Garrett’s Cafe

Had the grilled peach chicken last night, served with brie risotto and snap peas. It was incredibly good. My husband usually gets and enjoys the Ahi Tuna. Last night he complained that it tasted fishy. It has always been good in the past. The décor and setting is nothing special IMHO. I was chilly last night. Sweet waitress. There are a lot of good restaurants in Rockford. This isn’t my favorite, but it is one of the good ones.

The Wellington Bites are little packets of love swimming in a rich demi glacé. The service was attentive without being overbearing, and my entrée lobster mac plus the crème brûlée added to this nice little treat! I’m visiting clients in the area so finding local gems are always a special surprise away from home!

Visited for Friday fish fry. It was busy but wait was reasonable and staff was friendly. Food was very good, no complaints at all. Bar selection was good too. Three stars are for being short staffed so our poor waitress had to run around. Also, we chose Garretts after looking at website which listed one price but when we got bill each plate had was $ 3 more. There were four of us with just sodas and after tip we paid over $ 20/​person.
It wasn’t bad overall but probably won’t go back.

We eat here frequently as we live within 1 mile of this place.
Half restaurant half golf shop with a driving range. It isn’t a cheesy as it sounds. The restaurant has a nice nice bar area. Menu is nice and varied. Place always has a nice crowd. The only negative about the food I can say is the fish fry is something to avoid. I have never been impressed with it, but enjoy everything else I have tried.
Prices can be a little step for what you get.
It is a great place to spend a afternoon with friends having a couple of drinks gong outside to hit a bucket of balls off the driving range. Range is covered with overhead heaters also.

We have been here several times and our food is usually good, although on the pricey side. Great service.

While I was hoping for more gluten free choices, I had the seared scallops on the Thai, gluten free noodles. Really good. My husband had the maple glazed salmon. .I tried it, and it was good. But it needed more flavor…
I had the gluten free flour less chocolate cake for dessert…
Really good.
I would try them again…

This place is below average. The food is just okay while the service is not good. We ordered appetizers for our table of 7 people. While still eating the appetizers, they brought out our salads. That was bad enough, but I specifically told our server to make sure they didn’t rush the main course. Moments later, while eating our salads, they brought out the main course. Probably will not eat here again. On the good side, the bar is relaxing and well attended.

Garret’s food and service is exceptional! My 10 year old son had the pan seared scallops on angel hair pasta… four huge scallops! You’d think he hadn’t eaten for a week he loved it all. My husband highly recommends the Boddington brew too. We’ll be back often.

I have not been to Garrett’s very many times, but each time I have been was about the same. The food is good… not great. Many items are overpriced, but many are reasonable.
Today I went with a group of ladies (9 of us). Our server was a sweetheart and very accommodating with a great attitude. My salad was good (not great) but incredibly overpriced for the portion. The food service was a little slow but nothing to complain about. I really only have one complaint — one of the servers had cleared a table and was carrying a stack of plates and such when she accidentally dropped a cup of salad dressing. The salad dressing literally flew ALL OVER one of our ladies (all over her side and in her hair) and across our table leaving dressing on at least four of us (including my face), the walls, the floors, and everywhere in sight. Our server and the one who accidentally spilled were very apologetic, yet nothing was offered as a result… no paying for cleaning, no free lunch for the lady who received the brunt of it, no free desserts, NOTHING. If I were the manager, I would have AT LEAST visited the table out of courtesy alone, but we received nothing.
My «score» was not based on this experience, but I wanted to make sure to share our experience and the poor handling of it. However, the manager receives one star for lack of attention to what is going on in the establishment.

I have to bring Garret’s down to 3 stars. We wanted to eat outside and were told that it was forecasted to rain that night and if we ate outside and it started to rain, they couldn’t guarantee us a spot inside the restaurant. I asked «what would happen then if we are in the middle of eating our food– would we just have to leave?» And I was told that we would either have to wait for a table or take it to go. Serious?! I said we would risk it and the hostess got a look like «whatever».
Our waitress was so nice! But I strayed from my usual and ordered some variation of a chicken taco that was average. The whole experience was probably thrown off by the interaction at the hostess desk.
It never did rain. And the restaurant wasn’t nearly full when we left. Kind of a weird and icky experience. If I am going out — I don’t want to deal with that. Even if I am being rude or short, which I wasn’t, I don’t expect to have an experience like that. Based on another experience where the place was shut down really early on a Saturday night because we were the only ones there, and we were made to feel pressured to leave? I am wondering if Garret’s management is communicating the importance of customer experience to its employees.

Came here Saturday night day before Mother’s Day. We made reservation prior for 12 and were seated right aWay in the back room which was freeeeezin! It wasn’t busy yet at all but It took a good 15 – 20 mins to even place our drink order then another while to get them.
Also asked to have the heat turned on which she said they did a while ago and it was starting to heat up in the front of the restaurant so it wouldn’t be long for it to reach the back. Eventually it warmed up!
We ended up having to flag down another lady to have our food order taken! We barley saw our waitress after our drink order was taken. I think they needed more servers on the floor for sure! We got our food pretty fast. By now it was pretty busy.
DO NOT order the tortilla crusted chicken! My mom got it and it was so so well done she couldn’t even cut into it and it looked very unappetizing… The bistro steak was good also the ultimate grill cheese my aunt liked and Caribbean chicken.
We wanted to order dessert but no one came back to our table so my dad have to go look for our waitress to tell her we were ready for the check! Insanee.
I feel bad because it’s such a pretty place looking over a driving range! I’m sure it would be a fun place for lunch and to hit golf balls. Just needs more staff on busy nights like that!

