Wilde Bar & Restaurant: User Reviews

Great for Brunch
By Kerry from lakeview, August 23, 2008

Overall rating:

Some of the previous reviews seem a bit dramatic... I just ate brunch here and enjoyed it. There are not that many alternatives in the area, but I would still pick this one. It is light and airy and fun in the summer. They have a great drink and food menu. Sat at the bar, so the bartendar was busy with prepping, but he was still attentive to me. I did see some lingering wait staff, but I am not sure what that means... Overall, I will definitely be back here for brunch, and I would recommend it to others. Even families, it was very family friendly.

Utterly Forgettable Food
By uptownchicago from Uptown, August 22, 2008

Overall rating:

I was very excited to try Wilde, given all of the neighborhood buzz and the long, LONG lines at the door even a month after it first opened. Not to mention I'm a big fan of Oscar Wilde's quotable quotes. The good news? The decor is amazing, and I love the library area around the fireplace. They obviously spent their entire budget on the interior with little left over for menu design and staff training. The bad news? I won't be going back unless they have a total revamp of the menu. I ordered Fish & Chips, which one would think should be pretty good at a so-called Irish pub/restaurant. Bland and boring are the only ways to describe them. Everyone in our party felt the same way about their food, unfortunately. The bottom line is, it's like a super-model. Very pretty to look at on the surface, but no depth or substance when you look closer. I recommend you go elsewhere if you're actually hungry.

Service terrible, food delicious
By Cunn Guzzler from Semenville, July 28, 2008

Overall rating:

Went there on a Sunday night. Not crowded. Loud. Waiter didn't show up for 10 minutes after I was seated. Took drink order and was about to turn away when I said I was ready to order my food too. Got the Wilde Burger. Delicious! But took a long time. Waiter never stopped by after delivering burger to ask how it was, or to offer a refill. Rather, I had to flag him down and ask for a refill. Not sure why he was so slow, it wasn't busy. Burger was good but wouldn't go back if I'm going to be disrespected. Sounds like others on here feel the same way.

Amazing space - not so amazing service!
By IllinisGuy from Lakeview, July 10, 2008

Overall rating:

Although they had a lot of staff, and tables were not full our service was horrible. Food was okay, but kind of high for what you get. A nice addition to the hood but will not be running back anytime soon.

WORST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE
By mmm22 from lakeview, June 27, 2008

Overall rating:

Believe what you hear about this place - the service is not just awful, it doesn't exist. I have never been treated so poorly in my entire life. You would have thought that I was a leper by the way I was treated by their staff. We sat down and they ignored us for a good 20 minutes. When the waitress finally came over, she looked at us and turned around and ran over to the host, pointing to us and screaming "Who sat them in my section!? Why do I have another table?!!!" After 5 minutes of the staff pointing at us and talking about us (I swear I don't have three heads) the host came over and said "We are going to have to ask you to leave". I asked why and he said there was a waiting list for the table we were at. Looking around, I saw at least ten of the same tables open and there certainly was no one waiting at all to be seated. They didn't even offer us another open table - they just said we had to leave. SO WEIRD. SO RUDE.

nightmare
By Jenny from LINCOLN PARK, May 3, 2008

Overall rating:

This restaurant is beautiful nothing wrong with food but service... and employee need to be more trained.

Nice ambiance
By Cheetarah from West Ridge, April 26, 2008

Overall rating:

I really liked this place. The service was very prompt, and the restaurant wasn't too noisy. It has a nice neighborhood feel to it. Also the Guiness chocolate cake was really good. I will definitely be back

Milquetoast!
By Moraxion from Lakeview, April 24, 2008

Overall rating:

Believe what everyone says about being ignored and the service being slow -- even when the restaurant isn't busy. Our party was ignored for nearly half an hour once seated and the service didn't improve from there. I do have a feeling that more attention was to be had at the bar, but a table full of diners all ordering martinis should have been enough to warrant some attention even if only to keep the drinks coming.

The food is maybe only average, as though the head line cook at Chili's was having a good day and got a bit adventurous with the menu. If you are into food and enjoy fine (or even good) dining, you'll find the menu bland and poorly executed. Of course, if you're looking for bar food and don't feel like walking to another generic bar, Wilde will fit the bill. I am hoping these are just growing pains and will get better over time. Maybe I'll give them a try in another 6 months, if they're still around.

I just wish the food lived up to the wimsy and brash execution of its namesake.

Great Food but Too Noisy!
By scfamilylife from Lake View family visitor, April 5, 2008

Overall rating:

We love to visit this neighborhood. The food was better than one might expect for British Isles food. Yet the volume of music made it difficult to converse without almost shouting. Also, the prices for wine, beer, etc, were way over priced. But the decorating is beautiful, the service was friendly, and the shepherds pie was the best I have ever had!