Cafe Robey — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

Have money for a $100 brunch but no taste or tastebuds, do I have the place for you.

The rules of this place are: 1) reserve a table ahead of time, because even if there are empty tables throughout the restaurant the entire time you are eating there, the waitstaff will cram you into uncomfortable and tight bar seats. Why don't the just remove the bar by the window and turn it into tables? They'd seat more people and more comfortably. It is beyond me.

2. Start day-drinking. Because that is the only way you will be able to ignore the ridiculous wait time, sub par food, and incredibly stupid price tag. In my case, I would have also had something to blame my current attachment to my toilet bowl on other than the potentially undercooked or unsanitary ingredients. Just don't bother with meat dishes, they are spiced beyond being able to taste any of what you are eating, you'll be waiting so long you will eat it anyways, and they may make you sick.

It's a shame this is in such a beautiful building, with such nice ambiance, because the rest of this brunch spot could uphold the historical standard of where it is situated. Unfortunately I think they are getting by just fine on their grown-child, sweater-vest wearing typical clientele who don't know anything about restaurants, so I don't see them improving drastically any time soon.

It's a total shame. I'm not generally picky at all about places, and I live nearby with the means to afford eating here regularly, but thankfully, I have now tried it and I never have to go back.

If the owners read this, listen, I'm sorry for the bad review, but you guys should improve. This is kitchen nightmares level of dumb, but you're floating by on atmosphere alone. I want you to be better, and you could be. I was excited to drop in and be able to come here regularly, but never again. Not that it matters to you, I imagine, why bother trying to do something good for other people and provide them with an enjoyable brunch to escape the hard work and job that takes their other six...

Great food, excellent service, perfect ambiance! Really loved the details the chefs put into each dish. Walking into the restaurant, the open kitchen concept, marble table top, and simple but elegant display made it suitable for a great romantic date night.

We started off with three drinks. My drink had lavender in it- my favorite, the light rose color definitely gave aesthetic to the eye. For apps, we got beef tartar, give minute egg, shrimp, and pork belly. Beef tartar and pork belly were absolutely my favorite. Loved the crispy sear on the pork, as well as the texture of beef tartar. The five minute egg was definitely cooked to perfection with bonito flakes and sauteed asparagus at the bottom. Both soft and crunch textures harmonized well.

For entrees, we ordered duck, lamb, steak, and scallops. Duck was absolutely amazing, very generous portion, and I loved the farro underneath, its not too chewy, nor too soft, and helps to cut some of the fattiness from the duck. The lamb was also seared great, very satisfying with yellow carrots at the bottom bring out some sweetness. The crispy grain on the side also brought out good texture, and the slightly vinegary salad on top did a perfect job balancing the fat with some refreshing vegetables. Steak was a big portion as well, with a side of oxtail ragu sauce. Ragu is sweet can balance out the savoriness from the steak. Scallops were perfect, however, the fondant potato was a little too undercooked for my taste, but the flavor was still excellent.

For dessert, we ordered honey cake, and chocolate ganache. Both are delicious in their own ways. But the honey cake definitely brings out more uniqueness.

The four of us had a great experience, and we cannot wait to go back to try out more things...

We reserved a table to meet our daughter for her birthday. There were 5 of us. My decaf coffee must have been freeze dried. We waited longer than expected for the food. I did think the food was very good. When we finished eating, while my daughter was opening her present and cards, the hostess came over to tell us to leave because they had a reservation at 1:30 (about 10 minutes.) I have waitressed many years in my life (through college, part time while teaching in my 20s, and while our kids were little.) I have never asked or heard of a table being asked to leave for a reservation! This greatly upset my daughter, on her birthday. We continued to sit and wait...we were never given the check. We were getting stared at by staff for not leaving. We could have just left without paying. We eventually went to the hostess stand for several awkward minutes until someone asked if we needed a table. We told her we were waiting for a check. We discovered that they also asked the ladies next to us to leave. My daughter overheard them talking about this when she went to the bathroom because she was so upset and wanted to calm down. They were also upset. Nice job hurting my youngest on her birthday. Suggestions: Don't ask people to leave because of a reservation coming up. 2. If you do, at least wait until the...