Not worth it.
If you want fine dining with out driving to the city, go to Montarra in Algonquin.
Ordered the trio of soups--all were under seasoned and had the same texture. There was nothing on the plate  to cleanse the pallet between soups which made the three run together.
The soup was followed by a salad containing wet iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots. The ranch dressing was far too thin in consistency.
For an entree I had the lamb shank special with baby clams on polenta. The 5 of the 6 baby clams were closed. I asked the server if they should be open--she left to ask the chef and returned with a salad plate offering to steam them further. They were returned drenched in a broth that didn't taste like the dish and now overlooked. Sigh.
The lamb was tender and moist and the polenta and other components were all fantastic!
Would not return.
One of McHenry County's finest (if not the finest) restaurants. Â They do themed menus on occasion and have some great tapas. Â Excellent wine selection. Â Kudos for the organic ingredients and sourcing locally...not many restaurants in town do that...except for dukes. Â Wild game meat offered as well.
Review Source:Went last Saturday night with a party of 8. I was so pleased to see the gluten free offerings on the menu, along with various sustainable seafood dishes and seasonal vegetables. Every entrée we ordered was lauded as delicious and the appetizers and desserts were great, also. Steaks were grilled to exact temperatures ordered. Our server was a knowledgeable and professional lady named Crystal who handled the dumb jokes from the husbands with aplomb. The wine list is vast and comprehensive; by-the-glass offerings were equally thorough. Great place, we'll be back!
Review Source:Such a nice find in Crystal Lake.
It's a little bit of an older placed but it has some serious charm. The walls are lined with wine lockers and they have some great beer on tap. They also have some stellar wines available by the glass! I loved that.
The tuna tartare was awesome, it came with different sides like wasabi and ginger and little toasts and the tuna was tossed in soy and sesame oil.
We also got the lobster pizza which was great for 2 split as an entree. We had our share of warm and soft bread, plus the app, so we split the pizza and were just full enough to be satisfied. We will be back!
Well I finally went to 1776. Â Been looking at it for years and decided to go with my wife. Â Can't say that I'll be back.
We walked in and the host tells us that we have to wait for the owner to decide where to seat us. Â I found that odd, but okay. Â The owner comes out and gives us the once over ( I wasn't wearing a tux, but was dressed nicely) and proceeds to seat us at a table near the front door and walks away without saying a word. Â No menus, no hello, or have a good evening. Â Waitress comes over and asks if we'd like a drink and again we have no menus. Â Finally we get drinks and then are presented with menus.
The waitress was nice and told us about the specials. Â I got jambalaya and my wife got some kind of chicken I think. Â Anyway, the food was just okay, nothing that would make me jump up and down. Â Never got a good vibe and the owner never looked happy. Â He sat people all night and never spoke a word. Â In fact he took our bill with credit card and then brought it back to us without saying thanks or making eye contact for that matter. Â Very weird. Â
Just an okay experience. Â Very indifferent staff and owner. Â Can't see what everyone gets so excited about.
