Chessie's Restaurant

Awesome lunch in the train car. Ordered the open-faced steak sandwich and it was just the right size for lunch. My BIL had the New England Clam Chowder and said it was the best he's ever tasted. A few cute shops were in the same building.

I was hungry and so excited to try this restaurant out that's in a old train located inside a small rural mall located in Barrington. You will not believe how fast the food came out and how disappointing it tasted. I think the cheese curds were probably the most thing we did enjoy. My steak sandwich didn't mention that it was an open face steak sandwich. So when I asked the waitress so oh no they forgot your bread. What ever sauce they put in the steak actually was greasy and over power the taste of the meat. As hungry as I was I couldn't finish my meal. I am not saying don't waste your time going here I'm just saying for 79.00 you be better off finding somewhere else to get your taste buds filled.

Review: We decided to have Thanksgiving dinner with our family at this location, priced at $55 per person for the buffet. Unfortunately, the experience did not match the cost. The buffet setup was very basic—just a few tables pushed together with chafing dishes, with no real presentation or festive feel. For the price, we expected something more polished or at least visually appealing. The food selection was minimal and most items were only warm, not hot. The menu consisted of corn, broccoli casserole, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, cinnamon rolls, stuffing, shredded turkey (which was odd to see on a holiday buffet), and a few other items. The cold station included shrimp, a fruit tray, salad, and mozzarella with tomatoes—again, very basic with no presentation. There was a carving station with prime rib and sliced turkey, but the presence of shredded turkey elsewhere seemed strange and out of place for a Thanksgiving meal. The biggest disappointment was the dessert bar. It offered only a few cookies and small desserts—no pies of any kind, which you would absolutely expect for a Thanksgiving buffet. Overall, for $55 a person, this buffet did not come close to being worth the price. A range of $25–$30 per person would have been much more reasonable for what was offered.

The atmosphere was festive. The rail car was beautifully decorated for Christmas. I had crab cakes that came with a fresh pineapple salsa and they were great! My friends also enjoyed their meals.

I would 100% recommend this for a holiday festive feel aboard an actual vintage 1920s train car.

Had Thanksgiving dinner here. The service is stellar! Very attentive and they remember what drink you are having for refill. Amazing! The food was delicious, so of course I overate! A+++ simply the best!

Was influenced by tiktok to book a Christmas dinner for family and friends and was quite disappointed. Drinks were lackluster, Manhattan was cloudy, and pours were so light that modifications couldn't be distinguished between a dark rum or vodka variant of the same drink. Furthermore, there were mulyiple instances where we were waiting to get refills and resorted to walking to the bar ourselves from a loss of patience. Dinner service had terrible pacing, with half the party receiving their meals a solid 10 minutes before the second half, and notice that the kitchen had run out of ingredients for some of the parties food wasn't given until the second half were receiving their meals, leading to another 10 minute wait for the last meal to arrive. Lastly, the food itself was overly salted, especially the chicken picatta and penne tuscan.

Ribs are good. Salmon good. Chocolate mousse dessert excellent. Chaotic, overwhelmed staff kind of a negative. Ordered an app never got it...realized after I left. Not sure if I paid or not only presented with cc receipt...not sure its worth a return trip.

It was a great experience dining and loved the ambiance too. I went for dinner with family from out of town who had all sort of different food requests and the server was knowledgeable and accosted us really well. The food was delicious and the service was impeccable . I was very pleasantly surprised when I walked in inside. I normally love the whole in the wall places as well but since I was taking family from out of town, I was hoping that my food be served in proper dinner plates/bowls, etc and on a proper white cloth table. The look of the restaurant from outside was deceiving for sure.

So we went on st Patrick day. This place is so cute all the fun decorations. They had a guy playing music and a dance floor. We did have reservations. The food fantastic service was great. We had the Ruben egg roll, salad, onion soup, cream chicken soup , burger, corned beef , mahi mahi, chicken piccata , a strawberry shortcake and the chocolate tower. And leftover the next day was delicious. All of us enjoyed everything we had. Always like going here.

