The Happ Inn Bar & Grill — Restaurant in New Trier Township

I wanted to share some feedback regarding a recent retirement party we hosted at Happ Inn. We had high hopes for this event, especially given the glowing recommendations we had received about your venue. While there were aspects of the evening that we truly appreciated, the planning process and overall experience left us disappointed.

Our initial contact with your former private event manager was warm, responsive, and accommodating. We had a clear verbal agreement and were in the process of finalizing a contract when our emails suddenly went unanswered. After several attempts to reconnect, we learned that the manager was no longer with the restaurant and were directed to a new contact.

Unfortunately, our experience with the new private event manager was markedly different. From our first interaction, we found her demeanor to be unfriendly and abrasive. It quickly became clear that our event date had not been reserved, and we were forced to restart the process under much less accommodating terms. The pricing we were quoted was significantly higher than what we had initially agreed upon—both the per-person cost and the event minimum. Our original plan, based on the initial verbal agreement, included heavy appetizers priced per dozen, non-alcoholic drinks, and a bartender to open drink tabs for guests. None of these elements were honored as expected.

Despite our efforts to work collaboratively and respectfully to find a resolution, our interactions with both the event manager and GM remained frustrating. While they eventually agreed to meet our maximum budget, the final package was disappointing. For our group of 35, we were offered 8 dozen appetizers and one oversized platter serving 20 people—barely enough food for the number of guests, and at a rate that worked out to approximately $58 per dozen. Additionally, the event included an open bar with very limited beer and wine selections, which we did not want, and were not given the option to remove.

On the day of the party, the event manager greeted us in a similarly cold manner. Thankfully, the rest of the staff was professional and welcoming, and we appreciated their efforts throughout the evening. The space was beautifully set up and the food, while limited, was delicious. That said, many guests left the party hungry—something that should never happen at a catered event.

We truly believe that the person planning private events for your restaurant should reflect the warm and welcoming atmosphere you hope to offer your guests. Unfortunately, the current event manager does not possess these qualities, and her demeanor and handling of our event have left a lasting negative impression.

While we understand that businesses face economic challenges, treating potential customers with respect and consideration should remain a priority. Given our experience, I will not be returning to Happ Inn nor recommending it to others—despite the great things I had...

We arrived for a group dinner and was sat immediately. Being the first to arrive we asked for separate checks. The waiter immediately launched into a story about how they don't do separate checks because "people move around and change seats" and its hard for them to serve the food properly. Apparently this is a defcon level 4 event at The Hap Inn and they could only break up the table in groups of three or four on a separate check. That was fine with us. Weird. But fine.

We ordered drinks and the server was quick to refill our cups as soon as they were empty.

The rest of our party arrived and asked about separate checks and got the same bizarre story. Eventually, the server came over and told us that there would be separate checks as it was arranged ahead of time. And truth be told. At the end of the meal, all the separate checks were kind of messed up and had the server running here and there trying to fix them.

I ordered the bison burger with lettuce, mustard, pickles (an additional $0.50) and crispy onions (also $0.50 extra) and horseradish sauce. I ordered the fries as my side and got ranch for dipping. I also ordered a cup of their chicken tortilla soup.

The soup came first. It was okay. No spice to it. at all. It was borderline a creamy tomato soup with diced chicken bits and chopped up tortilla strips. Iy was okay, but I wouldn't get it again.

The bison burger arrived and it was cooked to perfection. The horseradish sauce was not added to the sandwich and did not cost extra, so I didn't care. The pickles and the crispy onions were served on the side of the burger, so it was a little DIY which I also thought weird. The fries were nicely seasoned and crispy outside and soft inside and the ranch had really good flavor. I used this on my sandwich a little.

The burger was so juicy, the bottom bun eventually fell apart and I finished with fork and knife.

It was a great burger, but they up-charge for silly add-ons put a bad taste in my mouth (pun intended).

They added gratuity to all our checks which was nice. There is a 3% surcharge that you can have removed from your check upon request.

You can pay by cash, card, or QR code off the Toast app. That makes it much easier.

Overall, the meal was good, the space was nice, and the server was very good except for the story about people moving around. Worth going back and trying...

Could this place BE any worse?? It started with the entrance being blocked by a huge bus apparently there to drop off a big dinner crowd.So, parking lot which was jammed was even worse. Place was packed and super noisy. Waited a long time for server. Took our drink order. After a while I reminded him I never got mine. He said, he would get it “ the next time he went to the bar”! Ordered grilled calamari. Very spicy and mostly arugula not much calamari. Had the dinner Cobb salad which was slightly larger than the side salad. One in our party had a soft drink and asked for limes but got lemons! One person ordered quesadillas which were way over cooked and dried out and hard to chew. We ordered carrot cake for dessert. The server brought it and put it on the table for the four of us to share. As we picked up our forks, he swooped in and literally took the cake away from us with no explanation and put it onthe table of four next to us! When I was finally able to get ahold of him, he said he had inadvertently given us banana pudding by mistake which the other table had ordered. Had to repeatedly ask for more drinks. We got no bread with our food. Then after a long while he finally came over and asked if there would be anything else. I asked him for coffee which he brought but, again, no refills (@ $4.50 a cup). Finally we got the check and I saw a 3.5% surcharge. I asked why and he said to ask the owner. Then he hovered over me the whole time I was using that little device to pay the bill. The service was awful but I left a 15% tip. As soon as he saw that, he literally complained to me why so small? He said did you not get good service? I told him no and he said he was sorry but the place was very busy tonight!!! WOW. Will NOT...