SugarToad: User Reviews

My wife and I had dinner at Sugartoad this past Friday for our anniversary. I made reservations at Hugo's Frog Bar as well, but decided to try Sugartoad because it was new to us and is run by a highly respected chef (Jimmy Sneed).

When were led to our table, it was along a row of tables that had booth seating on one side and chairs on the other. Oddly, the four or five couples already sitting in this section were all sitting next to each other on the booth side. My wife and I have always found sitting next to each other (instead of across) to be uncomfortable and awkward. So I was the only person facing the booth, which made me feel a bit self-conscious.

When we looked over the menu, my wife asked me if I had looked at it on-line before making the reservation. I explained that the menu was prepared daily, and that I couldn't have seen it. The reason she asked was that nothing on the menu jumped up as an excited option. It actually occurred to me that we could leave, but figured we were already there - we'd give it a try.

I had a red pepper soup with a little crab meat it in. It had a good red pepper flavor, but the crab did nothing besides add some texture. My wife had a very ordinary black bean soup. The complimentary "sugartoad" was good, but it was just a piece of deep-fried fish. My entree was a bison hanger steak that was served with an onion relish on top of avocado. It was very good, if a bit bland. My wife had a softshell crab and crab cake as her entree, and it was just okay. Again, bland.

For dessert, we split a bread pudding that was made with the same bread that they served with butter. The bread was really the only outstanding part of the meal. It was truly the best bread I've ever had served with a dinner. The bread pudding was also very good, but not much better than the bread pudding that Biaggi serves - and that's a national chain.

The coffee was French-pressed at the table and was very good. My wife and I both had a glass of wine with dinner, and we each enjoyed our selections.

Walking out, we agreed that the meal was unspectacular. Our bill, with tip, was $150 and the meal just didn't approach a good value. We have no problem dropping that kind of money on a special occasion meal, but expect something special. If I had spent half this much money, I would have still felt unimpressed. I think the chef (who was there that night, greeting diners at their tables) relies on the quality of his ingredients and keeps the preparations too simple. Nothing was bad - just not exceptional. And for $150, SOMETHING should be exceptional.

Service was similar - more than adequate, but not especially charming or memorable. My wife compared the entire experience to "wedding food." The whole experience was lacking.

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I finally got to try Sugar Tioad, and I LOVED it! Everything we ordered was FABULOUS..
The crabcakes were awesome, the piece of "Sugar Toad" was a nice touch. The bread pudding with cherries was the BEST bread pudding I have ever had! I would come back here in a heartbeat. It is not cheap, but you get what you pay for and what you came for which is GOOD FOOD.... I can't wait to go back and try the "cheeks and leeks".

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The food was outstanding, and the crab cakes were really good. The place is modern in design (think W Hotel) and quite nice. The service was really attentive, fast and good... so it makes it a perfect place for clients and business. It's pricey, but fair given the quality of the food.

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Ate at sugar toad mainly based on their location and interesting, if sparse, web site. The room was nice though the acoustics are a bit bright. Played pop tunes from the 80's? Service was a bit over attentive. Started with enormous slices of excellent brioche bread. Enjoyed oysters to start served bare bones with no sauce, just a lemon. Followed up with the crab cakes which were quite good, accompanied by a small portion of pasta and three different colors or presentations of cauliflower. Finished with an excellent cappucino and apple tart. My wife had a salad, the very good wagyu beef tenderloin served with mashed potatoes and the same cauliflower. Her dessert was a white chocolate mousse, which came with too few berries making her wish there was a raspberry sauce for a compliment. Good martinis and wines by the glass with complimentary tastes if requested. Oh, you get a small taste of sugar toad to start, it's a small pufferfish. Interesting, but oversalted. Don't know if I'll go back.

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Considering the glowing write-up in Chicago Magazine, I was expecting a lot more from this restaraunt.

Fisrt of all, this is a hotel restaurant and it is located on the bottom floor of a new, higher end hotel on the outskirts of Naperville. The interior design is modern. Dark colors and simple archetectual lines. And with the place being new, everything is spotless and proper. However, while the floor to ceiling windows allow for a lot of natural light, the "scenic" view is an overlook of an empty lot with two non-discript low-rise office buildings in the background.

The menu is limited and the food is simple. The chef's focus seems to be on the quality of the ingredients rather than intricit preparations with the chef showing no fear in name dropping ingredients on the menu (Wagyu tender, Berkshire pork, etc.) While I am a huge fan of the use of these high end artisinal products, if you are going to showcase them in overly simple preparations, there needs to be flawless execution.

But there wasn't. I ordered the wagyu bistro tender. I ordered it medium rare. It came out medium well. The person I was dining with had the tuna. The tuna was less than an inch thick, but the cook managed to cook one side of the tuna well done to the middle while the other side was almost raw.

Its not that restaraunt is bad. Its just not that good. If you're going to drive all the way to Naperville (or live in the area) Niche in Geneva and Fahrenheit in St. Charles are both far better restaurants. However, considering Fahrenheit couldn't last six months before they closed their doors, I don't see a bright and sunny future ahead for SugarToad.

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