I was expecting more Gurnee/Grayslake/Round Lake Area mediocrity here. Â Based on some of the reviews , I was thinking that this would not turn out well.
Long story short, we gave it a shot. Â Â As noted by others, the decor is a bit unique in mixing TV's with an upscale vibe. Â Â We sat in a booth. Â I wore a t-shirt.
The waitress was eager to please, if not too knowledgeable of the beer list. Â She went and pulled a solid list of craft brews together for me and I was pleased with my choice. Â Â No draft beer here fyi.. but a couple of decent IPA choices that suited my tastes.
The bar looks like a very nice space. Â A good amount of seating and lots of wine and liquor to entertain a decent sized group. Â
Sooo... we sifted through the menu and there wasn't much calling my name.
I decided on a strip steak. Â I ordered it rare. Â IT CAME TO THE TABLE RARE!!!! Â (pardon the pun, but this is a rare occurrence in this culinary wasteland.)
The sauce on the steak was good.
My daughter ordered the penne pasta with alfredo and chicken.
The price was a bit high to add chicken to the dish for about $5.00... considering there was about 5oz of chopped chicken in the dish. Â The alfredo was not too rich, and she enjoyed it. Â Decent pasta.
My son ordered a meatball sandwich on a pretzel bun.
It came with very crispy edges and a soft warm bun center. Â He ate the entire thing.
I tasted his meatballs and they were good.
My wife ordered scallops. Â She was happy. Â Â I thought they were bitter.
I have to say that many of the dishes come with waffle fries. Â I was all like.. great.. more pre-made frozen fried potatoes from a big time vendor like Sysco...
BEHOLD! Â The fries were amazing. Â Â Whoever the guy in the kitchen is.. he knows how to work a fryer! Â Â They were uber crispy and well seasoned. Â Fluffy potato centers. Â Possibly one of the best examples of how to make a waffle fry I have ever witnessed. Â Â
The wife ordered a side of sweet potato fries. Â Â They looked dark to me, and many places fry them too long and they dry out. Â Not the case here. They were crunchy but still sweet and soft in the middle. Â Some of the best I have had.
We ordered desert.  My daughter got  a churro..  (yes.. a churro).. it was again.. perfectly fried.  There is some zen frying going on in this joint!
Very tasty and simple.
My son ordered a chocolate mouse cake. Â Very good as well.
Overall.. the food was not as meh as I anticipated. Â
GET FRIED FOOD HERE!
Price.. a bit high for what it was. Â Our total for 4 people with 2 deserts.. and 4 drinks for the 2 adults was about $160 before tip.
Mind you, I have eaten at much worse establishments that cost more in this area.
Sooo... the joint is a bit quirky. Â I think there is some old school management who might beat on the staff here.. but.. everyone we dealt with wes nice, food was B+, and the overall experience was decent.
I will go back. Â I just hope they are still open when I do.
We often seem to be bringing down the average age in restaurants in this area, and this wasn't an exception.
My husband drove by Bodega several times since they opened and when we needed a dinner option on a Friday night, we decided to give it a shot.
Again with the unnecessary valet parking in the suburbs - Bodega is seated in a private lot with no other businesses that are open during the dinner hours. We skipped the valet and pared ourselves.
The host staff was warm and friendly. We were seated immediately and given our option of a table or booth. We later heard some panic amongst the host staff, as their seemed to be discontent with the wait staff about who was getting seated. This type of conversation isn't entirely unusual, but it was loud enough and near enough to us that we noted the ongoing conflict.
Our service was nice and made helpful recommendations on the food. He seemed a little less equipped to recommend wine pairings for the selected entrees, fumbling through his responses.
As others have said, the ambience is a bit incongruent. The televisions distract from the experience. Why was I watching Alton Brown cook while waiting for my food? And why was my husband watching a White Sox game?
The food, though, was excellent. My husband had the seafood paella and I had the Bodega chicken. His garlic spinach on the side was great; my saffron rice was okay but not hot when it was served.
Living in the vast dining wasteland that is Gurnee I was so hopeful for a great local restaurant. My wife and I got a babysitter and decided to try out Bodega. It's important to keep in mind that Bodega is going to easily set you back $80-100 for two people and at that price point you expect a certain level of food, service and ambiance.
