Just wow. Would give zero stars but that, for some reason is not an option. First of all, we arrived and were not even acknowledged for at least ten minutes. The manager, Phil was roaming around the room like a bumbling idiot and seemed totally oblivious to the fact that the host stand was unattended. When we were finally seated, it quickly became apparent that the noise level in this restaurant is absolutely deafening, you can barely hear each other talk. We sat for over 15 minutes unattended before our waiter finally came over. He didn't even bother to introduce himself (some idiot with a ridiculous beard, which should be shaved for work in a fine dining restaurant), and took 20 minutes to deliver drinks. After drinks, we sat another 20 without anyone taking our appetizer orders. Finally grabbed someone to take our order cause at this point it was an hour of sitting and no food. Absolutely inexcusable no matter how busy you are. They didn't even bring the bread until we had our drinks. As for the food when it finally came, the pasta here is terrible and not prepared correctly. It is all clumpy and there is barely any sauce, could make better at home. The steak was decent, and the lamb was too salty and the sauce was disgusting. No one at this place knows how to run a restaurant. The managers are barely present, and the servers leave you sitting forever without even coming by to ask if everything is ok, presumably because they know that the answer is "no, everything is not ok". The managers lack of care seems to have carried over to his hiring because no one here is cut out for this kind of restaurant. If the food was outstanding it wouldn't be so bad, but waiting an hour for food that can only be described as mediocre is just a flat out waste of time. Also very expensive.
Review Source:I really want Guildhall to make it, especially since it's the only restaurant within walking distance of my house that's appropriate to dine without your children. Imagine that.
Based on the crowd there last Sat night I"m not the only person in the North Shore excited about this new restaurant. For a few minutes there I almost thought I was dining in the city just looking at the trendy crowds filling this restaurant.
The french inspired decor of this restaurant is beautiful. I"ll admit I found myself checking out every little detail from the ceilings to the walls...and wondering what decorating ideas I could borrow for my new home.
The cocktails and food that we actually received (more to come about that later) was delish. I liked my pisco sour so much that I ordered another. The tuna app was scrumptious and my salmon special should be added to the main menu...and should probably replace the mediocre trout my husband ordered.
I'm being gracious with my 4 star review and giving them a little slack since they are new because the service deserved no more than 2 stars. Our drinks took at least 20-30 minutes. They forgot to bring out 2 of our appetizers, which they made up for with a dessert on the house (you can skip dessert here by the way) ...but a few members of my party mentioned they left the restaurant hungry. Our waitress wasn't cut out for fine dining and would be better fit for the casual kid friendly Vernon's down the street.
We'll be back out of convenience and as I mentioned above they've got something good going on with the food and ambiance. However, if their service remains the same I think we're likely to lose our first fine dining restaurant in the hood.
I don't get it. Â I would be the first to admit if it's the service, the food, or the ambience of a place that didn't reach my satisfaction but in the case of Guildhall, it's all of the above. Â We came for a late dinner last night at 9:30 p.m. and you would think it was the 7:30 rush time - well, that's a good sign; the place is vibrant. Â But the noise level would make you think you were in a public market and any conversation, especially intimate ones, would be impossible. Â
We checked in and the hostess was unapologetic about stating that our table wouldn't be ready for another 15-20 minutes. Â So we sat at the bar, ordered a drink and as soon as the drinks were ready, she came to tell us that our table was ready...hmmm....
Our waitress came, said "I don't know how long you've been waiting but do you want to order your starters now?" Â Huh? Â That was the strangest of all greetings. Â Then she disappeared and we constantly had to either look for her or rely on the busboys to get us what we needed. Â That was pretty much her pattern the whole evening. Â I am somewhat gifted with the inability to hide my feelings so sensing that I was really annoyed by her ineptness, she was more than glad to get rid of us and was almost surprised that we wanted to look at the dessert menu. I must be really frustrated to avoid my favorite dessert which appeared on their menu - panna cotta, but I didn't want to stay there a moment longer. Â When our conversation during date night, which is sacred in my opinion, had to include constant comments about how we hated this place, I knew that it was time to go. Â
Oh and as for food. Â We started with the crudo with slices of thick fish (that could've been fresher), it should have been called sashimi. Â It sat on the middle of the table as we waited for our waitress who never brought us plates to use. Â We finally started eating when a busboy nearly whisked it all away thinking we were already done! Â Umm...put the plate down, buddy; I understand how confusing it must be for us not to touch our food but since we were raised with manners, we thought we'd wait for plates instead of simply poking the fish with our forks. Â We had to resort to the latter. Â
Entrees came and the hubby's lamb was bland - it's just basic seasoning, folks - salt and pepper. Â Steak frites had an inferior cut of meat that made me wish I just ordered pasta. Â When our waitress finally checked in on us halfway through the meal, I reminded her that the side dish of creamed spinach had yet to arrive. Â She clearly did not place the order because it didn't come until 15 minutes later; I was already done with my meal and do you think she mentioned why it was late? Â Nah...admit her faults? Â That's crazy thinking! Â
I understand the excitement of having a restaurant that many described as a city-worthy venue, but first impressions are everything and frankly, another 20-30 minutes drive and I would be in the city- with many establishments that have great food and better service.
