Embers Tap House
| Address: | 933 S State St, Lockport, IL 60441, USA |
| Phone: | +1 815-552-3031 |
| Site: | emberstaphouse.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–12AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–2AM 11AM–12AM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 6
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Alan McCafferty
I visited Embers Tap House to attend a Halloween event last weekend. Ive been a special effects makeup artist for almost two decades and have been entering costume contests for just as long - its a staple of the season for me. After a long internet search of popular locations in the Lockport area, Embers seemed to be the top spot. There was a twenty dollar cover charge for the event which I was not deterred by, but was perhaps why I had high expectations. My girlfriend and I paid the cover and were directed upstairs. The turnout wasnt very good and the only approachable people we met that evening mentioned that the hostess didnt levy the cover charge from them (Im kind of happy about that, honest, considering the other attendees were not very friendly). It was nice out so we sat outside and waited for the DJ to announce sign up information since the bar staff didnt know any details when asked. The last hour before the event ended I approached the dj and was told by him to ask the guy standing right next to him. They passed off my question to one another for a moment before the dj said, very dismissively, that it had already happened. Why couldnt he have answered the question the first time? I would have much rather entered and not won than be neglected the opportunity to enter at all - especially due to the poor knowledge of details. The only cordial staff member that night was the bouncer. This experience may be attributable to the event exclusively, but it wasnt a good first impression and I wouldnt recommend patronage to anyone in the future. tl;dr - apathetic/unhelpful staff, unfavorable ambience (except the patio, that was nice), food was alright, dj was pretentious.
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Heather Smith
I went here with a friend on a Tuesday evening (the week of Thanksgiving). We didnt have a wait, but it was fairly busy. The hostess was very accommodating, as we requested a booth, of which there were two available but they had yet to be cleaned. She ensured they were cleaned promptly so we could sit down & dine. The feel of this place is very modern & pub-like, with exposed brick, medium lighting, a middle bar and minimal decor. Our waiter took a little while to get to us, but he was very courteous & accommodating throughout our meal. My friend had been here prior, so she recommended we have the seasoned tater tots as an appetizer. They were perfectly seasoned! Not too much seasoning; just enough to be flavorful & yummy! I had the chicken pesto wrap with fries; it was SO good! They are very minimal, but modern, on food presentation and amount of food, which doesnt leave patrons overfull upon leaving! My friend had the maple-bacon BLT & fries and she said it was spectacular. Not only was there an after work crowd present, there were also families with small children so they cater to a variety of patrons, not just the bar crowd. It is definitely a family friendly restaurant as well as an upscale bar & eatery for the adult crowd. Overall, a wonderful place to eat! I will definitely be back and also get take-out in the future! I would not hesitate to bring my 3 year old here to eat, either!
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Elton John
Poorly Managed but good food mostly. This place has some good qualities but lacks customer service. Positives are the food is very good but a tad pricey. Lots of people I know have eaten dinner there with good reviews. I have only bought appetizers but all were good. Good beer selection but you have to ask to see the beer menu. Negatives are staff and customer service. They have some BAD bartenders and wait staff but a few are really good. Most lack customer service training and are not overly friendly. I HATE when you sit down at a bar and none of the 4 bartenders recognize someone just sat down in those 2 stools that have been empty for the past hour. Im not 100% sure but it seems the bartenders divide up the bar into quadrants and each one gets their own section instead of all bartenders taking care of everyone and splitting the tips. They also monitor the drink tickets spitting out from the waitresses more than making any eye contact with empty glass patrons at the bar. I sat there watching each of the four bartenders do everything but look around to see if anyone needed a drink so I waited for 10 minutes before grabbing one walking by who then seemed surprised no one helped me yet. Tried this place a few times and still the same opinion. Decent food, prices too high for the total lack of service and patron respect.
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Stephanie Moran
I find Embers annoying AF. They have good food and good cockatils... good beer menu, But The Service Is So Bad. I dont even understand how. Every.Time.Ive.Been.There our waitress is horrible. You wait with an empty drink for 10-20 mins.... never stops by to see if you need anything else. Its insane. It makes me sad. UPDATE***** I sent the manager an email based on her reply on March 31st and have not heard anything back. My email was as follows: Hello, My name is Stephanie. I left the google review you replied too... I wrote that view hoping to encourage some sort of change with the waitstaff. In addition to the honestly bad service Ive had each time Ive gone there (the servers are friendly, just absent), I tried to bring my family (myself, spouse and young child) and our friends (2 adults, 2 young children) for an early dinner (3 pm on a Saturday) and was turned away b/c you could not accommodate our small group. There was a party going on, but it wasnt huge and I think its crazy to just turn business away. Id love to hear your thoughts. There arent a ton of nice places to go in Lockport, I really want Embers to be one of those places. Thanks for reaching out, Stephanie
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Lisa Grzelak
Three of us had dinner here on a Wednesday. We have been here many times before and have always had a decent meal. We started out with the Parmesan Pretzel bread which comes with a cheese sauce and marinara for dipping. This was a great appetizer with great flavors, highly recommend. It was $7 burger night and 2 of us ordered the classic burger, one with fries the other with their seasonal Lemon Chicken Soup. I ordered the Buffalo Chicken wrap with a side of Lemon Chicken soup. Burgers were great and cooked to order. My husband loves their fries. I enjoyed the Buffalo Chicken wrap, its grilled chicken, not fried and tossed not only in buffalo sauce but also has a dijon aioli which gives it an amazing tasteful twist. I was not a fan of the Lemon Chicken soup, I didnt really taste any lemon and I also tasted something sweet in there? Service was ok as our waitress was definitely running around with a few larger tables that had walked in with a sports teams. We did not have any cocktails but we have had beers/cocktials in the past. They always have a great selection of ciders which I enjoy.
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Jerry Allmansberger
Well where do you start ? Came in on a Saturday at 3:00 pm. The table was dirty & there were maybe 8 people in the whole place ? I ordered the pretzel sticks, a Dogfish head 90 minute, with 2 sample beers & my wife ordered a Two Brothers beer & the soup. After 10 minutes I was looking for our drinks & the waitress told me they were out of the 90 Minute & were tapping a new keg, she also told me they ran out of one of the samples I wanted. huh ? The waitress brought our pretzel sticks, ( which came with no salt on them ), & that came with a 1/4 of mustard in the tin & still no 90 Minute. She then proceeded to tell me they didnt have any more 90 Minute, so I asked where was my wifes soup ? She forgot, she then proceeded to spill water on the floor at the waitress station & then dropped & broke a glass. Needless to say, I will not be driving from Aurora again to visit this establishment.
