Our visit was for an early Mother's Day dinner I chose the steak sandwich.. I had plans on ordering…read moresomething else, however, when I saw and smelled someone else's order being served, I quickly changed my mind I'm so glad I did it was delicious just perfect!! My hubby ordered a chicken sandwich that was just as good.. All of our food was very tasty and we really enjoyed it. Portions are generous so hopefully you're very hungry or be prepared to bring plenty home. I was only able to eat half of my food and brought the other half home and my sandwich seemed better the next day which isn't always the case when you bring things home!! I recommend giving this place a try. I don't think you'll be disappointed. We had a very pleasant experience the food and service were fabulous

Stumbled in on a whim and immediately felt like we had been missing out on something. Romantic…read moremodern gothic is the only way I can describe it. Dark beadboard walls, copper ceiling tiles, round orb lighting, and upstairs a cavernous space with soaring ceilings anchored by a stunning skylight. It is genuinely one of the most beautiful dining rooms in the area. Date night approved. One gripe before we get to the good stuff: if you have pages and pages of creative cocktails and an extensive wine list, your two mocktail options deserve the same love. We don't drink and the options were fine but very sour and clearly an afterthought. Do better for the sober and sober curious crowd. Now the food. The burrata was creamy, rich, and gorgeous sitting in olive oil topped with chimichurri and grilled bread. Needed more balsamic to bring the acid balance home, but honestly still one of the better burratas I've had locally. The stuffed pork with gouda, chimichurri, and saffron potato wedges was a genuinely smart plate. The saffron wedges were a surprise standout, bringing a clean earthiness that cut through the richness beautifully. A touch heavy on the gouda and the whole dish woke up considerably with a little extra salt, but the bones of it are excellent. The churrasco hanger steak told the same story. Well cooked, flavorful, chimichurri doing its job. The curly fries were the one shrug of the night. Not bad, just boring next to everything else on offer. Mike our server closed the deal by steering us toward the caramel skillet cookie and honestly, bless him for it. Warm, salty, sweet, rich, topped with cold vanilla ice cream and whipped cream. It is everything a skillet cookie should be and we scraped the pan. We are already planning the return visit and bringing friends. Barrel & Vine is an unexpected dining experience that Plainfield is lucky to have.

Ever since I learned that there was a speakeasy in Lockport i've always wanted to check it out but…read moreI didn't want to go there by myself so I finally convinced my wife to visit the Speakeasy with me. We figured it would have been the perfect way to top off our evening. For first-timers it might be hard trying to find the speakeasy since at first I thought you had to access it from the Busy Street and walk up three flights of stairs. Actually you just walk inside of the Embers building, find the elevator that's kind of hidden and take it to the Third floor. I thought that the little trip up felt exclusive already. Once you're at the third floor you are treated to a beautiful array of scenery. Exit to your left and you were treated to the bar and some great tables with a cozy, intimate setting. I'm not sure if it was open seating since there was a little podium right off the elevator so we just sat ourselves. Some speakeasies require a certain dress code to keep up with the times. This one thankfully was casual though many people dressed business casual. We actually loved how the staff dressed as well. I have to try their Japanese sex drink and I absolutely loved every ship that I took. The drinks are fairly price. They did have a food menu but it was mainly snacks and small plates that were a bit overpriced. If we're having a large Gathering they have a big private room next door. This place does have a lot of great events going on as well with their upcoming Valentine's Day event that looks really interesting. It does get pretty busy as well after 7:00 p.m. from our experience. Overall, I was excited and enjoyed our visit coming to the 933 speakeasy!

933 Speakeasy is located inside Embers in Downtown Lockport. I loved that getting to the bar was…read moretruly an "in the know" experience. It just so happens that I visited the night of a holiday bar crawl in lockport so the inside wasn't set up how it normally would be. For being packed, we were still able to grab a cocktail table to enjoy our drinks at. The bar was decked out in holiday decor to get everyone in christmas spirits. My group got two rounds of drinks which included the Toasted Pecan Old Fashioned, Figgy Smalls, Christmas in a Cup, Happiness is a Warm Puppy, Milk & Cookies, and Maple Bacon Old Fashioned. My favorites by far were the Toasted Pecan Old Fashioned and Figgy Smalls. My group also loved the Milk & Cookies. The bartenders hustled to get drinks out and still took time to smoke the old fashioneds to perfection. I'd love to come back on a normal night and re-enjoy this lockport hotspot.

