A virtual institution in Crystal Lake. Â The story I got was that the place was so popular when it burned to the ground, that they rebuilt it bigger on the same spot. Â That is cool. Â We came her for a late lunch and a party with the family, so we did not technically eat off the menu, but shared the big room in the back. Â There had to be some 60 people in our group. Â Coming into the restaurant, we were greeted warmly by the hostess, who led us back to the reception hall. Â The architecture is somewhat gothic, what with heavy stone walls and fireplace in the entrance, coupled with wrought iron bars in the window openings, and heavy timbers in the hall. Â It had a warm and inviting, historic feel.
For a banquet experience, this was not bad. Â Not overwhelmingly good, but not bad. Â The service was pretty darn good for the two ladies that waited on all of us. Â We started with a cheese tray, an assortment of fresh cheeses, and a veggie tray - guess what - yep, an assortment of fresh veggies. Â There was Blue Cheese dip on the side for this. Â We also had hot wings, which I guess for midwesterners were super-hot, there were many comments about how hot they were. Â Me, I could not taste any heat at all, but they were meaty and tasty.
There were several options offered for dinner, a broiled salmon steak, a brochette of Filet, something chicken and something vegetarian. Â We had a choice of French Onion soup or salad with choice of dressing. Â I chose the Filet, of course and a salad with Blue Cheese dressing. Â The filet was cooked a perfect medrare and came skewered with onion, pepper and mushrooms. Â It was delicious. Â The wife had the Salmon, a large, tasty portion, broiled to perfection. Â The daughter tried the French Onion soup and I got a taste of hers, served traditionally, with a crouton and melted cheese over the top. Â Yum.
I think my favorite part was the drinks. Â There is a house special, called a "Rum Barrel", which is a large plastic cup, emblazoned with the Village Squire trademarks and filled with a very rummy tasting punch. Â More than two of these and you better have a DD. Â The iced tea was fresh and we had a great time.
I've been there twice. First time, the mushroom burger was great. One year later, I came back and tried chicken fajitas. The meat was dry, probably reheated numerous times, and the vegetables were greasy. The worst part was the smell in the booth where we were originally seated, as if someone puked under the table. The seats were dirty, table too so we requested to seat somewhere else. I regret not walking out right then and there. Â Will never return, the place will probably go under soon anyways, noone there seems to give a damn.
Review Source:This was a last minute choice on New Year's Eve due to a change in plans. Â Surprisingly, we only had to wait about 10 minutes for a table. Â A few servers were gathered around the hostess station talking...like they had nothing else to do. Â One server in particular came up to the hostess and pretty much snapped at her for 'seating her whole section'. Â I thought it was very unprofessional.
We sat at our table for about 5 minutes before our server came to us. Â When she got there, she seemed very flustered, even though she apologized that we sat there for a while. Â I didn't really mind either way seeing as how I had a whole menu to look at.
My boyfriend wanted some wine, but wasn't quite sure which one to order based on the things he was looking for. Â He asked the server for some help and her response was basically that she doesn't drink wine, so she doesn't really know anything. Â I have a decent knowledge of wine so luckily I was able to help him.
My boyfriend also asked about one of the dinner specials because he wasn't familiar with it. Â Our server didn't seem to familiar either. Â She seemed to be at a loss for words and I basically had to explain it to him.
The food wasn't terribly bad - but it's also very cheap, so what can you expect? Â I'm a huge prime rib fan so I ordered that...but I would never order it again. Â A little tougher than normal, and it didn't really taste like anything except salt. Â A lot of salt.
Here's the kicker...the server cleared my plate and then repeatedly asked my boyfriend if he was still working on his...like 5 times. Â His response was yes every time. Â She overheard us discussing our plans for later that evening...some of which she obviously didn't hear right...and then came up to our table and said, "Well if it makes your decision any easier, I get to leave after you pay me." Â I could not believe it! Â I know it's New Year's Eve and all...but geez! Â I wanted to just sit there longer just to piss her off. Â She kept walking by and checking to see if we had paid yet. Â She then proceeded to stand there while we signed the credit card slip, then ran with it right away. Â
I probably will never go there again just because of the service. Â I could deal with the mediocre food...I've actually had worse...but the service was terrible.
