Pikk's Tavern — Restaurant in Valparaiso

I will attempt to make this review as civil as possible. The only problem? I am incredibly UPSET with Pikk’s Tavern. I entered the restaurant with my party of 8. Here is our story.

To begin, I want to say that I most ABSOLUTELY do not recommend this restaurant and I will not be returning.

I have three complaints about the main course, but first allow me to say some good things.

If I’m being honest our waiter was a very kind man. His service was speedy and he kept me full on Sprite. Props to him. He’s just about the only positive thing to say about the restaurant, EXCEPT the fact that the Stanley Cup playoffs were on. But that’s all the positive.

Now on to the meat of the review—or should I say the raw chicken of this review. As I outlined above, I have three complaints for the meal itself. I’ll save the worst for last.

First, I ordered a cheeseburger. A true restaurant staple. I ordered said burger medium well. It came out, and it looked fine. I cut it in half to check the inside. To my surprise, my burger seemed cooked to my specification, so I took a bite. It had a terrible char that coated the burger. It was soooo burnt. I ate half of my burger before I threw in the towel. The fries were over-seasoned and overall my meal was not great. The kicker? The other two burgers at my table had the same problem: burnt outsides. This $14 burger really grinds my gears because the $10 burger at Stacks bar and grill is literally the greatest thing I have ever tasted, while the Pikk’s burger falls flat.

Next up! My friend ordered the open faced steak sandwich medium rare. Simple enough? Well no, apparently not. For those of you who don’t know, the open faced steak sandwich consists of thick slices of steak on top of a piece of bread. Well, every single slice of steak on his burger was cooked differently. I’m not joking. One of the pieces was the rarest piece of meat I have ever seen. One piece was cooked to his specification. One piece was medium. One piece was so well done to the point of being over cooked. How is that even possible? How is it even possible at all? It doesn’t make sense? How?! I’m not even mad I’m genuinely just laughing to myself asking how a cook can even do that?? I’m not sure. I’d love to hear the explanation for it.

Finally, the most egregious transgression a restaurant can commit: raw chicken. My date ordered the Pad Thai. I literally have no clue what Pad Thai is. It looked like chicken with vegetables, but I could be wrong, all I know is that it contained raw chicken. And I mean RAW chicken. Like I mean raw to the point it surprised me it wasn’t clucking... or laying eggs. It was the grossest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. This cannot be acceptable. I can’t believe the food was sent out like that. It’s shameful. Pikk’s Tavern, you should be ashamed. Bad restaurant, you’ve been a VERY bad restaurant. I sent the Pad Thai back of course and said “this is raw” the man who served us (who I should note was not our waiter) said “oh okay” but the look on his face was as if I did something wrong. He took the plate and walked away. My date received no apology from the manager. We received no discount. No one on Pikk’s staff even acknowledged it. Come on Pikk’s. I’m disappointed.

Pikk’s, perhaps I was too harsh before saying that I would never return, but if you want my business again, please make some changes. And if you don’t want my business anymore, that’s fine— but make the changes for yourself. Make the changes so that your generally lovely staff is proud of their work place. Make the changes so that no customer in your establishment is ever served raw chicken again. Make the changes so that Valparaiso, a city I love, is just a little bit better.

Thank you...

I'm not really sure where to start. I had a reservation and when I arrived they looked at me like I made it up then continued to find me a table. Wasn't ever really able to figure out who my server/waitress was for the night. Had three different people "helping" yet none introduced themselves and were very pushy about me ordering. I finally order and my daughter who has been patiently waiting for crayons has to ask for them again. Still nothing for 15 minutes. Then AS the food comes out they being crayons as if I needed them anymore. Food came out with no utensils. Waited 10 minutes for a server to come back around to ask for them. Server said sure thing and never came back with anything. Another customer overheard and noticed the situation and brought me Silverware. What a joke. Service staff can audibly be heard sitting inside chatting whilst not even able to bring the basic requisites for dining. After finally getting utensils, I go to begrudgingly eat the clearly now cold steak. I ordered it medium rare and it came out wall to wall grey, well done no doubt. Tried to take a single bite and It didn't EVEN HAVE SALT. NO SEASONING AT ALL. How badly can one cook ruin a single steak? Was an absolute joke for 40$, a 9$ Walmart steak would have been better. Also the fries were a wet soggy mess that felt like they were soaked in warm oil. Never fried. No crispness was existent. If the kitchen staff can't even keep their grills and fryers at the correct temp, they need to be retrained. After all this and having my food returned, I waited another 30 minutes just to get a check. And mind you our server walked by us multiple times ignoring the situation. Overall I wish I could give a better review considering others enjoy it, but the service and food I received were underwhelming and a...

I pre-purchased the monthly farm-to-table and made a reservation. When we arrived, we were told many people had shown up and said they had a "reservation" but weren't on the list. They didn't check to see if my name was on the list, but ushered me to the outside seating. After walking through the whole place the host said it appeared they were all filled. However, off to the side was a little outdoor couch and coffee table we were offered to sit at. We sat waiting for awhile. Two more people came in, and to my shock, they pulled out a new table and set them up with a whole set up right in with the other diners. At this point, I walked up to the ones setting up the table and mentioned we had been put off to the side and apparently already forgotten about, but those who arrived after us were created a place for. They assured me they wouldn't forget about us. At this point they finally brought out the plates and wine they had already served everyone else.

Then we waited again. The first round of dinner was served, except they forgot us again. We never received dinner, and after roughly ten minutes of waiting we left.

I can't say enough how disappointed and upset I am. I still have this dinner purchased, and I honestly don't know when I will return. I understand that things happen, and I do not hold any one person responsible. However, putting those after us in, forgetting about us, and having no discernable management of reservations says a lot about the restaurant and how it treats...