Driftwood Grille — Restaurant in Oakbrook Terrace

We were looking for a restaurant for a family celebration on a Saturday night around 6 pm. My daughter came across Driftwood Grille. We weren't aware of it yet as it most recently had been a Mexican restaurant. Reading the "About Us" section on the website tugged at my heart strings. They try to provide a variation on the Wisconsin Supper Club. My family is all about "Up North," so we were all in on giving it a try.

The ambiance is first rate. We were in the back, which was quiet. A large party was seated next to us near the end of our stay, but it wasn't bad. Wood timbers, driftwood sculptures, roaring fireplace, and classic tunes playing in the background made for a comfortable experience.

Our waiter Josue was first-rate. Friendly, professional, and accommodating. We weren't rushed and weren't pushed to order additional items.

Quite a bit to choose from on the menu.. Overall, the food was good. A couple of sight misses, but I think they can be overcome. We had Walleye Fingers and the Stuffed Pretzel Appetizers. The walleye was terrific, really fresh tasting. The pretzel was like a giant pretzel bun, which was cut into pull-apart cubes, filled with two kinds of melted cheese and served with grainy mustard and beer cheese fondue - a HUGE hit.

Entrées ordered included pan-fried walleye; Drunken Bird (pilsner-infused half chicken); a Long-Bone Pork Chop; The Wisco (Bratwurst Patty, Beer Battered Cheese Curds, Whole Grain Golden Ale Mustard, Caramelized Onions, Pretzel Bun); and a burger. Most entrées came with soup or salad. Soup of the day was broccoli cheddar, which was good. A menu regular was Booyah Stew - a tasty broth filled with beef, chicken, potatoes, and tomatoes. A nice change to the usual soup varieties. The house salad wasn't your typical iceberg with a few slices of this or that. Mixed greens, eggs, cheese, and croutons were just some of the toppings. One person thought there was too much dressing, another didn't. Chalk it up to personal preference. Now, if Driftwood really wanted to emulate a Wisconsin Supper Club, they would need to have a relish tray on the table, just saying...

The burger was good, although it was cooked more rare than requested, but still enjoyed. The Wisco was a hit. Walleye was really good, but a bit over-salted. The chicken was cooked well, not dry, but no distinguishable beer flavor. The biggest disappointment was the pork chop - it was dry. It was very thick, which made cooking tricky. My opinion is that too many people still don't trust that you can cook/eat pork on the rare side. The sides were all enjoyed. Fabulous Roasted Brussels Sprouts, garlic mashed potatoes, and smashed fingerling potatoes were all extremely good.

We finished the night with a S’Mores Skillet. Gooey marshmallows, peanut butter cups, and graham crackers in a cast iron pan. We ordered a small, and it still was more than three could share.

We noticed that there were quite a few families dining with young children. They were all so well-behaved! I checked out the children's menu, and it was really great. Nice variety, and interesting choices. A nice change of pace.

Overall, it was a really nice place. Driftwood Grille is attached to an OTB, but once seated in the restaurant, you'd never know it. We will definitely go back. We want to check out the Friday Fish Fry.

Update: Went to check out the special Oktoberfest menu. Four items: a German flatbread, German meatloaf, Weiner Schnitzel, and chicken Schnitzel. Had the first and third items...

I’ve been here many times and after my visit yetserday, I’ve decided not to come back ever. This place has so many issues. I’ve been trying to support them for 2.5 years but the issues have always been the service. The owner,Brad is a good guy but he hires horrible managers and staff who flat out don’t care. Bottom line. I’ve heard all the excuses by him and “how we are striving to be better” yada yada yada…. I’m here on my day off , in an economy that’s not forgiving and your employees are garbage. Fire them and start over, Brad. I even texted him letting him know how bad the service was and he couldn’t respond back just like the manager on duty yesterday couldn’t come to our table and apologize for everything all screwed up. My message to the owner with no response ….

