Wick n Ore Kitchen & Tap — Restaurant in Vernon Hills

Hey Mikey,

The only people that I let call me Jimmy are my close friends and family. Neither of which you are, so please now that you are aware, address me as Jim. I'm lowering my rating from 2 stars to 1 for what I feel is a sarcastic and unprofessional review. I don't have all the answers but I do know customer service and quality. Neither of which you seem to understand. One would think that after all these years in the business you would have more of a clue.

Up first is Mikey's response to my original review which is just below it.

"Response from the owner a week ago Jimmy, it seems like you got all the answers! Should open a restaurant yourself. We deeply apologize to you for not being anything you like and we will for sure take some of your feedback and use as a training tool for our staff. No excuses for not saying goodbye bye and thank you. Appreciate the visit and sorry we’re not the place for you. "

My original review:

This place seems to be having an identity crisis, not being able to choose between being a sports bar, fast casual, or a nice restaurant with no indication of being a tap room. Consequently it fails at providing a quantitative atmosphere. TV screens everywhere with none being large enough to warrant watching; a bar that seems to be thrown in as an after thought; and a noise level that makes conversation difficult.

Staff: Three hostesses that didn't greet or acknowledge us when we went up to the stand. One overworked bartender/waitress that was handling too many tables while bartending. One server that shouldn't have to ask who gets which items: this is a pet peeve of mine, why pay to have a separate person deliver the food but diminish the diner's experience by them having to ask who gets what? Plus not delivering food in a timely manner which led to lukewarm burgers.

There is a sign in the window indicating job openings for hostess, server, and bartender - always a red flag.

Food: we chose to have the burgers, a spicy barbecue, bacon, and cheddar almond with one build your own cheeseburger. The menu states 'prime' beef so there was an expectation of a nicely flavored burger. In both cases, the reality was a burger that seemed no better than a frozen patty slapped on the grill. The chips were greasy and the fries were average.

I can't speak to the rest of the menu items and frankly, there were many people dining here, all seeming to enjoy their meals. Possibly we just ordered the wrong thing. But if you're looking to have burgers there is a better option not...

I have read other's reviews. Like one reviewer said, maybe it's just me.

I went with 4 others and none of us loved our meals or experience. We went early on a weekend day. The egg rolls were dry and not hot. They look exactly like the pics in other reviews that were 5 stars, so maybe that's what people like. The fried chicken sandwich was super bland. The salmon was good for a place of this type. The burgers were not cooked to preference. They were both overcooked. They are not fresh but from frozen. The wings were okay if you lower your expectations from their sign that says best wings. They were small and a bit dry. It seems like they must have been pulled from under a warming lamp. Almost no sauce. Regular chicken sandwich was fair but a bit dry. The fries were good but also a bit over cooked. That's the food.

The atmosphere was below expectations. Our server seemed not in the mood for making pleasant company. She was not rude. Just seemed over it. The decor is busy and seems to not have a focus. No pleasantries from the other staff. Maybe they were all over it. I don't know. If I was at a dive, I would care, but this place is not cheap. Our meal was over $160 for 5 people, basically eating bar food, minus the salmon. Our tip was over $25 for the most basic service with not one smile. I'm fine with tipping 20%+ but not for this, sorry.

I saw the restaurant's response to the one other critical review and it seems to sum it up. If a place is not willing to accept some responsibility for what seemed to be a review that was just offering their single experience, then they aren't going to change and I won't go back and expect...

Had a reservation set for 2 at 6pm. I got there and waited about 5 minutes while standing at the check in desk to even be noticed. I arrived about 10 minutes early, 550ish and when I was finally noticed I gave my name and after that the person I was talking to walked away to seat someone else. Fine.. no big deal, you guys are busy. Another group comes in, says she had a reservation for 9 at 6pm. The person at the desk says he cannot find the reservation under her name, and she insists she made it. After a few minutes of back and forth he finally gets someone to seat her party 9 (only 4 of which were there). He then seats another group of 4 who didn't have a reservation. I then speak up and say "you never even gave me a time frame for when I'll get a seat.. and you just sat a party of 9 who came in after me.." to which he responds "yes well we reserved seats for them, that's why".. you are supposed to do that for me too.. that's why it's called a reservation. I understand things get busy and you can't control when people leave, but if we both have a reservation at the same time, it should be first come first serve. In short, customer service is pretty sub par, for food that is mediocre at best. Get better trained staff and work on organization. Also, having a TV show on half the tvs in the bar that has surgery being performed on kids isn't a great thing to eat food to.

Sincerely,

A...