Chum’s Shrimp Shack — Restaurant in St. Charles

Update 03/2025

It’s Lent Season, meaning, it’s Chum season. I have been ordering for the past couple of weeks via UberEats. I thought the quality has changed but in my mind, maybe it is because it was ordered and travel time affected the quality. So, I went ahead and picked it up myself and made sure that I’ll be able to eat it the soonest possible time, within 10 minutes.

The batter seems very different and a little bit burnt. It was not the crispy cod that I used to enjoy in my Chums Sampler. Half of the shrimps were a little bit burnt, too. The fish was greasy. We still enjoyed their Boom Boom wrap. The batter definitely has changed.

Did they change their recipe/chef?

The staff were pleasant as always, however, they need to be mindful of their door tag. It was showing “closed” even though they were open so, one customer left.

I also experienced that when I ordered a pound of calamari, I only received half in a paper bag. It has become greasy, too compared in the past.

Review: 03/2023

It is my first time in this restaurant. I was hesitant to go as my experience with other seafood restaurants weren’t great. I am glad I tried.

I ordered the Chum Sampler with shack, tartar, pina colada sauces and the other one I forgot haha. It contains 2 coconut, 2beer battered and 2 crispy shrimps and 2 cod. You may choose fries, coleslaw as a side or hush puppies (for extra $)

They gave justice to the seafood as it was cooked perfectly. It wasn’t dried and though it was fried, it wasn’t greasy. The seafood to batter ratio was great and it was perfectly seasoned.

I think their coleslaw was one of the best I had. The vegetables were crunchy and fresh and weren’t swimming in the dressing.

I love the side sauces especially the Shack sauce. If you love spicy, it has the right amount of spice in it.

I ordered some items to go and will update this review once I try them.

Oh, the service was great, too. They are so friendly and very...

Food - incredibly fresh! The shrimp and cod were very very moist. The batter was light and perfectly crispy! Not greasy! The sauces were pretty good, notably the bang bang sauce. The fries are real potatoes and yummy, and they give you a huge amount! The coleslaw was also delicious! Everything is weighed so portion size of fish comes as expected. The shrimp are really big! We will absolutely eat here again, the quality of the food was grade A! This was comparable to a fresh seafood place on the boardwalk in San Diego! We got our food to go and they packaged it up so nice... it was still hot when we got home.

Service - AMAZING! Ryan was our server.... such a great guy!!! Ryan was fantastic, he answered all my questions and even threw in a few sauces so we could sample them. So friendly and courteous! We went on an off-hour (3ish) and we got our food pretty quickly... AND they brought it to the car when it was ready.

Ambiance- super cute! Very clean! The decor makes you feel like you are on vacation! Nothing fancy... but looks exactly how a shrimp place should look in a coastal town! You can see the chef cooking, which for me is a sign of a good restaurant. They have indoor and outdoor seating!

Menu- At the time of this review calamari is not on their online menu or the printed menu inside... but they do have it!!! The menu is pretty much all seafood with a great catering option. They have a great kiddo menu too!

Note... no liquor license, but thats OK... cause this is literally the best grab and go food place in the NW Burbs! Take it home and pair it with your...

We went to this restaurant after a friend recommended it to us. We did not really plan on going to this restaurant, but since we were near it, we decided to give it a try. It is a small restaurant, and it is so clean. The atmosphere and vibe feel nice, and the interior looks good too, having those few touches that make it feel like I am in a restaurant just beside the sea. We ordered right away, and their menu is basically a wide and different selection of seafood, but there are also other options aside from seafood. Their battered shrimp sounded good, and I was not up for something heavy, so that is what I ordered. The service was a little slow for me because we waited a long time. The battered shrimp I ordered has a nice portion and comes with a handful of fries. I thought that the battered shrimp would have a nice crisp, but it did not, but I liked the texture of it plus the sauce. The fries are kind of bland, but they do go well with the sauces. I am not very satisfied with their food, but it was good and I would probably...