Grand Tour

UPDATE: Nov. 1 —
I think they took everyone’s advice and are rethinking their «concept.» They posted a sign that says as much. No clear date as to when they’ll reopen. I, too, live in the ‘hood and truly wanted a nice place for dinner. But without attitude and without so many GD big screen TVs.

I have tried Grand Tour occasionally since its opening and have always hoped they’d do well because I live nearby, but…
I was there recently, giving it another shot after their strange, non-​bar-​food-​internationalish-​group-​dining-​only menu appeared to have been ditched in favor of something a little more casual. The bartender, whose name was Thomas or Tom (I think), was friendly & attentive; much more-​so than the original bar staff ever was (and therefore a thousand times better) and the interior — aside from it being nearly empty — still looks very nice.
I ordered a sandwich, though, that was at best just ok. Several nearby places do a lot better for roughly the same price. And while I’m glad they had what I ordered (3 of the 5 times I’ve eaten here, they’ve been out of something I tried to get) I overheard the server telling a couple near me that they were out of a couple of other things. So, to be clear, it was about 7pm on a Saturday evening and they were already 86’ing items. I also overheard another person describe the fish tacos he ordered as «awful», so there was that, too.
The premises and location, and the staff — at least the staff that served me — are good, so this place is probably fine if you want to catch a game on TV (assuming it’s one you actually want to see — there was a bit of an issue that night with a Notre Dame game superseding a Hawks game, which from other reviews on other nights doesn’t look like the best marketing strategy). I found the food lacking, though, and unfortunately that’s what I was most interested in.

They’ve been sliding down a slope since they opened and now are really picking up speed. Had some good food in here in the past, but the «grand tour» menus are gone now. The food/​menus are in transition as they try to sell down the prior menus’ food.
I had hoped that this would stabilize into something good. Over the summer they had nice but inexperienced managers and staff (yeah, I was at the World Cup debacle and an experienced manager could have turned it around). Now, they just have rude and careless managers (and, yeah, it looks like there was a complete turnover). After my most recent experience, I will not be back and I am very disappointed that it has come to that.
The taps continue to have problems — the Guiness tap has been wonky since they plugged it in.
I like the TVs, (the ones facing the windows could use some shade on sunny days to remove the glare), I like the space. Now they just need to hire some decent staff, work out an inviting menu, fix the taps, and, maybe, rename the place so as to make all of us who have given up on it think it might be something new and interesting —- if only for a moment.
I live within a mile and have been in on numerous occasions since it opened. The most recent, was within the last 2 weeks.

I live 2 blocks away on Rockwell, so I want nothing more than to see this restaurant succeed, so I hope your management and owners actually read these reviews. I have been to your establishment 3 times and have experienced 3 bad experiences. See below for additional details…
You clearly sunk a TON of money into the remodel of this restaurant. Last night I walked by at 7:30pm on a Friday and you didn’t have a single customer. You need to act quickly and enlist some consultancy support or you will lose this restaurant. I have given you my professional advise, free of charge, in hopes to save you from your looming fate.
1) You need business operations and process redesign, immediately. Your «system» is flawed.
2) You need a marketing campaign to state that you have listened to all the customer feedback and are working to turn your establishment around. You need a longer term plan to drive in additional business. I would recommend a loyalty program (not outdated points or punchcard) but a program that rewards with relevant and differentiated items and service.
3) I would also recommend that you narrow your hours of operation to dinner and you personally work dinner to oversee your operations.
4) You need to decide if you want to be a sports bar or a restaurant, at least in the short term, to focus on the «core business», whatever that is.
Good luck and act quickly!
Bad Experiences:
The first time was the best experience. I had very tasty food, but the service was extremely poor. It was during the Arsenal championship game, which was advertized outside. The TVs were on, but without sound. Don’t advertise, «come inside to watch the game» if you don’t intend to have sound. When we mentioned it, the staff just shrugged it off and said it we want sound we will have to go someplace else.
Secondly, was during the World Cup. I need not say anything because the reviews below are so very poor.
Lastly, was Friday ⁹⁄₁₉. It was a beautiful night so I wanted to sit on the patio. I came inside and waited 5 minutes for someone to acknowledge me, not kidding 5 full minutes and no one even said hi. There was bar staff that saw me, but no acknowledgement whatsoever. I also watched a customer come in from the patio outside, to get his own menus at the hostess stand. Clearly no one paid any attention to him.
You clearly sunk a TON of money into the remodel of this restaurant. Last night I walked by at 7:30pm on a Friday and you didn’t have a single customer. You need to act quickly and enlist some consultancy support or you will lose this restaurant. You need business operations and process redesign, immediately. You will also need a marketing campaign to state that you have listened to the customer feedback and are working to turn your establishment around. Then, you need a longer term plan to drive in additional business. I would recommend a loyalty program (not outdated points or punchcard) but a program that rewards with relevant and differentiated items and service. I would also recommend that you narrow your hours of operation to dinner and that you decide if you want to be a sports bar or a restaurant, at least in the short term, to focus on the «core business», whatever that is.
Good luck and act quickly!