“I came to support you guys today at Driftwood as I haven’t been here in a while because of past issues with service. I now live in Aurora and my gf lives in villa park. We arrived at driftwood at 1:25. Asked to be seated outside on this gorgeous day. Young hostess was completely out of it. Had to repeat myself again. She never told the server when she did seat us. Also, never gave us a drink menu. We sat out there for 20 mins before the server saw us. We witnessed another table come in after us, and the young female server greeted them first. She never told us that someone else would be with us. So now being ignored it felt like. When our server noticed us he instantly apologized and asked if we were waiting a while. I said yes, it’s been over 20 mins. At that point he apologized and said he wasn’t informed that we were here. Ok. Then asked for a drink menu at 1:50pm. Didn’t get a menu until after 2pm. Now it’s 30mins and still no drink or food ordered. We threw in a calamari and a cheese curds. I ordered an ultimate Bloody Mary and my gf orders a Krombacher. 10 mins later our server comes back and asked me what I ordered again. I’m now seriously annoyed that I’ve been here for 40 mins and not even a water or my drink. So then server brings me my drink and I asked him “is this the ultimate Bloody Mary?!” He says yes. I asked him where the shrimp, bacon, and olives were. He looks confused as he clearly doesn’t know what it is i ordered. I had to point out the menu to him where it stated what it came with. He then says sorry, I just ordered a regular Bloody Mary. 2:15pm and still don’t have a freaking drink that I ordered !! My gf looks at me like “don’t say anything” so I didn’t…..

Here’s my biggest issue: either he told the manager and the manager didn’t care because he never came over to apologize for the shit show that was taking place. Or the server didn’t say anything but I’m sure he did because 1.5 hours later he tells me he’s getting us a free desert for the slow service!!!! This experience was the worst one yet. Sorry Brad. Can’t suffer through this anymore. Gave you another shot. Your staff doesn’t care and it’s affecting you brother. By the way our food also took forever and he laughed it off like it was no big deal and said that you were really busy. No recovery attempt was made by the manager and honestly if he would have came up to us right away none of this would have...

UPDATE 12-18-24 We had a terrific dinner with our daughter for her birthday. Alexis A. was a terrific server. She was super attentive without being intrusive. She had great recommendations and allowed us to taste the chicken gumbo before we ordered. The Hunter's Pot Roast is just like Mom and Nana used to make, but even better gravy!! The Grilled Vegi Wrap was super delicious and the Steak Frites was some of the best our daughter ever had!

UPDATE 12-17-24 We have been to Driftwood many times before as we lived in the long term for 9 months after we sold our home and then moved out of state. Now we return several times a year, stay at the same place and experience Driftwood Grille as it is just across the street. Last night we arrived at the airport about dinner time and visited our grandchildren for several hours. On the way to the hotel, we realized we had not had lunch or dinner, so we went to Driftwood at 8:55pm. The staff had already started cleaning up the dining room, so we approached the bar that only had two patrons. It was listed that it was open until 10pm. We asked the bartender, Antonio, if we could still get food. He said he would inform the kitchen that we would be ordering, we just needed to do it quickly. We are sure the kitchen staff had already begun their closing procedures, however they served us two fantastic meals. Antonio was so pleasant and engaging, which was needed after a full day of travel. We ordered "Best Damn Salad" with grilled chicken and a "Badger Burger" with their signature macaroni and cheese as a side in place of fries. What an enjoyable experience and so pleased they are successful and we are able to enjoy meals and drinks at Driftwood Grille every time we visit our daughters and granddaughters! We will be having dinner at Driftwood Grille tonight with our daughter and enjoy "Winey Wednesday" - discounts on wine! In the past, I have had their "HUNTER’S POT ROAST" - a slow cooked beef pot roast with potatoes, onions, carrots, celery, and mushrooms in a rich Guinness brown gravy served with a buttermilk Biscuit. Can't beat it!

I am very pleased to provide 5 stars for Driftwood Grill, quite a bit different than my previous experience several months ago.

The Filet was superb, done perfectly and the salmon was as fresh as it was just caught today!

I do have to give kudos to the management, as they reached out to me immediately after my first experience and asked me to give them another chance.

Well, I am glad to say that I did, and I...