Ok, this is my first slam review... wish me luck. I am not one to bad mouth someone, or to speak poorly, in fact I hate confrontation. However, my experience was so poor I feel it is my civic duty to save others.
Upon detouring 90/94 one night, my wife and I took our normal shortcut on Grand to get to Logan Square. After passing several decent restaurants my wife and I have frequented in the past, we decided to try something new. Amelia beckoned our names. How bad could it be? Amelia is such a pretty name. Answer? Bad. Real Bad. Upon entering, I noticed the decor looked more Hispanic then Italian. I am not a world traveler however, maybe this is a part of Italy I am not familiar with (BTW I'm half Italian). Instead it turned out to foreshadow the horrors that were to follow.
It was dark. I figured... romantic? After sitting, a group of 6 girls came in and asked to be seated for drinks. I overheard them order margaritas which they were told they no longer had... Huh? Italian? Then it hit me. This place USED to be Mexican. However, after a unsuccessful run they switched to Italian (my guess not fact). It is obvious why they would. The other successful restaurants in the area are Italian so let's try serving that. Only problem is now you are directly competing with good Italian food. That is my food CSI guess however.
Can anyone confirm? To sum up my meal, I had a seafood pasta dish that was soooo hot (spicy) the devil would have sent it back. It was watery and bland too. My wife ordered a spinach chicken thing. It was so bad, that I pitied the poor chicken that gave it's life to be part of that dish. At least her spinach was fresh tasting. I am unsure what our total was, but my dish was $17. I know restaurants that serve a decent steak for that. The service was good. Nothing to note there. I guess to sum it up, whenever I watch Kitchen Nightmares, I think this place would be a great candidate for the show. You have been warned. Eat here if you dare, or eat here for a laugh, just make plans to stop somewhere else to eat after.
I had some Fettucine Alfredo delivered from Amelia's when I was working late one evening. The service was quick, less than half an hour!
The shrimp was outstanding, but were very powerful smelling. I had to take the tails outside because they stunk up the whole office.
The sauce was about as bland as Alfredo can be. I had to use a lot of salt and pepper to make it taste like something other than skim milk. The chicken was ok, not awesome.
It also came with a huge garlic bread which was good. Overall, the food was ok, but too pricey for the quality. I would probably not order again.
This was a mediocre place when it served Mexican food and they disappoint as an Italian place. All they changed was the exterior when they changed the menu. The interior remains the same. My wife and I went about a month or two after they changed over and we could not remember what we ate the next day. The food is standard and boring and not very good. If you want Italian in this area, go down the street to Oggi.
Review Source:It should have clued us in that at 6:30 PM there only one couple was seated. All other tables were empty. The decor and service was good, but the food was second rate. The wine selection was weak, although manageable. The food was comparable to a frozen dinner. I had the bow-tie pasta. The chicken was so dry that the weak excuse for a tomato cream sauce couldn't even make it easier to swallow. The mushrooms were so small, that at first I actually thought they were pine nuts.
I had the leftovers boxed. The entire car ride home I kept accusing my bf of letting out the most rancid burps. It took a few minutes to discover it was a putrid seepage from the meal I had just attempted to enjoy.
I was sad to see the Mexican Amelia's go. I am sure I will have the opportunity to see the Italian Amelia's follow shortly.
I have NO ideas why I tried this place after it became Italian.
It was the biggest joke...terrible misspelled menu...quesodillas offered next to pasta?
We got an appetizer of grilled calamari....took one bite and almost threw up. We stayed polite and did not send it back.
The entre of penne pasta...was like a burrito on top of pasta. I'm totally not kidding..its like that have a whole stockroom of Chihuahua cheese and are so new to cooking Italian food they just assume that everything should be covered in it.
Absolutely worst dining experience ever. And outrageous prices!
There are WAY WAY better Italian joints in the neighborhood!
UPDATE 6/2/08: Amelia's "Italian" is going to become Fiesta Mexicana sometime soon. Â I walked by today and saw a bunch of new signs advertising it.
UPDATE 10/4/07: Â Amelia's apparently reopened as "Amelia's Italian" - I walked by yesterday and there are two signs hanging from the building.. just FYI.
It looks like prayers were answered, this place is closed for business. Â Rumor has it they are reopening as an Italian restaurant. Â Should be interesting because the neighborhood is already flooded with Italian food...Solerno's, Bella Notte, Oggi, La Scarola (yum), Coalfire (pizza), Amelia's (more pizza), and Bari (deli with the best Italian subs). Â
Hopefully a Mexican place opens nearby, I'll keep my fingers crossed that it's better than Amelia's..
Boy, I hope Katie C. is right about this place being shut down, because it was as pathetic an excuse for a restaurant as Flash Taco still is....
I came only once (despite it being a 5 minute walk from my house) and had terrible service, terrible food, and was over charged to boot. Â In fact, it was so awful my friends and I laughed the rest of the night about it, kind of like "Showgirls" but with food.
Good riddance.
I think it was a solid 3-star dining experience. Â Good food, a wide variety of menu items, pretty tasty margaritas. Â I wonder why sometimes it's awful and sometimes it's delicious? Â Seems like more than just a matter of taste. Â Inconsistent service and food might be the culprit. Â We can only hope that Amelia's reads Yelp.
