Trademark Tavern

out of business as of 10÷7÷2013. Not sure how to report that to Unilocal.
They only made it a year. To bad because the drinks, burgers, and cheese curds were great!

Came here on a Friday lunch in March 2013. The wait staff just seemed way under par. The place looked slow… they must’ve been new to the restaurant service job. Moreover, we enjoyed the beer selection & sandwiches.

This place sucks!!! I suspect this place is going to end up shutting it’s doors soon, because several items listed on the menu were unavailable. I also noticed that they will no longer be open for lunch.
My friend tried to order a glass of wine, she was presented with a different wine list, in which the average price of each of the glasses of wine were 3 – 4 dollars more (except the Merlot, which was cheaper) Clearly marked on the menu are 2 dollar drafts and Absolut Mixers. (more on that later)
The Gf ordered a beer, and we literally watched the beer sit at the bar for nearly 20mins. Finally a bartender brought it over, and I asked somewhat in a somewhat rude manner if we could get some water (after asking our waiter 2 times).
This place has the potential of being an Awesome place. The front of the house lets them down. The Chef did make an appearance on the floor, and seemed to talk to every table, but ours, and seemed blissfully unaware that his Tavern was crashing down in the flames around him.
I strongly suggest that they revise their menu. I’ve now ordered 2 items that were missing items (I ordered a club, supposed to be on Texas toast, it came out on limp, boring white bread, and tonight, the burger was supposed to have cheese curds, and cheddar and bacon, There was no cheese curds. My gf, ordered a salad and this is the 2^nd time it was missing Blue Cheese, and Bacon. Not to mention that 2 of the several beers were unavailable).
Our water was never refilled, I was never offered any condiments for my fries, and our waiter would almost actively ignore our table.
When we received our bill, I noticed that I was charged 4.00 for my Absolut, thinking it was a mistake, I motioned for the waiter, I was like you over charged me for my drink. ‘Oh, the menu is wrong… It’s actually not on special’ At the risk of wasting another 20 mins of my time, I wasn’t going to fight with him, and we paid our check, having our tip reflect the level of service we received.
We won’t be going back. You should probably skip this place, and go to the Chik-​fil-​a next door. You’ll save your self about 50 bucks, and get better food.

I thought this was a nice restaurant. The food variety was large and fun. Not your normal pub food. This place had a large amount of seating and a lot of space. They had an outside seating area with umbrellas as well as a second with a fire pit for ambience.
The downfall seemed to be that our waiter was slightly disinterested. A party of 6 you would think if you put a little bit of extra effort into your job they would be nice to you.
Why is this place very empty feeling? This is the question I would like answered. We were there on a Saturday night for dinner and there were not a lot of other patrons. It worked out well that my group could watch whatever game they wanted but just a curiousity.

Went for a work-​sponsored Happy Hour so free food and booze were a-​flowing. The atmosphere is nice, but the service… BLEW CHUNKS. The waitress we had was so forgetful and slow… I literally had to go to the bar and ASK where my drink was — OMG I got there later than the group and was so thirsty… who should wait 15+ minutes for a Sprite? ARGH
Aside from the work group of about 45 there were maybe 5 other people in the place, and they had at least 3 waitresses… and it took 15 minutes to get one drink… and the refills… most of the appetizers were good, BUT I should have thought it through before ordering Sushi here… my bad. I was giddy with the seeming carte blanche budget and went nuts ordering everything… =)

