fourteensixteen — Restaurant in Lyons Township

I am Brian Shea from 201 S. Ashland Ave., in La Grange. My wife Martina and I have lived here for 25 years. We took out another couple to 1416 in 2023, right before we left the country for a year. We had been good customers since its opening. Our credit card was left at the restaurant and when we called the next day, we were told they would look into it and get back to us. They never called us back, so we cancelled the card and paid to expedite shipment as we were leaving soon. A week later, they did call to say they did have the card – a young server had put it in the wrong drawer. These things happen. When my wife Martina went to retrieve the card, the manager at the time apologized and offered a free appetizer and bottle of wine when we would be back home after a year. Fast forward, we came back from overseas. We called for a reservation and explained – on the phone – what had been promised. The new manager, named Zipa, said he could not find any record of this, but would honor it nevertheless. At the restaurant, after we were seated, he came over and told us since he couldn’t find any record of this, he couldn’t honor it after all. And that he tried to call us to tell us just that. His call came in after we had entered the restaurant and I had turned my phone off! There were many other customers on the rooftop at the time, and we felt very humiliated and left. Basically, he was accusing us of trying to scam the restaurant – we were so embarrassed and angry. Once home I did find all of our charge records of our visits – not sure how he accused us of never having been there before. I didn’t care for the freebie anymore, we neither needed or wanted it. To protect our honor, I went back to show Zipa our charge records about a week later. Zipa told me at that point that he indeed had been able to find our charges in the meantime, and that Paul, the former manager, remembered the incident. When asked why he did not call us to apologize, Zipa said that he thought it might have been awkward (?!) Then he added that Paul wasn’t quite sure that we did not already take advantage of the free bottle of wine and free appetizer! When I asked if he believed we were trying to scam the restaurant he equivocated. We will not be going there again, unless there is a new manager who truly apologizes for how we...

I've been here on 3 separate occasions, lastly being Friday, July 21st, in which we sat upstairs/outdoor. On previous visits, we sat next to the kitchen window (I would consider it the chefs' table) and in the main dining area. From the moment you walk in, you are greeted w/ friendly faces and large smiles. Each experience has been enjoyable and each person on the wait staff (during all 3 visits) has been friendly w/ great personalities. You never feel rushed to order and/or leave, nor do you feel ignored. The attentiveness is just right. The first visit (chefs' table), we were able to see literally everything in the kitchen. The cleanliness of the kitchen was unbelievable, which completely made the experience worthwhile. Being able to see your food being prepped and cooked from beginning to end in an extremely clean environment is so important. I was sold on the clean kitchen and prayed the food was good. Everything from the appetizers to the main course and even dessert was phenomenal. I don't consider myself a 'foodie,' but I don't know if there is anywhere you could go wrong with this menu. The mixture/creation of ingredients for the menu items really leads to a tasty, delicious meal. All 3 visits we were greeted by Nikola, the general manager. Looking at him, he easily exudes happiness and confidence. He always has a smile on his face. Seeing him at work, making his way to different tables, speaking to the staff, speaking to us patrons, shows his love for what he does, but also his attention to detail and every aspect of the restaurant. I believe this is his true passion, and not just a job. Every visit, his recommendation was spot on for what we had a taste for, and even times when we didn't know what to order. Please don't pass up the opportunity to dine here, MORE THAN ONCE! Don't let the location of not being downtown Chicago steer you away either; it is well worth it. You never know, you might venture out in the...

Rooftop views, fine dining, and colorful cocktails were the highlights of our meal at Fourteensixteen last night. I ordered two appetizers, the smoked trout and scallops. Their menu isn't that explanatory about how dishes are specifically prepared, but our waiter Tim made up for that. He made sure to tell me what the smoked trout was, mixed in mayonnaise and served with toast, saying how the menu doesn't describe it that way. I appreciated him clarifying that, but it still sounded delish, so I did still order it. The scallops (served with Lobster Polenta, Ham Hock, and Pork Belly) were tasty as well. My mother had the Green Circle Chicken main course and loved the flavorful lemon rosemary sauce so much. The half chicken is oven-roasted and pan-seared, served with asparagus.

We shared a lemon bar with blueberries and pistachios for dessert. I love the lemon blueberry combination, and the pistachios gave it just an appealing amount of light crunch. I wasn't sure what the nut was and asked our server, and Tim was kind enough to check and report back. As he observed, we devoured the bar after both thinking we were too full for dessert!

To drink, I first tried the Riveter from the Libations list, which was an elegant shade of rose served in a martini glass. Then, I ordered from the Q Mixers Highball menu, the Q Ginger Beer, which was refreshing with the pineapple. I was given the whole bottle of ginger beer to add to the glass as I drank it down!

It was gorgeous weather for the rooftop despite the windy day, and everything was excellent from the food prep to the service, even their reservation system. I made reservations for the rooftop online via Google a couple days prior, and the day before our reservation, I received a text to confirm, followed by instructions for dining on the rooftop. Then, I received a text 30 minutes before our dinner time reminding me we were due there in a half hour. Quite the advanced system...