The Chocolate Sanctuary

I took my parents here as a thank you for being so awesome and we all loved it! The atmosphere is great, the service is spot on and the food… to die for! I had the filet and it melted in my mouth! Quite the steak snob and this beyond passed my expectations! My parents had the seafood combo and the white fish. Both of them loved it. All and all, we had a very memorable experience and I WILL take them here again when they come to visit again.

I have been there numerous times now for lunch with girlfriends. We all loved it.
The true test came for Valentines Day when we took our husbands. They ordered the fillets and were very pleased both with the food and the service. Yay!
And they said they would return. Well of course. It’s our favorite new restaurant and just down the road! I recommend it to everyone.

Celebrated Valentine’s Day at Chocolate Sanctuary. What a decadent and delicious dinner. The rolls served with cholocate infused butter was a delightful alternative to ordinary bread and butter. We had the Sakura Pork Chop and the Sliced Hanger Steak, both house specialties were fabulous.
The feel of the the Sanctuary is warm and inviting. We were seated near the see theough fireplace to enoy the evening. Our waitress, Angela, was great.
I will certaiinly be back for cocktails and desert.

Update: I received a return call from the owner and fully expressed my disappointment in the service. They relayed that finding good reliable staff is one of the most difficult aspects of the restaurant business.
They are continuing to address the issue of poor service and appreciated my call. As such, I am giving them an additional star.
I am going to give the restaurant another try during the evening service and see if any improvement has been made. I wish them the best and hope they can get their business on the track for success.

I was originally apprehensive about visiting a restaurant that infuses food with chocolate, but I have to say it was a pleasant experience. We went for lunch and started with the Chicken Lollipop Wings, it was amazing, the BBQ sauce was tangy which surprised me because it was infused with cocoa and let’s not forget about the bread served with chocolate butter. For our entrée she had the Pork Slider and I had the Prime Sirloin. The sliders were good but the fell off with the sirloin. The meat was a little dry and a good steak never needs anything on top of it also the blue cheese crust was a bit much for a steak, otherwise an awesome experience. By the way, the Chocolate Bar was off the chain!!!

Admittedly, I love chocolate; texture, sweetness, etc. When I saw The Chocolate Sanctuary’s menu, I was intrigued to see (taste) how palatable meat and chocolate would be. I dined with a friend who recommended the mini pulled pork sandwiches. I also ordered the squash with cocoa soup.
WELL! What an incredible presentation! My plate had 3 sandwiches and several thick, long seasoned potatoes. The velvety smooth soup was enhanced by the cocoa. I will definitely take an order home next time. The pulled pork had a perfect spice quotient, mixing cocoa and BBQ is a challenge. It was sublime! The portion allowed 2 meals at home. The price was right.
Our server was very knowledgeable and made suggestions for beverage pairings that made the Saturday brunch very enjoyable. We were glad to have a great time in a lovely setting without being rushed by the server or a fast chef.
We arrived at 1pm and left about 4pm, at which time the early evening diners began arriving.
I highly recommend The Chocolate Sanctuary for a great time enjoying unique flavors. I already have a reservation later this month.

Amazing desserts and chocolate infused entrees! The truffles are so tasty for the good price. The chocolate short rib is moist and full of flavor. All of their dishes are great so far! The atmosphere feels romantic for date night and chocolate. Lots of chocolate dishes and desserts for the chocolate lover! Great service! No complaints here! Just reserve online earlier so you can get seating as it gets packed usually! I will come back again and again for their amazing tasty dishes!

My mother-​in-​law is a chocolate fanatic. It was a no brainer to bring her here when she was visiting from out of town.
The décor is modern and contemporary, a far cry from the restaurant’s previous tenants. The two-​sided fire place is a nice touch, giving the cool interior some additional warmth.
We started with the bread and butter. The chocolate sourdough bread was good. It’s obviously something of a novelty, but it was tasty and not overly sweet. The cocoa infused butter served with the bread was also good. I think my mother-​in-​law continued to eat bread simply as a vehicle for the butter.
I ordered a cocoa infused pasta with chicken, which was excellent. When people think chocolate or cocoa, they think sweet, but cocoa on its own has a rich smokiness that’s a nice addition to savory meals. My husband had a cocoa and stout short rib that he raved about. I think my mother-​in-​law had fish.
We shared a couple of desserts. My husband and I had the bourbon crème brûlée — a perfect balance of bourbon and cream.
We stopped to look at the chocolate case on the way out. I’ll definitely be back just for that, maybe with a cup of coffee.
Service was good, as well.