*Disclaimer — this review only applies to the bar area as we did not venture in to the dining room.
A dear friend and I met for celebratory drinks here on a Wednesday night. If you are in to craft beers then Wednesday is THE night to go because it’s only $ 3 Craft Beer Drafts! You can’t go wrong with Allagash White Ale, Revolution’s Hibiscus Ale (I was wary but it was crisp & clean) & my favorite was the Moose Drool Brown Ale. That’s just to name of few of their selections; those were just the ones I liked the best.
Amid all the «cheers!» we thought we should at least try one food item so we shared the Chicken Quesedillas. They aren’t your typical quesadillas as the chicken was Ranchero Pulled Chicken so it was delightfully spicy. I could see it being too spicy for some who are used to the run-​of-​the-​mill variety. They have quite a nice variety on their menu, including sushi, which surprised me, so there’s something for everyone. And they have a flatbread pizza called the «Abe Froman»…which brought a huge smile to my face. If you don’t get the «Abe Froman» reference, shame on you! Look it up, because I’m not telling. ;-)
The service at the bar was great the entire time & we were there nearly 4 hours! The bar staff is quite knowledgeable if you have questions about the beers but I was luckily there with an expert so no outside advice was necessary. They also will pour you a little sample if you aren’t sure about a particular one, which was very nice, all you have to do is ask.
I liked the décor but I do have one gripe, which applies to so many recently rebuilt or remodeled bars & restaurants: that big vaulted ceiling looks really cool but it is horrible for acoustics. It was incredibly loud in there once things picked up & I couldn’t even hear the background music anymore. It is a big place so it would be suitable for larger gatherings, even in the big bar area.

Awesome place. Been there twice so far, can’t complain. It is very huge and the design of it is different and interesting. Very inviting. The food was delicious of course, I wouldn’t go someone a second time if it wasn’t worth it. Must check it out.
I think they have a private room for dinner there, like a small gathering.

Was not expecting much on my first visit to Trademark. I was very pleasantly surprised! The food is great, they have a pretty good beer list, and the service has been good. I also like the option of tater tots on the menu!
The enchiladas were good, but very salty, almost too salty for my taste. The flatbreads have been great, the sushi looks good, though I haven’t yet tried it, and the grilled cheese is a nice updated version. Be warned that the pork wings are really just ribs. Quite messy.
The «Trademark Champagne» has been fun to order. It’s a 40 oz of Miller High Life served with mini bottles –grenades– of High Life. Granted, High Life is awful, but it is entertaining to order and is only $ 15.
I’ve been to Trademark about a dozen times at this point, and I’m sure I will continue to go back.

This review is not for the food so keep that in mind.
We came in after work on a Friday to have a beverage before dinner. There weren’t many people in the place and we got seated right away. The interior is pretty nice — rustic and lots of sun coming through the windows. There’s a fireplace and a cozy-​looking seating area. I liked that.
We got our orders in quickly and service was decent. The server seemed to be fairly knowledgeable about the beer list. And the list is pretty lengthy so that is a good thing. They have rotating daily drink specials, too.
Not sure if we will try the food but I think on a cold winter day it will be a nice place to come and have a couple of drinks after a long day at the desk.

Trademark is one of my favorite places to eat in the Western Suburbs! Probably the best thing is that this is not another bar and grill chain establishment like TGI Friday’s. The owners, Matt and Mandy, really care about each guest and creating an amazing experience. I started coming during the football season to watch Bears games and I have been there over 10 times since writing the review.
The food is always really well done. I can never decide which appetizer to get; they have so many choices such as Reuben Egg Rolls or Cheese Curds that are not found on a typical menu. The nachos are some of the best I have had, especially with steak.
For entrees, the menu is a mix between traditional bar and grill type food (burgers, etc), sushi, and upscale (steak and fish). Pricing is very reasonable for the value here, no matter what you decide to order. They recently tripled the size of the menu so there is never a lack of options. I usually order a flatbread or the steak tacos. The Green Eggs and Ham flatbread in particular is highly recommended. It is something unique and reminds me of the comfort food I enjoyed in college.
Drink prices are modest, they have a great list of beers and there are several tables with a tap built in to the table. This makes it an excellent place to go to watch a game. The only weakness on the menu is that there are only 3 dessert options available, though this is not a big concern when I don’t usually order dessert.
The décor is modern and comfortable. It feels upscale with the hightops and the beautiful bar. There are several side rooms for private events and meetings if you speak with Mandy. I booked one for both my fantasy football and baseball drafts this year and plan to continue this trend. They have a lounge outside complete with a firepit if anyone in the party is a smoker. The little details are present such as clean bathrooms and a fireplace in the main dining room. There are TVs just about everywhere and the noise is never too loud as it often can be at a Buffalo Wild Wings. The servers are all very attentive; I recommend Elizabeth’s section as you will never worry about having your glass full. Another really nice feature is that Trademark is not overly crowded, though I expect it will be over time as it a relatively new spot!