Not great. Really cute place, the atmosphere is terrific- Â vintage tavern style decor keeps the eye entertained, but the food disappoints the belly.
We ordered the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich and the Prime Rib Grinder. It took 40 minutes, in the middle of the afternoon on a Tuesday and service was scarce.
The chicken sandwich was a TINY little thin patty with wing sauce, dwarfed on a bun, and the prime rib grinder comes with mozzarella and grilled onion, but was really lacking in flavor, even with the au jus. Â
They could definitely use some new help in the kitchen, because the great atmosphere is wasted on what they're cooking up back there.
OK I went here twice in a two week period on a fluke.
Both times we went we had decent service but the wait staff each time could have been a little more warm and each time shot back to the kitchen etc before they had really addressed the various needs from my employees and or friends. Â Like empty glasses, no water, no silverware both times.
The first meal that I ate was a Gyro meal. Â This meal was fine and well prepared but for actually being a meal they did very little to enhance their gyro over a simple fast food joints. Â Here is what I mean. Â At other greek owned restaurants in the past cooks have further sauteed the onions tomatoes on the gyros and added fresh cream sauce vs something you know that came right out of the generic gallon jug from some restaurant supply chain. Â So, Â nice restaurants have really over done the routine gyros in my past and this simple sandwich can be comepletely awesome.
Decent beer selection but not great.
For my second meal I ordered a philly cheese steak. Â Their interpetation of what that should be rocked the corner of the world of what that sandwich should actually be.
The steak was not shaved...it was in slices about 1/2 inch to3/4 inch wide with no effort at all then to remove tough parts or overly fatty parts. Â I am fine with fat mind you.. but not gristle. Â So, as I was trying to eat large pieces of the meat were virtually leaping out of the bun in order to massacre my work clothes. Â So instead of juicy goodness and flavour... you have a fight on your hands to even eat it, then the flavours aren't even melded together.
Final judgement...
Sorry, but there are fast food places nearby that serve food more cheaply with nicer service and better tasting food. Â
Why even go? Â Maybe for popcorn and beer...? Â I don't really know.
The Squire is a great place for dinner with a great atmosphere.
We typically make it out to the Squire at least once a month. Â It is great to avoid the chains and they really have a large menu to choose from. Â We love the baked french onion soup and they have some great drink specials at their full bar. Â My favorite dish is the Steak Brochette (skewers) - but there are many choose from.
The atmosphere is great with live music, rich wood interior, central stone fireplace, and free popcorn.
The service can be sub-par at times but overall average. Â Therefore a deduction of a star. Â We will be going again soon!
Update: Â Service was poor for a second visit in a row...
My fiance and I stopped here last night for the first time. Â We have driven past this place many times, and finally we stopped in. Â The atmosphere was fun, the place smelled great, and there was live music. Â We were all smiles when the hostess stopped to get a bowl of popcorn for us as she took us to our table.
We ordered drinks and the Cajan Shrimp appetizer. Â The drinks were delish and the shrimp was perfectly cooked. Â My fiance ordered the ribs, while I had blackened tilapia. Â All the food was cooked perfectly, the service was great, and we were so glad we finally stopped in. Â This is a great friendly place to go. Â The bar area looked fun too, might have to stop by for some drinks for the next Bears game!!! Good job Village Squire!
Is it too much to ask for a steak that is not cold? Not at the Village Squire. I sent mine back twice, and finally just refused my order. The mashed potatoes were runny and cold, too. The steak fries I ordered ala carte were 'extra' well done, said the waitress, even though I did not order them that way. I gnawed through about half of them.
Review Source:We opted to take my mother in law and her sister for dinner for the fish fry 9/21/12, instead of taking them to Kief's Reef, which is quite loud, but the fish is excellent. Although the server was fine, the food was poor. The fish was fishy and dry, and the fries were just OK. I have never been to a fish fry where I opted to not have seconds. I wont be going back.
