The White Chocolate Grill

Reviews 4

PA

Patrick Sembach

Ive never written a restaurant review before, but felt this was worthwhile. I spent 20 minutes writing a thoughtful review, then accidentally deleted it without posting. This experience inspired me to do it again! Service: friendly, knowledgeable, attentive servers. We had Penelope as our server, but there is a team service program working here. If she was busy, somebody else came by and took care of us. Everybody was great, with the perfect amount of attention without hovering or being intrusive. Very well trained staff. Drinks: We had some signature cocktails. Well described, beautifully presented and pleasantly potent. The beers were ice cold and frosted glasses with every one. The big surprise was when one of our party was nursing a chocolate martini for 30 minutes. A server came by and transferred the drink to a fresh, frosted glass. Wed never seen this before and LOVED it! Appetizers: The shrimp cocktail was awesome. 8 beautiful, fresh and huge shrimp (they are not so uppity as to call them prawn). The tarter was original with a nice, subtle kick. The cocktail sauce also homemade and nice. We also got the Caprese appetizer. Very good but sparse. Not enough to share among 4. Entrees: We werent out to review a restaurant, but to enjoy dinner. As a result, three of us ordered the Balsamic infused Ribeye. They were perfectly trimmed for proper fat content. I love Ribeye and understand the role of "fat" in the dish. None of us had a small pile of discarded fat after the meal. One of our party ordered the Prime Rib. She was told "theres only one portion left" at 6pm on a Monday night. That seemed odd to us. The portion was nice, an end piece with bone, but with a nice pink and tender filet attached. The horseradish was excellent. The fifth of our party is one of those "vegetarians". I often feel guilty when dining with her, as we all rave about our meals while she admits that "Im not starving anymore"... That being said, she declared that "This is the best veggie burger Ive ever had anywhere!". Very high praise from an often dissapointed vegetarian. Desert: I am NOT a fan of cheesecake! That being said, we ordered the white chocolate cheesecake, white chocolate brownie and white chocolate bread pudding. Best darn cheesecake Ive ever had! The brownie and bread pudding even more amazing! Overall: The ambiance, service, quality, prices make this one of the best value dining experiences Ive ever had. I will shout praise to anybody and everybody about this great concept. I always appreciate a limited menu, simple concept and quality driven concept. These folks NAILED IT!!! After writing this I read the other reviews. Im amazed that so many people are calling it "pricey"! Compared to Mortons and the Oak Brook strip, this place is refreshingly inexpensive. We had plenty of drinks, apps, meals and deserts and got out of there for under $50 a person. Very good value for Chicago/Naperville dining!!!!

JE

Jeff Reighter

The place to be. Very busy and noisy 7pm. Waited for a table for one for 35 minutes after being told 10 minute wait. Later arrivals (w/o reservations) were seated ahead of me. After 3 waitress introductions, the 3rd was finally my server. Ordered water to start, so never asked for a beverage selection after. Ordered soup of the day; delivery process is to drop and run...no bread or crackers. Soup was good-creamy potatoe. Main was the 12 hour pulled pork sandwich with candied carrots...delivery person most involved of all in explaining/confirming order. Carrots were fantastic. Sandwich had a dull, mayo slaw added to it...scraped that off. Meat was probably great as a BBQ entree...I personally like the hard crisp edges on my BBQ items...dont like to have them blended into my sandwich meat though...kinda like having toenails throughout the sandwich blend...know this from meat that was eaten with fork. So sandwich was left untouched. Numerouse food servers passed the table during the meal and if trained to watch tables could see the plate pushed away from me for the last 15 minutes I sat waiting for my ticket. So obviously, no dessert and coffee opportunity. (Guess the hotel cookie will have to do.) After asking for my ticket and its delivery, I was asked if I wanted the sandwich to go...no thanks...as an afterthought...my coat and hat are on at this point...something wrong with the sandwich? Left a 15% gratuity due to politeness and welcoming approach...plus shouldnt be punished due to lack of training on how to see and problem resolve. Returned to my hotel; asked by front desk staff (who sent me) about my experience; shared; apologized...have had like reports, but had hoped it wasnt an ongoing issue so had made recommendation due to commentary like youll see in all the other reviews. In a group, youll probably have a great time. Take note that you have several other choices in the immediate area though.

JE

Jeremy Hernandez

WCG is our special night out restaurant. Make sure you have a reservation and you arrive on time, I have never waited for my table longer than 30 seconds due to making a reservation. The lighting is a little dim, but they have lights over every table, so when you sit down to eat there is plenty of lighting. The atmosphere can be pretty loud when it gets busier in the evening, but it has never been too loud where I cant carry on a conversation. ON TO THE FOOD. We patronize this restaurant specifically because they have an entire menu specifically with Gluten Free options. The food is amazing and handled with extreme care to not cross contaminate any items. The ribs are by far the best value, while the steaks are small and the side portions are small as well. Dont let this shy you away from the steaks, they are AMAZING, but I am always looking for the best value. While making a reservation, I made a special request to pre-order the Soufflé with a candle in it for a birthday, and it was done without a hitch. I would recommend the White Chocolate Grill to anyone looking for a great night out. THE STAFF was extra courteous and friendly. Everyone was smiling and enjoying their night. Even our waitress (who was being trained) was professional and very good. All in all it was a great night and everything went smoothly. We will be going back again for sure.

A

A Private User

Not bad, but not great. My rating might be impacted by my anticipation to be blown away. The experience was just average. Host/Hostess: Not as warm/inviting as you would expect for what I would consider to be a upper-tier restaurant. It was almost cold. Waitor/Waitress: Great team effort, but it was odd to have 5-6 people come to your table during the course of the meal. Our "main" waitress was rarely there. And everyone says, "My pleasure". A nice touch I guess, but it was done at such a rate that made you feel like it is forced and non-genuine. Atmosphere: Dark & LOUD. Our waitress almost had to yell for us to hear her. Food: The balsamic rib-eye was really good. My fiance got the jambalaya, which was extremely salty and the rice was way overcooked (mushy). I was disappointed with the serving size of the steaks. The rib-eye was the largest at 12 oz, all others are 6.5 oz with an option for a 10 oz with a $5 up charge. Not a big deal I guess, but in Chicago Im used to decent sized steaks. Price: Not as expensive as I was expecting. Youre probably paying $15-$25 per plate, excluding drinks (which can always drive up a tab quickly). In General: I wouldnt object to returning, but Id prefer to check out other places before doing so.