My husband and I celebrated Valentine's Day at center cut last night and it was amazing. We recently stopped drinking. My husband enjoyed a Heineken zero and I ordered a mocktail called the Opal fizz. It was phenomenal. I want to have it again. Our server was so attentive. She was great. We had fillets with the mashed potatoes and added spinach it was very romantic and a wonderful evening. read more

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We came to Center Cut to celebrate my friend's birthday, and the night went downhill before we even ordered. We tried three different wobbly chairs before giving up and settling for the least unstable one. It took 40 minutes just to get water, and over an hour for our drinks. Mine didn't arrive until the manager stepped in--75 minutes after ordering. When our appetizer finally showed up 90 minutes in, the "stuffed mushrooms" were cold, undercooked, and missing the sausage entirely. We sent them back because there was nothing edible about them. The soup tasted good, but it arrived more than an hour into the meal--and came with burnt pieces on top, which is especially ironic considering the fire alarm was going off at the time. The alarm was blaring directly above our heads, and two families walked out during the chaos. We should have followed. The salads we ordered never arrived. Multiple menu items we attempted to order weren't available, including the salmon for the salmon salad and the prime rib sandwich. At that point, the menu felt more like a list of things they used to serve. After two hours of waiting, missing dishes, unavailable items, and nonstop disruptions--on a birthday, no less--we finally walked out. And despite everything, we still tipped our waiter because it was painfully clear the chaos wasn't entirely his fault. We walked next door to Emil's, where the difference was night and day. We were seated immediately, treated kindly, served a full meal in under 45 minutes, and they even surprised my friend with a free birthday dessert to salvage the night. Emil's saved what Center Cut completely destroyed. read more

CLOSED with no notice.. employees are beside themselves. Special events need to book somewhere else

This was our first time back to Center Cut in 5 years, and unfortunately, it was extremely disappointing from start to finish. Drinks took over 30 minutes to arrive, and when they finally did, my husband was given the wrong drink. When he pointed it out, the server told us they were out of what he originally ordered--but instead of asking what he would prefer, she brought a completely different drink without consulting him. We ordered everything at the same time, and after 45 minutes, our infant daughter received her chicken nuggets while the rest of us continued to wait. At the one-hour mark, a fire alarm went off. While we understand that situations like that happen and didn't hold it against the restaurant, it only added to an already frustrating experience--especially since our food had already been significantly delayed. After waiting an additional 20 minutes with still no food and no communication or acknowledgment of the delay, we decided to leave, as it had gotten too late and our infant needed to go to bed. When we asked for the check, we were shocked to receive a bill for $263--for food we never received. The lack of communication, excessive wait times, and poor service made for a very frustrating experience. It would have been really helpful if our server had developed a rapport with us or at least acknowledged all the wait times. We are thankful that the manager stepped in and compensated us for our bill but dissapointed that management was not notified until we were litterally walking out the door. We hope management takes this feedback seriously and improves both service and accountability moving forward. We will not be returning but we were annoyed we wasted our time. read more

129 center cut is now closed permanently Rumors are that Emils is going to be moving into that space. Sad to see 129 go out of business but their stakes were starting to go downhill and there's no parking in downtown Gray's lake to speak of read more

The food is okay. If you ask me though, they'd make way more money if you could pick what goes on your plate! I got a flavorless dry potato with sauces that did nothing to help, and the salad would have been great if they gave me balsamic instead of blue cheese. It was disappointing to say the least. read more

129 Center Cut - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

*Surcharge Alert* Like this place. Getting a little pricey, but the food is good. Nice variety on the menu. You can walk in on a weekend night and get a table. Overall, a solid, higher end place in Grayslake. The 3% surcharge on a $130 bill is a no go for me, so this will be my list visit here. read more

Good place to get bar options in Grayslake, from drinks to food that can be greasy or even healthy. It's a great place for watching sports or whatever you feel like. 129 is located at that address on Center Street. Pretty clever name, but of course you need more than that for a restaurant to be good. This restaurant indeed does have more, including great drinks and some food that's much better than typical bar things. Came at happy hour because we heard about the specials you can get. It has specials for drinks and food, and they had a few that were going on. The place wasn't that crowded, so we got bar seats. It was Wednesday, and there were cheaper drinks. It was $8 for the Classic Mule. This was good enough for the price. Also the food. We got the Steamed Dumplings, which was the best choice to get for vegetarians. Good choice. It was $8 on Wednesdays. Came with a choice of filling. We got vegetarian. Also came with a sweet and spicy dipping sauce to dip it. This added a bit of flavor which was needed, even if it was extra stuff. Has lots of great choices of drinks and food. It makes a pretty good option for families and groups. The menus feature plenty of options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. read more