They come across as a nice restaurant with friendly people who work for them and cover-up their mistakes pretty well. If you go there a couple of times and enjoy wine, they offer you to become a member of their wine locker club. They "PROMISE" a yearly wine dinner, free to the members and other free things, which I NEVER received and you have to purchase all the wines from them. I did that and then had a problem getting there as often as I lived an hour away. "THEY" decided I didn't deserve the locker anymore and "supposedly" placed my wine in their wine basement. I had just purchased over $ 528.00 of wine and the next month, "they" sent me a bill for another $ 277.00 purchase of mandatory membership wine! When I sent a person out there and allowed them to drink from my locker, he said it was in the basement and that he had 2 bottles of great wine. I took a couple out there 2 months later and to my surprise, there was only "ONE" bottle left out of over $ 800.00 of wine!!! How did that happen??? "THEY" said that the salesman had drank all my wine; really?? In my estimation, the owners STOLE over $ 700.00 worth of wine from me and offered to buy us a bottle for dinner that night; gee, were they feeling guilty about either re-selling all my wines or they drank them theirselves.................. Anyway, I still have the receipts but their dishonesty makes me tell EVERYONE I know to never ever go to 1776 ever again as they are very dishonest people and their food is so-so. Andy is not the consumate host but a thief and a liar! His wife, the same. The menu is very expensive and the amount of food for the dollar is not worth the drive out west. There are a lot of great restaurants in Lake County without going to Crystal Lake. So, take 1776 off your list of great eating places as they are not honest and their food is not worth their expensive prices!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review Source:Lived in Crystal Lake for 12 years and kept saying we should try 1776.  Didnt have a reservation but decided to drop in.  All but ignored by staff and unmanned hostess stand for first 5 minutes even as they walked by.  Sat at the bar for a glass of lackluster pinot grigio.  Ordered  a cup of mushroom soup which ended up being served in a small ramekin (no cup by any measure).  8 oz Filet mignon was served with a large table spoon of luke warm mashed potatoes on a reduction that lacked flavor or substance.  Service was rather attentive but lacked the finesse of an establishment charging these prices.  I'd have to say that it will likely be another 12 years before we try this place again.
Review Source:I can't believe people are giving this place less than 4 stars (at least)! Yes, it can be very pricey, but I feel you get what you pay for. The food is always delicious and creative. The best kept secret of this place is the $5 HIGH QUALITY mac and cheese! DELICIOUS! I got two orders to- go a couple weeks ago, and the portions were huge! Such a good deal and soooo good! They usually have a few different cheap menu options like the mac n cheese. I think it used to be called something to the effect of "Stimulus menu."
Review Source:I came here tonight to celebrate my cousin's 11th wedding anniversary...and to purge wine from his wine locker :-)
The restaurant staff was very nice and accommodating. Â My cousin Rick and his wife Christine obviously come here often because they seemed to know everyone.
The food was excellent -- the menu had many choices...especially wild game. Â I had the wild perch which was excellent.
We had a great time seeing my cousins whom I hadn't seem in over 45 years, and I especially enjoyed it as I hadn't been to Crystal Lake, IL since I was a small child.
I'll be back.
Overrated. the food is just ok and often poorly seasoned. Â the famous wine list is well represented but way overpriced. Many of the wines are Triple marked up! Â I can see double, but triple! Â that is theft, no matter the quality of the wine. Go to Monterra Grill in algonquin, better food and cheaper quality wines.
Review Source:Well I thought I was in Colonial Williamsburg by the sign... but I appreciate some good patriotism so I looked up the website online and the menu looked absolutely solid with a fantastic wine selection. Â So I initiated the co-worker dinner here and it was a hit. Â We braved a Thunderstorm warning for this and it was worth getting soaked.
We arrived late but they seated those in our party who arrived ahead of time which was appreciated. Â We had most of the appetizers waiting, crab cakes, smoked fish (Smoked Tilapia included?), Calamari and the Game Sticks. Â The clear winner was the calamari which was fried perfectly and had a nice texture, accompanied by a salsa like condiment which was wonderful. Â
One of us ordered the soup flyte and said they were all good but didn't like the mushroom soup as much as the others.
Three of us ordered the 9 course Tapas menu (avail. on Wednesdays and Thursdays) and we shared a bottle of Malbec wine. Â The Tapas were different from those listed on the site but were pretty decent, ending up being just enough food. Â Since it was not updated on the website and due to the human mind's 'crow epistemology' and my lack of writing instrument I can not recall what they were... but I promise you there were on target all but one time. Â
One hell of a pleasant surprise this far out of the city.
The food is always good, with an excellent chef creating different dishes on a weekly basis. Â What I do want to say is that the owner is a vinophile and has an extensive collection. Â As you walk in the door, you will understand that this is a place to go if you want to have a great match with your main course and have a nice meal to go with it. Â For a resturaunt that will bring you back because of the wine, 1776 is the place to go (and not just in the exburbs)
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