3.5 stars.
They've made great strides. The beer selection is super. They've worked out most of the kinks in service and food. The decor has grown more full of character. Nearly all of the little things that drug the place down have been eradicated.
If you visited The Big Black Dog in the first few months of operation and were disappointed, come back. Its better. Much better. Give them a second chance.
We tried to go to BBD the first week they opened, but we didn't have a reservation and there were no tables for walk-ins. We went back tonight (a Wednesday in February) with a Groupon that gave us $60 in dining for $29.
The restaurant was pretty much empty when we arrived at 6:00, so seating was not a problem. We sat in the back room near the big windows. The chairs aren't very comfortable, but the table was fine.
Hannah, our waitress, was very friendly and great with our kids. She was attentive, but not overbearing.
We had the pretzel appetizer, a California burger (avocado on it), macaroni and cheese, a taunt burger (totally plain), and the combination pulled chicken/pork plate. The burgers are big, and good. The Mac n' cheese wasn't very good, and my son only ate a bit of it. I had the butter garlic mashed potatoes with my burger and didn't like it at all - they reminded me of either mashed from a box, or mashed made with the wrong kind of potatoes - too gooey. My husband liked his pulled chicken and pork. My son loved his taunt burger.
I had a glass of Pinot Noir, and it was a large pour and enjoyable.
We had two desserts: brownie cheesecake, and coconut creme pie. I love dessert, but would not order either of these again.
One appetizer, three entrees, one kid's meal, one glass of wine, two Sprites, and two desserts came to $17 after the Groupon (which was $29). I'm not sure that this meal would have been worth full price.
I would love to see BBD thrive, as the north shore needs more good restaurants. I think to do so the restaurant needs a few things:
1. Better decor. Add some more color, texture and warmth. The rooms are big and feel cold.
2. Don't cross something off the menu with a black sharpie; it's tacky. Replace the page or have your staff announce that you are out of that item.
3. Perk up your appetizers. The pretzels were microwave hot when they got to the table, and sort of soggy.
4. Work on presentation. The pulled meat plate could not have been more boring looking. Chicken, pork, and cole slaw are pretty much in the same color family: blah.
5. The paper towel dispensers on the walls are a cute idea for messy ribs, but made me feel like I was eating in a bathroom.
6. Pay attention to your walls. I sat across from three paintings of black dogs, and each one was really crooked. That kind of lack of attention to detail is just lazy.
7. Up the age of your kids' meals. My ten year old pointed out that the kids meals were for kids aged nine or younger. I don't think I've ever seen such a young cut off before.
This place has potential, but it's not there yet.
on the plus side the beer menu is fantastic, extensive list, the prices are very very good. well done. they also have paper towel machines at each booth which is great. they tell you what the barbecue sauces are which is good too. the john wayne poster is great.
the service was awful. we sat down, about 5 minutes later another group sat down and they were served first before us.
the menu
-about half of the menu is appetizers which are mostly chips with different kids of dips priced wildly differently.
-the burgers for $13 are about the size of a mcdonalds hamburger which is not what you expect. I also thought the sides were small and the tomatoes were not fresh.
-the menus themselves were paper and wrinkled and dirty, like what a 9 year old would give their parents if they made dinner for them.
-the 2 person tables are too small if you're over 4'5, you can fit your plate on them, that's about it.
I think it's great if you have small kids-there are no table clothes, lots of walls to keep in sound and you have no expectations.
I wanted to like the place, but it's not even close to worth going back and it's pretty hard to screw up a burger and tv joint.
they have a long way to go, they figured out the beer and the napkins, but everything else was just clueless.
While there's nothing particularly wrong with this place, there's nothing particularly right with it either. Â The brisket sandwich was way overpriced for what you got & came with nothing--just 3 slices of brisket on a bun. Â Not even a slice of lettuce. Â Won't be going back, especially with much nicer & better values Gilson's across the street.
Review Source:I decided to wait a couple of days for this review because the anger was still so fresh in my mind.Didnt help. My girlfriend and I strolled into this place around six last Friday. We were asked by the young hostess if we had reservations. When I responded that we didn't, she told us it would be a fifteen minute wait. No problem. About five minutes later a party of three strolled in and she asked them also if they had a reservation, too which they responded no. Well, she said OK and proceeded too tell them that she had an open table for them. BIG problem.
