Fondue Stube

If you are going to go get fondue then I highly recommend going to fondue stube!!! Their cheddar cheese fondue is some of the best

Fondue here is not recommended at all. You will leave this place with a very strong stinky smell of kitchen oil. Cheap meat (specially the chicken) and expensive. US$ 280 for a party of 4. Gejas is 10x better and you will spend the same. Melting Pot is 5x better and you will spend half of it. Gejas and melting pot you will cook the meet with boiling water which does not make you suffer smelling oil during the entire dinner.

I bought a Groupon for a date night with my boyfriend. I have been wanting to try out a fondue spot for a while, and this seemed like the most affordable option given the Groupon. We each ordered the Sinfonia Eroica. I wasn’t particularly impressed with the food. It wasn’t terrible but not memorable either. For the price the portion size was small. The actual portion itself is fine — you probably won’t leave hungry. But for $ 33 each it feels slightly overpriced. The ambiance is simple and cute for a date. The staff was friendly and fast. It was a fun experience, but not something I feel compelled to do again. The Groupon wasn’t really a deal either (I paid $ 25 for $ 50 worth food). Food+one pop+tax+tip+what I already paid for the Groupon= about $ 10 total savings. Definitely my fault for not doing my research before buying the Groupon, but just a heads up. Yes, this was a multi-​course meal, but it still seemed a little expensive. Again, the experience was cool though.

I am a huge fan of Fondue Stube! This cute little fondue restaurant has been around for more than 30 years, and offers appetizers, entrees, cheese fondues, class styles, soybean oil fondues, and even ‘Fondue Unlimited’ evenings! I’ve tried their Cheddar Cheese Fondue (an aged, mild cheddar mixed with Swiss cheese, mixed in with a bit of Kirschwasser) — this option comes with traditional French bread and cubed apple slices. You can also opt to add fresh vegetables slices for a surcharge. I’ve also gone for their AYCE Beef option, which comes with cubed sirloin beef, fresh veggies, and four of the house’s special sauces. I love how Fondue Stube does not lessen the quality of the sirloin beef, as each cube is fresh and not too fatty! Their sauces are quite addicting as well, so don’t be shy in asking for more! Service here is friendly, too, and parking is plentiful off of Peterson. The owners were about to close the restaurant for retirement, but because of such a strong fan following and the urging for them to continue to stay open, they are staying put! Check this place out!
+yummy fondue!
+Fondue Unlimited: Tues & Thurs: Chicken/​Fish/​Scallops; Wed: Beef
+coupon available
+reservations accepted
+free parking off of Peterson

Overall, I would say this place is very over priced for what you get if you go without a groupon. The cheese fondue comes only with some old bread and Apple slices. I got the seafood as my entrée and it was good, as was the fudge fondue dessert, but nothing special. The service was good, but we were also one of two tables in the restaurant. They did, however, play the Star Wars soundtrack the whole time we were there… since when is that considered classical music? With some type of coupon it makes for a descent fondue meal as long as you are not expecting Melting Pot, I enjoyed it but probably won’t return.

The atmosphere is very charming in this location. It’s very cozy. It’s decent. The sauces that came with meat were not so good. I like that they offer to refill veggies with cheese or meat course. The broth for the meat portion was very delicious. Service was nice. Prices are a tad too high for what you get. I don’t think it holds a candle to Gejas. Not sure I would make the trip back, it was very mediocre at best.

Food was ok. Expensive for the amount of food you get. Friendly staff. The owner was present. Fun experience

Went here last night on a date with my husband and the experience was perfect. The waiter
Ricky was attentive, friendly as could be and very polite. The Cheese appetizer was perfect and the all you can eat fish and chicken was fresh and tasty. Ricky offered additional sauces that are not on the menu. The Thai sauce should be on the menu ! It went perfect with the chicken. Thanks for a great dinner and experience we will be back.

