Stopped in for lunch on a Saturday and had some wings and the steak salad. Â Everthing was good, wings had unique homemade tasting sauces and the steak was very good on the salad. Â The only downfall was they were WAY understaffed! Â I will be back but not on a busy day like saturday or sunday.
Review Source:I was driving around with my mother for 20 minutes in CL trying to find somewhere to eat. We were starving but couldnt make a descision. Finally we just opted for The Cottage since it seemed fairly busy and was right there. Its was kind of how I figured inside, a dive.......floors filled with peanuts. I ordered the veggie burger to be safe. It was easily one of the best veggie burgers I've ever had. My mother got the black and blue burger and loved it as well. The bun was toasted, the ingredients were fresh, everything was just great about the food! The service was OK. We had to ask another waitress for a drink since we were not being helped. I will return.
Review Source:Decent bar serving bar food. If you go during the day, it's quieter and better for dining. If you go in the evening, expect it to be loud and crowded. IE, exactly what you'd expect.
People have complained about the service - we've never found it to be bad, but when have been there when the servers are stretched too thin, making things a little slower, which is not their fault.
This place captivates you right from the begging as it certainly has that neighborhood grill feel. Â As you sit there and see the other patrons, it becomes clear that it really is a neighborhood joint as it seems that just about everyone knows one another. Â The bar itself is a bit small, but very inviting. Â Being converted from an old house, there are little nooks to hide away in and have the time alone or share with a friend. Â Â
The waitress was very friendly, prompt and always ensured my drink never got close to being empty.
For this visit, I tried the special of the day which were 39 cent wings... buffalo style. Â It didn't take them long to arrive and I'll admit, it didn't take me long to finish them off either. Â They were really good and got me thinking on how their pizza is, for there is nothing better than good wings paired with some good pizza. Â I'll have to come back here and give that a try on another visit because today, being this is my first time here, I wanted to rate this place using one of my standards, and in this case, a black & blue burger.
Once the burger arrived I was pleased to see that it had some good charring marks on it as this is a good sign of a great burger. Â Then, I was further encouraged as they did not skimp on the blue cheese and it also was nice and chunky. Â As soon as I was chomping down into this delightful burger, my taste buds tingled with joy as they confirmed, this burger is as good as it looks... the rest of the body systems all sung, Â alleluia and rejoiced due to the sheer bliss of this entire experience.
Clearly, I'll be back again!
We enjoy going to the Cottage a few times a month. Â Tuesday's are best for 1/2 price pizza - you cannot beat the deal. Â
Their cheese-balls are an incredible appetizer - especially the jalapeño variety.
Sundays they have an EXCELLENT breakfast buffet with everything from fresh fruit to omelets made to order.
Aside from all the food, they have beer specials everyday. Â
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One caveat - their service is sub-par AT BEST. Â I am not sure if it is that they are understaffed or careless employees - but we have had repeated issues with wait times and mistaken orders. Â Therefore, a star has been removed.
First let me begin by saying the rating is not for the food which has always been delicious. Â This rating is for the poor and I mean poor customer service. Â I love their steak salad and order the salad just about every time. Â One of the main ingredients of a salad is the dressing which they forget to put with the salad every time. Â I am not exaggerating. Â It happens so often that it is actually a joke in my house. Â Even if I beg and plead that they don't forget it, guess what they forget it. Â I don't think it is too much to ask that someone double check that the salads have all of their components so that the hungry paying customer gets what they are expecting.
Review Source:The Cottage is a weekly staple of mine. Â My favorite nights to come are Tuesdays and Thursdays when the specials are half price pizza and 40 cent wings, respectively.
The pizzas are a very crispy thin crust but the toppings are piled on. Â My favorite is a specialty pizza they make: the Jenash. Â This pizza has buffalo sauce, blue cheese crumbles, onions, and chicken breast loaded up. Â Spicier than some like, but great for a wing fan like myself.
Thursdays wings are typically fantastic. Â Once my order did come out so overcooked that most of the meat was missing, but this was truly an anomaly. Â The wings they use are fairly large in size and they have a great selection of sauces for them to be spun in. Â I typically opt for the buffalo and the habanero bbq, but I've tried the others and haven't had a complaint either.
Overall a very great bar to frequent. Â Good drink specials, good food specials, great menu overall and the crowd is friendly. Â Would definitely recommend a visit.