When I asked her what the hell was going on, she said we were only a party of two and the table was too big for us. Even though there was a table for only two, we didn't qualify I guess. At this time the owner or manager Brian told us that a table was paying there tab, and we would be seated right away. After five more minutes (incidentally, the table for two was still open) I told Brian too take our name off the list as this was the last straw. He looked at me like who cares.
I work down the street from this place and I will make sure that every client that I get, will get this story.
My husband and I REALLY wanted to like this restaurant. We live nearby and love supporting local places. We went opening weekend (might have been our mistake) and were not impressed at all. We went with our 3 year old daughter and none of us enjoyed our meal.Here is what we thought.
1. Â I was disappointed that my daughter's only options for sides with her kids' macaroni were fries or tots. Really? Where are the fruit and veggie options for kids? Plus, she didn't like her macaroni and cheese at all. Yuck!
2. My husband and I both ordered bbq plates. We thought that other bbq places in town have much better quality meat. (pork and brisket). We also were disappointed in the options for sides. The only vegetable side was green beans covered in butter. As someone who enjoys having vegetables at every meal, I was hoping to see steamed veggies, a side salad or something slightly healthier as an option for sides.
The atmosphere was cute and maybe they will make changes in the food and menu. I hope so. I would love to have a place like this in town that we enjoy going to. For now, we won't be going back soon.
I went here with  two family member who wanted to try it.  What a mediocre overpriced experience. Yes, I definitely have experienced better! Fast food places have better food!  Alex the server was clueless - he asked questions and didn't really care about our answers.  Example: how do you want it cooked. Well, since I ordered chicken, I asked for it to be cooked enough so that I wouldn't get sick.  Then he got it...
My $12.99 meal was so sub par, it was ridiculous. I ordered the grilled chicken breast ( you can get a chicken breast instead of any burger) with cheddar and "lots" of bacon.  Translation = three pieces.  Not lots in my book. Pretzel bun was just okay. The chicken was boring, the cheese tasteless and the bacon not memorable.  The Memphis bbq sauce was good.  What was most  disappointing was the side I ordered.  I got the butter garlic mashed potatoes that I swear were Betty Crocker and arrived cold.  I had the full cup in the middle of the table away from my plate and the server Alex saw me stealing fries and tater tots from my family members.  He didn't even ask if anything was wrong.  The fries and tater tots were good but greasy.  Another person ordered the brat burger, thinking that you would get a real sheboygan brat patty.  Wrong. You get a burger with a cut bratwurst on top. Really??? Talk about something very awkward to eat. At least describe it this way on the menu.
I like Gilsons, and thought I would like this restaurant because it is the same owners. Boy, was I wrong. I will not be back. As of now, all the reviews are 2 stars. Â Save your money. Go somewhere else.
-burger, great
-pretzel bun sucked!
-pulled pork, flavorfull
-steak chili, meh, i ve had better!
-greenbeans, waterlogged and not so green
in my opinoin, dont stray from meat and ask for the sweet roll instead of pretzel.
BTW - best organic steak chili is at a vendor at the indoor farmers market on saturday mornings at Evanston's Ecology Center!!!
expensive menu for lousy food. Â The hamburgers arrive looking lonely on a plate with onion ring "fries" which are greasy and cold. Â The interior or the restaurant is a mish mosh which makes no sense. Â Service is fair to lousy. I will be surpirsed if they stay open for long. Â Maybe if you like beer its a good place to overpay for fancy labels- don't waste your money on the food.
Review Source:I agree with Peter O's comments
When I went, we ate at the bar--to the right of which is a disgusting mess of coffee machines and trash in full view of anyone at the bar.
It took way too long to get served. I was served poorly chilled beer in a warm, cracked glass. The bar tender (bar manager as he was referred to) was putting wine glasses in the ice box to chill them. The dishwasher was stacking hot glasses inside each other on the bar. No wonder they were cracked.
When the food finally came, my fries were stone cold. When the bar tender asked if everything was OK (having left the fries untouched), I informed him they were stone cold. No offer for replacements was forthcoming.