Overall, a lovely fondue experience, better than Geja’s in quality and quantity, in my opinion.
Here’s the thing. I see reviews touting slow service and the fact that the patrons were there for hours. That’s how fondue works, my friends. It is an experience, not just a meal where food is ready to go in front of you. It’s a 3 or 4 course meal. You have to think of it that way.
I came in with a girlfriend to celebrate her new home. We had 7:30 reservations on a Thursday but arrived closer to 7. There were plenty of open tables, and we were seated right away, although I will comment that the hostess (owner?) seemed to be in a bad mood and annoyed that we were early. If the restaurant had been busy we would’ve happily waited for our reservation time.
The crotchety hostess was the only damper to our evening. Maybe she was just having an off day?
We ordered one cheddar fondue, one «unlimited» Thursday special (tilapia, chicken, and scallops) and one full order of the beef, thinking we would share. We even expressed this to our server, who had absolutely no problem with it whatsoever.
I liked the old school vibe of the three dressings, tableside, to choose. My bestie loves to dip everything, so having all three dressings to choose from was great!
The cheese was delicious. I missed it not being prepared tableside (as The Melting Pot does,) but did think that the flavors were better developed (no chunks of raw garlic or shallot.)
The entrée course was great — and the veggies are unlimited. I like that they cut the potatoes thin, you can throw them in the oil and let them cook for as long as you’d like. The beef was tender and the portion was much bigger than I expected having read other reviews.
The quality of all of the meat and seafood was definitely fresh. Everything was great.
Their sauces are on-​point as well. I only tried the curry, steak sauce, and bearnaise, and I could’ve bathed in them all. Our server was happy to bring extra bearnaise and curry, as I mentioned my girl loves to dip.
I was too full for dessert but it is a nice touch that they offer chocolate fondue «for 1.»
We definitely plan to return. We’ve been friends since we were 5 and a few times a year treat ourselves to a fancy night out. Fondue Stube makes the list!

We did not have a good experience in this restaraunt. The hostess was rude and I was very surprised, considering the price of the food. The place was dead and they didn’t seem very happy to have customers. Our server was good but he was the only one .
We ordered bread and several dips fot an appetizer. We were still eating when one of the employees ran up to the table, grabbed the sauces and the bread and fled. I kindly asked to have the food back and they brought the dipping save in a tiny to — go container. This place is a joke. Food is horrible, will never compare to real fondue. Atmosphere is horrible. Will never come back and would not recommend it to anyone.

There’s nothin to say bad really. The customer service was great. The fondue was good with nice proportions and good pricing. The only thing bad I could say is I wish their was a way to drain the oil from the meat after its cooked so your plate won’t be oily. Other then that I would recommend.

Absolutely wonderful! We are just finishing our 3 course meal and it was fabulous. I’m just not a big fan of the sauces with the beef amd chicken, but they offer a variety to try. The milk chocolate desert was the best and we loved the awsome and attentive staff. Thanks for making our anniversary a great experience!

Bought the Groupon and took a date with me on a Saturday Night. Services was quick and the food was tasty. I liked how the atmosphere was very casual and the place was not poorly lit like some places. I hate going to a fondue place and feeling like if I do t wear a suit I’m underdressed. This is a casual Mom & Pop dinning place. If you’re expecting your food to be served on fine china and your silverware to made out of actual silver, then this might not be the place for you. If you like eating in a casual environment and not having to take your clothes to the dry cleaners before hand then this place is probably for you.
Also the desert sauce selection I felt was larger then some of the other places I had been too. All in all I enjoyed it here and will be returning. The music was nice but I hardly noticed it because I was enjoying my conversation with my date.

