The Grille on Laurel

The restaurant changed its name to MLG after the name of the owner for branding I guess? They don’t have any brand name vodkas and don’t serve their famous Brandy Alexanders with ice cream-​the experience should be about the customer so please buy a blender and make the Brandy Alexanders with the ice cream you have on the menu. In addition, you should have Titos or Grey Goose.
Food was ok

I love this place. Plain and simple. A Fantastic burger and great waitstaff. I would go back in a heartbeat to try other items.
Also it’s not obscenely loud or crazy and the vibe is very laid back which was exactly what we’re looking for.

Good food, horrible service. There were 5 of us. It was obviously a busy night, but that is never a good excuse to stay away from and avoid eye contact with the guests. ½-​an hour after ordering (and not seeing our server) we had to ask the host to go & find her. When she came we were told that there were 3 tickets ahead of us. No apologies, no manager. After 10 more minutes we demanded to see a manager, (who stopped by and offered us more chips)…and several minutes later – just at the point of walking out, our food arrived. Over an hour after we’d ordered. It was hot and freshly cooked, but by that time our appetites – and – attitudes, had dissolved into anger, and the quality of the food was lost on us.
There are so many better places to eat in the area. Never Go Here!!!

If my review was based on the ambiance and the beverage at this restaurant, it’d be a straight 5 stars. I even left my keys at the bar once, for a brief 30 seconds mind you, and I was able to go straight back and the bartender had placed it on reserve for me.
Drinks are expensive, over $ 10, but they are very good and refreshing. I don’t remember a minty drink ever tasting this good, and even crushed blueberries were included. Came with a nice coaster napkin that says enjoy the small things. Paired with the ambiance of this restaurant, what more could you ask for?
On to the entrees, tried their burgers, it was sub-​par. Tried their french onion soup, just OK. Their pizza, it was more like a flat bread mind you, was also only average. So really nothing on the menu stood out when you are looking at it, and nothing stood out when it came time to eat it.
The cutest thing is when it came time to check out, they put your check inside of a story book. Most innovative idea yet!
Come on a nice day and you can site outside, gorgeous outdoor seating. If the weather is cold, they do have outdoor heaters, but the Lake Forest winter will make those outdoor heaters seem nonexistent. Sitting on the outside smelling the fresh breeze of the lake nearby, makes me feel like I am close to the Mediterranean seaside.

It’s probably OK for drinks and appetizers, but not for a real meal. We were seated at a table in the bar. The manager was sitting at the bar working on the weeks staffing schedule. I felt like I was sitting in the middle of a pre-​shift meeting! We learned that unscheduled staff were being called to work via text, that bartenders need to save and store empty boxes starting today, blah de blah de blah. Our order of pasta, French onion soup and a salad took nearly an hour to get to our table. There are a lot of great places to tuck in and enjoy a bite to eat and drinks on a cold wet Saturday afternoon. Don’t waste your time and money here.

The ambiance is nice, drinks were good but food was terrible. I ordered a medium burger and it was so undercooked that it was cold. My colleague ordered a medium steak and it was well done. Plate was poorly put together. And it took over an hour for the food to come.

For a restaurant owned by a reality TV star who has renovated other restaurants and dressed down their chefs, his own place doesn’t meet his own standard. After complaining about the cobb salad (only 50% eaten) which had multiple black grimy spoiled lettuce, the waiter apologized and said they would take the salad off the bill… and I lost my appetite. Then the gruff manager comes over and asks what’s up, so I repeated my concern. When the check arrives, the salad was still charged. The waiter then came over and sheepishly said that the manager didn’t think anything was wrong with the salad — yet the manager didn’t even have the decency to come back to the table. This place needs to get its house in order. This is the second time I’ve had an issue at this restaurant (with my family in tow). Not only will we not go back, but we will be sure to tell all of our friends in Lake Forest as well.

