Wildfire — Restaurant in Northfield Township

For those dining at Wildfire, we've never had a bad meal. On the patio, in the bar, in the regular dining area. Idk what it is specifically, but from a customer's perspective, Wildfire Glenview is well-run because their staff has great teamwork and professionalism that isn't everywhere you go.

For those planning a private dining event, this was our very positive experience. TL/DR: food, staff, room, planning were all good.

EVENT PLANNING & COMMUNICATIONS: The event planning managers are responsive via email. We only communicated thru emails because it's easier to keep track of discussions, menus, table arrangements, the contract, etc. We also paid the deposit online for the event/private dining in the Patriot Room making things convenient.

FOOD: On the day of our event, the food was great. Bison meatballs, chopped salad, salmon and chicken moreno, mashed potatoes, broccoli with lemon vinaigrette, chocolate cake, key lime pie. I worried that the salmon and chicken might be dry, but it was all for nothing. They were juicy and flavorful.

Kids under 12 y.o. ordered from the kids menu. Depending on the number of children at an event, Wildfire may want the kids' menu selections ahead of time, or order on the day of upon arrival.

We received praise about the menu for which we cannot take credit. Our compliments to everyone in the kitchen.

STAFF: We appreciated the timing and attention to detail by Dani (event manager), Ramses (server), and our two other servers. Everyone was helpful, thoughtful, and professional. Ramses took initiative to discuss with me how I wanted the timing of the meals and if there were any other things they should know about or leave time for.

PRIVATE DINING ROOMS, specifically, the PATRIOT ROOM: Regarding the Patriot Room itself, this room seats up to 60, and has windows along one of the walls, making this my favorite of the private dining rooms. Wildfire has the dark and rich interior of many steakhouses, yet there is some natural light in this particular room to brighten up the room for a lunchtime event.

ACCESSIBILITY: There are two stairs to enter the Patriot Room directly. There is a ramp that connects thru a different room to the Patriot Room if that is a concern for any guests (e.g., wheelchairs, strollers, carts).

TABLE ARRANGEMENTS: While you cannot remove any tables/chairs from the room, you can arrange them how you want, so long as there's space for the staff to serve and clear tables safely and for guests.

We had ~40 guests including our photographer. We made use of every table because we had tables for guests to dine, some for decorations (flower arrangements, desserts, and birthday signs), and some for kids activities.

There is a TV and credenza in the Patriot Room. We did not use the TV. We placed some signs, goody bags, and party favors on the credenza.

Because of the space we had and kids' ages, we arranged for two kids' tables for eating. Kids 3 y.o. and under sat at their parents' tables.

And two tables were set aside (with only chairs and no place settings) for kids' activities, which we brought from home.

SET-UP TIME: We had sufficient time to set up for the event, which I appreciated. Many venues give you 15-30 minutes to decorate/set-up. Our reservation for the Patriot Room was from 11am-3pm. The length of set up/decorating time depends on when your guests arrive; to give ourselves time to set up and take family photos before their arrival, ours arrived at noon. There is a strict end time to the private dining events that is reasonable and expected.

NOTE: you cannot stick/attach/drape any decorations on their walls or drapes. This rule is clear from the beginning on their contract and we have no problems with this rule. We prepared table-top decorations for our event.

We’re happy with how the event was executed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or host a future event here.

Thank you to Wildfire Glenview and the team that made our event...

A nice atmosphere with good food and attentive but untrained service staff. My wife and I came here for our 41st anniversary. Wildfire wasn't busy but was doing good business for a Monday, pandemic notwithstanding. The Maitre d’ who seated us was a nice high school girl. Our waitress, another young lady, was very pleasant and was trying her best but, through no fault of her own, was completely untrained as a waitress. This young lady could be a very good waitress if management would take the time to train her.

Wildfire's rai·son d'ê·tre is to take a rather generic American menu and cook and present it well. They specialize in steaks with a little fish and chicken, and salad, vegetables, and potatoes mostly ala carte. Pricing is upscale for the Chicago suburbs but not out of line. Our waitress took our drink order and returned in a timely manner with drinks, onion rolls, and our side order of good cornbread. To begin, my wife ordered a "side” house salad which was offered in three sizes, “side”, “small” and “large” on the menu. This caused some confusion because the waitress thought she was trying to order a "chopped salad," which only came in two sizes, “small” and "large.” The “small” chopped salad was $16 while the side green salad was $7. My wife only wanted an appetizer size “side” green salad. I ordered a “side” Cesar salad with the traditional anchovies which, though available, had an upcharge.