Came to hear the jazz. The place was loud and echoing, so we actually lucked out not being in the room with the musicians. Competent service, but we also didn't ask for much. Their Caesar salad does not resemble a real Caesar salad in the least, but the French onion soup was pretty good. Would go back for the jazz. read more

Was apart of a large party and food took a while to come out which is understandable with a big table. I had a chicken sandwich that was pretty good but nothing special really. My fiancé had the chicken piccata which definitely sounded better than it looked. We did order a bread pudding that never found its way to us and we got our check before we could try and remind our server for it. In our opinion we think the quality of food does not match the price they are charging. read more

Ordered on pickup through Toast, paid as requested. Google said they were open, Yelp said they were open, Toast said they were open, other food delivery sites said they were open. Get there and the restaurant is dark, doors locked. I wasn't the only person who showed expecting to pick up their orders. This is the Center Cut I have come to know, they want to charge steakhouse prices but are unable to offer the steakhouse service. read more

Aug 30, 2025. We have been regulars over the last 10-15 years. Tonight we ordered our usual wine and old fashioned, wedge salad, and were about to order our favorite Stone Fired Pizza only to be told they no longer serve pizza and will be changing the menu soon. Hey!, Pizza was still on the menu. Ugh. Finished the night with a few mediocre appetizers. Final bill was $103 including tip. Oh Center Cut, you had us at Stone Fired Pizza. All those posers in the Ville couldn't touch your delicious crusty goodness. No More. Sadly we will not be returning. read more

Ate here yesterday with 9 people, I would've given it a low review even before my eight-year-old started throwing up this morning and hasn't stopped since. He had fettuccine Alfredo, which was not what he had ordered, but he was gracious and said it was fine. It was one of three order mistakes, including forgetting to bring a drink, and also forgetting to put through one of the main entrées. Really disappointed this place seems to have gone downhill. They don't do pizzas anymore. The service was lackluster. My salad was chewy. It's just not worth the price. (the ambience is amazing. Maybe if you're just getting a drink). read more

Glows: Megan Lick was an excellent musician for live entertainment. The corkage fee of $15 is very reasonable. Our server Brennan was very attentive, yet respectful of letting us have time to enjoy eating and chatting without constant interruption. Grows: There are several. 1. Front of house being run by a couple of teenagers with no sense of knowledge or urgency about table management and lacksadaisically getting customers seated is just poor for what is supposedly a higher end steakhouse. Your entire team deserves better than this - you need to hire people who are personable, act like adults, and will make an excellent impression as the front of house, the literal first impression a guest has. 2. The tuna roll was incredibly confusing - you basically had a chunk of sliced avocado on the side with a rectangular mound of finely diced raw tuna and cucumber strips, served with crostini. This is a very mediocre dish that needs a ton of rehab - turn this into a shareable poke bowl instead, nixing the slices of cucumber for it being cubed, served with chips for $16 and you might have something. What we were served was confusing to eat, practically impossible to get all the flavors in a single bite, and crostini should be NOWHERE near this dish. Mindless construction. 3. When I order a dish - any dish - I expect that 25% of what I paid to be represented in the ingredients on the plate. The stuffed mushrooms ($16) were woeful. Four baby bella mushrooms ($0.50) with diced tomato sauce ($0.50) with some seasoning and herbs ($0.30) and melted cheese ($0.50) is not acceptable. It was also supposed to come with Italian sausage, which must have been a joke, because in the entire dish I had two bites with a tiny nugget the size of a piece of ground hamburger worth of sausage. None of this comes remotely close to the $4 of expected ingredient cost for a $16 price point. Verdict: I will give this place exactly one chance on a steak dinner at some point in the future. If it continues to fail at this level, there will not be a third chance, and I will modify this review accordingly. This was a mostly unacceptable level of service and performance from the kitchen. They can, and must do better. 15 Lakes Steakhouse in Antioch is not far away and their execution is FAR superior right now. read more

Great service! Great food! Great vibe and family friendly. I recommend trying the Argentinian skirt steak!

Great service, fresh ingredients, chicken, fish and steak are all excellent options. Calamari appetizer is one of the best.