Things started off nicely then went downhill from there. We enjoyed our dining experience the first time we came here so we decided to go a second time. Before we were served, we asked if we can split checks. The waiter said he can only split the bill into 2 bills, not the 4 we wanted (there were 8 of us). I then asked to then just separated my family bill from the rest. Service - good, food - good. Then came time to pay the bill and it came as one. Now, last time we were here as a party of 6, the waitress had no issue splitting the bill 3 ways. When we asked about the split, they replied they can't do it. They went from splitting it 2 ways to none at all. Then the attitude came from the waitstaff after my friend mentioned this was just a lazy way of inconveniencing customers. Their answer: Well, you don't have to come back. After my wife said we were going to put this in a review, the hostess decided to chime in by saying "we don't care what you write, just leave". Which we did and why I'm here writing this. I'm hoping the owner reads this and corrects/trains the staff on how to treat customers and review policies. Why they can accommodate check splitting on one occasion and not on another and then giving customers attitude about it is something that needs to be corrected immediately . I hope customers also read this and decide to go elsewhere. Based on previous negative reviews on Chessies, seems like the owner doesn't care much about customers either. Never again.

The Ice House Mall is absolutely amazing. Chessie's anchors the west side of the mall and Sundial Brewing and Blending anchors the other end of the mall. The chocolate mousse tower is amazing find. It is beautifully decorated, with a dark & white chocolate exterior and decadent mousse filling the interior of the chocolate shell. Miriam was so kind to help me with the menu. It did not disappoint. Thank you!!

The place has not been updated in decades. It even still smells like cigarette smoke. The drinks are ok, and the food was fine, but nothing to write home about. Server was nice, and everything was pretty quick.

The food and service was great. Definitely a fun atmosphere eating in a train car. I will definitely go back!

OH MY GOSH! I didn't realize Chessies was still around. I used to go there a LONG TIME ago. It is still adorable with the rail road dining car atmosphere. I have been back a few times recently and love the food and atmosphere. They have an amazing reuben sandwich and their fries are delish. I had the roast beef and brie sandwich the other day! YUM YUM YUM! There menu is varied and nicely priced. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures. The mousse tower for dessert is "to die for" I'm glad I have rediscovered Chessie's Restaurant

Great service, comfort American food. I had a fine steak one night, a gourmet burger another time. Fabulous cocktails. Love this place.

When we happen to be around Barrington at mealtime, Chessie's has been our go-to. I'm a railfan and I particularly enjoy dining in their railroad car, which long ago operated on what is today the Metra Electric. Most recently, we had lunch here with a group and I experienced their banquet service for the first time. The brusque and scowling servers performed as though they would much rather be someplace else. They strived to keep service at the barest minimum. I had to request a glass of water 3 times. Refill the bread basket? This also took 3 requests. A decent house salad was served first. My entrée (one of three pre-ordered choices) was London broil. Diners should have been asked their preference for doneness - all portions were served well-done. Now, I can understand diners disliking slabs of red meat that all but say, "Moo!" but no, no, no, London broil should NEVER be cooked past medium-rare! Only the mushroom gravy made this dried-out gnaw palatable. The accompanying garlic mashed potatoes were actually the best thing on the plate.

July 4th decorations were up, so that was cute. It was HOT, I didn't think about a train car without air conditioning. We went for our anniversary dinner. Food was so-so, salad didn't even come with bread (never seen that before=disappointed) Hubby and I were disappointed with our food. It's a nice one-time experience for people who like trains, but we won't go back.

Kitschy Barrington standby - eating in the train care is unique but the restaurant is a bit tired overall. Service was excellent. The menu a tad boring but prices were fair. The burger was solid and the fries were decent. The wings were about average. The diet soda was somewhat flat - as if the bartenders pours a few glasses ahead of time and the waitstaff picks up glasses that have been sitting awhile. Like a watered down soda. We were hungry and they had open tables. So it was fine but not memorable. We probably wouldn't eat here again unless we were entertaining a train buff. It's too bad because the location is decent.

Food was all good, served hot and in good pacing from app to soup to entrée. Loved dining in the train car and seeing everything decorated for the holidays. 1st timer and will be back for sure!