Review Source:Well it looks like I am going to add to all the others BAD reviews about this place. Why I went...Margarita and outdoor seating right down the street from my home. I wouldn't complain about the service, our waiter was on top of things, however his suggestions stunk. Started out with the House Strawberry Margarita's and wondered if they ever added Tequila to this obvious boxed mix. Moved from that disappointed to my favorite Mexican appetizer Queso Fundido. It was good, but not like others I have had. Maybe I was still upset about my virgin Margarita Anyway, ordered The Enchiladas Con Mole and went with the waiter's suggestion of the black sauce..oh bad idea. I couldn't even eat it but did pick out the chicken. The 2 stars come from the fact that the waiter actually offered to change it out, but i was too afraid to speak up wondering what would come back to me. Real disappointed as Mexican food is probably my top favorite food to eat and day of the week!
Review Source:WOW I don't get all the bad reviews that Amelia's is getting. I have been there numerous times since they opened a few years ago. I usually have the Enchiladas Con Mole, and they are by far the BEST I have ever had. The chips and salsa are always the tastiest. Never bad service either. Very nice decor too, calm and cozy, and dim...a nice touch, not bright and loud. Everyone is always friendly and attentive. Nice outdoor spot, although not much to look at but crazy drivers speeding by to get to wherever the hell the fire's at...
Review Source:I am new to Yelp, and I was losing faith in the reviews because the vast amount of restaurant reviews are great. Â That was until I checked out reviews for Amelia's. Â My faith is restored, and I'm reassured to know...it's not just me when it comes to this place. :)
Another walking-distance, neighborhood spot for us. Â We've given it 4 tries, plus one delivery more recently. Â Â (They do deliver...sometimes.) Â Mediocre Mexican fare describes it to a tee. Â That might even be too kind. Â They're at a prime location (although lacking parking for those who drive) and it's wasted space. Â The food has been consistently terrible, so we're finally done with them. Â The service was not much better. Â On our last try...a delivery experience...the food was still awful. Â The only shining moment was the flan I ordered. Â It was quite possibly the best, most perfect flan I've ever eaten. Â But one good dessert can't be their saving grace for us. Â I am just absolutely shocked that they've been around this long. Â I'm stating the obvious, but there are SO many good Mexican restaurants in this city, don't waste your time or money here.
I really enjoyed my experience! Â My husband and I stopped in before a Bull's game one night and had remarkable service! Â There were only a few tables occupied when we arrived at 5:30 PM, and the servers were on top of everything.
I had some kind of enchilada, though I cannot remember what kind because it's been months, but I remember I wasn't familiar with the names of the sauces on the menu so the server explained the differences between them for me, clearly and coherently. Â We enjoyed our dining experience and would go back again... at which point I will rereview, so I can better describe the food.
I often recall this as being the worst dining experience I've ever had in Chicago (update--it's now my second worst, beat out by N-i-u). Â Unless the owner Amelia has been kicked out, I wouldn't even think about going back. Â It's amazing to me that the place is even in business still. Â So bad it's not even funny. Â
The food was OK to average I guess, but the service was awful. Â Just awful.
I went there over 3 years ago but remember it so well it was so bad.
The (very young) waitor brought my entree out and it wasn't at all what I ordered. Â I told him, he acknowledged I was right and said he would go get the one I ordered... After waiting another 20 minutes for my correct entree I resumed eating.
When the check came, they had charged me for both entrees--the one I ordered and the one I didn't order. Â I thought it was an oversight on their part, so I pointed it out... He said that yes he had to charge me for both since he brought me both (I believe I told him to take the one back). Â He went and talked to the manager, and about 10 minutes later came back and said he had to charge me for it. Â I asked for the manager, she came out (I assume it was Amelia) and we actually argued and YELLED at each other for about 10 minutes. Â I believe in the end, the meal was taken off, but it's amazing that the owner was willing to actually argue with a customer for over 10 minutes when the customer is CLEARLY right in this case. Â It's even more amazing that the argument was over whether or not they should be charging me for 2 entrees when I had only ordered the one.
I don't know why anyone goes here.
UPDATE: CLOSED, SORT OF. Â They're now no longer a Mexican restaurant but suddenly overnight transitioned to an Italian place. Â Ugh.
Boo I don't understand what all the low reviews are about! Â We like to come here when the trek to tapatio just seems to far and adobo feels to pricey. Â It's not the ultimate fare in gourmet Mexican cuisine but the food is tasty, the portions are large and the margaritas are strong. Â It's never crowded and the service is polite.
Review Source:This place was mediocre Mexican food. It is also pretty expensive for Mexican since it is a "fancier" restaurant. (Although I will have to say the decor and atmosphere is pretty "blah.") I got the fish tacos and they were mushy and a little too salty. I also got the margarita which was WAY too sweet. I had to wait for my ice to melt before I could drink it. Our tortilla chips were a little stale and to top it off, our glasses of water had a tinge of lemon in them. But it wasn't fresh lemon--we think it was lemon dish soap. I definitely don't need to go back.
Review Source:Amelia's is not good at all. It lost one star just because it's Mexican. I really don't care for Mexican food, so that puts Amelia's down from the get-go. I ordered what the waiter said was not supposed to be very spicy. It was a chicken breast covered in what looked like greasy chesse and a few spaghetti noodles. Guess what, it was spicy as hell. I couldn't finish it. My mom and my boyfriend went with and they didn't like it either. Too bad. The margaritas were ok, I guess. They gave me heartburn.
Review Source:Had a very mediocre Mexican meal at Amelia's last night. The margheritas were strong, but way too sweet. The Spanish rice was mushy and tasteless. The kitchen forgot to add a side of jicama salad to my Shrimp Veracruzana, as described in the menu. The beef fajitas were not made with skirt steak or flank steak, but, rather, a much cheaper cut of beef (though, the price was only $1 less than the sirloin fajitas). It was nice to sit outside, but I will not go back.
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