Andy & Jane
Google
For those dining at Wildfire, we've never had a bad meal. On the patio, in the bar, in the regular dining area. Idk what it is specifically, but from a customer's perspective, Wildfire Glenview is well-run because their staff has great teamwork and professionalism that isn't everywhere you go.
For those planning a private dining event, this was our very positive experience. TL/DR: food, staff, room, planning were all good.
EVENT PLANNING & COMMUNICATIONS:
The event planning managers are responsive via email. We only communicated thru emails because it's easier to keep track of discussions, menus, table arrangements, the contract, etc. We also paid the deposit online for the event/private dining in the Patriot Room making things convenient.
FOOD:
On the day of our event, the food was great. Bison meatballs, chopped salad, salmon and chicken moreno, mashed potatoes, broccoli with lemon vinaigrette, chocolate cake, key lime pie. I worried that the salmon and chicken might be dry, but it was all for nothing. They were juicy and flavorful.
Kids under 12 y.o. ordered from the kids menu. Depending on the number of children at an event, Wildfire may want the kids' menu selections ahead of time, or order on the day of upon arrival.
We received praise about the menu for which we cannot take credit. Our compliments to everyone in the kitchen.
STAFF:
We appreciated the timing and attention to detail by Dani (event manager), Ramses (server), and our two other servers. Everyone was helpful, thoughtful, and professional. Ramses took initiative to discuss with me how I wanted the timing of the meals and if there were any other things they should know about or leave time for.
PRIVATE DINING ROOMS, specifically, the PATRIOT ROOM:
Regarding the Patriot Room itself, this room seats up to 60, and has windows along one of the walls, making this my favorite of the private dining rooms. Wildfire has the dark and rich interior of many steakhouses, yet there is some natural light in this particular room to brighten up the room for a lunchtime event.
ACCESSIBILITY:
There are two stairs to enter the Patriot Room directly. There is a ramp that connects thru a different room to the Patriot Room if that is a concern for any guests (e.g., wheelchairs, strollers, carts).
TABLE ARRANGEMENTS:
While you cannot remove any tables/chairs from the room, you can arrange them how you want, so long as there's space for the staff to serve and clear tables safely and for guests.
We had ~40 guests including our photographer. We made use of every table because we had tables for guests to dine, some for decorations (flower arrangements, desserts, and birthday signs), and some for kids activities.
There is a TV and credenza in the Patriot Room. We did not use the TV. We placed some signs, goody bags, and party favors on the credenza.
Because of the space we had and kids' ages, we arranged for two kids' tables for eating. Kids 3 y.o. and under sat at their parents' tables.
And two tables were set aside (with only chairs and no place settings) for kids' activities, which we brought from home.
SET-UP TIME:
We had sufficient time to set up for the event, which I appreciated. Many venues give you 15-30 minutes to decorate/set-up. Our reservation for the Patriot Room was from 11am-3pm. The length of set up/decorating time depends on when your guests arrive; to give ourselves time to set up and take family photos before their arrival, ours arrived at noon. There is a strict end time to the private dining events that is reasonable and expected.
NOTE: you cannot stick/attach/drape any decorations on their walls or drapes. This rule is clear from the beginning on their contract and we have no problems with this rule. We prepared table-top decorations for our event.
We’re happy with how the event was executed and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or host a future event here.
Thank you to Wildfire Glenview and the team that made our event come together.
