We ate outside at the Elgin location and we were not impressed. Obviously very little effort was put into the outside seating. Chairs were used to hold down the table cloths instead of clips. Orange construction fence was used to cordon off the seating area... and was strung in such a manner As to make challenged folks struggle. The front of the house manager who seated us seemed to miss the point of why he was there.. to make sure things ran smoothly. Other restaurants are making a great showing during the pandemic... sadly jimmy's is not putting on a good showing. The food however was very good. read more

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Made a pit stop between Chicago and Rockford because we were starving! We ordered the "Opa" flaming cheese, and kabobs for appetizers. Both very delicious! The table ordered a wedge salad and fettuccine Alfredo. All the portions are HUGE and could easily be split! Wedge salads were delicious! The Alfredo lacked taste but was very creamy and I think if I added protein it would've been better read more

I arrived at the restaurant around 6:45 and headed to the bar/lounge area. The bartender was busy with about ten other customers and still got to me within about five minutes to take my order. I knew I wanted the potato skin appetizer but I was undecided about whether I wanted the wood fire roasted chicken or steak. She wisely steered Mr toward the Filet Mignon Kabobs letting me know the portion size of 1/2 a chicken might be a bit much for me by myself. I'm glad she did because I went with the kabobs and still had leftovers! The potato skins were a little tough but a steak knife (thoughtfully provided by the bartender with the meal) did the trick. I ran out of sour cream after the first two pieces. The bacon, cheese and lettuce provided a nice accompaniment for the bites that didn't get the sour cream. The kebabs were tender and juicy with a tasty Greek sauce and a warm pita. Delicious! My drink never got empty before the bartender or another server offered a refill. For a last minute stop to grab a bite to eat, Jimmy's Char House ticked off all the boxes. read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Potato Skins - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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I have been to this restaurant at least 5 times. I don't know why I keep thinking it's gonna change. Over an hour to get food. Dried out and cold, and very small portions for the great big price!! NEVER AGAIN!! Filet Mignon read more

Great service, good food & old school vibe in the restaurant. This is a go to for me & my in laws and we always enjoy the food when we dine in or pick it up! Definitely a go to. read more

Went here yesterday with a group of friends. Food was just okay and not warm. One server for 17 people so quite a long night. When the bill came, there were two entries on everyone's bill for sales tax. When we questioned it the manager said it was because the tip was automatically on the bill because we had a group and therefore we had to pay sales tax on the tip. What!?!?!?!? Since when is there sales tax on tips? read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Today we had an engagement party for my son and it could not have been better! We had the private room and about 35 attended. We had the appetizer buffet and it was excellent, in no small part due to our server, Brandon, who was AMAZING! Everything was timed as I requested and could not have run more smoothly. Two thumbs up! read more

Horrible went there. Yesterday had the cod it was spoiled smelling really bad. The coleslaw was inedible extremely spoiled. My husband's burger was very dry. Will never go back again. Extremely disappointing was hoping I didn't get sick read more

Go to long horn steakhouse you will probably pay less and taste better . Not impressed read more

Quick and Easy!! I stopped in at Jimmy's Charhouse during a business trip to the Elgin Illinois area. I was staying close by at the Country Inn and Suites and was looking for a place close by to eat. Jimmys Charhouse is a small chain of Steakhouses in the Greater Chicago area. At the time of this review, I had heard that one of the locations had recently closed. The title of my review is Quick and Easy, this is the best way to describe my experience. My trip was a solo one and I was looking for a quick and relatively healthy meal. I ordered the soup of the day which was a minestrone soup which had a good soup base and veggies inside. I could not tell if the veggies were fresh or frozen. Either way, it was a nice bowl of soup, nothing bad or nothing special, just a nice bowl of homemade soup. My main course consisted of a small filet mignon, cooked medium rare with steamed veggies on the side. The steak was flavourful and a good-sized portion. The veggies were steamed just right without being too mushy. Overall a good quick and easy meal, nothing special but I wasn't looking to be wowed that night. The service was good, and I was sat right away in the main dining room. The restaurant was quite busy so it shows that people do go there to eat. read more

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We had a party of 6 Saturday night at Jimmy's. I had the Cesar salad and the Greek chicken. They were both delicious. Everyone enjoyed their meal and they had some nice special pricing! read more

Do not try their BBQ ribs. It was just a pice of wood. You can do much better at home.