Had dinner here last night. Food overall was real good. I had the pulled pork sandwich with onion rings. The sandwich was delicious. Pork was piled high. I had the garlic bbq sauce added to it. It was real good not to sweet. Sauce was a little spicy even for me and I like heat in my sauce. The rings were awesome and piled high as well. Over all the food was great.
Service was good too. The server was attentive and kept the cold beer coming. Dinning area was big and not packed with chairs and tables where your sitting on top of other diners. Chairs were not real comfortable. Bathroom was pretty clean.
Overall had a nice experience here and would come back.

We came here for a light lunch. The restaurant has a lot of searing and is kid friendly. Which is good because I had my two nieces with me.
We started out with the Reuben egg rolls, these were very good. Haven’t had anything like it.
The server was great about refilling our water and drinks. Then my sister and her family showed up and he didn’t even blink an eye and asked what everyone wanted.
We ordered a flatbread pizza next, it was very tasty!
Cute place that got pretty busy as we were leaving. Would come back!

We’ve eaten here several times. Have always had good service. The food is always GOOD. And as we are on lunch hour, we get in and out on time. What more can you ask for?

I was with a small group of 8 last night (Oct 5^th) celebrating my Mom’s birthday. We had a really good experience. The food was great, and the service was excellent! Our waitress Kaitlin K. was awesome… very attentive, accommodating, personable and overall just really pleasant. (I’m all about good service — it can make or break a dining experience, no matter how good the food might be). I asked her about the Bistro Steak, and she highly recommended it. It was delicious — kudos to her (for recommending) and the chefs (for preparing!). Cooked perfectly (I asked for medium) and the ‘crimini mushroom demi-​glacé’ was excellent. Their signature Reuben is really good too (huge portion, and the corned beef is cooked really well — not tough or stringy). The Maple Bourbon Salmon is always a favorite.
The only thing that’s a little disappointing is that the entrees don’t come with a side salad or soup (like most restaurants include), especially since the portions aren’t exactly huge for the price. I don’t know if that’s a new thing, but the owner might want to address that.
They have a nice big bar area which never seems to be too noisy. There’s also a large outdoor seating area in the summer, on the patio overlooking the driving range. I’ve been to Garrett’s many times with my parents when I visit from out-​of-​town. Always a good experience!

Dinner last night was amazing. Ordered garlic cheesy artichoke dip and it was wonderful (not the best I have had but close). For dinner I couldn’t decide, soo many yummy choices, but I walked past someone eating the Ultimate Mac and Cheese and it looked amazing. Waitress said if I haven’t had it, than I had to try it. I did and don’t regret it! Cheese sauce was amazing and breadcrumb topping perfectly crispy. One of the best Mac and cheeses I have had… Just wish it had bacon (they have a Lobster one but I don’t eat seafood).
Dessert was crème brûlé but I was not impressed at all. It did not have a strong vanilla flavor at all. The topping also was not caramelized properly… Just warm sugar. Will not get it again!
All and all, great app and dinner not great dessert. Service was a little slower than average but they were busy on patio and a lot of the customers were regulars so longer conversations with staff ensued. I did notice the manager stopped by all the regulars tables but failed to stop at ours or the table next to us that were not regulars. Thought it would be nice if he would stop just to say hi and make sure we were enjoying our time.

Food and service were both very good. I had a dinner salad, my husband had a burger and both enjoyed the food — wouldn’t call it the best meal ever, but definitely a good solid date night option that we’ll return to. I don’t love the ambiance — the tables feel a little packed in and watching people hit golf balls isn’t my idea of a great view, but it’s certainly not bad. I have a feeling this will become a favorite fall-​back spot for us in Rockford.

Went here for Saturday lunch with my husband at around 11:30. The place was empty except for a couple people in the bar area. We were greeted at the door and seated right after and our table was overlooking the patio and driving range. Nice view.
The server was quick and attentive but we were the only ones in her section.
We each ordered the grilled chicken breast on a croissant instead of the multigrain bun it’s listed with at the menu at no extra charge and my husband ordered the homemade chips and I got fries. The sandwich was amazing but the chips and fries were nothing special except the fries are presented on their on little plate/​bowl thing.
Will definitely be returning just trying a different side

Usually when I go here I go for the driving range. It’s something like $ 4 for a full bucket of balls to hit. Provides something to do in Rockford for cheap for an hour or two.
Their fries has great presentation, but tastes very bland.
I got the grilled chicken sandwich on a croissant and it was really good. I would recommend this place to friends.

The service is ok, the atmosphere is nice, and the food is decent… Except for the price I’d expect either better food or larger portions, servers that know the menu and show up a little more often. I’ve been several times, and haven’t been «wowed». $ 11 bucks for a shrimp appetizer is a bit over the top (it’s good, but not that good), if the 8 oz filet may have been barely that but it seemed teeny and a tad under cooked (I asked for medium rare), and we had to flag down the server multiple times… it took over 15 minutes between asking for the check and getting it, and we had to flag her down again to pay. On the other hand I’ve been several times for lunch and the service has been better, but still a bit spotty. If you’re in for lunch get the strawberry salad and spring the extra few bucks to add the shrimp. It’s delish!
Fine place for going out with friends, but if I was out to impress someone I’d probably choose somewhere else.