There was a musty smell walking in but not present in the restaurant. Very cute concept decorated Very nicely. We had 2 tables of 10 with a server at each table. Great friendly service. The food was pricey. I really wanted an entree but over $30 is unaffordable for me. I had the Prime Rib Sandwich which was excellent. Their Homemade Chis were also excellent. Others near me ordered the Steak Sandwich which they also thought was great. I would like to return for their Friday only Fish Fry and sit in one of the train cars.

My hubby has been going here for 40+ years and I've joined him for the last 22! We love their food and the service is always great! There's more formal seating in the "train car" and more casual in the bar, which is nice too! They always decorate wonderfully got any holidays too!

Service was slow and unfriendly. This is a family restaurant and I feel like they turned their nose up to the fact we had kids with us. Food was only OKAY for the high pricing. I probably won't be back.

One of our favorite places to eat at. The burgers are so juicy and delicious and usually our go to. We love the fried shrimp too. They have a great breading and taste so fresh. Also, you have to save room for dessert because they have so many yummy options.

I have never been there but went today. Service was very slow. My sister & I ordered the same thing she got fries and I got cole slaw. One rang up a dollar more. Also I asked for a liitle bbq sauce and someone else asked for 2 sauces with her chicken fingers. Well without being told we were charged $2.00 more for that. Waited forever to get a dessert that was ordered but the bill came quickly. Not very busy. Not impressed with my first time there.

My friend and I were strolling the Ice House Mall in Barrington, and came across this rather interesting eatery / barroom designed around an old train car from yesteryear. We decided to stop in for lunch, and though the train car was quaint and favored by other guests, we chose to be seated in the bar as it had a more pleasing atmosphere to us. Our server was kind, but one of us received the wrong sandwich, which seemed improbable to the deliverer (huh(???). We did get the replacement, but agreed that we prefer an open faced rueben, and the flavor did not have Vienna's standards. The plus was that there was no fat AND the onion brick was NOT greasy, but crunchy and tasty! The wedge salad was crispy and served as expected. But why did we sit waiting for the check, long after our take home containers were delivered to the table by the same server? There were a few other customers, albeit nothing much to attend to otherwise. I abhor rIsing my arm for attention , but did't want to walk over which seemed even ruder. No notice! I enjoyed the ambiance, and would like to return again, but wonder why service and detail is not so important at too many establishments anymore.

Good food in a cool environment. Was surprised they were not more crowded on a Saturday night. Nothing on the menu jumped out, but all the dishes I tried were good.

Thanksgiving Buffet: Pass Turkey dry, stuffing wayyy to Salty, no sweet potatoes/yams. $55 too high for what was offered. Great service, thanks Lily. Definitely not the Chessies of yore.

Broiled fish was very good. Waiter was fun, sharp interactive with our group. The place was "hopping" with pre-gamers for the high school football game.

I've never had a bad experience at Chessie's. From the fun of dining inside a train car to the good food and service, I have no complaints! If you've never eaten at Chessie's, it's definitely worth trying. Request a table in the train car for the full experience and so you can say you've eaten there!

I had chicken fettuccine, my wife baby back ribs. I also had the potato soup. They were just ok. The service was good, the setting very good. I did like the old train dining car. It's OK if you are in the area but I personally would not drive a long way to get there.

Tasty, American-style food, and an adorable passenger train car in which to enjoy! Service was spot-on for an early Saturday afternoon. Should I be up in Barrington again, I'd definitely stop here (back of the Ice House Mall.)

The drinks and food were very good. But we were surprised to see how young the bartender looked. She had long dark hair which she kept fiddling with. She finally got it in a ponytail, but she never washed her hands. Who wants a lime squeezed into their drink by someone who had just been running their hands through their hair? Not me! Also, this little girl payed way more attention to men than she did to female customers. It was difficult to get her attention when we wanted new drinks. I'd still go back to Chessie's though. It's the best place around when I'm in Barrington to visit my relatives. My family goes there all the time.

Broccoli bites and chicken fingers with their mustard sauces are wonderful. Service and ambiance in old train car make it a must destination.

Service below average. Told server we had allergy and served the item anyway. Food was meh.