I visited Guildhall with a friend last Friday evening. Â The food was unbelievably good, the service was excellent and the ambiance inviting. Â Pepe, our waiter, was outstanding. Â Our only complaint? Â The place is SO noisy I had to shout to my dinner companion during our conversation. Â If you're looking for a good, but expensive meal Guildhall is the place for you. Â Bring a megaphone on weekend nights. Â You'll need it.
Review Source:I went their last night with my "Birthday Girls" group of 6...
The food, ambiance and service couldn't have been better... we even hugged our waiter at the end of the night and that's never happened before in all the years we've been dining out together...
Truly a delightful evening had by all!
My husband and I truly enjoyed our first visit to this very new restaurant in the northern suburb of Glencoe. The menu is not huge - but it does offer options that should please everyone, with two fish dishes (plus a salmon special), two pastas, a hamburger, steak frites and a couple of others. I highly recommend the "wishing for spring" specialty cocktail (it seemed perfectly appropriate right now in Chicago) and the kale salad, which was quite large and delicious; the spring pea soup, the salmon special and the chocolate Crema dessert (as our server told us, "that's what they eat in heaven"). If the other menu items are as good as these, then you will be very pleased. Our server was perfectly attentive, knowledgeable and friendly; and the ambience of the restaurant was lovely. It is so nice to have another good restaurant serving excellent food in the burbs; I'm sure we will bring friends and patronize Guildhall frequently.
Review Source:So desperately needed in sleepy Glencoe, this place wins with its pretty decor, zinc bar and professional service, but alas, falls short on its food. Â Anyone who thinks creamy Italian Burrata drizzled with aged balsamic belongs on a bed of astringent pseudo-kimchi (ugh) should take a good hard look at their menu, and maybe seek some professional culinary advice. We ate here twice - fish was thin and dry, steak frites and roasted chicken were meh. Bar is fun, wine pours generous. Â Please bring in some food pros to tweak the menu. We need this place to succeed!
Review Source:The space is beautiful, but it's painfully loud. Â Friends of ours there the same night were seated near the bar, and the people waiting for a table were standing right next to their table, hanging over them. Â Menu is limited and the food we had was just OK - not horrible, but for most of our group nothing we'd order again. Â Service was great, but the service and decor can't make up for mediocre food and an atmosphere where you can't talk with your friends.
Review Source:Can I tell you how happy I am that Guildhall has opened in Glencoe. Â Finally a city-worthy dining destination here in my backyard. Â I'm liable to award 5 stars just for the novelty of having a good restaurant that I want to go to, rather than just tolerate, on the Northshore. Â But wait....there's more.
The bar is absolutely fantastic, with a limited but excellent selection of house cocktails curated by a veteran of The Violet Hour, so you already know I'm a happy guy. Â I can already hear you asking, "so, how was the Manhattan?" Â It was terrific - barrel aged and made with Rye - smooth, flavorful and just perfect. Â Plus, they have a generous pour philosophy, so that's a bonus. Â The bar itself is lovely and, dare I say it, rather sophisticated. Â I'll be stopping in often. Â They've also got an americano on the menu (a take on a negroni) so I'll be trying that once the weather is warm enough to incorporate non-brown liquors into my diet.
We had a couple of delicious bites while drinking contentedly at the bar. Â The Frito was outstanding - a small delicious basket of quick fried shrimp and calamari with a terrific aioli. Â Also delicious was the burrata with an interesting housemade giardinere.
Service at the bar was attentive and quick even though the place was packed to the gills. Â
Very happy Guildhall has landed here so my dining experience no longer has to suffer if i don't feel like travelling into the city.
From the start problems, sat us in back. Was sitting on a the crack of where two cushions meet. We got moved, it was that bad. App's were good, great pizza! Main course, burger and pasta. Nothing special, plain and boring. Not great choices on menu, no fillet or salmon. Server was nice at start said she likes questions. However became snotty when you asked her to explain something. We asked our pizza to be wrapped up, they threw it out. Made us a new one to take home. Should have just said forget it and taken it off bill. On my pasta I asked for no bacon, charged me $2 for bacon because that is how it usually comes so I had to pay it anyway although I pointed it out to her. Server MIA, had to ask bussboy for another drink, no drink, then flagged down some manager who finally brought it to us. This place is doomed. Our bill was $110, so not worth it. Too bad, we live in Glencoe and were so excited...