Ambiance amazing very nice place to go if your just trying to relax and the bartenders are great I love the events they hold and the private ones are great too definitely reccomend read more

We went out for Valentine's dinner and the food was seriously lacking but the service was decent. They said they were busy but the tables didn't show it. The waitress was good but she was moving quickly and doing her best. Sounded as if they were overwhelmed. We ordered a wedged salad (large), a cup of soup (loaded baked potato) and Miso salmon with mashed potatoes and green beans. We ordered drinks and she brought them out very quickly along with water. She stayed on top of the refills as well. The wedge salad was a good size with lots of blue cheese crumbles and dressing. Very good portion for a large size. The baked potato soup was loaded but it was very loose and runny and not warm at best. The first dish of salmon that came out had a very small portion of mashed potatoes and no green beans. They took my plate back and returned it with 3 (yes 3!) small pieces of broccoli. I tried the mash potatoes and they were very starchy and cold. I flagged the waitress down to let her know, the dish came with greens beans and the potatoes were cold. 5 mins later she brought my new plate out. The salmon was a decent size and had good flavor. The mashed potatoes were warm and a larger portion but super gluey and had a weird texture. The green beans were way undercooked. I wasn't going to complain a second time so I just ate it. Very disappointed to say the least as it's not cheap and it was our Valentine's meal. The restaurant is very nice on the inside with ample space, including a full bar and a seating area in front of a fire place. read more

129 Center Cut - Miso Salmon with garlic mashed potatoes and miso green beans. - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

I'm only rating this now because I didn't have the app back then but new years on 24' I went here with family and the staff members were very good people and the food was amazing but I wish it was at least quieter as when I went it seemed more like a sports bar than a fancy restaurant but overall not too bad read more

LOUD. LOUD. LOUD!!!! Do not eat here if you have any intention of speaking with your guests. The place is like an echo chamber and REALLY needs some sound deading materials. That is on a regular night. Add in their live music and it is IMPOSSIBLE to hold a conversation. The band was good, they just don't need the amount of amplification they used. That being said, the service was excellent, the food was OK, but nothing I would rush back to order again. Please fix your sound issues. It was bad enough that our party of 6 would think twice about returning. Really! read more

The food, especially the steaks, are average or below average at best. They don't know how to cook meat. It's a loud restaurant but that's understandable as they didn't take that into account when they built the place. Lots of tv's and GREAT staff but it's not worth another visit. Don't be fooled by the pics on their website. You'll get nothing like it. read more

Be aware on busy weekends the reservation management is unacceptable. They regularly overbook and you will wait at least an hour even with a reservation. The front of the house is a complete mess with no manager present. Seems like this happens often based on other reviews. read more

Went here for the first time and sat outside. Seems like a nice place! We didn't have any silverware after our appetizer came so my husband had to go inside and ask the hostess then she didn't want to give him silverware. We had four people, and she only gave him two things of silverware, which didn't make any sense to us. Our waiter barely came around to check on us. The food was good but the lack of service for the price terrible. read more

So i have always had a good meal here. Its never been a 10 but always good solid 7.5-8 Anyways moving on. The chocolate moose... wtf is this crap. Its like my 7year old made it out of box chocolate pudding . Yuck!!! read more

Center Cut located downtown town Grayslake has modern decor with a few TVs to enjoy different games. The room with the bar has a cozy "living room" area where you can enjoy your drink. Our server was nice and attentive and gave us the special for the day. For starters we ordered: Calamari - nicely breaded and season. Marinara sauce on the side was okay. Woodfire Mushroom Caps - the caps were stuffed with sausages and cheese in a marinara sauce. The stuffing was tasty but I think I would rather not have it drench in the marinara sauce. Entrée: Shrimp Scampi - fettuccine pasta in a garlic butter sauce. Good portion of shrimps. Sauce was delicious. 9 and 6 oz oz filet mignon - medium rare, perfectly cooked with mashed potatoes and daily veggie which was the green beans and a side salad. 14 oz bone in pork chops - huge portion of the pork chop. Very tasty We were all starving when we arrived and didn't take any pictures ‍ Amazing entrees. Ok appetizers. read more

Decent food, slightly slow service, but check your bill before paying because they add extra costs without notice. The bill came stating that they charge 3% for using a credit card, they never mentioned that before. Worse, my wife ordered chicken piccata, which was one of the daily specials listed at $25. The bill came charging $25 for piccata plus $6 for "add chicken". These people are crooks. read more

We ordered Tuna Avocado Roll with Teriyaki Sauce Take my word that the cook (not chef) has no clue what he was making. . read more

129 Center Cut - This is what they called a Tuna Avocado Roll with Teriyaki Sauce. It was awful. The restaurant should be embarrassed. - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

Dined here on 5/24, 6 total including one child. VERY pricey for what is received, although food was good. Service was fast, place was NOT busy. Forced to pay 20% gratuity, (due to 6 iin party, not that I wouldn't have?) but what if you felt service wasn't worth 20%. ALSO, 3% SURCHARGE for credit card use. My biggest pet peeve, that's THEIR cost, not the customer's. Will not return unless this fee is gone! read more