Review Source:Recently went to this restaurant on the recommendation of a friends. We were a party of 10. It was quite disappointing. There were 6 adults at the table and all 6 of us had a bad meal. Sandwiches were cold, french fries were cold. Fish tacos, which are normally ordered by this particular person, had a strange taste. Gyros had no flavor. But i have to say the worst part of our meal was the Bacon skins coming out to the table with a LIVE BUG crawling on the lettuce. Not dead, MOVING!! Our waitress took it and said ill make you another. No apology, No attempt to make it better. It was disgusting. Needless to say we didnt eat the new skins that came out. I think our whole table was so bothered by that we lost our appetites. There was a gentleman playing on a guitar, which was nice. Overall I would recommend avoiding this place. THere are many other choices nearby that would be a better experience.
Review Source:The server sucked Mary sucked so bad that when I come back she will not be waiting on me! Very sad, it was my anniversary and could not even get drinks or dessert!!
OK so just a little something to add here. Within a few days of posting basically the same review on the restaurant's own site, the owner called and was very apologetic. He stated that Mary was a relative of his and he wasn't happy. He said he couldn't understand her behavior as she is hurting as bad as most of us with the way the economy is. He offered to have us come back on his dime. We turned down the offer as we felt that the fact that he took the time to email his personal cell number to us and actually answered the phone was more than we had expected from posting a negative review. I give him a lot of credit for that. It's not that we don't enjoy the place, we were just expecting a little more on a special day for us. Props go out to the owner for offering to comp us on our next visit but especially because he took the time to try to make things right!
My family and I have been to The Village Squire more times than I can count over the 20 years we have been in McHenry County. The first time we went was when my wife and I were dating and it was pretty good. Over the years it seems to have gone downhill. I often wonder to myself why we came back here for less than mediocre food. We happened to be close by and hungry, then decided to stop in again. Wrong move.
We arrived and were greeted by the girl at the door who was in the middle of organizing her station. Once at the table the server came over and it seemed like she had an attitude for some reason. She never told us her name and then told us we needed to order the Saganaki. She took our drink order and delivered them OK. In the meantime we were given a bowl of somewhat stale popcorn. Server returned and I started feeling like I was at one of those places that are rude to you while you eat. Â I felt like I was inconveniencing her by being there to eat lunch.
My son and I ordered Gyros and my wife got the veggie burger. Talk about quick service... not sure if the gyros ever hit the grill and I am guessing that the veggie burger was nuked. The fries were at least hot and crispy. Wife's drink was good as well.
The decor has not changed in all these years too. Still dark and feels like you went back into the dark ages. Hmmmm, not sure if we will go back.
Stopped for lunch with an associate last week and both of us ordered Schnitzel. My associate was born in Germany so this was going to be  a tough test for sure. In the end ....C  maybe C- Schnitzel was a bit dry and the sauce was alright but really scarce. Apparently they were running out or the profitability was sagging that week.  A little more than a tablespoon would have been nice  ...
We ordered the spatzle also and that was pretty bad. Really no explanation on how they could have gotten a crispy textured spatzle on my plate but a culinary trip to Germany will not extoll the pleasures of crunchy spatzle....
Service was slow ...and that's really bad at lunch and well my soup was  good!  Just decent soup however, could not garner a third star. I have eaten at the location in McHenry also with similar results.  Afraid i will have to cross this chain off my list.....
We are in the area for a few weeks and decided to stop into the Village Squire North for lunch. We moved away from the CL area and haven't been here in over 20 years. It is nice to see that very little has changed in this restaurant. Most of CL has changed so much that it was so nice to walk in and see how the decor remained pretty much the same. We had a nice lunch and had a wonderful server. Her name is Susan Brady. She was a wonderful server and it was nice chatting to her about the food, drinks and about the changes CL has had over the years. Â Our food was good and the service was great.
Review Source:Went here for dinner last night with my husband a kids. First off they sat us at a too small of a table for the five of us. Our waitress was not very polite. She had a bit of an attitude the whole time. The other patrons kept making snide remarks that my 2 year old was too loud. The waitress also didn't want to give us new silverware after we ate our salad. The food was gross. My burger was completely dried out. My kids didn't even want to eat their food. My son had a stomach ache all night from the sour mayonnaise they put on his BLT. All in all, not even worth the trip.
Review Source:Decided to give another try today for lunch solitude a coupon I had. Still very average. Â The coupons can't be used with ribs or specials either which I thought was pretty crappy of them. Just another point to this is with the coupon don't you want be to try your special dishes so they come back. It isn't like anything on the specials menu is a very good value. I had the ribs and chicken tenders, i have to say the chicken tender was very good. The ribs are not the type I like but my wife liked them. They do fall off the bone and have a nice sweet sauce on them.