Review Source:Well just opened and hopefully they will work out the kinks. Sat at bar had cocktails they were good but nothing special. Started with hamachi with jalapeno citrus, Fish was a bit tough and dressing was a little timid. Next had the shaved veg salad with green goddess dressing and smoked trout salad The salad was watery which meant the lettuce wasn't drained properly so the salad had no flavor. same thing with the trout there was a puddle of water in the bottom of the bowl. this can be easy fixed. lastly we had the burger the reg one as I'm not into pretzel rolls. it was very good i must say and the fries were exceptional. all n all with a few minor adjustments  this place should do well in the neighborhood.
Review Source:Guildhall is not perfect, but it's a great addition to the local (non) dining scene.
When we arrived for our reservation, we were greeted warmly and immediately shown to a table, despite the fact that the place was packed on a Friday night. Â The decor is charming, and makes the best use of the relatively large and awkward space. Â We were presented with a very modern menu and bar list, with many appetizing choices. Â We enjoyed 2 cocktails, 2 pea soups, stripped bass and trout. Â Very nice.....
So, why not 5 stars. Â A couple of things.....service was uneven. Â We waited 15 minutes for our drinks, but our main courses arrived while we were still working on our appetizers. Â Also, seasoning was uneven. Â The pea soup was bland, but the trout was oversalted and a bit overcooked. Â The room is almost too noisy to have a conversation, but there were several large (10 or more) tables. Â
Overall, I'm glad it's open, and I will return.
We've been watching the construction and reading the media teasers on the owners and executive chef for months. We're rating Guildhall 4+ stars - a combination of 5 stars for the food, 4 stars for the service, and 4 stars for the ambiance - and can't wait to go back. Let me explain...
First of all, from a design point of view the place is an exquisite marriage of old-world charm with a modern, hip vibe. Two downsides: apart from the seating surfaces, there is nothing else to absorb sound so it's quite loud inside, even when only half-full. I had to strain to hear my server. Also, there's really only ambient lighting supplemented by a small table candle - no ceiling spots aimed on the tables - so it's really difficult to read the menu. I saw several tables (with older patrons) breaking out flashlights, even though the overall lighting level in the restaurant isn't particularly dark. (Our server even offered us a flashlight!)
They have an tantalizing selection of hand-crafted cocktails and a wide variety of draft/bottled beer and wine by the glass/bottles from atypical regions/producers, all at a decent value. But our very pleasant (yet professional) waitress had some difficulty describing/remembering the differences between choices, saying that she had tried so many different items during the extensive pre-opening training. Â My white wine was not only wonderful, but the pour was unusually generous - a nice touch.
After sampling the deliciously warm and crusty bread (for which they offered refills), we ordered the Yellowtail Crudo, the mushroom and onion flatbread, and the Cavatelli with Ricotta Cheese and some kind of parsley pesto. We mentioned a few dietary restrictions, and the waitress either had to check with the kitchen to see if the existing preparations were a problem, or happily offered suggestions of her own on how the kitchen would alter the recipes to meet our needs. All our selections were absolutely spectacular in their own way, and the portions were larger than we expected for a "fine dining" establishment. There was not a morsel of food left on our plates when they came to collect them. We found it odd that the waitress didn't check back with us after a few minutes - either after the appetizers were delivered nor after the entrees came - to see if we were happy with our choices or needed anything else. Maybe she observed us devouring our food from a distance and didn't bother.
We couldn't stay for dessert but are anxious to check out the somewhat limited selection on a future visit.
A few more positive items to note: we got a warm greeting when we entered the restaurant, and a warm "we hope to see you again soon" goodbye when we left - a rarity these days. The hostess was quite amenable to switching our table from a louder part of the restaurant to a more quieter section. We noticed several owner/manager types throughout the evening checking on things, conversing with patrons, even assisting the waitstaff, all of which bode well for quality control and improvement. The prices, while not inexpensive, were in keeping with the vibe, extremely high food quality and attention to detail, and there are lower priced items on the menu, like the burger. And we learned that they'll be opening for Sunday brunch, filling a huge void in Glencoe. Let's hope it's not too overpriced to bring the entire family!
To summarize, Guildhall is amazing, especially for a place that's only been open 10 days or so. Who could have predicted that it would be so good, so soon?
Huge disappointment. Â Have now visited twice. Â Pros: Â (1) lovely restaurant; (2) friendly host staff; (3) wonderful bar area, with quality staff. Â Cons: (1) servers are either inexperienced or downright obnoxious (the last one kept referring to my daughter as "doll," over-promised on food (the "food's next up," then we waited 15 more minutes), and twice returned to tell us that food we ordered was no longer available...never apologized, never offered to cover any item etc.; and (3) food selections are VERY limited for vegetarians or those who keep Kosher (lots and lots of pork products as ingredients in many dishes). Â We'll give it one more shot but we're ready to give up.