It's been approx 3 years once we've been back. Our last visit was awful and it has taken long time for me to give it another try. Food: Started with the house salad with Thousand Island dressing. Personally I hate arugula. It's bitter and anyway it's served, it's terrible. Wish I would have done soup instead. For dinner I had the trio medallions with Parmesan crust, garlic mashed, and asparagus. It was properly cooked and excellent. Hubby had the 12 ounce prime rib with garlic mashed and green beans. He was happy with his choice too. Service: I don't remember our servers name but she was attentive and knowledgeable about the menu items. Ambiance: It's an open floor plan with high ceilings which tends to make it loud. Since it was just the two of us, it wasn't a problem. A lot of the items on the menu try too hard to be fancy. Personally, I only found the trio medallions appeal to me. Not sure if this restaurant will make it into our rotation. Most likely a once a year visit. read more

A lovely cocktail on a wintery Sunday afternoon! We were greeted by Jess, out bartender. She was warm and welcoming. Plus, a highly competent barkeep! She even crafted an interesting Mocktail for one of our peeps who doesn't drink. A group of 6 of us enjoyed drinks by the fireplace. We also order several appetizers. The Chimichurri Shrimp was the star. The Salmon Bites not so much. I will be happy to go back and try them for dinner sometime soon based on this encounter. read more

Nice atmosphere. The food is among the best in the area. I can't resist ordering the salmon. Good selection of custom cocktails. Service was perfect, not rushed as the food is to be enjoyed. Don't forget to save room for dessert, the tres leche cake is delicious. read more

129 Center Cut - Chimichurri skirt steak - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

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Nice ambiance. Tasty drinks. I had a lemon drop martini which I did not find on the menu but was recommended to me by our waitress. Salmon was superb! Employees were friendly and well mannered. Had a girls night out and played trivia. Overall a great time! read more

129 Center Cut - Lemon drop martini - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

I made reservations for my wife and I to have dinner here at 7pm today. When we arrived it was loud and packed. We were seated in the bar, which was weird given we made reservations. Our server appeared to be the only one working the tables at the bar which easily had 70 plus people in it. Our server came over after we had sat there for 10 min, told us she would be back with waters and disappeared for another 10 min. When she returned she said she was waiting on cups but took our drink orders. A few min later she returned with water but no drinks. After 30 min my wife and I got up and left. For the amount of money they charge for food and drinks this place needs to do WAY better!!! If I'm going to pay $200 for a meal, I expect to be seated at a table, in a dinning room, where I can hear the other people at the table speak not get seated in the equivalent of a wannabe upscale adult dive bar. The sad part is that my wife and I don't get to go out much so when we do we try to do something nice together. Sadly this establishment ruined our evening. I will never go there again. read more

Nice atmosphere and a decent selection of apps, entrees, and desserts, but entrees seem pricey. We came around 8 for some coffee and dessert, and there was a small wedding party happening in the back, with a few tables and couples at the bar. I ordered a decaf coffee but had to ask another server for some cream. My friend had a woodland 'adult' coffee drink that she really enjoyed, and another salted caramel one that she did not. We shared the bread pudding which was plated really nicely and tasted good. The server was friendly. I'd come back to try some different things on the menu, but there is a lot of competition in this area. read more

129 Center Cut - Bread pudding - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

Great food! Fast & friendly service! Cute little restaurant with a variety of food! Love the entertainment on the weekends.

I should have read the prior reviews regarding the restaurant's inability to seat reservations anywhere close to the reservation time during busy periods. We had made 6:30 PM reservations last Saturday night and showed up on time. The restaurant was extremely loud -- a live act was playing, and people were trying to talk over it. The server told us that it would be at least 45 minutes before we were seated and might be 60-90 minutes, with 8 groups needing to be seated before us. We elected to leave. read more

Oh my experience at Center cut. My father's 83rd birthday. We had 630 reservations and when we arrived, they told us there were 10 reservations ahead of us and it would be up to a two hour wait. what's the point of taking a reservation? No way to run a business read more

My family is a frequent customer, about every other week,as we like the food and want to support our local businesses. Sadly, they lost a customer today. I found they began charging a 3% credit card fee which is new and it was not communicated. Hiding charges in your bill is fraud. What an unwise business decision. read more

it was a very disappointing experience, on my grandfathers birthday he was very excited to go to center cut and we had a reservation at 6:30. They then told us that we had to wait 2 hours to get in. It was clear there was no priority for those who planned a with reservation. In the end it would simply be better to take the odds and just walk in. read more

Server was friendly but not attentive. Drink specials: tasted like a college bar. Appetizers: Goat Cheese and Lamb Lollipops were delicious! Dinner: Tarte Flambe Pizza was delicious BUT Prime Rib 16oz nothing special. Add on of mushrooms and caramelized onions were $3 each, yet onions were not caramelized and just sautéed. Mushrooms overcooked. We were sat at a table that felt like we were being interrogated due to the lightening and we moved ourselves over to a different one. One time was enough for us! read more

129 Center Cut - $3 Overcooked mushrooms and $3 NOT caramelized onions - Steakhouses Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

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