I’ve been to Grand Tour few times now. The décor is great, there is plenty of space and the patio was a great summer addition.
Food and service was good. Overall great place to see a game, have a drink or a nice dinner.

I visited this restaurant on a Sunday night and really enjoyed my experience. Right off the bat I could tell that the owners put a lot of work into building a charming interior. The inside has more than ample seating with decent sized tables. I also enjoy the added touch of having a live music performer. We ate on their new patio. The exterior space is a great place to eat and watch people. The entrees are also equally good. My chicken salad was fresh with lots of flavor.
The customer service is absolutely fantastic. Waitresses here seem to truly care about their customers. My server checked in with us a lot to make sure everything was going going okay. I’ll visit again.

I loved how big it is inside, and the décor is nice. We came here on a Saturday afternoon, and it was so dead, or maybe since it’s so big it just seamed like we were the only people in there. But I kind of liked it compared to other places where you sit on top of each other.
We had some beers to start, and then ordered dinner. Everything on their menu looked amazing and tasty, so we ended up ordering the ‘Merica burger, Fried Chicken and biscuits, Pork Schnitzel sandwich, and Grilled Cheese with some stuff in it that sounded good but I can’t remember.
Everyone’s food was good except for the burger, which was cooked well done instead of the requested medium. The fried chicken had a REALLY good crispy crunchy skin on it, and it was like a whole chicken. So lots of leftovers.
The bathrooms were also really nice!
I would definitely come back here and try some other food options, like the chimichurri steak!

I’d been here once before for a Hawks game and it was good food and a lively atmosphere. Tonight? Well, I should’ve read all of the bad Unilocal!reviews before bringing two friends here.
Service was slow, they brought us the wrong food, the server was not attentive (they were not busy) and the food we got was cold and uninspired. Nothing to return for.
The assistant manager stopped by and asked how everything was. We were truthful in our comments, told him we lived in the neighborhood, and that we really wanted this place to succeed.
His response? «Yeah. I know. We had a fancy menu at first, but the neighborhood just didn’t support it. We’re more of a bar scene. You shoulda been here this afternoon. We were packed! You should check out our other restaurants, blah, blah, blah»…
Next month, I’m moving to our new place, Revelry, which is right by the East Bank Club. We hired the chef from Sunda. It’s gonna be great“
We were aghast. If I were the owner of this place, I’d be hiring new staff, create a whole new menu (catering to my «bar crowd» demographic — memorable bar food) and train my staff on customer service 101!

Our brunch experience was subpar at best. I ordered the croque madam, which received a recommendation on another site. Described as the traditional French dish served on artisan bread. G-​ross. This was a limp and greasy grilled ham and cheese on plain white bread with a bland, unseasoned greasy egg on top. The bread was smeared with melty Brie and Dijon– the only bit of flavor in the whole thing. Potatoes so greasy they were inedible. My husband had the steak and eggs. Again, greasy and bland.
Service — same as another poster. Eight groups including people at the bar, two servers, the manager and maybe his wife. Four people cleaned one table. Food came late, the server forgot our drink order a few times, and cracked a joke about it being Saturday and no one being on their game. They ran out of some type of toast. The guy next to is barely touched his food.
I have to agree with this idea that the space is huge, it’s new and they should be on their top game to avoid negative reviews. Lincoln Square is very word of mouth. They need to train the staff to prioritize tasks, train the kitchen to get standardized and consistent food that matches the menu description. Step it up. Really disappointed. Will not be back and will not recommend for brunch. One plus, nice décor and TVs for watching the World Cup.
Added a few minutes later: I brought the sandwich to the manager’s attention. E was generous and kind. Very responsive and clearly concerned about the quality of the food. Maybe this was a bad day for the kitchen and staff. But that’s not going to be okay if they want to be an established place in the neighborhood.