Best pizza in town. I was just there with friends and we ordered a medium cheese, pepperoni with extra sauce and let me tell you, if you like thin crust pizza, this one is the best. It was cooked perfectly. The staff is terrific. They care about their customers and they go out of their way to make sure you have everything you need. FIVE STARS! By the way, Tuesdays is half price pizza night (didn't know it until we got there). What a pleasant surprise!!!!
Review Source:Just so you know, this is a local's place - which is fine as I am an old school CL person. Â I found the English bartender to be a bit strange - it seems like he knew people which is fine, but if I am talking to the regulars make an effort to get to know me. Â Â I love the crowd, friendly and local and non-threatening. Â Love the peanuts guys, thanks. Â Only ordered the wings, which were average, but fine. Â The backroom bar is nice and occasionally the site of a local's meeting or reunion. Â Not trying to scare newcomers or out-of-towners off or anything, just know this place has been around since we were drinking legal in CL at age 19 - and that is fine by me. Â I would stay away on school holidays like Wednesday before Thanksgiving due to crowding.
Review Source:Came here for the first time yesterday because of the half price burgers, but after eating here, we'll gladly come back because even at full price it's reasonable and really good.
Great environment inside, and looks like it would be a lot of fun to visit regularly, especially in the summer.
Tried this place for the first time on a Friday evening. It was quite busy and the service did reflect this a bit (a little slow/absent), but the server was still very friendly and you could tell that she wasn't just ignoring us- she was swamped. We got the wings (BBQ and buffalo) and jalapeño cheese balls. Both were excellent! Best wings I've had in a long time and I don't usually care for cheese balls, but these were really good. Will be back :)
Review Source:Free peanuts and popcorn is always a great start to bar style dinning. Drink specials and fantastic pizza make this place a great choice for bar food. It is tough to find a seat on a Friday or Saturday night, great for business, bad if you want a quick meal or be able to talk without yelling. I would still make it a choice during the week for an excellent meal.
Review Source:My husband and I are fairly new to Crystal Lake and have tested out a lot of the restaurants/bars in the area. Â The Cottage is by far our favorite place to go for food and drinks!! Â Great atmosphere. Â The staff is very friendly and the burgers are great. Â We stop in at least once a week. Â
The Public House is at the bottom of my list - I will never go back, horrible experience with a young manager - very rude. Â Go to The Cottage!!
it's got a new owner. a new menu. a beer garden. they have guinness on tap. at least one IPA on the shelf. i like the joint! menu is mainly pub food. i really like the turkey burger. the pizza is good too. they have TATER TOTS. they also have some UK standards like fish and chips, bangers, shepherds pie and the like. daily specials and to top it off; free peanuts and popcorn!!! the servers are friendly. it is a great place to hang out with friends. fair warning; the place can be a madhouse on friday and saturday nights so get there early for seating.
Review Source:I've been here a few times since my last review and the new ownership has greatly improved things! First off, our waitress was very friendly and helpful -- probably the most helpful and friendly waitress I've ever had. The pizza was seriously good -- and that's saying something. The crust was crisp, the sausage was hand-crumbled and the mushrooms were fresh.
Review Source:The Cottage is my go-to place for drinks and cheap food in Crystal Lake. Â The menus are greasy, and the food offerings appear to be standard pub grub, but when you're done with your meal, your belly will be very happy. Â The food is so delicious and satisfying even though it's nothing fancy. Â I'm a huge fan of their half priced burger and $3 Corona Wednesdays. Â The grilled burgers come with your choice of potato, but I highly recommend trying the homemade chips with blue cheese dressing. Â The honey glazed chicken sandwich is also very very tasty. Â
The atmosphere is very comfortable and laid-back. Â The servers treat you like you've been coming there your whole life, and the clientele ranges from 21 year-olds doing Jager Bombs to 55 year-olds who just want to drink a beer and catch the game.
I'd recommend The Cottage to anyone who wants a delicious, no-frills dinner and a beer.
So we went back for another fish fry this past Friday. My wife was craving fish, so we decided to keep it local and head back to the Cottage, where we hadn't eaten in a long time. So we packed up our nine month baby and headed over...
What a difference a year makes. When we first walked in, we didn't know where to go and there wasn't anyone to direct us...so we helped ourselves to a table along the wall. My wife went hunting for a high chair & was lucky enough to find the ONLY high chair in the whole place. Right after she did, there was another family with a young child that was now going to have to sit on the lap of their parents (how disappointing!).
We sat at our table for a good 10 minutes before our drink orders were taken...about 10 minutes after that, our Cokes finally arrived! The server was probably the crabbiest lady I have ever met! My wife is a server and I work in the food service industry & I could not imagine treating paying customers the way she did. I understand that Friday nights are a busy night, but please give me some attention!!
