Gretel — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

I stopped by here for lunch with my wife as we had been craving a good burger for a while, and saw this was one of the newer top burger spots in the city online. Upon entering, the ambiance provided more of an upscale bar-type of feeling as opposed to a dive bar, though, the place has a character and class of its own. We were seated by a friendly waitress and were instantly brought water, which we were thankful for as it was a hot day. It didn't take long for the waitress to check in and take our drink and food order, and we went with an Old Fashioned for myself and a boozy frozen coffee for my wife, and for eating, we shared pork belly nachos, a burger with bacon and egg, and mac and cheese.

They had a sign outside that boasted their whiskey selection, and the wall of whiskey they had by the bar was very impressive, thus, my expectations were high for my drink. From the first sip to the last, the Old Fashioned tasted great and is one of my favorites in the city. My wife equally enjoyed her boozy coffee, surprisingly since she usually does not go for that type of beverage, but this time, it hit the spot. The nachos came out fairly quickly, and were a delectable way to get our meal started. The chips themselves seemed to be fresh and done in-house, each one crunchy even with the abundant toppings added to them. Though the pork belly was not as prominent as I would have liked, the taste was still lovely, and we scarfed them down nonetheless.

The burger and mac and cheese came next, and from the get-go, the mac and cheese looked like the cheesy, gooey goodness we expected. We dove into the burger first, and remembered I had added bacon to it. I usually don't go with adding bacon to my burger as I've had a bad, salty experience with doing so in the past (sorry, Au Cheval), thus, I expected for my sodium levels to skyrocket. However, the first burger bite was delicious, flavorful, juicy, and well-balanced in terms of seasoning. The burger was not overly salty at all, and the bacon and egg complemented the burger perfectly rather than take a backseat or completely takeover the flavor. The bun was soft, the patties cooked to my liking (medium to medium well), and overall tasted fresh. My wife usually goes for the chicken sandwich when we go to eat burgers, so the fact that she went with a burger here and loved it says a lot!

The fries were a good companion piece to the burger and did not disappoint. We managed to save enough space for the mac and cheese, which we felt we needed to because it was so good. Served in a hot skillet, the mac and cheese was a warm, perfect ending to our meal. All in all, we did not have a single disappointing sip or bite throughout our meal, and this place instantly became a go-to for us. The waitress checked in on us frequently to make sure we were still doing alright, adding further to the experience as it was excellent service. Highly recommended spot to anyone looking to have a great drink and/or great food, and definitely deserving of a top spot in my...

This place is incredible!

My boyfriend and I sat down not knowing what to expect as the eclectic but small menu really drove us to this place but we immediately started taking in the unique atmosphere of this place. Terrific music playing, a phenomenal theme with dark forest and Gothic inspired decor along with a large tall bookshelf full of liquor from all over and some of which I've never seen before. This all was a first impression and it was great and it only went up from there

Our waitress (sorry I cannot remember your name but i really liked your queen shirt) was exceptional, kind, knowledgeable and spoke to us as if we were familiar guests even though this was our first time there. She was on top of everything all night and we were there near closing hours.

Now the food. The food was some of the best I've ever had in Chicago. You can tell when a place really cares about the quality of is ingredients and how to prepare them, and we could really taste the care in every bite. From the starter of the gyoza to the final bite of the T-bone for two, everything was cooked and flavored to almost perfection. The gyoza was packed with delicious umami flavor, it's textures were perfect and it was right up there with the best gyoza I've ever had. If not the best. The salad before the meal was even a standout as the lettuce was super crisp and fresh, dressed with the perfect amount of their dressing which went exceptionally well with the rest of the ingredients along with their house made bread and butter. Even the simple dishes are done with care and appreciation.

Then we got to our main which was the bone in ribeye for 2. IT WAS UNREAL. Cooked and flavored to perfection made this unfathomably delicious. I was legitimately able to cut my entire steak with just the side of my fork. That's all I needed. Plus the presentation with it being sliced and the bone being left on the plate along with some more meat on it made it really fun just to pick a part piece by piece.

I can't say enough positive about this place. Selfishly I wish they had a little bit bigger of a dessert menu because I bet they would absolutely crush a cheesecake or a creme brulee type of dessert but that doesn't take away that this place is in another dimension in terms of quality, atmosphere, service and flavor. If you are in the area please go here, I cannot wait to be back next time I'm in Chicago. Thank you for...

An evening at Gretel is one where time doesn’t matter. Go here with those you can share endless stories with. You will be filled with food, drink and companionship.

There are no reservations here, but that just means you get to enjoy the cocktail lounge in the basement. If tequila is the taste you’re looking for, I highly recommend The Hellion. Their offerings also include a library of liquor, extensive tap and bottle list and wines as well. Someone will serve you down there, but remember time doesn’t matter inside this establishment. Everything will show up at the time it’s meant to.

When you get your table, look over the menu thoroughly. Every item is enticing and you’ll want to carefully consider it all. Order an appetizer or two, grab a salad and then make your way to the entrees.

For our part, I ordered another cocktail in The High Road, our server took the low road and beat me to Scotland. Our food order continued with gyoza, french onion soup and the burger. We were also fortunate to try some of our counterpart’s grilled salad. The gyoza was divine and disappeared off the plate. The french onion soup is the only blemish on an otherwise divine meal. The burger…the burger is unreal. One of the best you’ll find and our Chicago native tablemates said they liked it better than Au Chaval.

The environment inside the restaurant is dark, the decibels are high and the tables are close. None of these are a negative, because you know everyone is having a great time. At the table next to us, they were talking about “extra moist pickles,” which I didn’t know was something you could say in public and we all shared a laugh about that.

The evening went from excellent to sublime with an amazing play from our Chicago friends, and a surprise order of mac and cheese arrived at our table. Bubbly and broiled on top, the flavor was astonishing. Not a traditional desert, but it certainly filled that role. The experience at Gretel is something special and everyone...