Review Source:I used to go to the Village Squire but things have changed for the worse. A friend and I went to lunch and I ordered baked tilapia which was $13.99 which I thought a tad expensive for lunch. Instead of rice I asked for a baked potato. The waitress said that would be a dollar more $14.99 (hmmm?) but I didn't want rice so I gave in. She then said if I order it as a dinner for only fifty cents more - $14.49 - I could get the potato with a cup of soup. (hmmm?). OK, seems like a no-brainer. Well along comes this tiny cup of soup which was NE clam chowder that had to be pre-made such as canned or frozen. Then comes my meal! Whoa, you've got to be kidding. The portion of fish was so small that my 4 year old granddaughter could finish it, in fact she could probably finish the whole meal. I'm actually not a big eater but this was ridiculous. The baked potato looked like the size of a lemon and the brocolli was so rubbery I couldn't cut it with my fork. And the tiny tilapia . . .totally tasteless. I used to enjoy this place (nothing special but edible), now I refuse to go back unless I hear that things have improved.
Review Source:Seriously, why do I keep going back to this place/places in this same chain/owned by the same people?!
It's never great service, the food is kinds gross, and something always goes wrong.
Who has two thumbs and doesn't learn her lesson??? Â THIS GUY!
My friend and I came here one night after a friends' play in the area. Â We were in Crystal Lake around 9:30 pm, and were looking for a place for a quick meal. Â Yelp brought us here. Â I have been to the one in Dundee and was less than impressed (see other review), but options were limited, and I wasn't really feeling the McD's.
They had a little band there, but we opted out of sitting there because we wanted to be able to talk. Â Our waitress was ok...you could tell she really just wanted to go home and didn't really care that we wanted to eat. Â We were very rushed EXCEPT when we needed her for something. Â Quite annoying.
I ordered the turkey burger and fries with a side salad. Â My friend ordered the spinach artichoke dip as her meal. Â When we got the food, she offered me a bite. Â Her dip was ice cold in the middle. Â It was so gross. Â And THAT'S when we couldn't find our waitress. Â She wasn't around for a good 10 minutes after that, so my friend and I ended up sharing my fries while she waited for some good service (that never really came). Â So they reheated her meal for her (gross) once the waitress finally did come by again, but it was too little too late at that point.
Oh, and i really appreciated (eye roll) the guys vacuuming around us while we ate. Â There were other quiet sections of the restaurant. Â If you wanted to be able to clean, seat us in one of those! Â It wouldn't have been a big deal. Â
I am going to do something good for myself...and avoid this place from now on!
The Squire is an institution it would seem. Â 20+ year picture placard on the wall, aging and faded awards hung here and there and an odd assortment of detritus shelved up near the ceiling in the bar. Â Waitstaff is friendly overall but service can be spotty at odd times - like when no one is in the restaurant. Â Food is A-OK/3 stars, meaning nothing is going to wow you. Â Some dishes are spot on but others are way off the mark. Â My kid loves the free popcorn that starts you off. Â Drink specials aren't all that special, but the menu is expansive and there should be something that will suit your cravings. Â Basically good if not always solid, the Squire is a place to grab a quick lunch or dinner when you're not sure exactly what you want.
Review Source:Been here a couple times, I want to like this place - atmosphere is nice, but food and service have been bizarre. Â Last time we sat at the bar to have dinner before movie, it wasn't busy (for a Friday night .. which should tell you something). Â Two female bar tenders were off in left field. Â Slow, A.D.D., disinterested, at the other end of the bar chatting it up with bored wait staff. Â Food was cold - so you know it had been up a while before it made it out. Â Not what we ordered, but no big deal - we made light of it - - the bartender blamed the kitchen and said they were getting orders wrong all night. Â I really didn't need to hear all that. Â Several requests for same basic things (salt, silverware, another drink, etc) - we gave up asking and just got out of there. Â Haven't been back. Â Again, atmosphere is nice, can be a fun place - just disappointing food/service.