They rolled out a new menu 2 days before we went on a Wednesday night, they shoulda kept rolling and so should have we, right past this place!
Let’s address the menu first. What a schizoid mess.
Sushi
Burgers
Traditional entrees (lemon chicken etc.)
Flatbreads
Did I mention sushi??? What a miss cue.
It seems like they took all of the popular restaurants in the area mashed their menus together and wanted to see if it would fly. It didn’t.
Oh boy, this place was an epic fail. Literally the worst meal that I have paid for in a full service restaurant in quite some time.
When we asked the waitress for advice on the menu she actually said she had no idea because it was a new menu. Okay, whatever. She did advise that the burgers were great. I never order burgers because they are 1000 calories plus the mac and cheese or french fries or whatever you eat with it.
So I ordered one, medium rare. What I received was a well done awful burger. Our server was so bad I didn’t even want to send it back so I ate ¼ and dug into the macaroni and cheese which was completely flavorless, paste like sauce, no joke.
$ 100 bucks plus with cocktails. Nothing we ordered seemed like we were getting any value for the price.
Why 2 stars then?
The buffalo calamari was good, kid of tangy and seemed to have some citrus nuances in the sauce. Oh yeah and the décor was nice.

This place was a huge disappointment. I appreciate good beers and was initially impressed by their decent (not great, but decent) selection of beers as well as their atmosphere. I really thought this could turn into a decent hangout spot. That is where the positive portion of the experience ends.
My office mates and I went here for a belated Christmas lunch and the experience was ridiculous. The hostess kept trying to force us to a table while they were slow and we were still waiting for 2 members of our party. Once seated it took 10 minutes for the waitress to take our drink order and another 15 for her to bring the drinks. Mind you, she had about 4 tables. 10 minutes after we got our drinks, she finally took our food order. The food not only took 40 minutes at lunchtime, during the week, in an area that is primarily all offices, but then our waitress dropped a sandwich belonging to one of my coworkers. She wiped it off and almost placed it back on the plate while we looked on in horror! She seemed to get the hint and brought a new sandwich, but that was pretty scary.
The food was so-​so. The corned beef on the rueben was undercooked and leathery. The waitress never brought the glass of water I asked for 5 times either.
In short, I’m never going back. It was okay for a meal that work paid for, but I wouldn’t give them a dime of my own money.

I liked this place so much I’m trying to plan when to return, and it better be soon!!!
I bought one of those living social groupon-​type things. I forgot where I got it but it wasn’t from either I just mentioned but the service covers the sw burbs and I paid $ 20 for a $ 40 deal and let’s just say it was hard to get to $ 40 for two people, although we didn’t order alcohol, otherwise it would have been easier.
But, for the sake of this review, let’s start with the alcohol… extensive beer list and let me just say I LOVE that some of the tables there have the tap AT the table, as ours did. The drink menu looked divine as well… so, next time… booze for sure!!! The atmosphere here is casual, yet classy and it’s bigger than it looks from outside.
For food, we ordered the fried cheese curds which weren’t your culvers-​type deal, they weren’t the wisconsin-​type either, they were lightly breaded and well, just fabulous!!! I forgot to mention on this particular night, the sushi chef was out so we couldn’t order sushi which was fine by me because that wasn’t getting ordered by us. Instead, my friend ordered the beet salad and I ordered the buffalo chicken flatbread. Both were very tasty, no complaints here. Since we had some extra money to spend we got dessert, and we ordered the bananas maki, as I always like to chow down on what’s «different» on the menu. And after all that we STILL had to spend some money so my friend brought home a dessert for her daughter (the donut sticks) and I got a side of mac and cheese to eat for lunch the next day.
Great experience here, and yes… I’ll be back, hopefully soon!!!

