Stone Creek Dining Company

My husband and I, along with another couple, tried Stone Creek for the first time a few weeks ago. Our overall experience was wonderful and we all highly recommend. We all agreed we would definitely come again and as often as our budgets allowed. Dress is casual but truly more upscale and would recommend business casual.  It is a beautiful restaurant, excellent food, friendly and knowledgeable servers but try to get a booth. Tables are very close together and isles feel cramped as servers pass. We saw other patrons with children but I didn't feel it was as child friendly as the parents might have hoped for with the number of couples, business meetings, etc. Parents appeared anxious with their little ones. It wasn't due to staff; they were very accommodating and thoughtful.

Everyone agreed their food was delicious. I had the Blue Crab Cakes with Cajun dirty rice, roasted corn/tomato salsa and spicy chipotle aioli. I usually shy away from crab cakes in most restaurants but so glad I didn't here. They were excellent.

My husband had the Apple Wood Smoked Baked Salmon with lime teriyaki, Napa Slaw, Scallion Mashed Potatoes, and crispy wontons. He stated several times throughout dinner how good the salmon was and he would be ordering again at our next visit.    

Our friends tried the Stone Creek Seafood Broil - Lot of food - Mahi Mahi, Jumbo Shrimp, Sea Scallops, Blue Crab Cakes, Vegetable Medley, Couscous served with Garlic Herb Butter and Chipotle Aioli. If you're a seafood lover, a must try!!

And last but not least for the pasta fans try the Parmesan Chicken with Rosa Red Sauce and Angel Hair Pasta. Our friend is allergic to cheese so requested without and she too enjoyed and would order again. She was reassured what could be prepared to accommodate her allergies. And yes, they also have a couple vegan dishes.

Prices doesn't lend for a weekly visit for us but worth the extra bucks for a nice night out.

The gist: this place is fancier than I expected. Is it necessarily a "fancy" restaurant? Probably not by most standards. But walking through the door one late Saturday night with my wife and 9-month-old son for an impromptu visit, we did feel a bit out of place. Are they kid-friendly? Sure. But would I recommend bringing your kids here? Probably not, especially during a more normal meal time when it's a little more crowded.

We had had a long day of being out and about, our final stop being the Target just down the road. We were hungry and I had remembered seeing this place before so we drove up there. I was in a hoodie, jeans, and a baseball hat, and as soon as we walked in the hostess gave us some weird looks. I told her it would be "two and a high chair" and she hesitated a moment before showing us to our seats. Immediately I felt underdressed; everyone else dining seemed to at least have nicer shirts on, if not dress clothes. When our hostess seated us she really seemed to struggle with where to put the high chair for our son. Either there aren't many young children that make appearances here or she was a new employee, but either way she was inadvertently doing a terrific job of making me feel like we shouldn't be there.

We sat down at a nice table complete with water glasses at the ready and cloth napkins. Again, probably not "fancy" by most standards but more than we were used to, especially with baby in tow. Luckily it was about 8pm so the restaurant was fairly empty. The overall ambiance was nice, with low lights and nice, cushioned seats.

Our server was absolutely outstanding. His name was Carlos and by the end of the night he was making faces at our son and asking all about him and we were having a great time. He checked on us often and was incredibly friendly. I'm not sure how many tables he had besides ours since it was so late to be having dinner, but he certainly made us feel like we had his undivided attention all evening.

A side note: this doesn't necessarily factor into my rating of the restaurant itself, but there were a few times when our son was getting fussy and, according to my wife, a nicely-dressed couple at a table near us was passing some fairly unapproving glaces our way. It's not the restaurant's fault; just one more example of why I felt out of place here.

The food itself was delicious. We stayed on the cheaper side of the menu as we weren't fully prepared for the price range before walking in. I had the smothered chicken, which was really hearty and, if you're keen on your sense of taste, very "umami," with cheese, green onions, and mushrooms. The steamed vegetables that came with it were also excellent. My wife had the spicy Chicago beef, which she really enjoyed. Finally, our son had a bowl of macaroni and cheese, (which was just the Kraft stuff that comes in a box) but he liked it. It also made me realize that more restaurants should serve Kraft mac and cheese on the kids menus-- after all, it's what the kids eat at home, so there's much less of a risk of them getting served a more homemade version and not liking it as much.

By the end of the night we were glad we had stopped in. I'm sure we'll be back sometime, but next time I'll at least wear a button down shirt and we'll probably find a babysitter. it seems like more of a date place than a family meal time place to me.

Food here is generally good..steak, medallions or fish - done pretty well. I have had drinks here before but cant seem to remember if they were good or bad. Service is generally good.