We then sat and looked at dirty plates for over 15 minutes with the bar staff walking by ignoring them.
I heard they spent a million on the refurbishments. You'd never know it. The layout is awful. Fixtures and fittings aren't up to much and, as Peter mentioned, single-person bathroom could house a football team. I'm sure it will survive (for now) as there's little else in Wilmette (shame the Noodle's space isn't that big).
Will never set foot back in there.
All the other negative reviews are accurate. Read no further if you're looking for something new. If you're bored though, please join me.
First, it's not a tavern or a grill, it's a barbecue place. Why this misleading name? You walk in expecting something vaguely UK, all dark wood and hunter green, and get Denny's New Rib Express at O'Hare, with lots of televisions in the dining areas and yes, all sorts of pictures of big, black dogs.
We arrived Friday 12.14.2012 about 7:00 pm to find plenty of available tables. Nice for us as walk-ins, though not for them as BBDT&G is one of the very few nightspot restaurants in town. We were seated immediately by a  well dressed, quietly friendly teenage blonde girl with glasses.
Almost every aspect of this restaurant felt ill-considered and not thought through. Quite uncomfortable, with too many too-small, cluttered tables, too closely quartered; cavernous one-holer washrooms and a teeny tiny bar stuffed into the back. They seem to have designed the interior layout themselves. Everything is a bit off. Further, there's a good beer selection though nothing on tap, and some okay reds and whites though no sparkling wines or Champagnes. The incredibly oily fried macaroni and cheese squares appetizer was served with two dipping sauces: creamy ranch and strangely enough, melted Merkt's-like cheese (Excuse me, may I have some more cheese with my cheese, please?), without plates. No plates.The nice guy waiter kid brought plates promptly when asked.
My burger was thick, crumbly, cheesy, correctly prepared and sided with plenty of crispy, moist tater tots. S's chicken was an oddly uniform patty seemingly made of processed, pressed pieces, though with a fresh-grilled flavour that won our approval. The mouth effect though, was not unlike eating chicken roll from Dominick's when you're expecting fresh chicken off the bone. Cole slaw looked great and tasted like refrigerator. The three add them yourself sauces in familiar plastic squeeze bottles on each table were apparently an homage to the far more honest and greatly superior Rub BBQ in Rogers Park, Chicago (2012 Ribfest Chicago "BEST RIBS" Winner)
Our meal cost far too much.
The waiter kid, a likable, polite and well-meaning young man with allergies or a head cold, had served us on a number of occasions at Gilson's, their sister restaurant across the street. Sadly, he was quite forgetful here. He mismanaged two orders for the table to our right, one to our left, and served S's chicken sandwich on a bun when she requested it be without. That was so slight we of course said nothing and I mention it now only as being indicative. The people to our right were vocally peeved and left in a huff after the waiter's charm defense fell flat. Â
After we all had finished eating, the woman at the table to our left asked me how I liked the meal, mainly to give her list of negatives and disappointments after I gave her mine. We laughed and joked and agreed that we wanted them to succeed, though if they didn't straighten out, they'd be through. By 8:15 pm there were maybe ten customers left, mostly at the tiny bar in back, though five teenagers entered laughing together as we stepped onto the street. Â
The Big Black Dog felt like a confused vanity project created by Chicago suburban restaurant owners with a whole bunch of extra money and some hubris who thought they could pull off a family style rib place with which to replace family style C.J.'s. "Hey! It's easy! " Nope. Sorry. It's not. Try again. Now, try some more.
There you are. Eat here, though maybe give them a few more months first to shape up. That is, if they're still around. Remember, the burger and tater tots were good.
With best regard,
Peter O.
I think the place is having some growing pains, and I'm hopeful it'll improve once they work out the kinks. But I'm not holding my breath.
First visit:
Husband and older son both had burgers and seemed to enjoy them. But all their burgers come on pretzel buns, which my son doesn't like. But they have a "sweet roll" which is really just like a slightly sweeter bread, and they happily replaced his pretzel roll with the sweet roll. He was happy with it and ate an entire adult sized burger (with bacon). My husband had a burger with bleu cheese and said it was good.
