Grotto Oak Brook

My wife booked us a table for my birthday. For this type of restaurant, I have to say that the dining experience was awful. From the service, the food and the manager. First of all, the waiter took our drink order but my wife was still deciding so when he brought me my drink, he never asked her for hers. Next another waiter comes to our table and asks if we would like a bread basket so we accepted. Next the original waiter comes back to take our order... still he didn't ask my wife about her drink as mine was 1/2 way. He leaves to place the order and our water is almost depleted. Still no bread. After about 30 minutes, the waiter returns with the salad AND entree at the same time. He crams it all onto the table and left us with no drinks and almost deleted water. Still no bread!! Sitting the and deciding if we should eat the salad first and let our entree get cold... that's a tough one. So we managed to make the best of it. The waiter comes by and fills our water but doesn't ask about our drinks. So we ate dinner and washed it down with water as that was all that was available for us. Still no bread. Finally at the end of the dinner, the waiter comes by and asks us if we needed drinks. TOO LATE!! Then another waiter comes by and brings the bread basket AFTER we were done with dinner. TOO LATE!! Could they have been under staffed... maybe but here's the kicker... the table adjacent to us has 3 wait staff fussing over them at the same time while we waited. They got fresh cracked pepper, we had to use the stuff in the shaker. Now normally I never complain but this experience was so bad that I just had to. So I met the manager on our way out and told him of this experience. As apologetic as he was, he offered us NOTHING except hoping that we return. This manager was young, cocky and obviously a textbook manager as he applied no real world experience... because he has none. He only tactic to get us to return was pleading and promising us excellent service. In my opinion, a voucher for a free meal would have enticed us to return but again, he offered us NOTHING. By the way, the food was just mediocre and regular; nothing special. I make a more tasty steak at home. I don't say this because I'm pissed, I say this because it's a fact. I asked my wife to try the Chicken Vesuvio in comparison to mine, she said hands down mine is better. So my advice is to stay away from this place. Again this was all brought up to the textbook manager and he offered us nothing. I would give the Grotto NO STARS if could but unfortunately I cannot post this without giving it at least 1 star. That sucks too because they don't deserve it! more

I have been to Grotto three different times now. Once for lunch, once for Dinner, and once late night with... more

I have been to Grotto three different times now. Once for lunch, once for Dinner, and once late night with friends for drinks and appetizer. Lun... more

Today was beautiful, so we chose to sit outside on the deck. It's too bad our view was just of the road. The bread to start our meal was not very fresh, so it didn't really matter that there were only a few meager slices in the basket. Our waiter seemed like he was on autopilot going through his ""recommendations"" for us. He could use some acting skills, because he didn't sound convincing at all. After giving us a rundown of the menu, he disappeared for over ten minutes before coming to take our orders. We decided to split a grilled vegetable sandwich and an order of grilled calamari. The waiter was nice enough to split our sandwich onto two plates and split the fries, pickle and coleslaw as well. The grilled veggie sandwich was delicious, with lots of eggplant, roasted peppers, squash, portabella, and just enough herbed chevre for a nice taste. I didn't even mind that the bread on the bottom was soggy from veggie juices because it still tasted great. Our fries too, were excellent. I usually prefer thicker wedge fries, but although these were thinner and crispier, they were very fresh and just lightly salted. The coleslaw, however, was disappointing, not even up to dining hall standards and too sweet. Our grilled calamari was overcooked, very chewy and bordering on rubbery. The light bbq sauce it was grilled in though, was very tasty. I would order this again and hope that it is cooked a bit better. Overall, the menu here is nice, nothing that I haven't eaten before, but some dishes at least are well prepared. It is a good choice for on my way to shop at Oakbrook. Next time though, I might have to stop by Labriola, a bakery and cafe in the same plaza. It looked and smelled heavenly as I walked by! Pros: Grilled veggie sandwich, Fries, Large patio Cons: Bad bread, Overcooked calamari, No view more

I recently went to Grotto in Oakbrook to check out the Sunday Brunch. The restaurant itself was beautifully decorated throughout and the staff was very friendly upon arrival. The brunch buffet was filled with many great dishes and lots of choices! Some favorites were the italian style salmon, eggs benedict and the made to order omelette. Excellent variety, my server even told me that the pastries were made by their own pastry chef. Definitely worth the experience. more