Grotto

We had a private event here and the food, service, room, was perfect! I have not dined here in the restaurant so I can only speak for the venue for our event. I’ve heard they are closed now, but not sure if that is true. Hmmm…

I’ve been here a few times and the food is always very good. It’s a great dinning atmosphere and I don’t remember ever having a problem with the service. I was at the bar on Friday and wow was it bad. The DJ was awful and I mean AWFUL. He played random 90s awful dance music (or so it seemed) and the songs I did recognize I haven’t heard since Night at the Roxbury. Bartender and waitress was great. I know it’s an older crowd but I would not recommend anyone under 40 going to hang out at the bar.
The restaurant, I have never had a bad experience.

The Grotto steakhouse. I like this place. I went on a Saturday night and waited for a friend at the bar. The service here is top notch. The drinks made to perfection.
Dinner was magnificent. Desserts scrumptious. Not terribly crowded for a Saturday night so I didn’t have that feeling of being rushed through dinner. I recommend grotto for any occasion and they are family friendly.

I’ve never had a bad meal, drink or appetizer choice. You can’t go wrong choosing Grotto Steakhouse. All of the staff is extremely courteous! ^_^
If looking for a cheaper route in trying the food, stop in for lunch. They offer a lunch package that includes soup/​salad, entrée (quite a few to pick from) and dessert.
4÷8÷2013

This place had nothing original to offer …

The service: We were often left needing things (e.g., bread, utensils, requested beverages). They also brought out our dinner meals without having cleared other plates and appetizer items. Some of the worst service I’ve experienced. The place wasn’t even packed, let along busy, and we were still not tended to.
The food: The oysters were small, stuffed mushrooms were okay, and chicken parm was not memorable.
The atmosphere: This is probably the highlight… very nice ombiance inside. But the poor service and food are not good enough to return for the grotto feel.

Nothing about this place was better than ordinary except for the expansive patio overlooking a scenic man made lake. Even the chairs were cheap,
K-​Mart outdoor variety, that were too low for the tables — very awkward to sit in.
Service was ordinary — you got the attitude that there were 100 other things she’d rather be doing. In fact when I ordered a 2^nd glass of white wine she brought it to me filled with ICE and then looked surprised when I said that I didn’t order it that way.
Appetizers were meh (Fried Calamari and Melrose Peppers), our entrees were fair, we had 6 people in our party so they ranged from steak to fish to risotto — nothing was bad but nothing stood out either — just ordinary.
Dessert included Tiramisu and Cannoli and was consistent with the rest of the meal. The excitement heated up when a DJ started playing music around 10ish… it was entertaining just watching the unusual crowd that assembled. Quite a show!
The Grotto wasn’t disappointing to me because I had marginal expectations after reading reviews and hearing about experiences our friends have had. If you’re looking for a nice al fresco dining experience and lackluster food and service give it a try.

I have adored this place from the beginning. there are a TON of steak houses and restaurants in this immediate area, but this place is SO worth the wait/​cost/​etc
Great service, excellent food (I have tried salads, steaks, fish, pasta, burgers, chicken) all were out of this world.
win win win

I’m happy to make this an even 100 reviews. After reading mostly negative reviews, I still went with an open mind. So glad I did.
Walking in, we were promptly greeted, seated, given ice water, and shortly met our server, Brian. We were seated in a booth, but the tables for 4 are bigger than the tables for 4 at most other restaurants. There is a separate banquet area and a couple of private rooms for smaller parties. There are tables in the bar and an outdoor patio.
Maybe things don’t run as smoothly when it is more crowded, but our service was wonderful. Bread is served hot, but since it is already cut into slices, it does not stay hot for long.
We overheard another server tell her table that there were specials, not that that would have changed our entrée selection. Also, some entrees come with a choice of soup or salad, again, never having eaten here previously, knowing that and being offered that option would have been nice.
We found the pricing on par with other comparable Italian restaurants, so no issues with that.
Next time, and there will be a next time, I will save room for dessert.

Came in last minute at night. Porions are lifesize and it would take a day to finish. We had the seared tuna and the Bucatini All’Amatriciana which were both pretty good. It was so much food we just didnt have room for desert.

Seafood salad and steamed asparagus with lemon and chili flakes makes a perfect meal!
We met friends who live in the western suburbs here.
Free parking in the shopping center lot.
I enjoyed the food very much!
If they ask us to join them here again, I’ll not object.
I recommend this place if you’re meeting someone who lives out here or you’re in the neighborhood. Otherwise, it’s not worth a special trip, but it is very good.

Nice, big place but was not very busy on the weekend. We came with a
certificate. Wife had a steak salad, and I had Italian style pork chops. They were decent. The Italian style comes with a vinegary broth and red and yellow peppers, and the tanginess is nicely offset by the pork meat and potato wedge sides. It was a nice dish. The bread was not very fresh. Service was good. Good to try but probably will not be back without enticement.

The food is akways great, from the steaks to chicken to the eggplant parmesian. The desserts are made in houses and are as big as the entrées.
UPDATE: Upon seeing our review the manager sent us a gift card. That is good customer service. I’d up them too 4 ½ stars.