Despite being located on Butterfield Rd., it’s actually hard to find Trademark Tavern. The red cursive logo on black doesn’t draw attention to itself. But keep an eye out for this place, as it has a lot to offer. (It’s just east of Chik-​Fil-​A.)
When my wife and I visited at noon on Saturday, at a time when the Yorktown Mall lot was packed, there was hardly anyone here. We couldn’t tell if Trademark was open or not until the revolving door let us in.
You know how a current trend is for some women to spend a lot of time and make-​up, in hopes of appearing «naturally beautiful»? I feel that way about Trademark’s décor. From the cathedral ceiling to the dark and unpolished wood flooring to the slate rock columns, it’s easy on the eyes in a rustic and natural way. It’s clean and welcoming. There is ample space between tables, and several rooms for private parties accented with tasteful décor.
There are TVs, but they’re placed in such a way that you can watch them if you want and ignore them if you don’t. The bathrooms are bordering on elegant, if that’s possible. The urinals have walls between them. Walls, guys; walls! You usually don’t see that level of decency at a place that sells cans of PBR and Schlitz.
The one feature that does stand out is on the back wall, where four special booths reside. Each booth has two beer taps attached to the wall. And yes, they work. Our server Carlyn informed us that patrons get charged by the ounce while sitting at those booths. You want 17.7 ounces of beer? Have at it! Be warned, though; booths don’t have the same two taps. Craft beers and cheap beers are interspersed. Along with Coors Light or Miller Lite, you’ll see Two Brothers, Blue Moon, Fat Tire… and Moose Drool, which the menu says has a rating of 96. (Ninety-​six points for a beer called «Moose Drool»? Insert punch line.)
Neither of us wanted an adult beverage, though we did enjoy reading the entire menu for spelling errors. It’s been a while since I’ve seen that many misspellings and grammatical errors on a menu that wasn’t from an Asian restaurant. It’s a minor bit a sloppiness in Trademark’s presentation.
When asked of their more popular dishes, Carlyn mentioned steak tacos, burgers, mac and cheese, nachos and flatbread pizza. We split our entrees: steak tacos with mac and cheese, and a burger with gruyère and a veggie medley.
The steak tacos were fantastic, as in «the stuff of fantasy.» A joy from the first bite. The steak was tender, succulent and smokily flavorful. A generous amount of tomato, with cheese and avocado, sat perched in the perfectly-​prepared tortillas. They didn’t need the tomatillo sauce that came on the side. The tacos will be my go-​to entrée and first suggestion for anyone making their maiden voyage here. I’ could go for another taco right now! However, the mac and cheese was a bit disappointing. While it was fun stretching the mildly-​sharp cheese nearly two feet while grabbing a mouthful, the taste was just okay to me, making me wish I had ordered the fries instead.
The better side dish was the veggie medley. Though it didn’t come with red and green peppers as promised, the sliced zucchini, squash, carrots and onion were sauteed in garlic and olive oil, and my fork kept finding its way to the plate.
Before our meal, Carlyn brought us two small cups of ketchup and one cup of mustard. We didn’t get fries, so why the ketchup? Because the burger was very dry, that’s why.
There are a lot of gourmet burgers out there; Trademark is near DMK, Weber Grill and Tom & Eddie’s, with other fancy on-​a-​bun places in the general area. But this burger didn’t measure up. The burger meat was more well done than we asked, on a thin patty, without much flavor. The bun was dry, bordering on stale. The lettuce, tomato and onion were somewhat sparse, and the gruyère slice was barely thicker than the dollar bill it cost. For eleven dollars (including the side dish), the burger was the low-​light of the lunch. It was edible but lacking in bang for the buck.
With the offer of free wings (with beer purchase) during Bears games, twice-​a-​month live band karaōke, and a grilled cheese that contains tomato and pesto (yum) on the menu, I’ll want to return soon. But it’ll be hard to stray from the steak tacos. For a place that’s easy to miss, the tacos are a can’t-miss treat. Go now before everybody starts getting them, along with a few ounces of Moose Drool at your peril.

We went there yesterday evening for a private party, and ended up sitting in their «Chef’s Room» which, was very nice. It was a perfect setting for the event that we were hosting. Additionally, the waitress was very attentive, and the food was excellent.
However, there were several flaws. The drinks and shots were extremely over priced, they were not able to serve my friend two of the items he requested because ‘they ran out,’ and despite the 600.00 dollars we spent, they couldn’t honor more than one coupon per table. What kind of customer service is that?
My recommendation? I would stray away from the drinks and stick to the food. If we were to ever go back here, it’s not going to be for a very long time.