I initially ordered a salad, but when they told me that they only had 2 salad dressings and that they were raspberry vinaigrette (which I hate) and ranch (which I also hate), I canceled and ordered pulled pork sandwich which was good, with the orange-colored bbq sauce (delicious!) in a squirt bottle on the table (the other two bbq sauces were mediocre). I strongly encouraged the waitress to tell the proprietors to expand their salad dressing menu, which she agreed was probably a good idea. French fries are beer battered and good but not anything special. The tater tots were great, but all tater tots are great ... it's the nature of a tater tot. The cole slaw was gross. Really gross. Even my husband wouldn't eat it, and he'll eat just about anything.
The place smelled a weird and not in a good, foody way. Also, it was empty and the hostess was not going to seat us because we didn't have reservations. It was 5:15, and I looked at her reservations sheet and noticed she had about 4 or 5 reservations for 5:30, 4 or 5 for 6pm, and then a bunch for 6:30 ... and a restaurant filled with empty tables. I basically had to insist that she seat us, that we would be done before the bulk of the reservations came in (I mean, who wants to sit with their kids in a restaurant for over an hour) before she grudgingly seated us ... close to the door, where it was freezing. Service was laughable. We waited forever to pay our check, and about 3 different people came to our table to take assorted dishes but no one (apparently) but the waitress is capable of running a credit card.
Second visit: No better than the first, except that waitress thought they "might" have a 3rd salad dressing option, but she wasn't sure. Younger son had chicken fingers and didn't eat them. I had a combo pulled chicken and pulled pork, both of which were underwhelming. The pork was significantly better. Both were very mushy with no crispy bits. Place still smells awful. Can't figure out what it smells like, but it's downright unpleasant.
Both visits: Overpriced.
great beer selection.
bar services is very good.
bar is too small, you can seat like 8 to 9 people at the bar, needs to be able to hold double that.
dining area is too big and spread out, need more a tavern feel with a clear bar section with more TVs, and a distinct dining area..too blended in.
Stopped in late night for drinks only, because I thought it was a tavern. Â It is not a tavern. Â It is a restaurant. Â Felt rushed and not welcomed. Â This is not CHEERS and its not going to be a bar where everybody knows your name. Â Too bad for a small town like Wilmette, it had potential, Â Bummer. Â Bar is wine and beer only, too. Â Computerized juke box is cool but this isn't a party place.
Review Source:What a huge disappointment! Ate here last nite and I thought I entered a daycare with way too many screaming kids all over the place...and in a tavern??? Lighting is atrocious. Seating is uncomfortable. Service is worse and the teens working here couldn't give a rats ass as they walked around and socialized with each other and neighbors they recognized. Only Beer and Wine served here but the wine you see is of the Northshore kind--wahhh! Oh I forgot to mention the food.--exactly!
Review Source:I have visited the Black Dog four times already and have had nothing short of a great experience.
The beer list is not only amazing but tops anything in the area. More importantly the food stands as truly authentic BBQ place and I can honestly say this place is something really worth checking out!
I wish you could give negative stars on Yelp. This place deserves it. Â Yet ANOTHER Wilmette restaurant disappointment. Â Why is it that we can't have anything half decent?? Â This place has no ambiance for a place called a "Tavern". Â None. Â We ordered appetizers and entrees. Â My entree came out in minutes before the apps, and was luke warm at best. Â The replacement (after sending back) was good but only with the help of a lot of BBQ sauce on the table. Â No beers on draft - its "coming" apparently...and the bottled ones weren't that cold either. Â I can understand some growing pains when opening something new but these guys seem to have rushed into it so all of us can start paying them for below average service and food. Â They need to get their act together or they will be gone shortly. Â I am not going back for another year at least - if they are still around, that is.
Review Source:Take a pass: My pulled pork sandwich was undistinguished. No flavor profile, no crunchy bits. Unattractively plated with a pile of warm - not hot - mediocre tater tots. I ordered it with a big scoop of slaw which turned out to be a glob of mush. Service was mediocre. Strong beer list but that does not justify a bill for two without service of $42 including a beer each.
