Spotted Fox Ale House

We went, hoping for a nice bit of pub food.  It's an "Ale House", right?  The place isn't sure what it is or what it wants to be, and it needs to pick an identity and refine it, both in food and decor.  
Went on a Saturday, early evening.  There is no "decor" tospeak of, other than some sparkly christmas lights at the bar.  The interior is all painted brown, no decorations other than 12 tvs mounted high, all sports programs.  
Server didn't know the specials of the evening.  
THE FOOD.  Oddly, the calamari was cooked to the proper doneness, but the breading was heavy with grease, and the "balsamic reduction" drizzle didn't really add anything to it.  A pool of marinara on the plate was useless for actual "dipping".  Lame. Tiny serving, high price.
I had shrimp and fish tacos.  Big mistake.  6 overcooked medium sized shrimp (think about 1 inch in diameter), THREE per taco.  THREE??? on double corn tortillas that were dried out from over heating, on a base of lots of shredded lettuce.  I got one fish taco as well, but the fish piece was tiny, again laid on a huge pile of lettuce.  I'd call these Lettuce Tacos with shrimp, not vice versa.
The rice? I kept saying, "what the hell is this?"  It was like converted Basmati rice, with some lame attempt at seasoning it. tasted terrible.
Other diner had steak; potato was overcooked and dry, like it had spent too much time under the heat lamps. The veg, on the other hand was undercooked.  Steak was adequate. Maybe pasta would have been a better choice, but I figured it's not an Italian place, so why risk it?  Clearly they have no clue on Mexican food either, so why offer tacos?  The only good thing was the beer, but it was overpriced.  We walked out pretty disappointed after dropping almost $70 there.  Will not return.  Pick a few things for your menu, do them well, and stop trying to be so "cute" with the presentations.

My husband and I really wanted to like this place, since it's on the East side. We've been here a few times. The first time we only had appetizers and drinks. I don't drink beer but my husband does and he was impressed with the selection. He ended up with a draft beer, we were shocked to see it was $6 for each one. OUCH! We're in STC, not Chicago. We also had the hummus. It was good, nothing special but came with pita bread and veggies in a LARGE portion. Oh and my bloody Mary was very good. The second time we had dinner. There was one waiter/host working, the others called in. I have to give AJ credit, he did great for only being him. One table complained about the music. Another that the margaritas didn't come in a margarita glass...etc. I felt bad for him. We got sandwiches, the we're good. We did eat quickly and leave because none of the TV's had the White Sox game. Normally, we'd ask to change one of the TV's but it wasn't worth complaining since every other customer was. We'll give it another shot.

jaky p

liked the place fine, i had the black   & blue burger. friend had chicken. Both had dbl baked potato. hers was warm, mine cold. Enjoyed the occasion and will go again.

Thought the cheap wine is overpriced for the amount served.

Service was quick and friendly