One Eleven Martini Parlour has become one of our favorite spots. The mood is laid back and the…read moreservice is outstanding. The owner is truly an artist, as are the bartenders. They have a good presence on social media and host special events from time to time. They are good at communicating changes to hours on their website. It gets busy during prime hours, and at times they do hit capacity. Given the intimate size of the facility and the truly amazing cocktails it's not surprising. 100% would recommend the pistachio martini.

One Eleven Martini Parlour is easily one of the best spots in Lemont. The atmosphere is dialed in…read moreperfectly -- upscale but not pretentious, comfortable without losing that polished feel. You walk in and immediately know you landed at the right place. The cocktails are serious quality. Their martini menu is stacked, and the Lavender Lemon Drop was one of the best drinks I've had anywhere. Everything is balanced and clearly made by people who know what they're doing. The WineStation and the half-price wine bottles on Wednesdays are great touches. They also have excellent happy hour specials, which makes it even easier to stop in after work or kick off a night out. It's honestly one of the better deals in town given the quality of the drinks. They've got gaming machines if you want to unwind and play a bit, and the old classic movies running in the background give the place a cool, unique vibe you don't see everywhere. Service is top-notch across the board. Every bartender I've had there has been outstanding, but Betty deserves a special shout-out -- she's friendly, sharp, and genuinely great at what she does. All around, this place nails it: great drinks, a strong happy hour, gaming, old movies, and staff who actually care. One Eleven Martini Parlour is a go-to spot, and I'll keep coming back.

5 stars for Lemont. Probably 4 stars in Chicago…read more Walked in on a Saturday for an early dinner. It was 5:45, I didn't have a reservation, a they didn't have a table available until 7:30 but there were spots at the bar which they said was full service. My friend and I cozied up to it and ate there. What a surprisingly good experience. The staff was super friendly and that bartenders had great suggestions. I hate when people at the restaurant say everything is good. Not these young ladies. They made some sound suggestions which we followed. French onion soup and the steak frites were both excellent and priced well IMO. They have a really good whiskey/bourbon selection with a few hard to find bottles. I settled on a Blantons neat. They had Pappy, but I'm not wasting money on that anymore. Food came out quickly and we ate and watched a baseball game. The locals at the bar told us about their membership program where I guess for a small mo they fee you get a bottle of wine and a charcuterie plate once a month. Seemed like a pretty good deal. I don't live anywhere near there, but if I did I'd certainly join. In any case, if you live anywhere close, this is definitely a worthwhile restaurant to visit. Seems like there were quite a few singles there as well if you are looking to meet someone. I have no idea what the dating scene is like in Lemont, but this might be a good spot to try.

Saturday date night was a birthday celebration dinner at Barrel & Vine for my husband. I'm not…read moresurprised he picked this restaurant because they have an extensive bourbon list, not to mention good food. We had Amanda as our server this time. She was fantastic! So personable, friendly and was very attentive. We began with cocktails, a Blanton's old-fashioned for him and a purple haze for me. Our server Amanda made the magic happen with my bubbly vodka cocktail at our table. Barrel & Vine makes great specialty cocktails. Hubby and I shared everything he ordered. The first thing we had was the imported burrata in a marinara sauce with rustic crostini. Creamy goodness. Yum! I loved that there were four large slices of grilled bread, perfect ratio of cheese to bread. I don't like when there's not enough bread for the amount of cheese on the plate. We then had the Tijuana's Best salad, which was their caesar salad. It's a typical caesar yet the best I've had. Not overly dressed. Hubby ordered an EH Taylor single barrel bourbon for the main event, a 32oz tomahawk steak with truffle fries and roasted brussels sprouts. The Fred Flintstone sized steak was perfectly seasoned and cooked to rare and came with four sauces on the side. We were able to choose our sides from the accompaniments on the menu. The ribeye was very tasty, however, there was grizzle in the piece that I cut for myself that I couldn't chew. Side note: I think it would be a nice touch if the restaurant sliced the meat and laid it next to the bone as presented at other restaurants. Both the brussels sprouts and truffle fries were good, but the fries were lacking the truffle taste. Needless to say, we couldn't possibly eat the whole 32oz ribeye so we brought leftovers home to enjoy again. The finale of our meal was a complimentary birthday dessert that Amanda chose - her favorite, a salty toffee skillet cookie. Amazing! It was a warm and gooey perfect ending to our dining experience. Barrel & Vine has two restaurant locations, Lemont and Plainfield. I highly recommend trying either.

