Barnaby's Family Inn — Restaurant in Wheeling Township

We saw this restaurant and had to give it a try for nostalgic value...my Hubbie visited the Rockford location often as a child. We arrived before 6 on Friday evening. There was no hostess stand or table service. Tables had menus, so a bit confusing. There is apparently one area to pick up phone orders, another to place orders, another area to pick up drinks or order beer wine. Pizza comes up in one area, everything else in another area.

There were people standing everywhere, criss-crossing into one area or another.

Before our food was ready, the lines were getting longer and longer... stretching past our table. There was a brisk takeout business and a steady stream of door dash drivers. The entire time that we were eating, there where groups standing by the edge of out table. It was very loud and not relaxing at all!

The food came fairly quickly, with them calling out numbers over the speaker for pizza, for other items, etc. After 6 PM there were small children everywhere...screaming, jumping, running up and down like it was a play house...just being children in the middle of chaos. The only employee that we saw in the seating area was one lady with a cart, trying to push her way thru to pick up dirty dishes and clean tables, as she could push her way thru the crowds. To add to the fun, there was a gentleman visiting tables to make balloon animals.

We choose to have a cheeseburger, the cheese fries app and chicken fingers with fries. Everything was available at the same time. You can pay with credit/debit card at food counter. The bar counter is cash only, so they suggest getting cash back when you order food if you want anything from the bar counter. Also there is no tray available, so you have to push yourself thru the lines multiple times to take the food to the table. A tray would be very helpful.

Most people dining in seemed to be having things besides pizza. Pizza orders were mostly take out. We were leaving when we saw the first family take a pizza to the table.

The cheeseburger was flame grilled with the nice char flavor. It was served w lettuce, tomato, pickles to the side. The bun was toasted and fluffy. However we had to hunt all empty tables to find ketchup. There seemed to be no other condiments available. The cheese fries were plentiful and came with two cups of cheese. They were cooked well, but not salted. Again, had to get salt from another empty table. The Chicken tenders were obviously real chicken, not chopped/pressed but were very obviously a frozen option. Although the menu says that there is both sweet and sour or bbq dipping sauce, they had none. It also came with a cup of slaw, but there appeared to be no silverware available. We had to throw it away, since we couldn't use French Fries like chopsticks to eat the coleslaw.

We want to support local businesses. We understand that businesses are trying to survive with short staff, supply issues and inflation. We know that Friday for dinner is a busy time. What we can not try to suggest is enduring complete chaos and a throbbing headache. We would like to try the pizza, which is obviously very popular. We will either go on off hours, or just use doordash to...

My family and I ate dinner here on Feb, 6 2021. I had the deluxe 1/2 pound burger. This includes a small cup of slaw, half basket of crinkled fries (frozen type) and toppings of lettuce, pickles and tomatoe. I added cheese (mozzarella) and overall I enjoyed the burger very much. The fries were not appealing and taste was meh. They didn't strain the fries before do I had some residual in my basket. Slaw was adequate, nothing special.

My youngest daughter had the kids chicken fingers. 3.50 for 2 fingers (average size id say), small fry and a dole cup of mixed fruit. Overall a solid price. My daughter enjoyed her meal and ate all of it.

My wife and oldest shared a large pepperoni pizza. I ate a few pieces as well. The pizza is cut in small squares. We thought the pizza was lacking in flavor. Pretty bland to our liking and a little too greasy. This place was very well rated, especially for its pizza. So maybe we were expecting more. Thin crust type, fairly crunchy dough.

We spent 28 in total. You can pay for with card here. However and very odd circumstance here. You pay for the meal which doesn't include drinks. You have to go to a separate bar to order drinks, this includes pop or water as well. This portion is cash only. So you have to pay cash for a drink and you have the option to pay card for the meal. Why not just raise the price of the meals to include a drink or allow people to pay with card for the drinks? Very odd set up and can see complaints for that. I mean in today's world, Cash is not common. I'm not the owner so its not my business but something I personally wouldn't do.

So in conclusion, looking for a no thrill dinning experience on a budget with average food its definitely an option. Kid friendly for sure but won't satisfy you entirely...

It has been my family's tradition to go to Barnaby's every April 30th since 1992! We used to go to the location in Des Plaines but after that one closed we started coming to the Arlington Heights location. The service is always great. Seating/atmosphere varies, some years it's been nice and quiet, other years kind of loud. However now as an adult and having had tried many many pizza places I can honestly say this pizza is just OKAY, nothing spectacular. But because it is a family tradition we continue to go there every year. This year I am trying to avoid dairy as it effects my breastfed baby. That meant I had to get something different off the menu, I opted for the COD. Well, I got food poisoning. It was awful. I also had some fries (very crispy), and a couple breaded mushrooms (super bland-not yummy). my family had the pizza and mushrooms as well as fries. No one else got sick, so deduced it must have been the cod. Anyway, I hope this was just a one-off thing. That being said, I still probably wouldn't...