Great Ambiance. Food that tastes great and looks like art. Everything on the menu has chocolate in it, on it, or used in the making of… Liz was our waitress. She was great! Our table ordered everything from burgers, salmon, a salad, and noodle dishes. All were fantastic. For dessert, we ordered the Quatro. It was 4 different chocolate dessert items. Great place to bring a chocolate lover for a birthday, or Valentine’s Day or special occasion.

Outstanding!
We were immediately impressed by the atmosphere of the restaurant as it’s modern, yet comfortable. The various people we interacted with — from the hostess to the server to the pastry chef who made a special visit to our table — were all very professional and gracious. Our server — Michael — was excellent. There was nothing more we could have wanted as he regularly kept an eye on us and cared for us perfectly.
The food was delicious and creative. The chocolate theme appears in food options through all the courses. We started off with the Chicken Lollipop Wings which were a hearty appetizer with a really tasty Jack Daniel’s cocoa infused BBQ sauce. We then all generally ordered the filet in varying preparations. And capped our meal off with the two desserts that provided the most opportunity for sampling various items — the «In The Sanctuary of Chocolate» which literally comes as a chocolate fountain (pictures attached) — this was decadent and just fun. And I also ordered the Cuatro of Chocolate which allowed me to sample a few of their chocolate highlights.
All in all, our whole group was very impressed and will be going back there sometime soon. We didn’t try the fish, but the descriptions of fish options on the menu looked especially good. And there were plenty of other desserts that we’re looking forward to trying in the future.
They happen to be hosting a private party while we were there. I don’t have much opportunity to hosts a private party these days, but I would seriously consider The Chocolate Sanctuary if I were. A big enthusiastic thumbs up.

I came here for dessert. The place is gorgeous and as I sat at the bar I chatted with what must have been an owner. She was hand drying all of the glasses and was so impressed with her and the quality of food that they use. I had the magma dessert and while it wasn’t what I expected it was amazing. I also had the bourbon toasted pecan crème brule. It was by far the best Crème Brule I’ve ever had. I will be back to try the fondue fountain.

Our waiter was very nice.
I had the spiced butter squash soup. It was yummylicious!
And the crème Brule was just the best one I’ve ever had.
I am defenetely going back.

Food was good but our service was not. We got the mascarpone coco chicken and short ribs. The ribs were excellent and tender. The chicken was ok, sauce had good flavor but weird texture. The broccoli soup was watery but kids mac n cheeese was very good!!!
I went yesterday as a last date night before i have this baby. Whats better than a chocolate santuary for a pregnant lady right? I had been there earlier in the week just for a quick meeting and had their butternut squash soup and it was so good i knew this would be a great date night.
We made a reservation for 630 on Friday, there were many open tables when we got there but it eventually filled up quickly. We sat in a booth near the bar, it took about 15 minutes just to be greeted by our server. In that time my very indecisive fiancé actually picked out an appetizer and his meal, thats how long it took. When our sever Mary came by she was very sweet and i figured that she must have just been stuck on something. We gave her our entire order: drinks, appetizer and meal. Save her a trip right? Well someone else brought us the appetizer (yummy cocoa bbq wings!!) before the drinks even came. We had 2 ice teas and a root beer so it wasnt a difficult order. My daughter ordered soup and she got that shortly after. Then Mary finally came back and brought us bread. I thought it was strange we got it after the appt and soup. I asked for an extra napkin because my daughter spilled on her other one. She said no problem I’ll bring you extra appt plates too… Well none of that ever came. Another person brought us our food and i asked him for a napkin which i got 2 seconds later. Half way through the meal our server asked if i wanted a refill on the tea, i said yes, never got that either. After we got boxes (very large portions!) we said we’ll PROBABLY get the fondue fountain. She asked for 2 or 4? I said im not sure can i check out the dessert menu first?
Ten minutes later a fondue plate came out… Never saw the menu or actually ordered it… But my 5 yr old daughter was excited to eat it and we were so frustrated we just said screw it and had it (its very good).
We asked for the bill and i only left her 15%. Im a server myself so I always over tip, cuz i know some people are jerks so i like to pay it forward, but i was so frustrated with being ignored all night i purposely left only exactly 15%
So my biggest complaint i guess is that she passed our table many times through the night but never stopped to check on us. She kept going to the table next to us, because they knew the chef. It reeeeally pissed me off. I understand when you want to give other tables extra attention but it shouldnt be at the expense of your other tables.