Nice art and drinks. Swanky! Cool aged drinks and retro feel. Very classy. Charcuterie board was…read moreexquisite.

Got some great cocktails from this bar and gallery in Aurora. It has a kind of limited menu but you…read morecan find something good though. French 75 is basically an art gallery but there's a bar. Look at some art while sipping on a few cocktails. The prices aren't bad especially at happy hours. Checked it out before going to see a play and it was big time ass busy. It's one of the nicer bars in town to be certain. There's all kinds of fancy cocktails such as the namesake obviously. Go at the happy hour and save a few bucks. It's $6 for any of the French 75 variations. Happy hour is Tuesdays through Fridays 4 to 6 in the evening. The Blanc is Bombay Dry Gin, Brut, lemon juice, and simple syrup. It's about $9 for appetizers. The Marinated Olives are nice to munch on. Also they have charcuterie boards. These are great for groups and parties. Has quite an interesting combination. It's open every evening with plenty of art to check out. They have a happy hour weekdays and are open later Fridays and Saturdays.

I'm new in town so when I found this place I was so excited to find out that it was in my backyard…read more I walked in and this place has the coolest LA, DC, NYC speakeasy "vibe" that I've experienced here. We had a few drinks and a charcuterie board., BOMB! Delaney was our bartender and she was EXCEPTIONAL. I wanted a martini and she recommended a spicy one.. chefs kiss. (Ask for her! And please tell her Travis sent you!) I'll be back every other week! Because I'm not an alcoholic

Checked out this kind of low key high class cocktail bar. It has a lot more than expected. Mauve…read moreNosh And Libations is one of the classiest places in Shorewood. For sure that's not saying a lot. The drinks are whether the attention but there's some stuff to eat too. Best thing about it is of course the cocktails. It's got quite a few to choose from. There's some that are pretty expensive but some that aren't so bad thankfully. Anyone can find one to their liking. There's of course the classics like martinis. A happy hour is on weekdays to save a few bucks. It's about $12 for sangria. We got the Caribbean Coconut Sangria. Good to help cool off when it gets hot. This is made with coconut rum, lime, pineapple juice, and white rum. Lots of rum in it. There's also a food menu. A few snacks on it basically. It's about $5 to get sides like pickled watermelon. Basically the rinds which actually are good. There's also charcuterie like cheeses and meats. For sure it's one of the best places around here for date nights or even just chilling and hanging. It's located in the plaza with the brewery and a few other restaurants. They're closed Sundays.

A great place to grab a tasty and creative cocktail! The drink menu is extensive and they come up…read morewith fun seasonal drinks frequently. The service is also good, everyone is always friendly and professional.

This past Friday, my husband and I wanted to celebrate the Christmas season and stopped in at…read morePollyanna social before dinner. From the moment we walked in, we were one of three groups of patrons. One gentleman sitting up at the bar, one table of ladies and my husband and I up at the bar. We sat for almost 10 minutes before the waitress walked over with some water and said the bartender will be with you in a few minutes and apologized. The bartender at no point in time ever said hello, welcome in. Terrible service as far as that goes. My husband ordered two drinks and I ordered one drink and they were excellent. As we sat there waiting to be asked what we would like to be served and after we were finally served, we sat and listened to what seemed to be like lounge music. We came in because of the holiday season and we're looking forward to listening to some holiday music playing in the background in addition to the holiday theme. I was surprised by both that the holiday theme was a tree by the front door and not much else around and no holiday music. The question we ask ourselves is will we be back. I don't know and I think at this point for what it costs to have a nice cocktail and not have the right person tending bar or maybe my expectations were set high for the holidays. There's probably a 50-50 chance that we will ever be back. There are so many places within a 10 minute radius that will probably be delighted to have our business. Such a huge disappointment, but we try not to let that hamper our mood. Today's generation needs to learn social skills.

