Looking over the menu can be a daunting task here, menu offerings range from sandwiches, burgers, ribs, shrimp, fresh fish, and many Asian inspired dishes. Our waitress arrives and since we’ve had ample time to look over the menu we decide to order right away. We decide on the spinach artichoke dip for an appetizer, Caesar salad and Jamaican Mojo salad, for dinner my wife gets the fish and chips while I try the shrimp adventure platter.
Our salads arrive first, but we realize we have no silverware; our waitress comes back with our silverware and then one minute later with our spinach dip. A little disorganized but not a huge deal. Before we can start eating our dinners arrive! We tell our server that we just received our other food and she asks us if we want her to put it under the heat lamp until we’re done! No, that is not what you offer guests after a mistake. We inform her we would like fresh food after we finish our salads and appetizers and that we would like to speak to a manager. The food was taken away but the manager never came. Back to the food, the dip was a nice creamy combination of spinach, artichoke hearts, and cheese. The dip had nice mellow flavor and were accompanied by warm tortilla chips. The Mojo salad was mixed greens, walnuts, and dried cranberries, all tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. The Caesar was traditional, creamy and well executed.
Our dinner now arrives at a more appropriate time and the first thing I want to see is if it’s lukewarm? Thankfully it is fresh. The fish and chips are a little different than the norm, it’s macadamia nut crusted mahi mahi instead of breaded cod. The coating had a nice crunch while the fish had a nice mellow flavor. Truth be told I think cod is better for fish and chips, but the dish was flavorful. Fries and coleslaw accompanied the fish and the fries were your garden variety restaurant fries, while the coleslaw was creamy but a little bland. My shrimp adventure consists of three varieties, coconut, fried, and teriyaki. All three are large and juicy with the coconut scoring best for presentation. They are skewered length wise and give a more dramatic look to the dish.
People who know me know that one of my biggest complaints is not having my drink refilled timely. It might sound silly but if I’m thirsty then I can’t enjoy my food as much. Our waitress only came around to check on us if I flagged her down, so needless to say my drink was empty often. The other problem of her being MIA most of the time is that when you bring the wrong drink (to my wife), it takes ten minutes to get it fixed.
For dessert my wife chooses the fudge walnut brownie and I decide on the apple blueberry cobbler. The desserts arrive and in all honesty are large enough to share. Two warm brownies are topped with walnuts, vanilla ice cream, and a mountain of whipped cream. Very rich and very good. My cobbler has large chunks of apple and small bits of blueberry, with a ginger bread like topping and vanilla ice cream. The apples had the right balance of firmness and tenderness, while the ginger topping added a nice spice to the dessert.
With tip the final bill came to $65. While the manager never came to our table he apparently did comp us $15(Actual bill then $50), we weren’t looking for a comp, we just wanted to let someone know about the situation. Overall “Elephant Bar” has a cool atmosphere and very good food but unfortunately the poor service here is the adventure. Rating ** out of ****.
Location
Elephant Bar Restaurant
308 Golf Mill Center
Niles, IL 60714
(847) 391-8823
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