We were also there for Sunday’s World Cup debacle. Ted K’s review pretty much sums it up; though I’m surprised to hear that a manager was there. Why did his hostess keep seating tables when they were understaffed and out of food? We have eaten — and enjoyed — all three previous pre-​fixe tours (Ireland, Greece, Mexico). We tried to order the Brazilian tour on Sunday, but a full hour after ordering we were informed that they had run out of chicken (one of the items on the tour).
Grand Tour, we threw away our «passport.» It will take a LONG time to forget just how bad Sunday was. It is questionable whether you’ll still be in business when we are finally ready to return. Major improvements needed!

Finally got to try this place out for the World Cup game on Sunday. Been to different bars in this location going back 20 years, so would have loved to seen this place take off. Walked into the place at 2:30 and there was no one in the entire restaurant (?!?) so was able to chat it up with the manager.
Nice dude and was pretty personable. I told him that’s I was a neighborhood guy that had really wanted the previous place to succeed, but the service was just horrible. He told me to expect a lot of people around game time, which is what I had expected to see anyway. He also told me that I needed to prepare myself because since it was a Sunday, they were going to be understaffed. I thought to myself, «why the hell wouldn’t you overstaff on such a big day like today?» It’s a new bar and the last thing he needs is to get negative publicity.
It was also a limited food menu and from what I found out, a limited drink menu as well. Being one of the first there, one of the girls ordered a specialty drink and when it was served was told they were already ran out of an ingredient and would no longer be able to serve that drink. This was when there was five people in the entire place. Really? Food menu only consisted of 4 – 5 of things, since they were «understaffed on a Sunday» and all were overpriced. ($ 8 for French fries?!?). Totally were not prepared for anything. Understaffed in the kitchen AND servers leads to debauchery…
Well, sure enough, that’s what happened. I counted only two servers in the entire place for a massive crowd. We had a group of 7 and our server was young/​nice but completely overwhelmed with the situation. She would only come by once every 15 – 20 minutes and when she did, she’d shoot by without asking/​listening to any of our concerns. I counted three groups of tables that’s stood up and walked out frustrated with the entire situation since no one was getting service. It was a complete debacle and as soon as the game ended, half the joint was empty. We all couldn’t wait to leave either.
The place looks amazing, but once again, the service/​food is simply mediocre at best. Definitely not impressed…

Grand Tour is a somewhat upscale sports bar… Perhaps too upscale for the area. The place has a great layout and with the exception of a couple deadzones in terms of TVs, makes great use of the space.
The staff was very friendly and kept up with the pace during the Hawks game. Grand Tour has lots of beer options, but way too heavy on the European ones. Given their location, I thought they could support the Chicago breweries, especially Half Acre and Begyle. The food was good, but seemed a little too fancy for a sports bar.
Overall, it’s a fun place with good beers and food. I’m worried about the concept for the neighborhood, but hope they make it.

Went here to meet up with some old friends. Talk about reconnecting with friendship over incredible fare.
This place had great cocktails and the food is amazing! Great design and service.
We started with a good bottle of wine followed by USA Beet Salad, the France Spring Vegetable Napoleon which was a delicious serving of veggies, Japan P.E.I. Mussels soaked in sake, scallions, and crispy ginger then moved up to the Italy Sausage Flatbread which surpassed the typical flatbreads I’ve had before. We finished with the steak frites and practically devoured everything and had to order another bottle of wine.
Sean, the chef came out to greet us and thank us. We thanked him for an incredible evening. Jim the bartender made sure we were taken care of and Sean the manager made sure that the experience was where it needed to be.
I like to visit restaurants with this kind of experience and I have to say I’m a HUGE fan now!
I tend to visit places that give good dining and service. Some of my favorites I go to because of the food and vibe but the service is mediocre and they never remember you regardless of how often you’ve been there. I can’t even get a decent «How are you?» when I go. Grand Tour gave me all of that on my first visit.
Check this place out. You can’t go wrong! An amazing place on the northside. Come for the food stay for the drinks and bring along good friends. You’ll need it because you won’t want to leave. If you do you’ll come right back.

Great space, nice people interesting concept. Needs a little refinement on the speed of the kitchen, however. Went there last Friday evening at 530p with the kiddos and it took 70 minutes for the entire meal, with nearly 20 minutes between app and main course. All in all, food was good and portions were healthy. I would go back, but hope that they get a bit better handle on the flow.

Great atmosphere and it is huge! Food was wonderful full flavored and adventurous.
I can’t believe I am saying this, but for a dimly lot bar with eclectic food, this works with small children and families mixed with middle aged couples and singled at the large round bar.
I will be back.

