Red Star Tavern

While driving through the Glen a couple of weeks ago, I noticed that Red Star abruptly closed. Not sure what happened. There is a note on the door if you must know.

Typical American restaurant with burgers and overpriced appetizers and a worthless selection of beer on draft. It is a yard house clone without the intriguing selection of fine beer. The food is something you can find anywhere except you will pay much more for it at the Red Star. I was turned off by this place as soon as I walked in. There seem to be a big crowd there I guess many people like to meet up there after work and weekly special draw customers. If you in the glen better to walk down to the yard house.

Red Star is pretty much my dept’s ‘go-​to’ place for special lunches… so, I’m down with the deals.
On Tuesdays:
$ 13 = appetizer + entrée (if you want steak, it’s $ 16)
$ 5 martinis
The $ 13 deal is fab because you’ll basically have two meals for the price of one. Perfect for lunch the next day.

I went here with friends on a Friday night around 9:00 PM. It was pretty much empty. The menu was rather small and I had a hard time finding something that was reasonably priced that sounded good. I did get the Mac and Cheese and it was ok. The menu did not say that there were bread crumbs on top which i really hate and there were. I did have the cornbread appetizer and that was really good and our server was on top of the drinks. I don’t think I will be going back.

Short review: Mac & Cheese — 4 stars. Everything else — 2 stars.
Long review: I arrived a little before 9pm on a Monday night. There weren’t many people — and the group standing at the bar looked like the tail end of a workplace happy hour group. Surprisingly, there was no bartender. From first glance it looked like the place was going to close soon — given that it’s the suburbs, I wouldn’t have been surprised if they did close that early. No one at the bar, no one at the hostess stand, and I couldn’t see a waiter in sight. Bad sign.
I stuck around because I knew everywhere else would probably close soon, I didn’t feel like running into old high school people at Yardhouse, and a friend told me that the mac & cheese here was really good. I stood at the hostess desk like an idiot for a couple minutes before I gave up and approached a bus boy & asked if it open seating or if their hostess had died (ok, I just asked if it was open seating) and he said «whoops» and «booth or bar?».
The service after that wasn’t bad. The waitress came by & got my drink order, came back for my meal order, and the food was out much quicker than I expected. The mac & cheese (with chicken) was really good. I usually don’t get meat in my mac & cheese, but I asked the waitress her opinion and her eyes lit up as she told me that adding chicken to my mac & cheese would be delicious. That was the most emotion I saw from her all night.
The place itself is nice — all dark cherry wood & red accents. Clean, mini spotlights over the tables so you can see your food. Open kitchen as is standard with the restaurants in the area. It’s pretty much the same as every other restaurant in the Glen. If you go, get the mac & cheese with chicken.

Went here last night for dinner expecting standard «bar fare». We were greeted by a very friendly hostess, and sat immediately. Our table was very comfortable and the server was quick to arrive. The small menu had a limited range of food, but that is usually a good thing. The friendly waiter brought out a few loaves of warm bread and topped off our drinks often. When we were about ¾ of the way through our dinner, the waiter informs us that Sundays special is… FREE DESSERT. Hooraaaaay! Free dessert! You can chose any of the giant portioned delights, and we went with the chocolate cake. There were five people in my party, and I still ended up bringing home a slice. Finally, as we checked out – they gave us a free box of cornbread. Was it the free stuff? The good burger? The nice service? I don’t know, but I did like Red Star.

Mistake. There where other restaurants there. Why did we go to Red Star?
Another mistake: ordering a Mexican dish there. It was bad. I think I could have gotten the same meal in a box at a local supermarket and just warm it up in the microwave. I am actually pretty sure thats what they did.
Service? I had to go to the bar myself 2 times to get the coke refill. Terrible.

I think on any day that is not Tuesday, this place would probably get 3 stars, but on Tuesdays it gets 4. The Tuesday deal is $ 13 for an appetizer and entrée or $ 16 if your entrée is steak. When they told us this, I was thinking it was similar to a lot of places that have these specials and just give you smaller portions as part of the special. I was prepared for that but that’s not how this place rolls. They give you full orders of each item. It is pretty crazy. When I looked at the menu, it was even more of a shock. If one were to combine the Ahi tuna app with the ny steak, that would cost $ 16 on Tuesday. On any other day, the steak alone is just under $ 30! Even though I am a vegetarian, I almost felt the need to order that combo on principle alone.
If you do take advantage of the deal, I suggest going with a big group. That way you can get your own sampler of the appetizers. I enjoyed the meatless nachos and spinach dip and was almost full before my meal came out. I had the veggie sandwich which was also pretty good.
For people that do not possess the Kobayashi like stomach like I do, this deal is probably good for at least another meal with the leftovers.
The only issue I had with this place is with the fries. The menu said seasoned fries. They seem to use this super secret seasoning. It’s called salt. Please don’t ruin their secret…