Went last night at 5pm for dinner. Main dishes were fine. The salad was pinkish in color and the bread was obviously old. The service was great. The little things make a difference from so-so to great. read more

Service was good, atmosphere was nice, food was HORRIBLE. First time and never again. The only good item was the salad. Steaks not fresh, very chewy. Carrots were not cooked, steak knife couldn't even cute them up. Took a couple tries. Calamari was frozen not fresh. The sauce had a weird spoiled tangy taste. Definitely not marinara. We felt bad for the staff. read more

Came here on New Year's Eve with a group for dinner. I ordered the special: a surf and turf with stuffed shrimp and filet. After about 10 minutes, the server came back and told me they were out of the stuffed shrimp with no options available when he came to the table. I had to ask him if there was going to be a substitute?, any other kind of shrimp? He had to go back and talk to the chef again in which the substitute was going to be a fried, battered shrimp which I said OK to. After a very long wait, the food all came. My steak which was ordered medium, was extremely well done. My brother's steak, which was ordered medium rare, was also extremely well done. We had to flag down the server to complain. As soon as he saw the steak, he agreed that they were well done and not what we ordered. In the meantime, everybody else at the table was almost finishing their meals while we were still waiting for our steak. Our new steaks came out. They were so rare I almost got sick looking at this on my plate. My brother agreed. It was so rare he was disgusted. Again, I had to flag somebody down to bring the manager over . (you would think at this point somebody would've checked on us since we already had complained about the way our food was cooked). The manager just took the plate off my table and that was that. nobody asked me if I wanted to order something different? Not even another martini. Nothing.. by the time the server came back, I told him to just bring us the check. We were ready to get out of there. they did not offer me another meal, I still paid for the upgraded soup that I had as my side. At this point we have been there for about two hours. It was New Year's Eve, and I just wanted to get home. I decided I would call back the next week to talk to a manager, in which case I talked to Paul who is the same manager from the night there. He said he didn't understand what the problem was since he took the steak (that I didn't eat off the bill). I explain to him as a manager he should have compensated something since I left that restaurant not even eating a meal that evening as well as my brother . We still paid for upgraded sides, etc... you would think if two customers at a table, have to send food back twice!! a manager, would come and talk to the customers, apologize compensate something, ect. I told him that I was extremely disappointed and disgusted with not only the food, the chef, but also how everything has been handled. He didn't care and told me the owner would be calling me the next couple days so I can 'complain again'. it's been a few weeks now, and nobody has reached out. I think it's safe to say I would never recommend that place! read more

Go here if you wanna wait, wait, wait and then wait some more for your food then be served cold chewy low grade beef and bland sides. Btw, don't complain because the owner literally tell u to pay and leave. Gives zero shits! Applebees doesn't seem so bad anymore. read more

Great food great service... we will be back again!! Lunch is the best value .. you don't need both soup and salad.. we went Christmas Eve and loved it! read more

We are wowed by the food here. Our appetizers of potato skins were delicious and enough for 4 people. The burgers were cooked to perfection and huge!!! More food than I could eat! Taking it home!! The drinks were generous. Will come back soon even though it's a half hour from where I live!! The service was impeccable! read more

I recently was treated to a birthday dinner by my family, food was really good! The lady in service was attentive to our needs and our table was well taken cared of! The food we ordered came just at the right time that we feel the crave to taste what we ordered. Highly recommended! read more

The restaurant itself looks really nice. Our waitress was pretty awesome too. Unfortunately that's where it ends. We went there for my fathers bday. First time ever, myself and mom ordered the New York strip steak, $40. It was cooked exactly how we wanted it but it had absolutely no flavor what so ever. For 40 bucks you would think the steak would be oozing in delicious flavor. I thought maybe it was just mine but my mother said the exact same thing. My sister ordered the salmon and she said it was very dry and also had no flavor. It's a shame because I was looking forward to this place. Unfortunately won't be back. read more

Only reason my family and I came here was because we had a giftcard. Will not be returning. Wait time is ridiculous. Steak was okay, however not worth the wait. read more

Where do I start? Called a day in advance for 4pm reservations for 7 plus two infants. When we arrived, we were seated at a round table that only seats 6 comfortably. When asked to change seating arrangements, they were accommodating; however they really should have been prepared from the beginning. Now, the food...the bread they served us at first was so hard and crusty it literally cut gums. Soup and salads were good. The salmon was cooked beautifully, but no flavor. Grecian chicken was also flavorless. And finally the steaks were cooked awfully. My mom ordered a medium rare filet mignon and it was served completely passed the point of well done (pictured). To be fair, the bbq pulled chicken sandwich was good and so were the mashed potatoes. Our server was nice and efficient, and the bussers were probably the most friendly of the staff. Honestly, unlikely we will be returning. read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Filet Mignon "medium rare" - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