Review Source:I love going to Squire...getting  a long island, a roasted garlic app, and a blackened prime rib sandwich for dinner is something I always look forward to. It's fun to when they have a good guitar player on the little stage. I like the front of the resturant, but don't particularly enjoy the back of the restaurant, it kind of feels like you're somewhere else in the back room. all in all a good place to eat!
Review Source:Always a great place to go for a Rum Barrel and some chow. Their filet on a skewer is really good as is their chicken on a skewer. Love their feta cheese. Their roasted garlic appetizer is yummy. It comes with warm feta cheese and kalamata olives and bread. Never too long of a wait as well.
Review Source:I stopped in with a party of 5 on labor day for a birthday dinner. Â Service was slow drinks and popcorn were refilled only after politely asking several times. Â Our orders took 45min-1hr to come out and sides like the fries were cold to the touch. Â
I had a $3 off $20 coupon card I bought at a fundraiser and figured I'd throw it with the check to save $3. Â It says excludes drinks and 1/2 price burgers. Â The waitress asked what it was and said she had never seen one before. Â She then said we could not use it as one of our party ordered a burger. Â I politely said ok but that everyone else ordered dinners and soup and salad as well so the total was ~$65. She then raised her voice loudly and stressed it "WAS ONE PER TABLE" and it said so on the card. Â If I had a problem "SHE COULD GET THE MANAGER AND HE COULD TELL ME HOW IT WORKS" Â I once again replied no problem and forget it. Â We paid up and tipped %20 and left. Â I then looked at the card and it literally had no restrictions except excludes drinks and 1/2 price burgers. Â It was not a huge deal either way but she got very assertive that we were wrong based on details that were not specified on a card she had never seen before. Â Which really topped the crappy service we had received and made the Day Truly Memorable, In a bad way.
Start me up: I like the Saganaki, though the portion size could be improved.
Fill me up: The filet on a skewer is awesome, though spendy. Comes with rice and feta cheese.
Light me up: I love the Mai Tai's here and always have a couple or three. Â Plenty of rum in them.
Always busy but the wait is never really that long. Â Bowls of popcorn to munch on while perusing the menu.
I have "different" expectations of this place . . . I'm not coming here for gourmet - so THAT expectation goes out the window. Â I have 4 kids under the age of 13, and I feel comfortable bringing them here. Â They can be kids, and I don't have to worry about upsetting other patrons. Â They love the free popcorn, and I like the live music (usually acoustic guitar - folksy/rock). Â The food isn't bad. Â My older son likes the steak, and I like the fact that it doesn't hit my wallet too hard. Â I like their Cesar salad because they'll pile on the anchovies (if ya ask). Â If ya want decent food for the family and a family friendly environment, I would recommend this place. Â Oh - almost forgot . . . wine list is horrible, but bar is stocked and they have Guinness.
Review Source:Well...I've been a few times over the past 5 or so years. Always strange vibe in here. The crowd is weird and the dining room stinks like flaming cheese because everyone orders the $8 saganaki (OPA!)
So what's up with the saganaki? You get a big blob of melted cheese and a very small pita cut into quarters. The amount of pita that you get is not enough to act as the vehicle it is meant to be for getting the cheese from the table to your face. The pita/cheese ratio is ALWAYS off. Dude, add a second pita already! Last time I went here there were five of us and we ordered two of these appetizers...let's just say doing fractions didn't mix so well with having a few drinks, if you get my meaning.
Speaking of drinks...I went for the $7.50 "rum barrel" and two other people I was with each got a "Mai Thai". Mine had so much rum in it that our eyes were watering. The two Mai Thai drinks had only fruit juice. We said something to the waiter who shuffled off to "ask about it" and came back with some excuse that was so lame I can't be bothered to type it out. Do yourself a favor and skip these overpriced messes.
The food...well...not so much. It seems like they once had a medieval theme going, but maybe now there is a Greek thing  mixed in there somewhere. The result is odd. The filet medallions straight suck. We ordered the "grande" appetizer plate and the gyros on there were brown and dried out. The cheese sticks, onion rings, everything else was right off the same freezer truck as every other mediocre joint on this stretch of 14. *YaWn*
The prices are WAY too high for what you get here.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,607 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,970 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,306 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,904 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,983 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