Review Source:I loved, loved, loved Guildhall! Â We are so lucky to finally have a restaurant/bar in Glencoe as perfect as this. Â I loved all the food (too many ordered to list, but you MUST have the Chicken and the oysters are as fresh as fresh gets) and the atmosphere and drinks were superb! Â Can't wait to go back!!
Review Source:Ok... maybe I'm giving it 5 stars (instead of 4) because there hasn't been a place this good to go for dinner in Glencoe in the past 20 years! or, ok, maybe NEVER!
I got an alert that this place open from "Eater". I scoped out the fact that it is on Opentable and made a res. Thank goodness, because the place was packed, even though it was spring break around here and everything else was EMPTY! The said we could sit at the bar for dinner... so true to form, Hubby and I grabbed a couple of bar stools and settled in.
They have an amazing selection of alcohol. I liked my Americano Americano. Hubby thought his Manhattan was ok. I think they need a better selection of drinks to take advantage of their stock. Their mixologist should take a trip to Ward Eight to see how it's done! But alas, I'm looking for perfection in Glencoe?!?!? A girl can dream, can't she?
We shared the burrata app. It was yummy. Smooth and creamy. Hubby told the bartender they needed to add a couple more toasts to it. But they give you an amazing loaf of bread with spicy buttery stuff. So we "made do".
My entree was a half chicken. It was recommended by the bartenders. They were right.... so-oooo juicy (see my picture). And the artichoke and mushrooms under it were buttery and delish. Hubby had cavatelli. It was good, but he would get something different next time.
We had the cheese plate for dessert (see my picture). The bartender comped us a glass of Americano (sweet wine) each.It was perfect with the cheese.
The service was great, the crowd was buzzing, the drinks were very good, the food delish, and it felt like we were downtown... but only had a short drive home...
.... now can you see why I gave it 5 stars? ;-)
Came here for dinner and 5 stars for the food, service and decor/atmosphere. Â Foodwise: Â really enjoyed the wood oven roasted 1/2 chicken which was extremely moist and served with mushrooms and artichokes. Â My parents liked the trout which wasn't fishy at all as trout can be sometimes. Â The tuna nicoise appetizer was delicious. Â They have "gourmet" food in the kids menu so if your kid isn't adventurous, stick to the mac n cheese option. Â The "chips" in the fish n chips choice was kale chips. Â As for side dish, the creamy spinach was delicious (lots of spinach); I personally found the asparagus a bit on the crunchy and cold side. Â
Service: Â Pepe was extremely helpful in providing recommendations on appetizers, main dishes and desserts. Â Every member of the staff is friendly and you feel relaxed. Â
Decor: Â love the openness of the interior and the light color decor. Â Very airy with lots of sunlight. Â Beautiful farmhouse tables.
Overall, I'm very grateful to have a restaurant with Chicago city quality in Glencoe.
It was amazing. The decor was lovely.
Our family really like the cesar salad with large ribs of romaine and great dressing.
We also like the home made pasta and the fish and chips. The roasted chicken was good and the french fries were some of the best we've had.
Can't wait to go again :)
can i tell you how happy i am that guildhall is here?
first of all, probably one of the best old-fashioned i have ever had and truth be told, i had many. (having one now...)
the entire menu is mouth-watering, but i have a hard time straying away from what i love. been here twice and here are my favorites: (sorry forgot the actual fancy names)
-the calamari/shrimp appetizer - that dipping sauce!! you may be asking for more!
-make sure you get the bread and red pepper dip (on the house - last time i was here, the waiter never brought it out until i asked)
-trout salad - delicious!
-crudo - perfection!
-half chicken - tender, moist and yummy!
-chocolate dessert - i tried not to eat it all, but i would of if no one was looking.
i am sure the list will grow as i continue to visit. there is still so much i want to try, especially their burger. i'll be back for that!
bottom line
-BEAUTIFUL space - not only do you feel remove from the suburbs, you feel removed from the midwest, maybe even the states.
-BAR and variety of liquor. Yes, this matters and feel free to go drink and not eat - the bar is light/chilled and you'll taste liquor you only dreamt of.
-FOOD - where can you get food this good these days? The best way to describe it, is the food taste expensive.
-STAFF - i know they are working out the kinks, but they are all eager to please. don't be surprise if you get a hello from the owners. they are always there and upfront to make sure you have everything you need. they love the feedback and you can tell you being there means a lot to them.
go support GUILDHALL - don't be one of those suburbanites who complain there's no good places to eat. it's finally here! it's right in the neighborhood and you'll be happy you're home in 10 minutes.
p.s. KID-FRIENDLY! may not look like it is, but it definitely is. the staff has the kid menus in their pockets.
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