Chessie's always decorates so nicely for Christmas. We had a table of 6 and were seated in the raised dining room of the restaurant. Its nice but not as festive and cozy as the lounge area but that part only has 2 and 4 tops. We ordered the chicken with fettuccine is was very good. My friends had the sweet potato crusted salmon and steak. They were happy with their choices. The food came out fast and hot. When we asked the servers for horseradish sauce and boxes they forgot. The restaurant was about 1/2 full on a Saturday night. The menu is a much smaller placemat version of years past. But quite a few good choices. Few vegetarian options but a lot of chicken, shrimp and steak options. Good amaretto sour and choice of medium priced wines. I would recommend especially around the holidays.

A classic since I was a kid. great deals Wednesday 1/2 price pasta and bottles of wine. is it as good as it was with the old owners...not 100, but its warm, welcoming and has a great menu. walleye special with capers was great....great for parties and the ambience of the train car is awesome. come in and get cozy. they got rid of the fire place in the bar....bummer.....

Place is full of water damage and moldy smell No music or energy We went on Saturday night no one was dining there Prime was chewy They give you no background on the train car Just look like a mall and restaurant that was probably hopping. 20 years ago but their time has passed

If I could give this place multiple zero stars, I would but I do not have that option. What was supposed to be a beautiful event for my second daughter celebrating an upcoming birth of a baby turned into a nightmare! Despite previous assurances from the owner and the manager about an uneventful and perfect event it turned out to be quite the opposite. The tables were not arranged as requested. I'd intentionally grouped people by table (ahead of time) to make the event more comfortable for my guests. When I asked for the manager to correct it, he wouldn't. Instead he argued that the total number of chairs was right. Not the point. I was busy with other tasks and my daughter mentioned that the entrees didn't seem right. By  the time I could look, several guests had already served themselves food. What we ordered: Chicken Genovese (light lemon sauce and artichokes), london broil, strawberry salmon salad, penne with marinara, sliced chicken, and chopped salad. What we actually got: Pesto chicken, Beef with peppers and onions, salmon salad drowning in dressing with no strawberries, buttered noodles, more sliced pesto chicken, and a garden salad with no dressing at all. All food was supposed to be served to the guests from the buffet by servers due to COVID-19. No buffet servers showed up. The owner claimed that on the day of our party, the chef and buffet servers didn't come in to work. In order not to create a scene, I let things play out as they may but needless to say I was extremely disappointed. And more disappointed when I got the bill which was almost TWICE the cost between our share and our in-laws to what was initially agreed upon. When I asked to speak to the owner, Eleanor Nelson, I was told she was out of town. There was no reach out by this owner despite the fact that she allegedly received 5 phone calls from her manager, on the Saturday event when there was a problem. When I tried to speak to her about the bill on the phone she became dismissive, aggressive, rude, confrontational &  extremely unprofessional and non-customer oriented and said there was nothing they could do for me. I have never ever left a negative review on anything however I feel like this is warranted and not only with the venue but the disrespectful behavior displayed by the owner of this restaurant. This was our third event at Chessies and It will definitely be our last!  I would recommend caution with hosting your events with this restaurant. I only wish I was forewarned. Sent from my iPhone

Service was excellent, food was tasty, and so very nicely decorated for the Holidays.

Went to Chessie's last night with my husband. Wanted a quiet dinner out together. We ate on the train car of course. It was very nice. Great service. good food. Nice dinner. Don't go here if you want something trendy and exciting. I had the the seafood combo of shrimp and scallops with pasta. Delicious. Hubby had fish and said it was very good.

We sat at the bar, that is amazingly decorated for the holidays!! We had the calamari and filet kabobs... both sooo delicious! We had some fun Christmas drinks that were delicious and pretty strong :). Then we had 2 desserts the moose tower and apple pie a la mode.... Yummmmm!!! And the staff was all super friendly, and Armando the bartender was fabulous! 5 stars all the way around for us! We will be back!

Food is just okay. Not what it used to be. Back in the day, this spot was the best thing in town. Now i wouldnt recommend it. Nice staff tho so i will give it a 2 instead of a 1 due to my water remaining filled!

Great ambiance. Really felt like I was sitting in a classy train! Totally recommend the herb chicken dish and Chessie's salad! Also service was great, they were able to make me the drink that I request! Will be back again!