Most of my reviews are not negative but the service at this place was the worst I’ve experienced in a long time. That’s my opinion but here are the facts: We had a reservation at 8pm. We were seated on time but our drink orders weren’t taken til 20 minutes after being seated. Our meal orders didn’t go in until 45 mins after being seated. Meal didn’t come out til 1hr & 10mins after being seated. The Assistant Manager stopped by and we addressed our concerns. He said the General Manager would stop by and to tell the General Manager about the service. The General Manager never stopped by. The quality of the food was not worth the hassle.

I do not often write reviews and in particular critical ones however I have been pulling for this place to work out for sooo flipping long I can’t imagine waiting more time (forget the money) here. This place continues to disappoint even with their new owner «The Profit.» We continue to hold out hope but the service consistently lacks, the food overall is frustratingly off point. Everyone in town is dying for this place to work out but getting tired of the wait. The only reason I have gone back time again is hope and my son likes the mac and cheese.
When we heard the ownership change we were hopeful and like the menu changes and chances. Unfortunately the food fell flat (and I mean flat) again several times times (save the mac and cheese). This summer the service was so terrible they set our food on a tray holder by the table and left. I laughed and served the table of 8. Our waitress came over 15 minutes later and said sorry for that and thanked us for serving ourselves. Over 3 hours we were only able to order 2 drinks because the staff was clueless and absent. We are a 4 – 6 round crowd. Lost opportunity in a town that can use another good restaurant.
Upshot, the bartender was great today. The food was OK. Perhaps an improvement, but I wanted to try a burger again and they were out of brioche buns… I did not trust either of the other options so just had the French Onion soup. It was fine while my son had the mac and cheese. Out of buns, I mean what is that? Every time there is something. At least this time the service was very good so I tipped well. Perhaps reduce the inventory to 4 solid appetizer, 4 solid salads, 4 solid entrees, and the brunch. More than that I don’t think this place is capable. Simplify the menu and the quality, stock, and service should improve. Then look to expand.
Great outdoor seating in the summer. Decent place for a drink. Very nice omelets, and good mac and cheese.

Brunch = blech. Slow service even when not busy, mediocre food especially for the price, food served differently from what was on the menu. Had to send back food. I’ve come for years and have continued to tolerate the subpar experience but had it with them this time.

My wife and I ate at The Grille the other night and was very disappointed… actually, if I was the owner of the The Grille, I would be embarrassed… the service was HORRIBLE… the girl at the front door say us down, then it took 20 minutes, yes, 20 minutes before someone introduced us and took our drink orders… there were more people working at the Grille than people taking order — COME ON OWNERS, get with it… we had to get up and ask the bartender to take our drink and food order. Then, we gave him our food order and we asked for fruit as a side order and instead one of the cooks come out and described the meal and included fries vs. fruit… this place need better training or have their ears cleaned out… having been born and lived in Lake Forest for some time, maybe we should stick with the Lantern or Left Bank hot dogs.

The patio and interior décor of the restaurant are defiantly a draw for me. The patio has wonderful/​beautiful heat torches to keep you warm if need while providing an intimate beauty. The bar area inside is hip and has a few TVs for viewing sports and on some nights live entertainment (although I have to comment the girl using the auto tune/​harmony machine that played while I was there needs to STOP using that machine and play a bit quieter)
The menu offers lots of variety from casual to upscale entrees making it easy for all tastes. I will say the service can be hit or miss. They don’t seem to assign the staff sections and have them running all over inside and out which is completely inefficient and at times hard to get your servers attention. But overall the place is a great option in the area.

My husband and I have been to The Grill on Laurel many times. We’ve always been pleased with the service. This evening, however, was disappointing. Eager to sample the new menu, we invited a few friends to join us for dinner. The food was good, better than before, but the service was lacking.
Once seated, we waited several minutes before anyone approached our table to offer us a drink. After our drinks arrived, we ordered dinner. Thirty minutes passed before my husband finally got out of his seat to ask for another drink. No one appeared to check on us. There were perhaps three seated tables besides ours inside the restaurant so we had a hard time figuring out why we felt ignored.
The food was the same or better but the service was terrible. We hope they work on staffing and training issues as well as the menu.