Food is overpriced. Servers are snobbish. Drinks are terrible.
It was my friend’s birthday, and he thought it would be a great idea to go to Cheesecake Factory at 7:00 p.m. on a Saturday. What an idiot. After learning the wait would be 2 hours, another friend suggested Grotto.
We were seated in a large conference room area, because that was the only table that could accomodate us. The waitress made it a point to tell us that it usually costs thousands of dollars for that room, but we could sit there.
The salmon entrée was pathetic portion-​wise. Our martinis were awful: they were too strong and overpriced. I will not return or recommend for any occasion.

Grotto is a great steakhouse all around. I’d say the food is very ‘traditional steakhouse’, nothing too crazy, but all done very well. The wine selection is good as well. The service has always been great too. On top of that, the tables are actually spaced appropriately. Many restaurants today try to squeeze every last table in, Grotto keeps tables an appropriate distance apart.
They also have a great bar area where they often have live performances, as well as a great outdoor patio overlooking a man made pond with a fountain.
The chocolate chip cheesecake is made in house and is the best I’ve ever had. I’ve had many family members and friends try it and all have agreed and been left wanting more. Don’t even bother getting it with the chocolate sauce and whip cream, just get it plain, it’s more than enough like this!

Went to the Grotto on Saturday, we (Adam & Janet & Lisa & I) got there a little early for our 6:00 reservation and the place was pretty empty. We always like to go earlier on Weekends so that we can make the experience last (and get good seats) We requested a booth and it was a good size for the four of us. We were there for about 2 ½ hours (place was packed when we left) and were comfortable and cozy the whole time.
The service was terrific, the waitress was attentive and we didn’t lack for anything. The four of us split two appetizers, the Baked Clams and the special; Baked Artichoke… both of them were delicious.
Adam and I both had the special; Lemon Chicken soup. I was surprised that it was a cream soup (don’t know why I was surprised… I guess that I was just assuming a broth style) The flavors were subtle and the soup was absolutely wonderful. Lisa and Janet had the house salad… there are chick peas in the house salad (or do you call them garbanzo beans?)
We all shared a side of creamed spinach that was quite tasty.
For dinner I was jonesing for some pasta, so I had the 8 finger Cavatelli with Sausage. The vodka sauce was delicious, my only regret is that my teenager discovered the leftovers in the fridge and decided that he thought it was delicious too (If only I had hidden it!)
Lisa had the Shrimp Scampi, She really enjoyed it but wasn’t overwhelmed when it came time for the leftovers at home, maybe it just doesn’t reheat well.
Adam ordered three Lamb Chops (they’re small) and shared bites with all of us. It was cooked perfectly and while I’ve been saying for years that I don’t like Lamb… this was delectable.
Janet had the «Cowboy» steak, which is a Bone-​in Rib Eye, it looked to be done perfectly and she thoroughly enjoyed it.
For desert we (meaning everyone but me) shared a piece of Carrot Cake (the only Carrot Cake I’ve ever truly enjoyed was the one at my wedding… and it had the unfair advantage of emotion and champagne) They all LOVED the carrot cake and there was plenty left to split it and have both couples take a big piece home… even the teenager couldn’t finish that piece off!

This place has a kind of classy décor to it. I have been a couple times for lunch and it’s ok. The prices are not too bad for a decent lunch. They have sandwiches and burgers as well. I’ve heard good things about their veggie sandwich with eggplant.
I’ve been here with a big group of about 30 people for a goodbye party and the service was ok. But this was lunch so it was pretty straight and simple, and we were out of there.

I don’t know, I guess since my hubby and I barely go out to eat anymore for dinner at nice restaurants, I guess I always hope to be blown away by food since going out is such a rare occasion. Maybe I am too cynical now and expect perfection since as a consumer, I am paying for it.
ANYWAY… this place, one word, average. Service was good. He refilled drinks on a very timely matter, so that was great. Food took longer to come out though. I ordered the special for the night, the Halibut. It was so so, I definitely have had better especially for the $ 35 price tag it had on it. My hubby ordered the chicken piccata. He said it was pretty good as well. They are on
and I paid $ 2 for a $ 25 gift certificate, so because of that it was a good deal. If I had another certificate, I would come again.

The grotto…
I wasn’t really impressed with this place.
We came here during Lent for my boyfriend’s work party, and we couldn’t have any meat. All we could really order was the broccoli cheese pasta. Why was there no fish choices?
Even still, the pasta was very bland…
I’ve had better vegetarian dishes than this… c’mon now!
The only things that saved this review from 1 star was their minestrone and the dessert! The soup was excellent, loaded with a lot of veggies. The dessert was slices of cheesecake and chocolate cakes which were very rich.
To sum up my meal at the grotto…
Minestrone was superb. Salad was mediocre. Entre was bland. Dessert was wonderful!
Would I come back? Not unless it were free…

I’ve been to Grotto before, but this visit left me wondering why.
I had reservations to celebrate Valentine’s Day with the misses. They sat us in the bar. Really? There was ample seating available in the dining room, but OK, we’ll see. I ordered the bruschetta as an appetizer. The tomato/​vinaigrette mixture was great, but the bread tasted stale.
She had a salad with the dressing on the side. It arrived soaked in dressing. She only ate a bit of the salad.
My steak was cooked perfectly and the loaded baked potato was fantastic. I would give four stars for the meal except for the seating and the poor food quality in the appetizers/​salad.
For $ 150, I expect more. The service was great and the wine tasted wonderful. With the other steak houses in the area, I might not return.