The place has a really nice atmosphere and décor but sadly after going there twice I am not impressed. The server that we had just last weekend was horrible, he did not come to our table much and seemed annoyed by our questions about the menu. I ordered the pulled pork sandwich and have had better and I also tried the turkey burger and was definitely disappointed about that one since it lacked flavor and had a funky taste. For its price range, I would definitely recommend checking some of the other restaurant nearby instead!

Good drink selection. Not so great views of the televisions from the bar. The music was terrible. The service was terrible. I might come back again, but I’d check out the restaurant instead of the bar area.

Despite my low rating, its a nice place to go to for some eats as their food is quite decent so its good for a date or a get together. Beer selection, though nowhere near like nearby Yardhouse, is good with your decent popular premium beers.
Staff, on the other hand, needs work — the wait staff doesn’t seem to come in often enough to refill your drinks (I often go to the bar for a pint refill), and the bartenders tend to be a bit slow in serving you in general, almost apathetic.
Too bad, could get 1 – 2 more stars if their staff had some more motivation, if not a shake up.
Oh yeah, its not cheap here, just like everything at The Glen.

This seems to essentially be a bar more than a restaurant with a huge bar area overwhelming the dining part of the room. The menu is good, the prices very reasonable and the food is excellent.
I can’t really praise the service beyond saying it was competent, but nothing extraordinary. The server had virtually no personality beyond going through the routine, but it appeared to be more the cause of a quiet demeanor rather than out of tedium with her job. While it’s always nice to be greeted with a sweet and generous manner, not everyone who works as a server can always convey a sense of enthusiasm over your visit. Some can only do the job at hand and we understood that. Since it was our first visit to this restaurant it would have been nice to have someone who was a little more excited about the place and welcoming new customers, but in the end she did what was required of her.
As for the atmosphere, we got there later in the evening, after happy hour, so it was pleasantly quiet, only a few customers at the bar and most of the dinner crowd at the tables outside. I can understand the lure of outdoor dining to Chicagoans, but coming from L.A. it’s not quite as seductive to sit outside simply because it is a year round experience in Southern California. To me it seemed too hot and humid of an evening to sit outside, but there’s no question that’s a relativity issue given the seasons of Chicago and appreciating the warm weather when you have it, something we too often take for granted in L.A. We chose to sit inside and enjoy the AC and for the most part it was very comfortable. As I said the food was good and with a
gift certificate, it was a terrific deal. I imagine most of their business comes from the bar along with bar food and evening specials and it has plenty of competition in the complex it’s a part of, being next door to a wine bar and another place that carries one of the largest selections of beer in the country.
For just a dining experience away from the bar, I do recommend Red Star, but not without a gift certificate and not unless you live or are near the area.

Great place for some food and drinks. Nice staff and good service.
Burgers and salads are my favorite! My BF says the Burgers are the best! Its like a Bennigans but more upscale look.

I’ve only been to Red Star twice but I most likely wouldn’t go back a third time unless someone else was choosing the restaurant. I don’t dislike it, I just don’t like it.
They seem to be trying hard to get a too-​cool-​for-​you vibe going, but they’re trying too hard and just can’t pull it off. The booths are red leather, the waitstaff tends to be pretty and «sassy», and they turn the music up a little louder than the norm. I think part of the reason it doesn’t work is that this location is in «The Glen» — a preplanned 1950’s fantasy of Middle America Main Street, and its hard to be cool in that environment.
For food, there is someplace better in the Glen for almost anything they have on their menu. Want chicken or beef? Go across the street to Ted’s. Want fish? Go to Mitchell’s Fish Market. Want more eclectic selections? Go to the Yardhouse instead (their ahi tuna stack is wonderful).

We enjoy this place from time to time. Like the other 2 people who reviewed Red Star before me, it’s a theme continental restaurant. My son loves looking at their decorations, so that why I gave them an extra star. No pun intended, okay maybe it was. Boooooooo, hissssss…
Our favorite pocket saver is that kids eat free on Mondays. Woot!!!