The Allis Chicago — Restaurant in West Chicago Township

This restaurant is low quality and deceitful. I DO NOT recommend this establishment to anyone.

This was the first place we went for my bachelorette party. We decided to do the afternoon tea.

Our server was deceitful and lied to us about what was included in the sparkling afternoon tea. Because of that, I had to pay $32 for one glass of champagne rather than have it included in my $76 meal price as I was told it would be.

The amount and quality of food was super disappointing for the price. This place had the smallest sandwiches and treats I’ve ever seen on an afternoon tea 3-tier platter. It definitely was not worth the price.

Finally, and most importantly, this place is full of deceitful people. Our server disappeared after we got our food. Another server came to hand me the credit card payment device. We asked if we could split the bill and she said no. She also did not tell us that an 18% service charge was already added to our bill since we were a party of 8. The very first thing that popped up on the payment device was “How much of a tip would you like to leave? 20%, 22%, or 25%?” I typically do 20% tips (which honestly would have been a lot considering the lack of service we received), but I hit “20%” anyway. As me and my friends were determining how much they owed me for paying for the entire bill on my card, one of my friends noticed there was an 18% service charge and we paid a 20% tip ON TOP of that. For reference, the 18% service charge was $98.82 and the 20% tip on top of that was an additional $144.79. So our waitress, who lied to us, barely did anything, and disappeared halfway through our meal, got a $243.61 tip.

I immediately went to the manager on staff and told her about the mistake. I told her she can either refund me the entire amount and I can pay again without including the additional 20% tip or she can just refund me the 20% tip amount. First of all, she tried to lie to me and play dumb about the 18% service charge. I asked what else would the service charge be for and then she had to tell me that it was a tip for the server. So that was deceitful right off the bat. Then she told me that she couldn’t refund me the money and that the general manager would have to do that, but he wouldn’t be in until 4pm that day, so I could either come back at 4pm or call and he would take care of it.

I called at 4pm (since it was my bachelorette party and we had other things already planned), and Francisco, the general manager acted like it was no big deal for him to refund me the 20% tip. He took my email address and sent me a copy of the bill to my email, to which I responded to him, as instructed, and told him that I wanted to be refunded the $144.79 for the additional tip.

That was September 22, 2024. It is now November 22, 2024 and I have yet to receive the refund. Francisco has strung me along via email, telling me he’s not sure what’s taking accounting so long and that he’ll follow up with them, but then he stopped responding to me altogether. All of them just lied and deceived us out of that money.

In reading other reviews, I now see that I’m not the only person who has had this happen to them at The Allis. I don’t understand how an establishment can survive with so many deceitful people and low-quality food and service. Do yourself a favor and avoid this nightmare of a place. There are countless other restaurants in Chicago; do not waste your time...

This was my third time visiting The Allis for tea service. My previous two visits were exceptional, I came with my mother, and we were warmly welcomed, seated with a lovely view, and given thoughtful descriptions of each sweet and sandwich. The service and atmosphere were part of what made it such a special experience, which is why I was excited to return and bring a friend to celebrate her birthday.

While parts of this most recent visit were still lovely, the food was delicious and our server was kind and even brought out a complimentary dessert for the birthday, which we really appreciated, there were a few things that unfortunately detracted from the overall experience.

We were seated indoors right next to the door in low (kinda beaten up) chairs, and when the tea tier arrived, no one explained what was being served. This stood out because it had been such a nice touch during past visits. More significantly, we noticed flies near our table when we first sat down, and as time went on, they became more and more of a distraction. At one point, they were visibly circling my chair and landing on us, which was unsettling. I asked the host if we might be able to move, but was told no even though there were several open tables nearby. I understand that tea service ends at 4 and there may have been logistical reasons, but the situation with the flies got so uncomfortable that I ended up moving my chair away from the table area entirely. When our waitress came back and I was in a different chair practically at a different table and I said yeah I pulled up this chair because of the flies she said she didn’t know how they were getting in but the fact that there were multiple flies circling us still wasn’t addressed. By the end of the service, we were unfortunately feeling more frustrated than festive.

The Allis has always been a place I’ve recommended for its ambiance and service, which is why I felt it was important to share this feedback. I know off-days happen, but I hope this helps in keeping the afternoon tea experience as wonderful as it’s been in the past.

EDIT: Gigi with the allis had called and apologized looking forward to returning after my...

I never write reviews but this one was earned by The Allis. I used to love this place for brunch but I was wholly disappointed yesterday. First, I had a reservation for 12 people. I called 2+ hours before the reservation to ask if they could accommodate 14 and was told that was fine. When I arrived, the host told me the table was for 12 and when I shared that I had called to increase it by 2 people, his rude response was “well no one told me so it’s for 12.” I would have expected instead something like “ok no problem, we will work it out.” This wasn’t the end of the host’s rude behavior. He proceeded to take me and my family to a table that seated no more than 10 people comfortably. I asked if we could have the table of 4 next to us - because we physically couldn’t fit 14 chairs at the table- and he said no. There were at least 3 empty smaller tables around our larger table at the time so I couldn’t understand why he was being so curt and uncooperative. I went to speak with his manager and again asked if we could have the smaller table next to us for our kids and thankfully he accommodated. We were seated upstairs and there was ONE server for the entire upper level. We felt so bad for her and she did her best. Our reservation was at 12:15. We didn’t get any drinks until 1:00 pm. Our food didn’t arrive until 1:35pm - it was cold. I loved their avocado toast in the past but yesterday it was cold and the eggs were overcooked in all 3 plates where that was ordered. Unfortunately 3 ppl in our party couldn’t even finish their food because they had to leave by 1:45 - an hour and a half should have been more than enough time to eat lunch. Two people in our party didn’t get their food until almost 2pm as their orders were forgotten. My water glass was empty for more than a half hour as no one came around. I had people in from out of town and the burbs and no one could believe how bad the experience was. It’s a shame because this place is so cute and in a great...