Review Source:We live a few blocks away and had waited anxiously for this place to open. Â We decided to go with the family this past Saturday night. Â The reviews we read said that they opened at 5pm and since they advertised themselves as a family friendly restaurant and tavern, we figured a reservation would not be necessary. Â When we arrived a few minutes after 5pm, we stood for a minute at the door before the young host said he would be right with us. He then asked us if we had a reservation and we said "no". Â He promptly told us that the next time he could "fit us in" would be 8:30pm. Â This would have been fine had the restaurant been crowded. Â It was not. We saw only two tables with guests. Â Â So we went across the street to Gilson's instead. Â They sat us right away and as we enjoyed our meal there, we noticed that tables visible across the street at Big Black Dog were never filled! Â In fact we walked by after we finished our meal and there were still plenty of open tables! Â Â If you are a family friendly, casual tavern, wouldn't you keep at least a few tables open for walk in guests? Â This was a disappointment and we didn't even get to taste the food. Â We are all for supporting our local businesses but not if treated this way. Â They need to have someone more gracious to host and deal with the in coming guests.
Review Source:This was my most depressing dining experience of the year.  I have been watching and waiting for this place to open for months.  I read articles in the newspaper, how the owner wanted to open a family friendly restaurant, with good food, and decent prices.  So exciting!!  I figured they would look to nearby ultra-successful BlueStone for some pointers on what makes a good restaurant in this "genre" in this area.  They failed.  A group of us went here a few nights ago, and every last one of us, left highly disappointed, and even kind of pissted off that it was so bad.  The atmosphere of the restaurant seemed like it's still under construction.  Funky "dry cleaner" flooring, that meets, wood flooring, that meets other flooring.  No cozy booths, no cozy seating... plain wood chairs, at wood tables, in the middle of an oddly plain room.  The kids menu.... failure.  $7 for a kids menu of mac n cheese, peanut butter and jelly, and chicken tenders. (Bluestone =$3.50)  Give the kids some steamed veggies or something.  Strike two:  no beers on draft (yet) and the bottles were absurdly overpriced.  (Bluestone= $5 Gumballhead drafts).  Strike three:  the food was crazy overpriced and simply not good.  Steak fajitas...$16.99, smallest plate I've ever ordered and the meat was not tender, out of the bag shredded cheese on the side, decent guac, decent salsa, flour tortillas (boo!).  Even worse, we ordered the pulled pork nachos for the insane price of $14.  The chips tasted more like  fried pita bread, so thick, and so fully drenched in oil/greese, we just couldnt eat them.  We picked the pork off and ate it by it's self.  I should have ordered a sandwich but they all cost upwards of $13.  (Bluestone=under ten).  The mac-n-cheese was just plain fine.  THe mashed potatoes decent.  No one finished anything and no one wanted "to go " containers.  The bill came and as I gave my credit card, they informed us the machine wasnt working.  I would not come back here.  The environment was not warm, the food was not good, the prices are FAR too high.  I was really hoping this place would do well, new restaurants are needed and welcomed in the area.  Unfortunately, this place got it all wrong.
Review Source:Cold food, untrained staff of teens, $1.00 extra for a piece of lettuce. Â Owner seems to be sending a message: here's a restaurant with a cook who can't time food, a staff who couldn't set a table, bring utensils, fill a glass of water.
Hopefully, they figure out how to run the restaurant.
Let me start by saying I have to cut this place some slack since they've only been open for a week. Â Some of the items in this review may change over time, while some will inevitably remain the same. Â
I was really looking forward to a new "tavern" opening up in Wilmette as the name suggests. Â It would be nice to have a local place with a large bar to watch a game or grab a drink after a night out. Â Unfortunately, the Big Black Dog Tavern is about as far from a tavern as you can get. Â It is really just a bbq restaurant that slapped the word "tavern" in its name. Â Nothing more, nothing less. Â The "bar" is hidden in the back and has about 6 chairs. Â The layout of the restaurant is odd. Â There is a lot of wasted space in the entry area and the layout looks poorly planned--as if by someone who is a novice in the restaurant industry (despite the Gibson's restaurant affiliation). Â The flow and feel of the restaurant is very awkward. Â
The restaurant has two single-use bathrooms, one for men and one for women. Â Even the bathrooms are poorly laid out with lots of wasted space. Â Better planning of this space would have allowed "normal" multi-use bathrooms. Â Also, the doors to the bathrooms open up to the bar and/or restaurant, so diners have a pleasant view of the toilet when the doors are open (which they usually are since it is single use).
