Jen's Guesthouse — Restaurant in Palos Township

We did our wedding at Jen’s Guesthouse. I’m giving it 5 stars even though I have a long list of cons. The reason being, I think the cons would have all been resolved had I spent the money on a wedding planner. In the end, it was a beautiful wedding at an affordable rate where most everything went swimmingly. The staff were so friendly and as helpful as they should be (considering that they aren’t wedding planners). They also set up your decor, help break it down, and help prep it for vendors to pick it up. They honestly really work with you a lot and I was so nervous about things going wrong but most everything went right!

ADVICE: if you are having a wedding here without hiring a wedding planner I would ask Kristen who will be there the day of the event and ask if you can have a phone call with them to go over all of the little details so nothing gets missed. Definitely tip them extra for this though!

Pros: Beautiful venue They help you set up and break down decor Cost Welcoming staff Good food Most everything went right We had an amazing time! It went by too fast!!

Cons: Kristen (event manager) isn’t there the day of the wedding so some things fell through the cracks like: (1) My biggest sadness was that, even though we had it written in our agreed upon schedule that only the bride & groom would go to the cellar just ahead of the wedding, and even though my sister tried to stop them from sending our parents/siblings/grandparents/friends down into the cellar, the whole bridal party got sent down there. This was a huge bummer for 4 reasons including (a) I was overwhelmed by people wanting to talk to me, (b) it basically ruined any reveal moment I would have had with guests that hadn’t seen me especially because I had very little of my own family there and they were practically now all in the cellar with me, (c) this ruined what would have been a touching moment with my father because I was overwhelmed by people wanting to talk to me and by the fact this was happening while my dad is looking at me crying and I couldn’t even give him my attention, and (d) this time in the cellar was the moment I had intended to use to fix the sleeves on my dress but it was now so chaotic that it actually made it to where I didn’t have time to fix the sleeves and it sort of messed up my outfit for the rest of the night. It could have been a moment for me to collect myself but it was the exact opposite. That said, I should have hired a planner, but I really really wish that the plan we had set out had been stuck to because it lead to the biggest sadnesses of my evening.

(2) When I got to the aisle the Guesthouse staff asked me if I wanted people to stand, I didn’t know what to think and sort of froze so half the people stood and half didn’t which made probably for some awkward photos. I think in general maybe they should just go for it and ask people to stand! I don’t think a bride will ever be mad about this.

(3) Last, I had been told that the staff would be there to help hit play on my music. They were not there. So my family had to get up and hit play/pause for the exit or hand us a microphone. This again, I can’t put too much blame on Jen’s because I should have had a wedding planner or hired a DJ but we were doing everything as budget friendly as possible. In the end, it sort of lead to us breaking the 4th wall with our family and it actually helped me let loose but I think some brides might seriously hate all of the things I listed. So, hire...

We made a reservation based on other reviews, but I can't recommend this restaurant.

We sat outside, which was the best part of the experience as that area is beautiful. However, that's where most of the positivity ends.

For a starter we ordered the lobster stuffed mushrooms. They took quite a while to come, and were tasty, but they were 4 small mushrooms. Of the meal, this was the best dish.

My wife ordered scallops with mushroom risotto, I ordered the prime rib done medium. I rarely eat red meat but remembered the review I read and thought I'd try it.

The main course took even longer than the starter to arrive. Not so bad as we've both eaten in Europe which is much more relaxed and the experience is part of the meal.

When it arrived the mushroom risotto had what looked like a single mushroom diced. So little mushroom that calling it a mushroom risotto seemed like false advertising. The prime rib wasn't cooked medium, but more like rare. Not only that, but it was the worst cut of prime rib I've seen - I know there's more fat on a prime rib than a New York strip, but this had at least 30% fat. The mashed potato was lumpy and not that tasty.

Despite this, as the food had taken so long, we decided just to eat, pay, and leave, rather than ask for the food to be replaced.

We didn't ask for dessert as there are only so many hours in a day.

We took the rest of the risotto and fat from the prime rib. Our dogs enjoyed it more than we did.

Would I go back: absolutely not Would I recommend this restaurant: maybe to someone...

We chose Jen’s Guesthouse from great reviews and our friends recommendations. After all day of hard work, me , my husband, and our friends decided to treat ourselves and come here to enjoy our evening. However, to our disappointment the experience we expected did not turned that great . When we received our ordered with prime rib instead of ribeye, we kindly asked that is a wrong order and to replace it. To our surprise the waitress shouted out that’s what we ordered and slammed the plates around as well as her tray. We were amused . We asked for a manger . She shouted back : “the manger is not in!!” Our friend entry was served wrong as well. We didn’t have a chance to even mention it. And the risotto looked like it was eaten before . Look at pictures. The young Waitress returned screaming and saying we were wrong . We decided to leave at that point. However , she started using the f… word . We were siting there with our mouths wide open. On our way out, the bartender said “beat it”. And when my friend tried to wave good buy she flicked her off with a middle finger … ? • For a restaurant like this with a standard we understand challenges in everyone’s life but this behaviors is unacceptable. We appreciate the other staff that was kind and hopefully owners of this prestige restaurant would...