Friday dinner time is very busy, make sure to have a reservation or come in early enough to snag a high top at the bar area. This is defiantly a fine dinning establishment in the burbs. You will see people walk in dressed for TGI Fridays but the food, drinks, atmosphere and service here are way high class. The food was amazing, the specials are great, wait staff is supper friendly and gives great suggestions. The short ribs were cooked perfectly. You can tell they take their time to make every dish to perfection, it’s not a place where they throw something frozen in the microwave for you. The drinks were good. I wish we would have saved room for dessert. We decided to come back next time and just do dessert and coffee or chocolate martinis! So glad this place is so close to our house and we don’t have to drive far for a fine dinning experience!

Very nice inviting atmosphere the waitress was cordial and knowledgeable about the food, she informed us of the chocolate infused items on the menu, The presentation in the taste of the food was delightful would definitely recommend it to everyone.

Went to the chocolate sanctuary a few weeks ago for dinner. LOVE the atmosphere, and the service is excellent. I love the chocolate chip bread and the chocolate butter they give you before your meal comes. And the menu is good but I wish there were a few more options. I had the braised beef, and it was pretty good but a little too fatty for me and the HUGE bone it was on kinda grossed me out. But I did love the sauce it was in! Husband had a special pork chop that he said wasnt mind blowing but was good, also very fatty and on a bone. For dessert we had the magma and a pecan cream bru le. Both good but Id like to try something else too.
I’ll definitely go back and try something else. Just because I didn’t LOVE my first food option doesn’t mean there aren’t other good things on the menu. Really looking forward to going back!

I would like to quote my wife and kids in this review. From my wife «superb, I am speechless. Great way to celebrate my birthday.» From my 12 year old «amazing. Nice environment. Awesome menu.» From my 7 year old «great chocolate fountain». I concur.
I had a steak that was the special for the day. My wife had the sea bass. Both were perfectly done. The place also has great appetizer and wine selections. Highly recommended for a great dinner with family or friends.

Wow!!! This place is awesome and it’s right in my backyard. With the restaurant scene in Libertyville and now this in Gurnee, I won’t have to make the trek to the city so often for a dining experience fit for a foodie. My hubby and I started with great drinks, Evanston Orange for him and the Chocolate Raspberry Mojito for me. Are you kidding me? They had me at hello. Then the Chicken Lollipops and Beet Salad for starters, both delectable. For our main course he had the Sanctuary Burger and I had the Turkey Burger — both massive. By the looks of his plate, he enjoyed it. Mine was good too, but next time I’ll have it sans guacamole. We ended the night with the trio of chocolate. The chocolate mousse and brownie was a great pairing for the Chocolate Wine. The lemon cake could’ve been replaced with another brownie.
I can’t wait for another dining experience right down the street in the near future. Go check it out!

The ambience of TCS is very modern and unique for Lake County, which makes it a wonderful place to dine. Unfortunately, my experience hasn’t been as great. I’ve visited twice and both meals were overcooked and overall not worth my time or money.
The first order was a medium rare ribeye steak that came out well-​done and when I received my second steak after speaking with the owner she gladly replaced with a rare steak that was still cold.
The second was their house special Kurobuta pork chop. When I took the first bite of this dry, bland chop I couldn’t stop choking. The owner came to check on me, but this time I wasn’t offered a replacement. She did come back with a cabernet-​cocoa cherry sauce that wasn’t able to help even after oversaturating.
Their menu is a bit pricey for a Gurnee location and their sub-​par grilling techniques. Although, I did enjoy their overpriced cocktails and deserts. Overall a solid 2 rating.
*I also called to make a reservation and noted that it was for our anniversary, which didn’t seem to matter considering we waited for a table and no one seemed to care that we were celebrating a special occasion.

The atmosphere and décor of the restaurant was phenomenal. The waitstaff and management were definitely hustling as the restaurant was packed. The food came out hot, seasoned and nice portions.
The only problem we encountered was the wait time, which was long. We were in the restaurant for over 2 hours, waiting no less than 45 min from our appetizers to our entrees. Disappointing! :(
We came, we ate, not sure if we’d be back.