This review is based on a Sunday brunch buffet, so no comment on the service. The buffet offerings were high quality and a decent value. I enjoyed my time with my family here.

I came here for a private event
The staff and food was great — HOWEVER, I didn’t realize til after I paid that they added gratuity. Wish the waiter would of given me a heads up. But the manager I believe, left his personality somewhere else and made the event seem rushed.

The Grille recently made some tweaks to its menu and I think they really did a nice job. The food here was already good, but I think what they’ve done is do a really nice job updating the selection a little. Prices seem a TOUCH higher, but I think they’re still very reasonable for the amount of food you get. Additionally, the Grille now brings homemade chips to the table, which are really quite good. I had the Florence in the Spring flatbread pizza, which was absolutely wonderful — light but really satisfying and beautiful flavors. That’s a new offering and really a new favorite.
The Grille’s tweaks to the menu aren’t anything major, but are simply a really nice update. Again, the nice thing about the Grille is that — as restaurants go these days — it’s reasonably priced for what it is and I always go away considerably full.

I have to say that I’m a finicky eater, and the food is wonderful. This past visit I had the ahi tuna and it is better/​comparable to Sunda. Amazing food minus the drive and no valet, total score. Bread pudding must be ordered with vanilla ice cream and it’s enough to share with a few friends.

The Grille has awesome burgers at a very reasonable price, especially considering this is Lake Forest. I love that the burgers come on a pretzel bun which tastes so much better than a regular bun. We tried the Southwest burger with sweet potato fries and also had the linguine carbonara pasta. Both were better than I expected but the southwest burger has the edge because how can you beat bacon and caramelized onions on a pretzel bun? I thought the pasta was too one dimensional and too creamy for my taste (although the added pancetta was a real nice touch). I also tried some of the french onion soup which was very, very salty so beware if you’re on a low sodium diet or don’t like real salty stuff. Plus side though — lots and lots of onions!
And my last note — don’t forget to grab an Andes mint chocolate on your way out :)
Definitely wouldn’t be opposed to returning!

Great food, outstanding service and atmosphere. Bartender Deuce and server Nancy are awesome.
Marjorie Stroud performs here on Saturday nights from eight to eleven. If you like hearing music which will move you, Marjorie is one of the greatest pianist I’ve ever heard.
She has performed with Sammy Davis, Jr., the Staples Singers, Curtis Mayfield and so many more. She has lived in Dubai, Spain, Germany, Sweden, Holland and so many more places around the world. She’s been in several movies. She studied classical music for 17 years and played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her passion in life is to use her musical talent to put a smile on a persons face and bring joy to her surroundings.

C’mon people!!! 3.5 stars??? WTF this place rocks!!! If I went to Beverly Hills and I told someone, show me what Beverly Hills is all about, they would probably take me to Rodeo Drive. If someone told me to show them what Lake Forest is all about, I would take them to The Grille on Laurel. The people here are classy, and the food is delicious. Maryland does crab cakes and football, LF does classy people and delicious food.
Ashley and I came here one Friday night and had a drink in the bar. That’s when my ever wandering eyes found the «Late Night Bar Special» sign. After 9pm on Fri and Sat, they have $ 2 bar food! Mini burgers, buffalo chicken strips, BBQ Chicken pizza. My sixth sense is the ability to find cheap eats even in the most affluent communities.
The servers and bartenders are all really nice, there is live music in the bar at night, and the weekend brunch is out of this world good. Sunday brunch is $ 16/​person with everything you can think of, including a Prime Rib carving station. I’m not a prime rib fan, but my dad and brother in law went to town on it. Saturday brunch is only $ 8 and includes almost everything that the Sunday brunch includes, except the meat carving stations and other «lunch» designated foods (like pasta).
The Grille on Laurel also has a fish bowl of Andie’s mints (I spelled that wrong) when you walk out the door. What a nice little send-​off!