The staff is very young and most of them looked like this was their first restaurant job (and likely their first job, period). Â The service was slow and harried.
The only redeeming quality was the size and quality of the food. Â Both are very good. Â I would definitely recommend the food and it's the only reason I was able to give 2 stars rather than 1. Â If we go back, we might do carry out to avoid the restaurant all together.
Overall, this restaurant is the embodiment of a number of poor decisions stacked on top of another; misleading name/theme, poor layout, very young staff, poor management. Â This place will either get its act together or it will be closed in a year. Â Only time will tell.
Excited to have a new restaurant in downtown Wilmette and happy to see the place was fairly full of folks trying it out on a Sunday night.
The menu focuses on BBQ, Burgers and a few tex-mex items like fajitas and Nachos. Â Lot's of beer and wine to choose from too.
The burgers come on nice soft pretzel buns and are huge juicy meat patties. Â They offer tator tots as a side. Â The tots were crispy and a big hit with both the kids and adults at the table. Â
We ordered the make yourself guacamole & chips. Â They bring a real stone molcajete to table with a peeled avocado in it. Â On the side they bring chopped cilantro, onions, jalepeno peppers and tomatoes. Â Smash up the avocado and add the amounts of the ingredients you like and you'll have an ok guacamole. Â Problem is they miss on two key ingredients that enhance the flavor the most in a good guacamole - garlic & lime. Â I know garlic is a pain so I recommend you ask for a lime wedge which I'm sure they already have. Â
I was very disappointed by the 'chips' that they served with the guacamole (and the huge plate of nachos the folks next to us ordered). Â They are basically fried wheat flour tortillas. Â They appeared to be fried on site - which I commend that they were going for fresh BUT I really wish they were corn chips which would feel less heavy/greasy. Â Mexican food is one of the few great tasting foods my gluten free friends, and neighbors with wheat allergies can eat because they use use corn (not wheat) in chips and corn tortillas. Â Right now on Big Black Dogs menu there is very little a person on a gluten free diet could consume. Â Too bad since I know folks who have this concern are very loyal and would be super happy to find a new place to go.
The beef fajitas were okay - fairly typical and came with lots of wheat flour tortillas.
Tried to order the pretzels and cheese for an appetizer but they were sadly out of them.
My son ordered the kids mac-n-cheese with tator tots. Â He wouldn't even touch the mac-n-cheese which is rare for him. Â Â Even my older daughter said it didn't look very good. Â It was a more 'real' mac-n-cheese with the crusty top - that tasted good when I had a bite. Â My son ate all the tator tots - just wish for a more kid friendly mac-n-cheese.
Was excited to see lots of BBQ options like pulled pork and chicken. Â I didn't get a chance to try the pulled meats (next time) but put some BBQ sauce on the burger which added a great taste. Â The bad part was the key that says which sauce bottle is which BBQ sauce is in the menu that they take away after you order. Â By the time the food came I forgot which was which so had to do a quick taste on my fork before committing. Â I think the one I liked was the Memphis - mustardy and sweet. Â
Cole slaw was cream with an unexpected heat that kicks in a few seconds later. Â My husband loves cole slaw and ordered it as a side. Â When I noticed he didn't finish it, I asked if it was okay. Â He said you have to taste it. Â We like our cole slaw to be a cool and creamy side that balances out the spiceness of the BBQ Â and other hot dishes. Â Given that's just a personal taste so give it a try you may really like this hot twist.
Was a bit sad I wasn't hungry enough to try some of their pie for dessert. Â
The wait staff was very attentive and helpful - which is great for a place that just opened it's doors.   There are TV's around and a bar  - which I think only serves beer and wine.  Might make a fun happy hour place.
OVERALL: Â We'll give this new local place a few more tries. Â Next time will get a pulled chicken or other BBQ option or one of the huge burgers and hope they'll have the pretzels with cheeses. Â Portions are big, atmosphere very tavern/sports bar like but family friendly and prices fairly reasonable prices. Â A very welcome addition to Wilmette.
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