Granite City Food & Brewery — Restaurant in Naperville

I went here for Easter brunch and it was amazing. My bill was $100 including tip for 2. I have to say that the hostess, staff and management went out of their way to accommodate two people with disabilities in what could have been one of the most chaotic hectic serving periods and holidays brunches. They got the seating that we needed in a location that we needed in a great time which we worked to try and stay out of the most busy time. They did it with kindness and understanding and I couldn't have been more pleased. The breakfast buffet was unlike anything I've ever seen the quality was Superior, and they had staff continuously rotating to ensure quality and that everything was full and nothing had been dried out or empty at any time. The prime rib was spot-on and having lunch and type options as well as breakfast options including fruit I can't say enough about this Buffet. I had a raspberry mimosa that was delicious. Our waiter was amazing even though we had a buffet. If you can ever get into one of their buffets I recommend it a million times over.

Fast forward to Wednesday night, April 11th 9:30 p.m.. They are open till 11 p.m. which is great because most Restaurants are not open however that cluster near there they are all open until 11 p.m. we chose however Granite City. There were a few patrons at the bar and three tables with patrons. There was one bartender and one server. Service was slow when he finally came to our table I had questions about the menu and he ended up mid-conversation excusing himself to greet another table and ended up taking their order before coming back to ours to not only finish the conversation but to take our order first. Not only did he creeped them but he ended up taking their order putting your order in and not getting back to us. I ended up ordering Mahi tacos and a raspberry mimosa like I had had on Easter. I have to say the tacos there was so little fish on the three tacos I actually had to build it into two to get fish in there however the flavor was delicious it was seemed as though it was the end of the night and they just put leavings in there. My mimosa look like watered-down something or other with grapefruit juice in it and tasted terrible and there was not a raspberry insight. I approached the bar and ask the bartender if they happen to be there on Easter and she had said she was I said I would like a raspberry Mimosa like they served Easter Sunday. She said okay and I had stated this tastes like it has grapefruit and there's no fruit in it she grabbed the drink and said "I told you I would make you another one..." I was so taken aback I just walked back to my seat. However the second Mimosa shows up and it's the same thing water down tasting like grapefruit with no raspberries. At this point was not worth the fight especially at that hour with a rude bartender. This time around I was extremely disappointed and I never feel that quality should be sacrificed dependent upon the hour that you arrive. By the end our service headed improved by our waiter, and of course the food tasted delicious and it was done to perfection however again there was no fish on two out of the three tacos. I wish I would have sent the second Mimosa back and I wish I would have sent the tacos back however at 10 p.m. I was starving and it just wasn't worth the battle at that point.

I don't know what you should take away from this review however I would definitely without question give this restaurant a try because the flavor of the food is amazing, maybe just never go past the dinner hour and I only get the mimosas when they are serving them for special events. And if you ever have the opportunity to try any of their buffets this is a given and a definite...

This first part of the review, which is two stars at best, is actually from a couple of years ago. Food prep could be better - read on. I ordered the dark flight of four. The glass of the Broad Axe was 1/3 head on top. Not a full four ounce glass of beer that I would expect. My wife and I ordered the bowl of onion soup. Hot, rich and beefy. Very good. My wife ordered the Bennie Mac and Cheese. Very good, but the piece of toast that came with it was over done and dry, mostly air as far as bread goes. Flavor was good though. I ordered the Short Ribs per the recommendation of our waitress, vs. the bone-in ribeye. I should have gone with the ribeye. The portion was small - three ribs, maybe three to four ounces of total meat. Throughout, I kept tasting/chewing on tiny bone fragments, like you might find in cheap hot dogs or sausage. I know from experience this is ONLY a result of poor preparation. Bony meat cuts should ALWAYS be scraped with a knife, sharp spatula or other appropriate device before cooking to minimize the leftovers from the cutting process. I needed to use a sharp toothpick at home to remove the last piece from one of my teeth. We might still return to try different menu items.

Update

My wife and I had dinner again here on March 12, 2022. We were seated somewhat promptly after a short wait due to staffing. It's unfortunate that people don't want to work these days. Anyway, we ordered the onion soup bowl again and it was very beefy, tasty and delicious. I again had the beer flight of four. It is a better deal than one pint of one beer. I still was somewhat saddened that 3 of the 4 glasses didn't arrive full. See the photos. Each glass of beer started off with a nice head, but as that diminishes the bartender should top it off. I mentioned this, and the waitress was happy to take care of it, actually bringing a small tasting glass with a little bit more of each of the three. That was a nice gesture. Another thing is the waitress had all four glasses in one hand, which made a mess. Granite City needs to design a four glass carrier for this menu item so that it can be carried by hanging on one or two fingers if necessary. My wife ordered the Chicken Toscano. We both agreed the chicken was somewhat bland. Needed more seasoning. Otherwise it was good. I ordered the limited time Corned Beef dinner, with the roasted brussels sprouts and potatoes. The corned beef was nice and tender, the potatoes nicely done and the roasted brussels sprouts were delicious! I will have to try them like this at home! I rate it four stars due to the inability of the bartender to properly fill the glasses of beer, and the Chicken dish could have been more flavorful. Perhaps more training is is order...

I had worked with this venue for a couple months now in order to plan a bridal brunch here. I was disappointed in the service I received through Angela, whom is the manager in charge of events. I was misinformed regarding the pricing from the start. In addition, the amount of time it took for responses was unseemly. Then I was sent the contract less than a week before the event where I then saw the more expensive pricing that had not been told to me in advance. At this point it was far too late to find another venue and I was basically screwed no matter what and didn't have a choice but to pay it. Then we fast forward to the day of the event. We had one waitress for a group of 20 people. This by itself was unacceptable. If you are paying for bottomless mimosas for 20 people you would expect more timely service and more assistance. Besides the fact that this waitress was not friendly at all, she did not even smile once the whole time. It was clear she was not happy to be working this event. When you have a large event scheduled you should make sure you have enough staff to cover it. The waitress proceeded to rudely let me know in front of the whole party that we were going to be cut off from mimosas for the last hour of the event. This is something that should have been expressed to me prior to the event beginning. As well as she kept snapping at me about keeping the door to the outside shut as well. I then received my bill with a 20% gratuity already added, which I understand due to it being a large party, but I was extremely disappointed in the service we received and didn't feel that it was even earned.

The room itself that the event was held in was perfect and I think that if the management/ staff was different it would have been a better time. The event I hosted was a fun time, but I would not recommend hosting anything here anytime soon. Maybe another Granite City will have better staff. The event was great but ultimately I was disappointed in the way we were treated and taken...