Wooden Paddle — Restaurant in Lemont Township

This was our first time at Wooden Paddle’s original location and our second try overall after visiting the La Grange spot. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. Between the value, quality, and portion sizes, we do not think we will be back.

TLDR: Cramped seating, uneven service, and overpriced food. One dish was forgotten, not worth it ... better options elsewhere.

We went on a Saturday night, and while the place was not very busy, it felt like a lot of small details were being overlooked. We were seated in the far corner of the dining room, which had a cramped layout. I had to ask another guest to move so I could squeeze around a column. There were open four-tops available, but we were placed at a tight two-top instead.

Service started off fine but went downhill as the night went on. We had to flag down our server multiple times for water refills, to ask for a second round of drinks, and eventually to check on a missing dish.

We started with drinks: an Aperol spritz and a glass of white wine. The spritz was solid, but the white wine was served at room temperature. I probably should have spoken up, but it was still a basic oversight.

For food, we ordered the arancini, Caesar salad, Grandma’s Pie, and a pasta dish. The arancini was the highlight, with a crispy exterior, warm interior, and nice goat cheese flavor. The Caesar was disappointing, underdressed, overly cheesy, and served with croutons that tasted store-bought. For the prices, I expected house-made croutons, especially since they already serve bread and make pizza dough.

The Grandma’s Pie had a great crust with nice leopard spotting, but the sauce was far too sweet for my taste. It was also added after the bake, not under the cheese, which did not help. I think it is the same sauce they use for the Spaghetti O’s dish.

The pasta never came until we asked about it. We were told it had accidentally gone to another table and needed to be remade. The server admitted the mistake and comped the dish, which we appreciated. Still, the timing was off. We had finished most of the pizza by the time the pasta arrived, and everything had gone cold from the AC vent blowing directly over our table.

The pasta itself, a pesto and shallot cream pappardelle, had good flavor but some issues. At $27, it came with only five small pieces of chicken. For that price, I expect leftovers, and this did not come close. Pappardelle also was not the best match for a creamy sauce. Linguini or fusilli would have worked better.

The bill, with the pasta comped, came out to just under $100 for two people with two drinks each. The preset tip options were misleading. What was listed as 15 percent was closer to 18 percent, and 20 percent was around 24 percent, calculated after tax. That kind of tactic feels dishonest and leaves a bad impression.

I hope management reads this and takes an honest look in the mirror. We would love to support a local business, but right now there are other places out there that are either more affordable or offer a better product at...

Since The Wooden Paddle opened its doors, I’ve considered it the best and well put together restaurant in Lemont - hands down for our family and friends anyway. I called it MOZZA (an LA Pizzeria) east - which has been my favorite pizza place on earth for years. Like MOZZA, wooden paddle has been consistently ON every time we showed up on any given day of the week. This all changed this past summer. I brought my best friend for dinner(his first time) and the kitchen had a bad night with consistency and way off the norm. The pizza and salads were at best average, unlike the quality I typically receive. But I was not inclined to write a poor review as these things happen to the best of us. But unfortunately, last night was the third “off” night since last summer where things are nowhere up to par.

My favorite arugula salad is now gone, and the leaf salad I ordered was 1/3 the quality and quantity. Almost half of my bowl bottom was visible it was so empty - quite surprised by the lack of quantity. Maybe like 4 pieces of green leaves - literally.

There are a lot has changes in the menu (which I always welcome) but when inquiring/trying to order… 3-4 items items were already out by 5:30 pm??? Including the only vegan cheese. - again really disappointing so early in the night?

Or kids' Margherita pizzas were swimming in overcooked cheese after specifically ordering very easy cheese. The dough was not the puffy crust and elastic as it usually is. As if the dough did not get enough rise time.

My mom's Buzzkill pizza - which is my go-to - was almost great - but swimming in honey - a pool of honey/liquid underneath the pizza - again that has never happened before. But the crust was much better than the margarita pizza’s somehow?

My wife tried to modify the Wild Mushroom Orecchiette dish to no avail. The waiter was super nice and helped try to customize something to remove the dairy from the dish, but the mushroom pasta was delivered to the table without mushrooms!!!!. The team did add 1 pizza mushroom (but none of the others that were advertised on the menu : lion's mane, oyster, and chestnut mushrooms) after they were made aware, but yet another dish that was a huge disappointment.

Lastly, the timing from the kitchen was sporadic - everyone eating at a different time.

After this 3rd “off” visit in recent months with quality issues, is sadly not the restaurant I can depend on anymore, which makes me very sad. Maybe there is too much focus on the new opening in LaGrange? Maybe it’s a new staff? Maybe it’s another night off - I don’t know of course, but just wanted to make...

I have been going to this restaurant since 2020. We loved it and would always bring friends and family, so they could see how great this restaurant is. When it came time for us to bring my sister in law from Oregon, we had no doubts on bringing her to Wooden Paddle. However, this past Saturday (5/25) was unlike other visits.

To start, the restaurant was extremely dirty. Floors were grotesque. This is an extreme concern, especially with health and food safety. When I walked past the kitchen and bar to use the restroom, I could not believe how dirty the floors were. Walls were dirty, as well, especially on the way to the restrooms.

Now, this is not where this poor review ends sadly. Our waitress was extremely unprofessional and inattentive. When first visiting our table, she was making comments and staring at the family next to us, reacting in a shocked and grossed out way due to the a child coughing and sneezing in a napkin. She told us, "this place is crazy" in response to what she saw. Yes, gross, but extremely uncalled for. Those are customers. I am a teacher, and I found this to not only be inappropriate but also to point this out to us was absolutely unprofessional. Even when it came time for the bill, she continued to be unprofessional. When talking with her, another waitress whispered in her ear, and she abruptly left us and did not give us the bill. The happened literally in mid conversation. When she came back, she we gave us the bill and had realized that she forgot to give my SIL a drink she ordered.

Now, for the food. It appears as though that has taken a decline, too. I had the fried mushrooms, which had no taste. The duck fat wings, were also not good like in the past. They used to have a crunch to them, but this time they were chewy. Pizza was fine. Arancini was fine.

We spent a lot of money on our visit with 5 people, and I expect more from Wooden Paddle. We have taken so many of our friends and family here, and we have never had an experience like this here before. Otherwise, we would have never returned. It's upsetting to see a place that we liked so much turn out to be such a huge disappointment. Perhaps it was Memorial Day weekend, and it was too much to handle. But again, I expect more from an...