I bought a Groupon based on fond memories of eating here many years ago. Well, things have changed. We were one of two couples (the Groupon required making a reservation) on a mid-​week night and were seated in the front with views of lovely (being sarcastic here) Peterson Avenue.
We ordered one Seafood and one Classic fondue.
Positives:
The server and the overly eager water boy were nice and polite.
The seafood was fresh.
Negatives:
Annoying smooth jazz music was playing. (Jazz is an acquired taste.)
The white bread for the appetizer cheese fondue was lame. One small step above Wonder bread. I bake at home once a week and it doesn’t take a degree in rocket science to bake a good bread.
The onions in the vegetable portion were overwhelmingly sharp. Try using Vidalias.
The raspberry sauce? Not a match with seafood.
We were given cracked fondue pots. Really? With only two couples eating, you didn’t have any pots in good shape to give us?
The flame was too strong for the cheese and the chocolate fondue and burned them both. Nothing like scorched chocolate.
We managed to eat everything except the bread. (Meaning portions were small.)
Will we return? Nope. Even with the Groupon, we dropped more money than we would have eating at our favorite Thai restaurant (and we’d have had leftovers…)
To the owner: if business is so slow that you need to participate in Groupon AND you want people to return, don’t give them paltry portions, boring bread and cracked pots.

Crap. Please avoid this place. cheese fondue was only thing besides the shrimp with some type of flavor. Overpriced. example vegetables plate fits on a small side salad plate.
Food was bland.
Sauces were bland.
Service was slow but friendly.

Free street parking across the street as long as you are there within the correct time!
I had a Groupon for this place that was going to expire in a month. My fiancé and I were passing through and thought, «Why not?» I made a reservation the night before, and the person on the phone was extremely pleasant. We arrived around a half hour early, and we were seated right away.
Our server, Ricky, was really helpful making sure we parked in the correct place and was overall very pleasant. I think he was the only server in the entire establishment. You know a place has been doing something right. According to him, they have been in business for close to 40 years. The other customers were a mix of ages from their 30s to 80s.
This is where I digress. The menu is pricey, but it becomes very reasonable with their constant Groupons. The three course meal is around $ 30-​$ 35 depending on their options. With the Groupon, you only end up paying around $ 30 if you choose non-​alcoholic drinks. I don’t know why fondue restaurants are so pricey. My fiancé and I both said that we could easily do this at home, but they do clean up the mess. They do have an interested cocktail and wine menu if you choose to partake.
We ended up having «The Classic.» We had cheddar cheese fondue, salad, garlic bread, a combination of seafood and steak, and dark chocolate fondue. The portions are smaller than Gejas, which is probably a good thing. You can always order more vegetables from your server if you would like. They are free.
One other thing — This is a slow meal. You do cook your meat which can take a while. We were at Fondue Stube for about 2 hours. Will we do this again? I’m not sure. Even though service was good and the environment is nice, I keep on thinking that I could do the same for cheaper by myself. I just need to suck it up and buy a Brillo pad.

Not worth the money, something you can do at home with better pots. With the price you pay, it’s not comparable with the kind of meat or serving they provide. Better to get the unlimited than the course meal