Grand Tour sits across from an Aldi and Family Value Dollar store so the location of a highendish place seems odd. I don’t know, it’s nice for the area, but it’s not worth driving too if you aren’t in the area. I haven’t had enough of the food to give a worthy review on that end so I won’t. I will say the inside cost a few dimes. They have 3 bar stations which seems like two too many. I don’t know… somebody spent a ton of money on this place that they will never get back.

We were a little sceptical of the wide array of dishes on the menu when we ventured into Grand Tour, but we did not leave disappointed. The fried chicken was a very good value but a bit heavy, the small plates were all tasty and there were more vegetarian options than I thought. I am hoping that the dishes «lighten up» as the weather gets warmer.
Some other things to know:
1. The space is HUGE so you can have a big group or just roll in without worrying about having a reservation.
2. That being said, they mostly have high tables/​seating so families with small children are more limited for options (but they do have a kids menu).
3. Even though they have many, many televisions they aren’t all on when the crowd is small.

Overall I would give this 3.5 stars, but Unilocal won’t let me. The food gets 3 stars, the ambiance, 4 stars. The food felt almost a little forced to me. The gnocchi was very good. The octopus was good if you could get all the flavors together to balance each other, but the way it was prepared it was difficult to do so. The duck flatbread was overpowered by the rich ricotta and the rest of the flavors didn’t go well. Perhaps there were other dishes we would have enjoyed more or maybe they just need time to evolve the menu a bit being a new place. I do like the idea of the monthly country food tour so will have to check that out.
Service was friendly and attentive, no issues there.
The space looks great, much better than Paddy O’Splaines did. Multiple bars and tvs, a large back room with a shuffleboard table and a stage for live bands, which they plan on having Saturday nights.
I think this place has a lot of potential and will definitely go back, hopefully with better luck on the food front.

This place is trying to do something different and so far I like what they are going for.
They have very nice, high end food that is shareable in an environment that seems to be striving for some sort of pub/​concert venue/​sports bar. Unlike most places that try to be too many things to too many people, this place doesn’t try TOO hard at any, which is somehow working for them.
It’s a relaxing environment that makes you want to hang around after your dinner, have another drink and listen to the band.
If there was anything to point out, although our server was very nice and helpful, I think if the relaxing environment was reflected in the service, it may encourage people to hang around longer.
I’m excited to see what this place turns in to and how it effects the neighborhood. We will definitely be back!

I had the privilege of dining at Grand Tour last night for a pre-​opening event and came away extremely impressed. Chef Roger Herring (formerly chef/​owner at Socca) heads up the kitchen and as a big fan of Chef Herring’s and a frequent diner at Socca I am ecstatic to be able to enjoy his cooking again.
Grand Tour is an upscale European sports bar/​gastropub. Significant renovations were done to the space and it is gorgeous, elegant and comfortable. The menu is outstanding; great mix of adventurous items such as a half a pig’s head, sweetbreads and housemade charcuterie as well as comfort food such as buttermilk fried chicken, flatbreads and burgers. The theme of the menu is international tapas (emphasis on European countries but some classic American dishes as well as some from Asia and South America as well) and prices are very reasonable; most of the larger plates are in the $ 12 to $ 16 price range with a handful of more pricey items. Portions were quite generous as well. Just about everything we had was delicious and high quality; I particularly enjoyed the Arctic char and the squid ink gnocchi with whipped ricotta (so flavorful and the gnocchi was so soft and light). I really enjoyed the pretzel with cheese dipping sauce off the bar snack menu (several different bar snacks run approximately $ 6 a piece and then there is a nice selection of small and large plates and a few desserts).
What is nice is just about everything is made in house; the breads, pasta, charcuterie — even the mustard. The staff we encountered was all very friendly and attentive and management appears invested in making Grand Tour a success. The food already is at a high level but do expect some to-​be-​expected service issues during the coming weeks as the front of the house staff becomes more experienced and knowledgeable about the menu (the soft opening is tomorrow followed by a grand opening towards the end of the month).
Grand Tour is open seven days a week for lunch and dinner and there are plans for live music on Saturdays, a monthly prix fixe featuring the cuisine of a different country each month and frequent dinners with beer pairings in the back dining room. There are big screen televisions in the bar area that will feature rugby and soccer matches. I had such a fun evening here last night and definitely anticipate dining here quite a bit in the coming months; Grand Tour is a wonderful addition to Chicago’s dining scene and has broad appeal.
Quick Update: Chef Herring has parted ways with Grand Tour; while I have not been back since he has left, I am reducing my rating by one star as his talent will be difficult to replace.