Not sure what the other reviews said, but it was delicious! The lighting was a HUGE contributor to the overall ambiance of the joint. I went here with all the managers at my company and it was perfect for conversations, so if you're reading this, just know it's perfect for date night! I had the chicken parmesan sandwich and it was perfect! Not too much marinara, but not too little either. Thanks Jimmy's Charhouse! read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - I was so excited to start eating it, I forgot to take the picture:) - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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Went there for early NYE dinner 630. Crowed as expected. We ordered prime rib dinners. First disappointment was they ran out of premium bourbon like Markers Mark, or Wereford? Who runs out a common liquor on NYE? Then 5 minutes after getting our salad out entree's were brought over. Server looked stunned & we refused. As soon as we finished the salad our dinners suddenly appeared. Meat was ok not up to usual offering. As we finished plates were swept away with no coffee or desert offered. We felt pushed out the door for no reason since there were open tables and no back up at the door. That had to be the fastest $100+ dinner that I ever experienced. We eat here often & usually satisfied not never again on a holiday. Very disappointing & questioning. Certainly not a holiday celebration as expected. Will venture elsewhere in the future. read more

Great place, nice atmosphere. Had the NY strip and hats off to the chef was cooked to perfection. Definitely will be coming here again read more

What a great place!! Food and service was fantastic. Amy and George are the best!! We are regulars here and never seems to disappoint read more

We were there last night with a group of friends. Out of 12 meals served only 2 people said their meal was good. We requested to speak to the manager as most people didn't eat a quarter of their meal because it was awful. The manager refused to come to the table. None of this was the servers fault but the manager left her to deal with it alone. Hopefully she quits on them. Who wants to work for a spineless jelly fish. None of us will ever step foot into this place again and none of us will recommend it to family, friend's & neighbors. Word will spread fast! read more

Being that we have grown up in the area, this was always somewhere that we have driven past on multiple occasions. But after several attempts at other restaurants in the area we gave Jimmy's a go. Keep in mind, we spontaneously decided to go out to dinner as a family, on the Saturday night, at 530, so getting a pretty fast seating anywhere was near impossible. After 3 failed attempts at other places we gave Jimmy's a call and were told that we could be seated in less than 10 minutes. So after a quick drive over we made it in. The ambience of the place was warm, inviting, and beautiful. The smokey, rich, aroma of char perfumed the entire building as well as the neighboring areas outside. And just like the wonderful human who answered the phone said, we were through the doors and seated in less than 10 minutes. Which was thoroughly surprising since we did not have a reservation, it was nearly 630 now, the entire restaurant was bustling and was fairly packed and we had a party of 9, it was quite impressive. Alex was our server and he did a fantastic job. All of the food came out delicious, and the portions are great! There was a slight deviation from perfection when it came to my mother-in-laws steak. (She prefers them well done, and it was a little too pink for her liking. She's wrong. By the way) but Alex was more than willing to make every moment right. Fortunately for him, my father-in-law finished it up before he could come back and show the kitchen. It was very minor and she was still able to eat a large portion of it before realizing that the perfectly cooked steak was not to her preference. (Again, reiterating that she was wrong and that a great steak, especially with the quality of meat they they are using, should just kiss the grill and be enjoyed at a medium-rare. Oh and she also uses A1, so if that's not already a strike 1 then I don't know what is.) Everything was absolutely delicious and came out hot and fresh. Highly recommend, we will definitely be back. Maybe just as a couple. But I definitely want to explore what other steaks and cuts they have to offer! read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

We have dinner here at least twice a month for the last 4 years and always have great service and good quality entree, I recommend

Finally made it here after all the years it's been open. Was weary of the somewhat negative reviews. But I thought everything was real good. Saganaki was excellent, so was the generous sized salad that came with dinner and the London Broil was very good. Cooked perfect. Good fries here too. Service was also very good. Nice bar area with a few drafts on tap. I'll come here again. read more

My wife was completely disrespected by the older short fat lady hostess when asked to substitute for dietary reasons. Have been a customer since the day they opened and not sure if I'll ever go back. read more

I have eaten here 4 times over 10 years and it has always been bad. The food quality is just awful. The only reason they are still in business is the lack of competition. read more

