Main + Lincoln Restaurant — Restaurant in Valparaiso

My wife and I were so excited about our dinner there this past Christmas. We've lived in Valparaiso a few years now, but were always going into Chicago for special events, but finally decided to give Main + Lincoln a try due to the great reviews we've heard. We are both December birthdays and decided to celebrate them along with the holiday together there. I made reservations via telephone since it was too far out to do online. They were super friendly for the reservation, noted I was the only reservation so far for that date and asked which table we'd prefer along with if we were celebrating anything (I noted it was for both of our birthdays). Corner by the window I was told was the best table, so we chose that. Upon arrival, the place was only about half full which was a pleasant surprise. The table we had reserved had other guests at it that hadn't even received their drinks yet and we were placed elsewhere which was kind of a bummer. Our server seemed very rushed, unenthusiastic and almost seemed bothered by questions about the drinks and food menu. We had the calamari and oysters to start which were both wonderful. I was very impressed with the oysters specifically. Our drinks were also good (martini and old fashioned). Despite having told the server that we didn't want to order entrees until we were done with our apps as it was meant to be a relaxing meal (the place was still not full so it wasn't like we were holding up tables), we were asked twice while eating the apps if we wanted to place order yet. We did eventually order our food. The presentation was beautiful, but I will say unlike the apps, the entrees were less exciting. There wasn't much seasoning which I was surprised by since the calamari was so spot on. We still generously tipped our server 30% for the holidays (+we used to be in the service industry). Regardless, of there being zero acknowledgement of our celebration (wasn't expecting anything free I'd like to add, just would have been nice to have it acknowledged), the service, there were a lot of other items on the menu I'm curious to try and hope that next time we come back it'll be a better experience. It may end up becoming just a good spot for cocktails and...

Went in with a large party for a birthday. Ordered the scallops for $36(most expensive item) & got 6 scallops a small side of corn. Their chicken and rice with peas looked like a microwave dinner that costs over $25. Their salad was over $6 and it was like someone just gave you a handful of lettuce from a bag of greens, no tomatoes, cheese, croutons or anything. Just lettuce. The Lamb Bolognese was shredded lamb in school cafeteria-quality stroganoff for over $25. We dropped several hundred dollars all together and were largely disappointed in both the quality & value of food provided in addition to the 2 hours it took to get our food. Something else weird I noticed was that every time one of their employees refilled a glass of water or wine, they poured it way too fast and spilled some on the floor. It wasn't once or twice, it was every time, which turned out to be several. By the time we were done the floor was soaked. They also screwed up payment for our meals. They returned my cousin's card to me and my card to him, which isn't a big deal, but they ended up charging both of our meals to my card. If you're looking for fine dining in Valparaiso, I recommend...

Unfortunately the food was great but there was a huge mistake with our order. Our waitress didn't put my entree in, but she did my husbands. By the time we told her and she corrected the mistake and my meal was brought to me my husband was completely done with his meal. Not one manager came to talk to me or apologize. The waitress was new, i can forgive that, but for a manager not to even come to our table and speak with us? That's totally unprofessional. After all was said and done they didn't even credit our bill for a single thing. We paid and left and I walked back in because a manager needed to be addressed. I told her we were celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary and it was our first night out without kids and she said she didn't know the full details of what happened but that she apologizes....I said it was unprofessional she didn't speak with us and then offered dessert "on the house" after knowing I had dairy restrictions and couldn't have any of their dessert. I also said it was unprofessional to not even comp anything on the bill. She acted as if it were no big deal. Extremely disappointed, I will telling everyone I know and leaving reviews...