When the waitress took our food order I asked how the chef would cook a steak (this being primarily a steakhouse) if I ordered it black and blue or Pittsburgh style. She never heard of either and went to ask. When she came back she said they could cook steaks black and blue, not mentioning Pittsburgh style, and not telling me whether the chef considered black and blue a cool or warm red center. Traditionally black and blue in a steakhouse means charred on the outside and with a cool red center, and Pittsburgh style can be the same or charred with a warm red center, but both may vary depending on the chef’s interpretation.

After a couple of trips to the kitchen, I ordered a bone-in ribeye charred on the outside with a warm rare center. When my steak came the server brought the correct fillet for my wife but a NY strip steak for me. I told him I had ordered the ribeye and to please correct the order and cook a fresh fillet for my wife, so we might both eat our steaks warm together on our anniversary, which they did. When they delivered the correct steaks the server gave my wife's baked potato to me and gave my side order of mushrooms to my wife, not a deal-breaker, but not professional either. When the correct steaks were delivered they were properly cooked and tasted good with the meat being of good quality. The house steak seasoning was too salty for my tastes though not for my wife.

When dining, somebody always eats faster than their dining partners. I finished my meal before my wife and, repeatedly, the busboys and waitress tried to clear my plates while my wife was still eating. Each time I told them no, my wife was still eating. This is very poor manners and makes the person still eating think they should eat faster because everyone else's plates have been cleared. Service staff should also always look at all their tables when they walk through the dining room, checking everyone's water glass and drink glass and to see if they are looking for their server. Servers should NEVER bother diners by asking if everything is OK, especially when they are chewing their food or deep in conversation. Servers should anticipate needs and be unobtrusive.

Dinner for two with two glasses of wine, tax and tip, was $180, about what I expected. We will return because the food and atmosphere were fine but we would hope for a more professional...

I booked a 70th Birthday daytime party for my husband at Wildfire Glenview on September 2 in the large private (Patriot) party room. The location was perfectly sized for our 45 guest party and two vocalist entertainers with their equipment, plus an area for light dancing. The experience with Wildfire was wonderful from beginning to end. Dani and Grace, the catering event planners for the restaurant, were amazing, professional and are seriously on their game. They returned every call and email during the planning process, so easy to work with, and super accommodating for small, detailed and personalized requests. All of the details (special table set-up, linens and seating arrangements, and food/alcohol selections) were taken care of and flawlessly coordinated between them so there was little for me to worry about. On the day of the party Dani was present and on top of everything. She was always visible and seemed to know what was needed before we knew.

The Wildfire Glenview serving staff in our party room were outstanding! They were all extremely professional, cordial, and made our guests feel welcomed and happy in a great party vibe in the room. You can see the staff are very well trained, work well together as a coordinated team, are genuine, and are focused on satisfying the customer. Glasses were filled promptly and they just couldn't do enough for the guests as they hustled back and forth to take drink orders and serve the food that seemed endless in coming out. They checked on everyone throughout the meal and no one ever had to find the wait staff. They took care of everyone seamlessly and went above and beyond to meeting every guest’s needs.

The food is a solid 5 out of 5. We started with a variety of appetizers including stuffed mushrooms, buffalo meatballs and fried calamari. Many of the guests said the calamari was the best they had tasted. It was tender, lightly crisp, no grease and cooked to perfection. The ceasar salad was fantastic and plentiful. The 3 individual choices for dinner were excellent. Wildfire is known for their steaks and both the prime rib and filet mignon garnered rave reviews by everyone. Basically Wildfire never disappoints with their steaks! The grilled vegetables and garlic mashed potatoes were abundant and deliciously prepared. No one left hungry or disappointed.

The Wildfire Team did an outstanding job by listening to us and then capturing all our wishes into delivering a wonderful and memorable party experience. Why? Great food, caring help and smart plentiful choices. I am happy we chose Wildfire Glenview to host my husband’s 70th birthday party--which only comes once in a lifetime, and extend here a special thank you to all the staff who made it an unforgettable event for us. ...