So we placed our dinner orders when our drinks were delivered (in an annoyed way). My wife ordered the cod fish fry and I ordered the perch. The food was good, but didn't make up for the rude server. She never came back to our table to see how our food was or if we needed drink refills. This led me to have to go and fill up my own Coke!! I mean, I should be getting tipped!
As we just finished our first order of fish, we placed an order for more cod. After 20 minutes of sitting there with our tired daughter waiting for the refill on fish, I got up and asked the owner if we could get our check. He asked if we wanted more fish & I said "Yes, but when we ordered it 20 minutes ago and still haven't received it...we would just prefer to leave." I told him that this was the worst dining experience that we have had!
The bill was finally brought to our table...and what do you know...SHE DID IT WITH A SMILE!! Gosh darn, when you're looking for a tip that you don't deserve you bring a smile out. I say no thank you!
we paid our $26 without a tip and started to exit. The server ran up to my wife and handed her a $20 and said that the owner (the man I spoke to) didn't want us to pay for our meals. Well don't you think he could have come over to our table and spoke to us and handled it directly???
Well...we will NOT be going back here any time soon! Easily the worst eating experience we have had in Crystal Lake...EVER!
The funniest part...I saw the server at Jewel the very next day and had to laugh! It is so hard to miss her 80's female mullet! HAAAHAAA
We love to come here for the  1/2 off pizza on Tuesdays.  The thin crust is really good (cook is not afraid of garlic - we always order double garlic, sausage and 'shroom).  I can relax because the boys can throw peanut shells at each other and pretty much act their age without upsetting patrons.  They have a  1/2 off burger day as well . . .check the daily specials!  Bring the kids and watch a ball game!
Review Source:Just got lunch there today and it was so good that I had to write this right away. I had the Cottage cheeseburger and cheeseballs. The burger was 1/2 lb and you can tell that it is not from a freezer - it was hand formed deliciousness. The burger is cooked to order on a grill and not fried on a griddle which is a huge plus.The bun was also buttered and grilled. It comes with your choice of fries, homemade potato chips, tator tots, or cheese balls. ($7.25)
An earlier review said that they have cheese curds - not true. They have cheeseballs with cheddar on the inside. The order I got was perfectly fried - not greasy whatsoever. They are served with a side of ranch. Be careful when you order this appetizer as it is a HUGE portion. ($6.25)
I could have done with about 1/3 of the cheeseballs as I was eating the burger too but ordered by itself and staying for beers the cheeseballs would be perfect.
When I go out for lunch i always order a burger as I am not a fan of hotdogs, italian beef, sausages, etc. (I know this is crazy talk in Chicagoland) and I have to declare that this was the best burger I have had in a long time.
I LOVE The Cottage. Tuesday nights are half-price pizza so that's my favorite night to go. The pizza is amazing and you don't have to wait forever to get it. After you finish your pizza you can stay the rest of the night and drink and have fun!
They have a separate room in the back intended for private parties and it has it's own bar. I have actually thrown a party back there and the staff was great helping me set up and making sure we had everything we needed throughout the night.
The bartenders are wonderful and aren't fake like a lot of the bartenders are in the CL bars. The atmosphere is great...everyone is friendly and every time I go there I'm always talking to new people.
If your looking for a boring classy bar The Cottage isn't your place, it's a fun, upbeat, cozy hole in the wall with peanuts on the floor and delicious bar food. I recommend making The Cottage a part of your night if you plan on spending an evening in CL.
I go here after all my Monday Night basketball games. We usually get pizza and beer. The pizza's actually really good. But my favorite thing here is the Cheddar cheese burger with my choice of potato, which is of course tater tots. The fried cheese curds are nice too. I usually find the night time music to be a bit too loud for a "gathering" type of pub.
Review Source:I went here. It was a bar, and they had drinks. Part of it was closed off for a private party. Seven or eight people came up to me and told me they were the owner, or knew the owner(s) who didn't happen to be around this particular evening, which was very strange.
There are lots of bars in CL so be sure to add this one to the list for your next "crawl".
We love this place - a bar's bar! Â The bartenders are fantastic, outgoing and always on. Â The food is far above average for a bar.
The atmosphere is very cozy and so neighborly, it seems everyone talks to each other (probably due to the rapport and friendliness of the bartenders). Â
Quality beer specials everyday.
We used to hit all the spots in Crystal Lake, but it's been months since we went anywhere but The Cottage.
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