Theo's Steaks & Seafood — Restaurant in North Township

DONT EAT AT BAR After all we tolerated with grace (hiscoughing/sneezing/apparent illness while handling our drinks & food) his abrupt shortness w/ us in comparison to his jovial interactions the Caucasion customers…the final straw was watching Billy, Bartender, get upset when my sister calmly asked for our food to be bagged separately because we drove separately and were leaving separately. He had a complete meltdown and commenced to demonstrating he was upset and slamming glasses.

Im certain the rest of my review will mean nothing to this long-time community, mainstay where I realized tonight my business is neither wanted nor appreciated & will not be missed. However, in consideration of the $246 I spent this evening as well as the hundreds I have spent on prior visits, I’m entitled to share my experience tonight which was certainly my last time dining at Theos. Nor will I any longer recommend this place to my extensive network of industry colleagues, church members, family & friends who respect & seek my input for alternative fine dining experiences outside of Chicago loop area.

For those considering dining here Do not eat at the bar instead please do yourself a favor &,receive the appropriately trained hospitality from the waitstaff at a table. The money you will spend deserves that. As the night continued, the service we received worsened and we felt unwelcome. We really tried to give Grace because it became obvious that the bartender did not feel well. However, it also became more than obvious his decorum was more welcoming & kind to the non-black customers at the bar. Even when I asked for another drink, I said when you get a moment, could you get me X but he quickly snapped I’m really busy I’ll get to it when I can. Never would I get that response at a downtown steakhouse.It really made me want to cancel the request. But before I could do so he sloppily made the drink, not even asking if I wanted the dirty martini, more dirty or not, which is commonly asked to ensure not too much olive juice is added, but he didn’t care by that point; even as he began to make the drink he had a very poor attitude about it and eventhough I said thank you he didn’t even look back at me at a certain point he stopped acknowledging us. The drink had way too much olive juice in it. Even after our food came, we decided we no longer wanted him to package our food to go. We told him he would do it, but he completely ignored the request And packaged our food to our disgust. I had a question about the cost of the steak that I ordered because it was the same steak (Tomahawk) I ordered a few months ago for $40less. Even in the ordering process he kept referring to it as a Cowboy; never attempting to ensure he was on the same page with me as the customer. Although I was shocked about increase in price I had no issue paying it; understandably As someone who has dined there before, I was just seeking understanding. I asked the female owner, Who was at the bar to explain it, and “lo and behold” all of a sudden Billy is interested in us again and he just blankly replied you asked for the cowboy and that’s what you got; imitating his lack of customer service, she also agreed with him instead of asking if I had any more questions. This is never the type of treatment I would receive as an at an upscale steakhouse in downtown Chicago nor anywhere else for that sake. We are obviously not their preferred customer demographic. It was Demonstrated extensively who their preferred customer is with the difference in treatment he made obvious between me and my guest and non-black customers. Realizing his & the owner’s Reluctance, as well as their inability to have a discussion with memy sister nudged me and said let it go. She knew they would paint us as a stereotype & make it look as if we didn’t want to pay. That was truly not the case which is why our next steak meal will be at Maestro’s in the loop where they demonstrate award winning customer service and you can enjoy your fully...

Usually I would give 5 stars for Theo's but this time it was not one of their good days..and they we're not busy. I went on a Sunday about 3pm, for an early birthday celebration lunch. When we got seated, there was water on the floor and we advised the busser, he went and got a cloth napkin to get it up and then threw the napkin on the table next to us ( although they use paper tablecloths it's still unsanitary and the dirty napkin has now touched the clean table, utensils and napkin). When he comes back to pour water we let him know in a very nice way the mistake he made and he had a look on his face because he himself couldn't believe it, I said slow down it's ok, just change the setting and paper...He never did! Until the manager was walking by to ask was everything ok, we told her so that she could change it, she did. Then when our server came over made I let him know that I was using my birthday certificate, he said ok, I just need to see the email and your I.D ( showed him). I ordered the Theo's Sampler, Soup and Baked potato, Mom ordered the Porterhouse Steak and my hun had the Pork Chops, the soups were served, it was hot, the salads came they were to cold for mom to eat, so she sat her's to the side. Instead of coming over to ask was everything ok he assumed we were still eating the salads, so I waved for him to come over and asked when was our meals coming because the people around us was getting their food, it was like 20 minutes after our salads, he said I'm sorry I thought you we're still eating salad...when the food came it was room temperature and the potatoes were cold. By the time the potatoes came back the meat and veggies were cold, we literally got our food to go. Never was asked about dessert until after the bill...then was advised that I couldn't use the certificate towards my meal that it had to be an " entree" I let her know the server was aware of what I was using he didn't advise me of that, so just take it off the Steak then...the manager now comes over and try to explain I told her she needs to speak with her server because he was aware of the certificate before I ordered and when I ordered, she honored it and took off my order because she didn't want to take it off the higher price of that steak. The ironic part of this is that the couple sitting close to us saw what was going on and said " I think it's under new management" I said " I was thinking that to myself, because I don't see any of the regular staff the atmosphere didn't feel the same" her husband says' yes, I didn't feel that warm greeting we usually get". So apparently we weren't the only ones noticing a change. Anyhow I enjoyed my food once I got home! I'll still go back. Btw the server was ok could've been more attentive, maybe he was...

Beware of the Waiter's Sales Tactics!

I have never written a restaurant review, but my recent visit to Theo's in Highland IN was frustrating enough to warrant one. While the food was okay, the service left a bad impression, particularly regarding the waiter's approach to desserts. When the waiter approached our table, he asked if we would like anything else or if there was anything he could assist us with. We expressed that we were full and requested to go boxes for our remaining food. He took our plates to box up our leftovers and then returned with a tray of cake slices, asking which ones we would like. He also inquired if we wanted anything written for a special occasion. We chose a slice of cake, mistakenly thinking it was complimentary. Given that we had previously stated we didn't want anything else and wanted to box our food, I thanked him, believing the cake was a kind gesture.

After bringing the cake and our to-go boxes, the waiter waited until we had taken a few bites before asking if we wanted him to box the cake for us. We agreed, and then he brought out the bill. We paid the bill (which already included a 20% gratuity, as we were aware) and left a small additional tip. It wasn't until we left that I realized he had added the cake to our bill. This felt like a very underhanded move, especially since we had never mentioned dessert. We had clearly communicated that we didn't want anything else and had asked for our food to be boxed. The way he presented the dessert led us to believe it was complimentary, as some restaurants do. I am very disappointed.

Bottom line: If you decide to eat here, keep your guard up--especially when the dessert tray come around. We won't be returning.

Response to Owner: The owner responded to the review and stated that waiters are trained to present the dessert trays as part of the experience. This does not clear anything up. We've been here before, and this was the only time a dessert tray was presented to us. It is clearly a sale tactic. Why would the waiter bring the desert tray after we stated that we didn't want anything else, wanted to-go boxes, and we were ready to pay the bill. The waiter didn't ask if we wanted dessert before the bill, he brought out the cake tray and told us to choose one. See how that would lead us to believe that it's complimentary? Is this also part of the training?

Hopefully you can train your staff to clearly state that the dessert is not complimentary and will be added to the bill.

Very Dishonest...