On the first point, food, they really scored well. We ordered a number of small plates so we could try a variety of dishes. They were all very good but the filet medallions were our favorite. The presentation was excellent and showed great care and creativity. Also, they had a great wine selection and the Ipad list was a nice touch.
Unfortunately, from there things fell off rather quickly. Our waitress was very poorly trained and couldn't answer even basic questions about the menu. When my wife asked for the filet medallions to be cooked medium-well she truly had no idea if that was even possible. She was nice enough but not at all the kind of waitress you would expect at an upscale restaurant.
The worst part of our experience was all of the blaring big screens throughout the restaurant and bar. Since the bar is part of the restaurant you can't get away from them. From where I sat in the restaurant I could see at least four TVs at all times and they were very distracting. Not exactly the romantic evening I had hoped for.
I'm not sure what Bodega is trying to be. A glorified sports bar with expensive food? An upscale restaurant with Applebee's ambiance and waitstaff? It's hard to tell.
Snapshot:
Food rating -- 3 stars
Customer Service rating -- 4 stars
Ambiance rating -- 3 stars
Food Ordered:
Flash-fried calamari: Â Good. The color was oddly pale; however, worth trying.
Saganaki (Greek fried cheese): average. Â
Pork Chops: Â average. Â A bit dry and the twice baked potato that accompanied the meal was very dry.
Duck: Â Good. Â Side veggies were average. Â Duck would be worth trying.
We really wanted to love this new establishment since it is a fairly close drive from where we live. Â We visited the first week of December. Â Maybe it was because we had such high hopes for it that it did not meet our expectations. Â I must say that as soon as we walked in the manager/owner or host was quite friendly and attentive. Â We had to wait about 15 minutes for our table, which is just fine for a Friday night. Â We headed to the bar to wait for our table and ordered a couple of drinks. Â Unfortunately, it took over 10 minutes and it had no hint of what the cocktail was supposed to be (it was pure liquor over ice). Â Yes, I understand that having a few shots of whiskey may not be a bad thing, but, when you want to enjoy a good cocktail, it is disappointing. Â We did not complain; however, our bartender knowing that it took so long to serve, did not charge us for our drinks. Â It was a nice gesture; however, it was pure liquor and we could not finish our drinks.
We did not think our server was very knowledgeable of the menu items (understandable since it is a new restaurant). Â We just did not feel confident in her suggestions of items to try. Â She based them on how they looked in the kitchen.
The ambiance is good - the location has LOTS of potential to be something great. Â The live band on Friday night is a nice touch; however, with the different flat screens around the restaurant and bar area showing different programming from news, sports, cartoons and the show "Full House", it was distracting from the "wine lounge" experience. Â Maybe a Yule log burning on the restaurant flat screens and sports on the flat screens at the bar would work.. programming that's all over the place with live music in the background does not work well. Â It took away from our experience.
Also, we did notice that when we first walked in, there was a layer of smoke (grill smoke), which is understandable since it is Bodega Grill; however, not when the restaurant is supposed to be a wine lounge and has a very nice restaurant ambiance. Â
It would be great if there was a wine list since it does state it is a wine lounge, we expected more than a tablet with the wine list. Â Although that is a contemporary touch, it should be readily available or at least four should be available at the bar. Â But a list or printed menu would work just a great and would help in having the wine lounge experience.
It is a place that we would like to try again.
While visiting from Los Angeles - We came across Bodega
Great ambiance! I could have stayed there for hours and hours just sipping on wine, dinning on their fantastic food and enjoying conversations with my family.
This is such a lovely place to go for any reason, hanging with friends or on a great date.
The entrance is sort of non-suggestive, which adds to the allure of this place that's uniquely for you to find. When you walk through the doors, you discover a unique candle lit space.
When they offered me the wine list on an ipad, that had pairings to all their menu items, I was really wowed! The menu's included full portions of their most popular items. I had the Shrimp Dijon. It melts in your mouth.
They completely got the mix together, cloth napkin casual, unintrusive entertainment (football), and fun atmosphere.
Definitely themust try restaurant in Gurnee.
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