There are many, many sports bars/​upscale gastropub-​type places along Butterfield and the surrounding Lombard/​Oak Brook/​Downers Grove area, but I think Trademark is now my favorite.
We’ve been back multiple times and it never fails to impress. The staff has worked out the kinks and the food is really delicious and well-​done. They take familiar food and give it an unusual or interesting twist.
For instance, the aforementioned nachos are deliciously addictive, and the steak is just perfect. You can’t stop eating them. Also recommended from the appetizers: the reuben rolls and the fried cheese curds.
The burgers are perfectly cooked, the fries just right, the flatbreads delicious, and so forth. I was sad to see the banh mi is no longer on the menu (bring it back for spring, guys!) but my new amazement is the steak salad, with fresh veggies, jalapeño-​lime vinaigrette I wanted to drink and perfectly cooked and seasoned slices of steak.
Fantastic food, good service, nice beer selection — we need to keep coming back here so I can try everything on the menu.

Let’s just talk about the important things in life: Beer and burgers.
Beer: Trademark has a great craft beer selection. They have really decent choices for bottles and have several rotating taps as well. I had a hard time choosing which is an impressive feat.
Burgers: I’m going to go against what I usually say and give accolades to the regular old egg bun. It was perfect. The burger was also cooked exactly how I ordered it, the cheeses were amazing and melty and delicious (habenero jack and bleu cheese), and the fried egg wasn’t too drippy and messy. The only thing I could complain about was the bacon. Undercooked and thin with lots of fat. Blech. Otherwise, not a bad burger at all.
For those of you who care about service, it was okay. It was pretty slow in there so the sense of urgency wasn’t very high. I was able to snag samples of the beers on tap before finalizing my decision which was a nice bonus. As for the ambiance, it is totally like walking in to a West Elm catalog. Truly. It’s a little fancy for a ‘tavern’, but it still has tvs for the sports fan. (If you ask for them to turn off the crappy gossip news show that currently plays, that is.) Overall, not a bad looking or tasting joint.

Service was good, food was good although I thought their menu was limited in terms of total number of items. Dining area is spacious and inviting. Prices weren’t bad at all. I would go back and would recommend it to others.

SO this place is really cool looking but it was seriously lacking!
The tapper tables are a nice touch but our tapper was all foam the whole time!
The service is great and everyone is really nice but the food was just ok at best.
The sushi was a little fishy and the green beans were just plain GROSS.
As far as martinis and mixed drinks… probably the WEAKEST drinks I have ever had and at $ 10 a pop I will not be going back here unless of course they do a complete overhaul!

PATHETIC… that’s the only word I can apply to Trademark.
I ordered the wood plank salmon special. Received the food, both the ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes and four asparagus were cold to the touch and the salmon itself was only luke warm. The server took it back and had the kitchen remake the entire dish. Round 2 consisted of hot sides and what I thought was properly cooked salmon. Until I got close to the center of it. ICE COLD and still NOT COOKED.
Fast forward to a manager coming over and assuring me that whatever I order will be great. Fine, order the steak medallions cooked medium. Entrée arrived and the first one was cooked perfectly. Great I thought, finally I can actually eat something. Manager comes by, I give thumbs up. All is good. Until I start on the second medallion. RARE & COLD! Check the final medallion, same thing… I swear it was pretty much raw.
I am surprised the inept kitchen staff hasn’t been shut down by the health department by now. Clearly they have no idea how to cook food correctly and sending out raw & under cooked is a major concern.
For a place that I originally gave high marks to, they really hit rock bottom. If they keep this pace, they will most likely be shut down soon.
Don’t even ask why they have a live band playing… Well, you could ask, but no one would be able to hear you. Acoustics are not this places strong suit.
So bottom line, avoid this place at all costs. It’s a shame, I used to enjoy this place a lot and even had a birthday celebration here. But never again and will make sure to warn everyone about Trademark. There are way better options out there!