.". The pork loin was lovely as was the overall seasoning and flavor of the dish. A nice smokey char throughout. Unfortunately the sausage was not as successful, it wasn't seared hard enough and was borderline undercooked in the center, with a less than ideal, almost mushy texture.

Dessert was "Strawberries & Cream" it was well plated and huge - glad we were sharing, though we had no plates or utensils - which the runner noticed and brought right away. A good dish but much more chocolate forward than strawberry or cream. Unfortunately the strawberries were slightly underripe and tart.

Overall a disappointing experience, poor service, slow food, and dishes that did not match the menu and less than ideal ingredients. It's too bad as it could have been great ...

It was a good value (time not withstanding) at ~$150 pre tip - though they are also including a "3% pandemic charge"...

I've always held a soft spot for Wood restaurant, the lone shining beacon of culinary excellence in Boystown, amidst a sea of uninspiring eateries. However, my recent visit on Saturday, September 9th, left me with no choice but to give it a mere 1-star rating, a drastic departure from my usual appreciation.

I had been looking forward to this dinner for weeks, as a friend from California was in town. I'd made a reservation at Wood with the intention of enjoying an exquisite meal before exploring the neighboring bars. But upon our arrival at 8 pm, we were greeted with an unexpected sight: a closed door and an entirely shuttered restaurant. Even the chairs were neatly placed atop the tables, indicating that the establishment had been closed for cleaning or some other reason.

My initial reaction was one of profound sadness and disappointment. What added to my dismay was the complete lack of any prior notification regarding the restaurant's closure. Even now, nearly a week later, I remain in the dark about the reasons behind this abrupt closure. This left me and my visiting friend in a deeply awkward position, scrambling to find an alternative dining option at 8 pm on a Saturday night. Securing a table at a noteworthy restaurant at that hour proved to be a near-impossible task. We were forced to settle for something less than desirable and had to endure an agonizing wait of nearly 1.5 hours before we could be seated.

To this day, we received no apology, no explanation, and no acknowledgment of the inconvenience we experienced for a pretty much ruined evening.

In all fairness, my past experiences at Wood had been quite positive, and I had held the restaurant in high regard. However, this incident was a glaring exception, tarnishing my perception of what had once been a reliable dining choice. The complete lack of communication and customer service during this unfortunate episode left me profoundly disappointed.

I sincerely hope that Wood restaurant takes this feedback to heart and makes efforts to rectify such glaring lapses in communication and service in the future. Until then, my enthusiasm for returning to Wood has been significantly diminished, and I'll be cautious about recommending...

Food was great; well balanced, lots of flavor. Service was good, however there seemed to be a delay in the kitchen, and some tables around us had their orders mixed up or forgotten about at one point, which the restaurant did take care of. Good bar, cocktail and wine list, lots of different drinks and good beer on tap. The small plates were excellent, but the entree menu didn't have a lot to choose from. I had the steak with corned beef, which was excellent, but very small portions. My wife had the chicken breast, which was dry and kind of nothing special. The pastrami and beet salad small plate was almost better than the entrees we had. I recommend going with the cheeseburger on the menu, I didn't, others around us got it and it looked really good. It's also way less expensive and gives you more food. We did appetizer, entree, bottle of wine and desert with two more drinks, so the bill was high (with tip, over $200). Probably a little overpriced for the amount of food we got. The bottle of wine was well priced (between $50-60) The desert (we had the profiterole) was really really good. Probably the best thing we had to eat there. I would come back but I'd probably change a few things. Way too expensive to be a regular visit so, just drinks and apps are really the way to go here. The crowd was a mix of young professionals, older classy looking gray hairs, girl date nights, friends out for drinks and couple dates. The ambiance was cool, very dimly lit with the glowing candle in the darkness vibe and some background music playing. Parking was super easy to find, right next to the restaurant. Indoor and outdoor seating available. Not too much space, our table was seated along a booth, with other tables pushed up to that and about two feet of space in between. I'd like to give this five stars, but just not quite there. Good experience though, if you're willing to spend (or overspend) this is a very classy joint to have a good meal, a good...