Axel's

12/20/08

Overpriced bad service

by ailajade

I have eaten at Axel's for dinner on two occasions and brunch once. The only reason I have gone more than once is that it is one of the only "nice" restaurants in the Southwest suburbs. The food is okay, nothing to rave about and something to complain about for the prices. The service on the brunch visit was horrendous. My husband and I had been biking in the area and wanted to sit outside. The patio is cute but we had to laugh and how ridiculously bad the service was. Again, the prices are high and the food was not worth it. Go to Na's Thai right next door if you really want a good meal for a lot less money!

• Cons: overpriced average food

08/03/07

Whole experience disappointing

by monicaberrier

When I saw the glass boots equipped with 5 Crayola crayons at my table, I should have walked away. Indeed, the place did have a rather upscale feel at first, but the waxed paper atop the white tablecloths intended to be scribbled on contradicted this. No matter, I thought, we're grownups here and we can resist the urge to deface our table. We shoved the crayons to the corner of the table and tried to ignore their brightly-colored presence. Well, the waitress, when she finally arrived, took care of the defacement of our clean white table by writing her name in large letters, upside down (which was supposed to be an impressive feat), and inviting us to do the same. The towels rather than napkins that wrapped the silverware also helped ruin the atmosphere of an otherwise elegant restaurant, as did the DJ prattle on the radio, and the persistently noisy crowd at the bar.

The food would prove to be disappointing as well. The appetizer we ordered had the appearance of long sitting under the warmer. Besides the tired appearance, the chicken was terribly overdone--dry and tough. Soup and salad were good, but nothing to write home about. My husband's entree, the prime rib, was not disastrous, but was quite average, surprising since the waitress indicated that it was their specialty. The vegetables that accompanied it were tired, greasy, and unappealingly sweet. My entree, on the other hand, was rather more a disaster. The pork-chop, supposed to be prepared medium, was overdone and tough. The hashbrowns were not just overdone, they were black. Burned to a crisp. Inedible.

Service was slow the entire night, and eventually we succumbed to the temptation of the crayons. After we were done eating and waiting for the check, my husband decided to leave and get a bottle of wine, for the liquor stores were closing. By the time he returned, our check had still not arrived!

Total package disappointing: ambiance, food, service. Not recommended for an elegant evening out.

• Pros: Lovely patio, nice artwork
• Cons: Service slow, ambiance felt self-contradictory, execution of food

07/05/07

Elegant yet not

by spaced2

I visited the Mendota's Axel's with family and must say that upon entering the establishment I was quite impressed, then we sat down. I found the towels (i.e. napkins) and the paper and crayons on the tables a bit kitsch. I order some sort of seafood with mashed potatoes which came out looking like a stew slopped with potatoes. I thought the menu was all over the place and really wasn't impressed.

• Pros: nice drinks
• Cons: unimpressive food