The Hampton Social - Burr Ridge — Restaurant in Lyons Township

If you are looking for a place to gather with friends and family, try the Hampton Social. There are several locations, but I headed to the one in Burr Ridge. If you drive from the south side on a Saturday afternoon, you will run into traffic on I55, but it should only take 45 minutes from Hyde Park. I was happy to see a free parking garage adjacent to the Hampton Social. The hostess greeted us immediately and offered to seat us even though our entire party was not present. We sat at a large booth. There was enough room for six people to fit comfortably. However, it was only four of us dining. If you are concerned about spacing, don't worry. The noise level was appropriate, and the natural light made the room glow.

We started with specialty cocktails: Espresso Martini, I Glitterally Can't and Hampton Frose. Everyone enjoyed their cocktail. I ordered the Espresso Martini, and I only needed one. The edible gold is a nice touch. We ordered from the share & socialize menu: Monkey Bread, Bang Bang Chicken and Lobster & Brie Dip. I tried everything. The bread reminded me of my favorite pretzel place. The chicken was crispy and well-seasoned, and the seafood salad and slaw were tasty. I ordered the dip, and I was not disappointed. If you like pita, you will enjoy this dip. The portion sizes were perfect. We ate everything.

We also ordered from the cold bar, soup & salads and hand helds menu: Shrimp & Octopus Ceviche, New England Clam Chowder, Hampton Cesar and Shelter Island Chicken Sandwich. The ceviche was fresh, and the house potato chips were crunchy. We were satisfied with the timing of the food. The server checked on us and replaced the water bottle when needed. We enjoyed our time at Hampton Social, and I will be back. The live music was great. Do not forget to leave a tip for the entertainment. Oh, order shots. I enjoyed the...

I had been wanting to come here for a while, so I wanted to go all out for lunch. The one star I'm giving is for our server and the dessert, other than that, everything was absolutely horrible including the treatment from the general manager. The shrimp and octopus Ceviche had zero flavor and there was maybe a few micrscopic shards of the tiny little salad shrimp, no octopus whatsoever, it was mostly jicama and microgreens and there was a few chunks of avocado. We also ordered the appetizer that was a lobster and Brie dip that was supposed to be hot when when we received it. It was cold. We sent it back. We received it again and it was still cold and we sent it back. THEN... it took about 30 minutes and when we finally got it it was hot the way it's supposed to be served and it was very good. It was a Wednesday afternoon and there was only about 6 to 10 tables in the building. The manager should have been touching every single table to find out if everyone was doing okay. I asked to speak with him and explain to him what happened with our appetizers. He seemed bored and disinterested, a very poor excuse for a manager. When we received our entrees - I ordered the Buttery lobster roll (Manhattan style) it was neither warm nor buttery it was dry and the lobster was rubbery. I just chalked it up to another waste. In addition, the lobster roll is extremely small. I didn't even care to complain about anything, anymore. I will just chalk it up to a loss. Thankfully, the donut drops for dessert were amazing. There are way too many good restaurants to waste your money on this one ...so just forgo the pretentious atmosphere, the overpricing and the cheesy decor of fake...

Great ambiance-but I wouldn't go back for just that. We had a group of 16 for dinner. The seats were super uncomfortable and people in our party were standing up for part of the meal because of it. We got seated at the high tops-which was the only place they could be seat our party-even with a reservation 3 weeks in advance. The portions were small and a little pricey. A few of us didn't eat much that day because we were looking forward to a delicious dinner. It's a good thing that we ordered a lot of appetizers because I would have gone home hungry. I'm not a big girl and I dont eat a ton, so for me to be hungry, means there wasn't much food. The service was decent. The food was okay, but not great. The pizza app was okay, the zucchini chips with tzatziki were okay, the calamari was flavorless. The batter fried shrimp was greasy. I ordered the steak frites and it was cooked petfectly for me-although I was never asked how I wanted it done. It was med-well. I'm sure many people would want it more rare. There was an unexpected spice on it that neither I nor my two gfs that tasted it could identify. I thought it was fine, but neither of them cared for it. The fries were very thin-just like I like them, but for me they were a little salty. Our server was okay, but the most helpful and friendly person we came across, was the guy mopping up after our server dropped a tray of wine glasses and a beer. The guy with the mop was great, made food recommendations, and was very personable. So, the only thing that is saving the restaurant is the ambiance. Overpriced, mediocre food, $8 draft beers and a $25 corking fee. I guess the "cool setting" will have to...