Eric T.
Yelp
Fabulous waitress, tasty food, and great patio ambiance were simply NOT enough to let go of the feeling of being taken advantage of.
It started with the reservations. If you want to make a reservation, you must pay a refundable deposit of $60, PLUS a $2.25 service charge for using their website with an explanation that this fee helps them maintain the reservation site. Uhmm, WHAT?! How do other places manage to take reservations via Yelp, Open Table, Resy, or other systems without charging the user a mandatory fee?!
Ok not a great start, so hopefully the food and ambiance will be the redemption. Well, the food and dessert tasted great (especially the $22 burger), and the outdoor patio was cozy, and lively. The issues however did not stop :(. While our waitress was EXCEPTIONAL, the food server who brought the food to our table was not, because he kept tossing, YES tossing the plates onto the metal table in front of each diner. We first noticed this with the table next to us, and they tried to nervously laugh it off like it was the kitschy thing specific to Guildhall, but No, this guy was slamming food in front of everyone he served... many noticed this, but no one said anything so as not to cause an issue.
The prices were high, but I guess that is acceptable for the North Shore location. Although, the $12 guacamole with like 10 tortilla chips and 2 tablespoons of guac, or a small bowl of shishito peppers for $16 was quite excessive. Then when we got the bill, on top of the added 1% Glencoe tax, we noticed that a mandatory "3% health and wellness surcharge has been added to each guest check to ensure benefits for all our valued full time team members." Uhmm, WHAT again?! Why not start adding upcharges for the sanitation services, or for the water that washes the silverware, or for the electrician who works on the restaurant? Why stop here? I mean, we are already paying $2.25 for the reservation website, the additional 1% to Glencoe, and now a 3% for workers' benefits... let's keep going?
Look, I understand that many places suffered during Covid, but many also made due with carry outs and delivery services and thrived. So the old "we are recovering Covid losses" adage does not work anymore, and taking advantage of the goodness of patrons is a sure way to earn these kinds of negative impressions and reviews. By the way, regular people are hurting too, and coming out for an occasional dinner out should not require a loan officer or a grief counselor ;).
Bottom line, I would NOT go back and based on this restaurant's treatment of its customers (numerous upcharges and added fees, high prices for dishes that simply are not worth it, and poor table service) I would NOT recommend anyone hurry to try this place out... sorry Guildhall, but you need to change quite a few things or risk losing business once your "North Shore" crowd grows tired of your taking advantage of them.