The Grill on the Alley

The bartender needs to be replaced. The guy (with a beard), was terrible. Being a Starwood platinum member, I have had the opportunity to spend time at a lot of lobby restaurants and bars and this was quite bad when it came to bartender service — poor attitude, attentiveness and service time.
Went over to The Drake instead and had amazing service.

Amazing service! Heidi was awesome, very friendly and attentive. I ordered the Kobe burger and the chefs dessert. The food was good, but the service is what made the experience so enjoyable. Awesome job, hire more people like Heidi. Will definitely recommend this place to others.

Boy is it awkward to post a review on their breakfast when its clear that they’re bread and butter is dinner fare.
In any case, I’ve been on a a search for my favorite corned beef hash in the Chicagoland area. And I must saw, their take is… Interesting.
Not your typical mashed up version of soggy meat and diced potatoes. This version is chopped and every piece of corned beef is quite juicy and tasty. Was a little salty, so the poached eggs and sourdough toast were good for balance.
Price was what I’d expect from this type of place and service was great.
Giving a four star review just to stay neutral since the place is currently rated at 3.5.

Great food. We had the lump crab cake as an appetizer and it was wonderful. The lemon drop martini was the best I have ever had. I had the petite New York steak and it was cooked to perfection. Bridgett was our waitress and we appreciated her humor and suggestions for our meal. She is a great person to represent this restaurant.

My family and I were staying at the Westin while in Chicago for a family wedding. We get in on a Wednesday afternoon and have a bog group come to this restaurant at 7 pm. There were barely any people in the place. The service was absolutely horrible. People at our table didn’t get their food until the rest of us were finished. They didn’t refill our drinks, would take them away and not bring them back. After nicely complaining all they offered was 1 free dessert for all 12 of us. The two people who’s food came late was cold, and they had to eat while everyone else finished. I will never go to this restaurant ever again. If i could give it 0 stars i would.

I ate here with two regulars who live in the neighborhood and love both the food and the service. They could not stop talking about it and their impressions rang true as we ate and enjoyed the splendid camaraderie with the wait staff.
I had a lunch special of Blackened Sea Scallop Salad, which is not on the menu, but was absolutely excellent. They had gazpacho soup which I regretted not ordering after the nonstop stream of superlative culinary descriptions that ensued. They also ordered a Caesar Salad and a Shrimp Cocktail that had shrimp so large that he was unable to finish it and took it home in a doggie box.
We didn’t get dessert but they both raved over the Chocolate Brownie that comes with ice cream and is HUGE.
I would come back here without hesitation and give it my highest recommendation!

Good food, good service with prices you’d expect in a hotel restaurant. We’ve had breakfast, lunch and dinner there over the years and have always been satisfied.

If you’re looking for the perfect location for a group reception and dinner somewhere near Michigan Avenue in Chicago, this is the place. For the second year in a row, Dennis Neuzil and the staff at The Grill on the Alley — Chicago helped me entertain a group of 25 people last week. Terrific service, great appetizers, wonderful entrée’s all make this a very special place. Next time I need to organize a dinner event in Chicago I’ll call them first.

We had a large party reservation for a birthday here. Upon entering our seating area the table setting was warm and inviting. Drinks were a bit pricy but tasty. I ordered the filet with sautéed spinach which was phenomenal. The Brussel sprouts were equally as good. The loaded Mac and cheese tasted as if it came out of the box.
The most disappointing aspect was the service towards the end of the meal. The staff seemed as if they were in a rush to get us out the door and bothered by our request to split checks.
The grill was OK at best. Can’t say that I’d return unless someone else was footing the bill. The service really killed my impression of the restaurant.

It was Ok. Service great. Came for breakfast and i just think its more like a dinning place, te service was fine and fast, but the eggs and the pancake i could just have made better at my house. Th place is very nice and elegant but deff for evening and more elegant ocation.

I feel like not too many people actually go to this place even though I have only had good experiences here. I tend to go for lunch so perhaps dinner time is busier. For lunch they have a great menu selection and it is easy to get a table in which ever area of the dining room you want. The special salmon burger I had last time was delicious. My only critique is that it is quite pricey.

Very pretentious, overpriced, and pushy with the recommendations. I think we got two or three suggestions every time the waiter came over. He seemed more concerned with what extra he could sell versus how we were doing.

Three stars here is about right. This place is nothing special, but does well at maintaining good service all while serving decent food. I’d recommend this place more so for a few drinks and a game; leave the food to somewhere down the street.

I went here for restaurant week with my best friend. The waitress was attentive to our needs and the service was good. We did the prefixe menu which was $ 44 dollars. The lobster bisque was good. I had the scallop and creamed spinach on the side and tres leches for desserts. My best friend had the same soup with cowboy ribeye with a side of mash potatoes along with the same desserts. We both got sick so we won’t be going back to this restaurant.

We were looking for a nice steakhouse to end our trip to Chicago. The Grill was really solid! We both got filet, mine was a little better than my girlfriends. Hers was a little fatty and wasn’t as tasty as mine. I felt bad but still enjoyed mine.
I got a wedge salad which was great! She had lobster bisque which was tasty but had no lobster which usually makes a bisque over the top. Our drinks were good. Our sides mashed potato and creamed spinach were very good.
The waitress was very nice and helpful. Overall really enjoyed the meal!

I’ve been lots of restaurants before and never ever leave a negative review. But this time I’m really upset. I ordered the scallop salad and all the scallops are overcooked. They are in a dark black hard cover and taste sour and awful… I asked for changing a new dish the attitude of the sever was good. but the new dish looks like they just wash the scallops and cut off the overcooked part and recook it again…

Started off with the lobster salad which was good, only one decent size piece of lobster with small pieces strewn about. Found a great buy on the wine list, it was a Howell Mountain 2007 Cabernet for $ 112 which I thought was great. See picture. Kids got the Mac n cheese and cheeseburger sliders which were both good. For dinner my wife and I split the big filet which they split for us on two plates which was nice. Got the truffle butter on top and a side of creamed spinach and mushrooms. Shrooms were baby bells which were good but the spinach was cold and just decent. My father in law said that the lamb chops were the best he ever had. Only negative was that it was super expensive.

The oysters tasted so old and bad that I didn’t finish them. That’s never happened to me before… I am obsessed with oysters and I would never leave an oyster unless it tasted really gross. They were so shelly I was worried I would get sick from eating so many little prices of shell! The oysters were so disappointing. It’s weird bc they took so long to bring them out. They must have had no one in the kitchen with shucking experience. They reminded me of that one time I tried to shuck my own oysters: awful.
My caesar salad was depressing: lettuce was brown and you could tell it was definitely not freshly cut. Dressing was not a catastrophe. Maybe even good. I just can’t remember anything but those horrible oysters. The worst oysters I’ve ever had, hands down.
Our server was snobby at first and then creepily nice…
The best part was the bread and olive tapenade that they bring to the table. However, this is not a good enough reason to go back. My sister and I will probably not be trying this place again any time soon unfortunately.

I’ve been to The Grill on the Alley a couple of times and I’ve always found the food and service to be sufficient.
Food
— Filet Steak Salad: is a decent size and they don’t skimp on the steak, which is definitely a plus. However, the taste of the salad doesn’t really sync up with the cost of this salad.
— Chicken Pot Pie: is a speciality of The Grill and it is definitely worth a try.
While I’ve never had a bad experience at The Grill on the Alley, I wouldn’t say this place is a must try (especially when you are in the downtown/​River North area).

just a quick drink while we were waiting for our group to join us.
Service was quick, Drink were stiff.
Menu looks good, we just decided to eat somewhere else.