Altavida is a new addition to the downtown Naperville area as they have only been open for 3 weeks…read more It has taken over The Craftsman building which offers three floors. Altavida's concepts for the three levels are Publico, Rumba, and Altura. Publico (1st Flr)- A South American fusion of food and drinks that will be rotating. The cocktails will be more tequila and mezcal based and food will be subtly rotated based on trends happening in South America. The food menu currently offers tapas, empanadas, ceviche, guacamoles, larger format meat/seafood entrees, and more. They will have a front of our bar as well as a back bar that will specialize in more coffees/coffee cocktails. Rumba (2nd Flr)- The entertainment floor! There is a separate bar on this floor that will specialize in more Rum based cocktails. Additionally, they will have a wine bar area with wines in tap. Lastly, they will have an open area for live music as well as dancing. Their hope is to have a mix of jazz, club music, salsa dancing options available. Altura (3rd Flr)- This floor is still under construction but will have a rooftop patio. The hope is that this space will be an event space both for public and private events. Back to my experience! My partner and I stopped in for a cocktail and to see what Altavida was about. Our first bartender was very nice but was still getting used to the drink recipes and was leaning on their cheat sheets. While we waited, another bartender kindly told us all about the restaurant and its focus on hospitality. Unfortunately, each bartender had a slightly different explanation of the restaurant's goal concepts which was confusing. We ended up ordering the El Toro and Vaquero (both mezcal drinks). Both were VERY spirit forward to the point that it may have needed better balance. Both drinks had a nice presentation with garnishes, color, and a skull feature at the bottom of the glass. Lastly, we saw many people walk up and look confused as there was no formal host stand. They didn't know if they should seat themselves or wait for someone. Overall, there still seems to be some kinks needing to be worked out as well as some conceptual editing. I feel they are trying to achieve too much and it ends up being confusing for staff and guests. I hope with time, Altavida is extremely successful in the Naperville area and I hope to circle back after some time passes.

This place is a wonderful addition to DT Naperville! I was able to get a last minute dinner…read morereservation on a Friday night. I arrived at 6:30 and there were plenty of people already in the restaurant, but I was seated promptly. My server Richard came over to greet me right away. He went over the menu options and gave great recommendations. We put our order in pretty quickly because we've been to tapas restaurants before. I loved the modern decor and lively music being played. The place is truly colorful and has a very energetic vibe. The service was excellent. Everyone was extremely kind and happy to help. Edwin, the general manager was so friendly and accommodating by making sure that everything was to our liking. He is a gem. My husband and I ordered a few different tapas to share. We started with the empanadas and they were truly 10/10, highly recommend! We had the beef and chicken with the chimichurri sauce. We also tried the papas bravas and those were delicious as well. They are spicy and have a nice kick. The portion is pretty big and shareable. Last, we had chicken en mole. Omg, so good! They knocked it out of the park with this one. The presentation is very pleasing and the flavor is 10/10! I'm a hot sauce girly and even carry it in my bag just in case. The sauce they had in the dish was so good that I didn't even think about adding hot sauce! The rice and chicken along with the sauce is chef's kiss. I also tried the Brussels sprouts but they were my least favorite of everything. They should go back to the drawing board on that one. The drinks we had were solid. My husband had an espresso martini and dragonfruit margarita, while I had a mango margarita. All were good. Needless to say, I had an amazing evening at Altavida! The dancing on the second floor was also very fun and entertaining. I will definitely be a regular here!

Stopped by on our way outta of Chicago and man was it great. After a stop in Orlando and a 4 day…read morecruise THIS was the best meal of the vacation. Too many good looking entrees and starters to choose from, but went with the giant pretzel that was gargantuan, a 1 foot Philly cheesesteak, bacon peanut butter burger and wings for the grownups and it was all so good. Service and ambience were awesome. Every employee was super nice.

Large craft beer selection and LOTS of TV's. (Some are even playing the action LIVE, not delayed by…read more30 seconds. Some others... ‍) The half order of smoked chicken pineapple nachos is still LARGE. Too bad we only got a 1/8 order of chicken and/or pineapple. Memphis Grit dry rub wings were fantastic. Hot & very flavorful. Recommended.

Beth and Tiffany were expert bartenders who made our casual all-ages Thanksgiving open house super…read morefun. They were flexible and knew how to work the bar and the room. You will not be disappointed in their service!

From the owner: Every drink has a story. Let us help you create and be a part of yours!read more