Wanted somewhere to go for a festive holiday dinner. The couple we were going with recommended this place, even though they hadn't been there in a while. It fit the bill. Sitting in the train car is just so fun and the decorations were amazing. The food was very good and our server was very accommodating. All in all this made for a very fun and enjoyable holiday dinner. The crab dip special was delicious!

Looks upscale from the outside and setup, but not so much with the menu. It's like going to a $$$$ restaurant to order a burger and fries: kinda defeats the purpose. In any case, adorable! The reuben was one of the best I have had (I consider it in competition with Brandt's which remains my favorite above all others in the Chicago area). My guy and I truly enjoyed the calamari starter and the honey mustard sauce for the tenders was, as he put it, out of this world. The chips and fries had what I presume to be season salt on them and we're scrumptious. The creme brulee was good but the lava cake was entirely forgettable. I wish they sold them separately so we could avoid the cake in the future and just get two creme brulee without spending $16 for two small servings. Would absolutely come again but will select more casual clothing this time for myself.

Had not been here in years because I moved out of the area but it's one of my sister's favorite places so I met her there for dinner. Broccoli crab bites are as tasty as ever. Sad to see that the crab sandwich with sprouts is no longer on the menu. We both ordered the daily special - full slab of ribs - which was $15. Great deal. Lots of great tasting food for an amazing price. Nice atmosphere. Great service. I need to have dinner here more often.

Chessies has went downhill over the past couple of years. Portion sizes smaller. If you're food costs are higher, just raise the prices more. Also service from the bar was rude. You can find better places in Barrington.

I went here for the first time with a large meetup social group last Thursday. I was in awe of the beautiful Christmas decorations and venue as a whole! There are multiple rooms, one of them is shaped like a boxcar of a train. Our group was in the atrium area that had tables for us to sit if we wished. Since this was a large social group, the venue was perfect because there was ample room to stand or sit depending on a person's preference. I explored the back which had one of the coziest sweet lounges beautifully decorated for the holidays which I have ever seen! I did not eat dinner here but did have a vegetable quesadilla. It was around $9 dollars, large portion and delicious! A friend ordered chicken satay appetizer and it looked so delicious! Have to try that next time. I love this place but live about 50 minutes away. If I lived closer I would come here every week.

The atmosphere was great but the train car room was a little stuffy. The clam chowder soup was excellent but the fried fish was just ok. Our daughter loved their bread. We had the all you can eat fish fry. The baked was better then the fried, which was way too greasy, and we can handle a lot of grease.

Really cute restaurant in the Ice House Mall. I love how cozy and beautifully decorated it is. Plus, having seating within the train car for guests is such an awesome touch. This also happens to be one of the few restaurants open for dinner on a Monday night in Barrington. Unfortunately, many of the entrees are overpriced but they do make a decent burger and french onion soup.

Best restaurant I've been to in a while. Great and quick service. Wonderful staff. The hostess made me feel very welcome. Clean environment. Had the most amazing bartender, I believe her name was Amanda. And the food was absolutely incredible.

My wife and I went to Flesk for drinks, ordered food from Chessie because that is where the bartender recommended. Placed our phone order in and went to pick up the order. While bringing the order back to the brewery, we had no napkins, no utensils, and the order was wrong. Steak sandwich was not a steak sandwich. It was steak on a piece of bread. Steak was good if that is what I ordered, but it was definitely not a sandwich.

Brutal.. been 2x... really too bad. Location and atmosphere are ok... food is just meh, if that

Burger was really really good. I was surprised to find this placed tucked in their little corner behind Jewel. Will go back again.

It appears that Chessie's is under new management or may just not have completely come back from the pandemic. They still have a disappointing, small menu. I ordered a tuna melt and got chicken salad on a croissant. When I called the error to their attention, they quickly got a tuna melt to me. However, most tuna melts come open face with (2) slices of bread as in "sandwich". I received (1) slice of bread and the bread was barely grilled. I have had much better tuna melts at other places. I have always loved Chessie's so I hope they get it together and rise to the level they used to be.

Delicious food. We had the prime rib sandwich. It was excellent. The decor was a little out dated but we came for the food and that was great. We didn't eat in the train car because it was too hot. But that's a cute set up.