Stopping here for lunch was a mistake. Great looking space with decent service. But those were the only good points. The bar area reeked of stale beer, and the food was atrocious - like it came from a bad roadside diner. For such a good looking place, and at these prices, I was expecting more - much more read more

The 3 stars is for everything but the steak. I ordered the saganaki, Cesar salad, single fillet mignon with rice pilaf, espresso and brownie a la mode. Saga Ali was delicious, Cesar salad was fresh and tasty, rice pilaf had nice flavor from the aromatics, and the dessert was amazing. The steak, however, was more like something you'd get from Applebees. I ordered it rare, which it was, but there were grill marks instead of a pan sear, and absolutely no salt or pepper or any other seasoning. The texture of the steak was also closer to a serloin. The service and drinks were also spectacular. Don't go there for a steak. Next time I think I'll have a Reuben. read more

I wish we had read the reviews before we went here last night. Sat at the bar, there were 2 behind the bar but it took more than 7 minutes to be acknowledged even though the bar wasn't busy. The beer on tap didn't taste like the beers we ordered. Today I'm paying the price in the bathroom for that one beer I drank that didn't taste right. Clean your beer lines people! Burger was so-so. Would not recommend. read more

It's a meh kind of place. Out with the family for dinner one night and decided on Jimmy's. I Don't normally go for the chain kind of places but Jimmy's had good qualities. Our waitress was perfect, taking care of 6 of the pickiest eaters with ease. I will say I didn't quite understand was the decor of the place, it's a char house but it's designed for an Italian restaurant. My problem with most chains is that packs you in so tightly that your elbow is the persons soup be hide you and it's extremely loud. Surprising enough Jimmy's wasn't too bad, lots of space and I didn't have to yell to talk to the people across the table. The food wasn't anything to rave about but it's nothing to condemn either. Obviously they have terrific burger and steaks, cooked perfectly. The fish wasn't the freshest (at least not to me) and the chicken was a little over grilled. I would recommend staying away from the Shrimp de Jonghe (which I do anyways but even my mother didn't like it and she loves those), it was just nasty. The portions were huge, way too much food but I guess that can be a good thing if you like leftovers. We were all so stuffed that there was no room for desert. I can't say that I would go back but it wasn't a completely awful experience. read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

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Love this place! Such a good go to when I don't want to cook. Which is often. If you come and can sit in the bar you can have a nice dinner just off the appetizer menu. I recommend the saganaki, chicken kabobs, and stuffed mushrooms. Their wedge salad is great but the full order is huge! Need a full dinner? My go to is the Grecian style anything! Lamb chops or pork chops are really good! For desert *** GET THE BREAD PUDDING. Enough said. read more

Jimmy's Charhouse - Steakhouses Near Me - Elgin, Illinois

OMG!!! One place you'll want to go if you get out to Elgin or any of their locations. We started out with the shrimp dejonge and the flaming cheese saganaki Opa! Our server was extremely friendly and made some great recommendations. We all tried had different entrees just so we could try each other's. I loved the filet with the horseradish crust. The lobster was succulent and done to perfection. The flan of the day was smooth and creamy, the carrot cake was amazing, and the rice pudding made us roll out of there. Congratulations on a well served meal read more

The average 2.5 review for Jimmy's Charhouse was really surprising to see. My parents have been here several times, and always had a good experience. Last night the three of us went. I had the 2 Pork Chop meal with veggies. The pork chops were excellent, 8/10. The veggies were kind of bland, but still ate them. My dad had chicken parm which looked decent, nothing incredible but decent. He also had the baked French onion soup which he said was the same, decent not amazing. My mom had the "Healthy Salad", I find that name funny. It had chicken on it and she said it was good. I would say the salads could use a bit better lettuce to makeup the salad, it's a little bit too much like bagged lettuce in a bowl, but not bad or anything. Our waiter, Ryan, was a 10/10. Attentive, good suggestions. Really good. Ambiance was great with live music. Everyone in the restaurant looked like they were having a good time. It was crowded but that didn't affect anything in a bad way. I don't necessarily doubt the authenticity of the bad reviews I'm seeing for this restaurant, but personally we don't see it that way. The prices align with the quality of food fairly well in my opinion. read more

Dined at the Elgin location tonight to celebrate Father's Day with my husband. The food was good, but my lemon drop martini tasted like a glass of lemon mix. Our waitress was super kind and sweet, so didn't want to complain to her about the the drink. Instead I walked to the bar to ask if they could add a little vodka to the drink. The 2 gentlemen behind the bar said "no." They were rude and sarcastic. Was very disappointing and will think twice about returning. read more