Gordon Biersch Brewery Restaurant: User Reviews

Nice atmosphere, good food, over-the-top service
By NaperFoodie from Naperville, May 9, 2008

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We stopped by one evening for drinks and some appetizers. We had the garlic fries and crab cakes. Both were quite good, no complaints, although the garlic/oil they drizzled over the fries was a bit much. Almost too greasy on the top. The crab cake was wonderful, and I'm a fan who has eaten many. Staff were friendly and the atmosphere was just right, not too light, although towards the kitchen it's bright enough to perform an autopsy. We were close to the bar, so it was fine. The only down side was our waitress, who seemed to take almost 10 minutes to sell everything on the menu, drink menu, specials menu, etc. "I'll tell you folks, this doesn't just sound good, it is good!" "Everything on this specials menu is fabulous, and we're only going to have this for one more week." She went into so much detail on a number of dishes, then went through an explanation of all the beers. It was all too much. She was friendly, but overbearing and clearly interested in one thing, hiking up the tab. She came back frequently to check if we needed more apps or drinks, but when the food was served and we had no utensils or condiments, she was hard to find. Well, actually, she was on the other end, giving her sales pitch to another couple. (We had to laugh, because she was using the same well-rehearsed lines!) We will come back, because the menu looked appealing and aside from the service, we have no complaints. We just hope we get another server; and it might be helpful for her to take it down a notch.

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Just poor and not a good time
By suburbanfood from lemont, April 13, 2008

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Went in on a Sunday to watch golf and baseball and have a fun lunch. Staff was slow to reach the table and not too attentive. We ordered a BBQ hamburger and a shrimp salad. Hamburger was good but the shrimp salad looked terrible. The shrimp was still raw and had that “grey” color. Politely sent the salad back thinking we would receive a new one with cooked shrimp. The same salad was returned with the shrimp still looking raw. Basically, the shrimp was warm and still grey. It looked like they only microwaved the salad. So we returned the salad again. The manager brought the SAME dish back to us and said, “What is wrong with this?” “These are cooked”. I asked if he serves the shrimp warm or cold. He said cold. So, I asked then why are these warm and still raw? A long pause and then he still tried to convince us to take the salad.
That was it. No apologies or other remuneration. We were treated as if the wait list was 2 years and they did not need any new customers. If the management was as aggressive at helping us as they were at forcing us to take bad salad it would be better place. Hence to say, save your time and go to other place where you will be respected more than a dirty napkin.

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Where do i begin? The...
By m_d_o77 from chicago , IL, August 1, 2007

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Where do i begin? The room overall is very sterile and cold. Seating was prompt, but then again the place was pretty empty. We ordered the lobster bites @ ~15 dollars, pretty boring, mostly breading and very greasy. I asked my server if she ever had the fish tacos, she told me they were great and i should get them and so i did. However what did i get? they weren't tacos at all, it was a wrap, and it was served with coleslaw, um- no. i called the server over and i said, "this really isn't a taco at all." and she looked at me and said, "I've never even had them, i had no idea." wtf? Then why would you tell me they're great? The beer was decent, but i'm not really a beer drinker so no surprises there. I won't be going back. The food wasn't good, it was over priced and i'm still pissed about my fish wrap. that is all.

I was impressed that we...
By Carrie L. from Plainfield, IL, June 12, 2007

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I was impressed that we got our table pretty quickly on a Friday night. Our waitress was nice, but came by way too often to see if we needed anything. The bread they brought to the table was absolutely aweful (cold and hard)!! I am not much of a beer drinker, but my boyfrined likes it. He was not that impressed with the beer tasting. Our waitress told us the glasses were four ounces, they were more like 2. My entre was pretty good. I had pecan encrusted chicken with the garlic mashed potatoes (those were great) and over cooked asparagus. My boyfriend had chicken parm. He said it was only ok. I felt like for the price we paid, it wasn't worth mentioning to friends.

Service was average in general,...
By Tim from Bolingbrook, IL, May 30, 2007

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Service was average in general, but slow at the bar (they seemed more interested in cleaning glassware, than taking our order). The hostess told us our table was ready before they even got to us at the bar. For dinner, I had the cedar plank pecan crusted salmon. The entree was great and had a nice sauce with it, but the sides were not well prepared. Both the asparagus and rice that came with it were overdone. The rice was dried out and not sticky, and the asparagus overcooked. My wife had a steak which she requested medium rare. It too was overdone, and a little too chewy. She did like the mashed potatoes that came with it. It's a new restaurant, so hopefully they get the details worked out. Until that happens, I'd have to rate it a little lower on value. They do have a great looking outdoor seating area, with window access to the bar.

Just opened. I had...
By Phil from Chicago, IL, April 25, 2007

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Just opened. I had the pleasure of attending their practice meal. Well, the service was perfect, the food came out of the kitchen quickly, at the proper temperature and the taste was terrific. Loved the garlic fries, ahi tuna appetizer, fried artichokes with garlic mayo, burgers, pizza, Mahi Mahi...all wonderful. The beer sampler was a great added touch. Everyone in my party had fun. Can't wait to go back.