Folks… you’ve been comparing Fondue Stube to Geja’s or other fondue restaurants, in an apple-​to-​orange fashion. Thinking about it, is that really fair to Fondue Stube when all your praises to Geja’s aren’t even pertinent to what Fondue Stube can offer? With my science and criminal justice background, I would like to break it down one (1) category at a time, so there’s no more two (2) kinds of fruity comparison incident occurring anymore after my review.
Like the rest of Americans like to do, acronyms will be used: Fondue Stube (SB) and Geja’s (GJS). Raise your hand if you have any question at this time (good…no one did).
1) transportation
FS: paid street parking; no valet available. However, it’s not difficult in the West Rogers Park neighborhood.
GJS: a mix of paid street and neighborhood parking; valet is available for an additional cost.
2) ambiance
FS: it’s meant to be neighborhood fondue place, so the ambiance is in between formal and informal. The music on point, with some soothing classic music playing in the background. The table is MUCH larger than what you will get at Geja’s. I have no problem with the decors in the restaurant; there’s no tackiness, except the Chicago Bulls banner by men’s restroom is a bit odd, but it’s not a big deal with me.
GJS: it’s meant to be a romantic setting, because you can barely see each other with extreme darkness. The tables between each other are very tight. They have someone professional playing the Spanish guitar. If you want to be a «dark knight» to your lady, then GJS wins in this category.
3) service
FS: Miss Carol’s son is always there. The venue is intimate enough to have him to run his «one-​man-​show,» unless it’s the weekend. He renders great service.
GJS: their service is commercial. Those servers are definitely savvy and experienced.
P. S. The groupon deal on FS requires a reservation. Do so, and if possible, come early on a weekday because you get to have the entire restaurant to yourself. How awesome!
4) food
FS: it’s good, I know the bread isn’t the best you will ever find and the beef isn’t the supreme quality, but they have some menu items that you can’t find at GJS, such as the lox crème cheese fondue. You get to order in a more «free» style. This evening we ordered a la carte. We enjoyed what we had and were comfortably full.
GJS: there’s always so much food. You need to get ready to stuff yourself for three (3) hours spending at the restaurant. They also offer groupon, but I don’t believe that they let you order in a la carte style. You better stop eating three (3) days before your GJS reservation!
Post-​note: yes, GJS does offer supreme-​quality food with a large quantity on everything, in comparison to what’s offered at FS. I can’t deny this fact, but do you ever finish what you have at GJS? I do every time myself, but not everyone else.
Overall, you can have a fantastic experience at FS, if you don’t already formulate a perception that «GJS is just better.» Unilocalers and Unilocal elites: did the groupon not say that «reservation is required?» I read the fine print and certainly caught this sentence. I made the reservation, came in on time, and came in at a right time. If you didn’t do so and were turned away, is your two (2)-star or three (3)-star Unilocal review really fair to FS?
I’m not writing to advocate for FS; I’m fairly neutral in terms of rating and wasn’t expecting FS should be operated like GJS. A small business runs whatever way it wants. What I experienced tonight was a solid four (4)-star quality on all categories I judged on. Yes, having a groupon helped the total bill tremendously; I paid $ 13 plus the tip.
Now Unilocalers: can we at least compare the two (2) fondue restaurants in a «red delicious and gala apples» fashion?

Decided to buy a Groupon for here because I haven’t had fondue for a while and the bf had never had fondue. My only other experience with fondue has been at Melting Pot; every time I went there it was exceptional. So, I have high expectations for my fondue!
We attempted to come by around 7 on a Friday night and were quickly shoved out the door because we didn’t have a reservation and told there were no tables until 9:00. I have never experienced a restaurant that wouldn’t take walk-​ins (I know those places exist but I have never frequented them). So, that gave me a salty taste for the place without even trying it. But, I had the groupon so I was going to come back.
Two weeks later, we made reservations at 9:00. There were only two other tables in the place at that time, so a very different experience. Everybody was very nice this time. The food was pretty good, but really nothing amazing. We got a bottle of house wine and the Romeo & Juliette meal as well as a ½ portion of the cheddar cheese. They brought out the salads first with three varieties of dressings, that was fun to try different kinds. The bread was fine, nothing exceptional. The cheese was good, the shrimp was really good the chicken, scallops and steak were good but the fish was bad. I normally eat most fish but just couldn’t eat this one.
The dessert we got the regular chocolate. It was very tasty and came with a huge variety of dippers. We were too full so we couldn’t eat them all!
Overall, it was a fun dining experience. After the $ 50 Groupon, we still paid around $ 40 (and then tip on that), so not a cheap night, even with the Groupon. I can’t say that I’ll be back soon, large in part that it’s in a pretty obscure location.

Went here on a Friday night without a reservation and we were immediately seated. I’ve been to Melting Pot and have to say this is not the same — décor wise. It gives an old school 70/​80s vibe when fondue was very popular. The chairs were not very comfortable and I was rather stiff by the end of the meal. We were also cold as we were seated by the front windows which are drafty. I had to put my coat on.
The meal itself was fine. Felt that we could have been given more vegetables for the main course. We were given a piece of broccoli, cauliflower, carrot and mushroom. I would have liked more veggies. Both my friend and I thought the portions were smaller than what we have experienced at Melting Pot.
Overall not a horrible experience but not overly impressive either. They frequently have coupons running on various deal sites and I can see why. I might go back here but it’s not my first choice.