Pilot Pete's — Restaurant in Schaumburg Township

Visit #1 : We were there on a Saturday with a party of 9. I called ahead to try to make a reservation but they said I couldn't do that, but I could join a waitlist on Yelp. So I did that.

We joined the waitlist about 45 minutes before we arrived and still had several people ahead of us, which was fine. The estimated time for us to be seated was about 10 minutes after we arrived but we still ended up sitting there for a little over an hour waiting for a table. We would have gone somewhere else but my daughter is 9 months pregnant and all of the restaurants in that area seemed to be pretty busy. I figured it would be easier to just wait.

When we were seated, we were grated pretty quickly and had our drink and appetizer orders taken. The drinks and appetizers came out pretty fast. While everyone was eating, a gentleman approached the table with two other appetizers and smiled and put them down. We thought perhaps it was because of the long wait and we had a large party, but apparently he delivered the food to the wrong table. Our server came back and asked if we ordered those things and I said no, I thought it was complimentary. I've been to restaurants where we were given complementary items for having to wait, or because we had a large party, so I didn't really question it. She seemed a little irritated with us for accepting it, but the guy literally just sat the stuff down, quickly smiled, and left before anyone had a chance to say anything.

Everyone's food was good. I had the coconut shrimp which I felt were a little too large. They were really good, but a little on the tough side. I had loaded tater tots on the side and I didn't care for that cheese sauce on them, it kind of tasted like melted American cheese and I wasn't really a fan. My daughter had the same thing and also agreed about the cheese.

I think we'll probably go back again at some point, but it's not something I would rush to do.

UPDATE, VISIT #2, 3 MONTHS LATER:

We went around 6pm on a Saturday, just 4 of us. It was pretty busy but we were seated within 5 minutes.

We ordered the combo appetizer and most of the wonton chips weren't crispy at all, just kind of white and soggy. Everything else on the platter was good.

My husband ordered the firecracker shrimp tacos. The flavor was good but it was ruined by at least 3 of the shrimp still having the tails on, and the avocado slices had a lot of brown spots on them. Not such a great presentation.

My jumbo coconut shrimp were tough and kind of fishy tasting, which was disappointing.

My son had the bang bang shrimp & chicken combo, he said it was good.

My daughter had ribs, which she enjoyed.

After two visits that were less than satisfactory, I thing that's it for us. We won't...

We live in Florida, but visit twice a year and have been wanting to visit this place during our travels since my son was born 2 years ago, it just hasn't worked out until now and now I'm sorry it didn't earlier. This place lives up to it's rave reviews and now I know why first hand. We visited on a Wed. night and the place was hopping for their fish fry that didn't disappoint either. Upon arrival, my son unfortunately had constipation (not to be so blunt) but the reason I mention it is because our server was absolutely devoted to getting whatever my son needed to help his hurting tummy. She was so accommodating based on my unusual requests and delivered on every one of them and we had barely even sat down yet. We were seated in the back corner along the windows, but perfectly set in a quieter spot with 2 toddlers as to not create commotion with their ups and downs. We all ordered our beverages and food and she was very attentive and prompt. The food was absolutely delicious and the portions were amazing, my sister and I split two meals and we couldn't even finish one together. The fish fry might have been the best I've seen and they do it perfect from there being more fish than breading on each piece and the fish not being greasy inside, to the perfectly cooked fries and hush puppies, it was amazing. We also ordered the fish tacos which seemed to have the same fish and was everything we were hoping. My grandma ordered a Reuben that she said was very good and coming from a long history of being in the restaurant business, she was impressed. A gentleman stopped by, who seemed to be the manager or owner and was just extremely personable. He checked on how everything was going, including how my son was doing and then surprised both toddlers with their very own flight crew t-shirts. Of course they put them on immediately and thought they were so cool as they were describing everything they saw on the runway outside of the window. If you have kids, don't wait to go here, they will be in awe with all the things to see and the cool paper airplane like toy they give to the kids "upon departure." And while we didn't see any airplanes that night, we would head back in a heartbeat for the awesome atmosphere and staff, and delicious food! Thanks Pilot Pete's for making a precious family night one for the...

This is my second time here. My first time was roughly 4yrs ago. First time, came for the experience and their all you can eat Fish Fry on Wednesdays and Fridays. This time, had a craving for some AYCE fish fry and was so excited they still have the same deal. I tell myself to try other options but always go back to the fish. I came here with my family... fish and of course the experience of looking out the airport and seeing all the different planes with my kids. My kids very much enjoyed it. There wasn't a fish fry option on the kids' menu but they were very happy to accommodate. My oldest doesn't eat seafood or rarely, but he requested that he wanted the same meal the family is getting. The portions are very big which made the plate look super appealing and ready to devour. Let me tell you, seeing the pieces of fish (including the kids') I'm happy that this restaurant wants their customers to be happy. My oldest and husband was able to finish the plate and could maybe go for a smaller next but decided they didn't want to over stuffed and feel like a ball rolling out this place. The soup was great. My younger kids finished their meal and the soup they ordered (2 split a bowl). My husband and kids said the soda was great that it was really carbonated. We didn't order desserts after being full. The workers were all very friendly, especially our waitress. Washroom was clean. The waiting area with the airplane seats was a cool idea and my kids got to experience sitting in them. Although, I didn't see anyone cleaning those seats and the surrounding of the seats, I would hope they do occasionally wipe them down because everyone likes to touch it and play imagination. This is definitely a cool place to check out at least once. The pic with the fish and fries is a kid size portion, the adult portion is much bigger and comes with fries, hush puppies, coleslaw,, and either...