Trifecta Grill

THE WORST EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD! If I could have given it 0 stars I would have. This restaurant should be ashamed of themselves and frankly should go out of business. I came in for my birthday on a Monday night with a large group and we were basically ignored. It took an hour to order, an eternity to get drinks and the food took FOREVER to come out and was mediocre at best. Diners beware and stay away from this place, far far away. Have a nice dinner in downtown Wilmette instead and spare yourself the horror. I expect an apology and the birthday drink I never got and food that I finally got when my friends had finished eating. Tsk-​Tsk

Food is pretty average and not a lot of attention to detail in prep or cooking temperature. Pretty much just a local place to get drinks and bar food. Wish they understood basic service as help is pretty clueless.
We’d go more if they had a pro really running the day to day.

I wrote a five star rating back in 2012 when they first opened. Have been back about 5 times since then and it has been ok. I went back with my wife and a friend last week. The staff was nice, but it took an hour and a half to get food. The waitress apologized numerous times but still took forever. We will try other options for this price point next time. Maybe they had a bad night so I am only taking off one star.

I ate here with my husband and son tonight. It was 75 degrees out and the perfect night to sit outside. The ambiance of this place is great. Awesome outdoor space with comfortable seating. However, everything else was basically bad. The servers were nice, but SO SLOW. What should have been a 45 min experience ended up taking 90 min. And the food is only okay (and overpriced).
I’d go back only if I wanted to sit outside. Otherwise, I would not recommend this place.

Ended up at Trifecta Friday night (again) because some friends in the hood were meeting with some other friends from out of town. Being a long-​time resident of Winnetka, it’s really an embarrassment that this place is able to stay in business. Everything about this place is lazy-​minded and frequently downright gross. They have clearly identified the absolute least they have to do to stay in business and are just going to ride that for as long as they can. One of the most affluent communities in the country and a place like this is allowed to survive. But again… shame on us.

Thank you to Nicole and staff for making my daughter’s sweet 16 a wonderful experience. From the food to the service and ambience everything was terrific !

Two stars go to our delightful waitress, but not to the mediocre food, half raw burger, or the table we reserved two weeks in advance (only to be seated by the bathrooms… I told them we’d wait for a different table). I will say our waitress couldn’t have been nicer. Took the burger off the bill and offered to bring something else. We decided we were just going to stick with what we had at the table and high-​tailed it out of there. We won’t be going back, which I’m sad to say. It’s a cute place.

I hate to write such a bad review, but it’s the truth. The service was very poor, the server/​hostess did not seem to have any training in her job. The food was not very good and the prices are outrageous for both food and wine. The atmosphere was odd and the place was very cold as well. I wish I could get my money back, but that’s life, live and learn.

Last nite my wife and sister in law went for drinks at 5:30, no one in the place. After $ 70 of drinks and appetizers, they decided to stay for dinner and reserved a table for 4 at 6:45. Because the rain slowed traffic coming out of the city, I asked her if she could make the reservation for 7:15. She was told ‘no problem’. When we got there we were told at the front check-​in there was no reservation because we were «Walk-​Ins». They had given our table away and did NOTHING to get us to stay.
Our family have been residents in Winnetka for 25 years and we’ve done our part to support Pat O’Neal by dining at Trifecta, Little Ricky’s, and O’Neals, but no longer. Sorry Pat, but we won’t get burned again, and unfortunately will tell anyone about this experience who asks.

Love this local hidden gem. Came here for dinner a few nights ago and we got to sit outside which is a plus for the great weather we’ve been having. This was my second visit (I came for the first time maybe 2 years ago) and boy was it as good as the first time. I had a summer cocktail-​watermelon mojito. It was refreshing and not to sweet so for me it was the perfect summer beverage. We also over ordered of course but here are a few of my recommendations:
Tri fries– I can’t say no to French fries and they come paired 3 fries and 3 dipping sauces one more delicious than the other
Average joe pizza– Yum!!!
Tilapia tacos– not bad but a little bland for my taste
Lobster roll– really good but I don’t like celery so I had to pick around it
Mango salad– just ok (I’m not a fan of celery)
Pappardelle pasta– my brother loved it
Steak– my personal favorite and bursting with flavor

The good:
Ambiance and outdoor patio seating
The average:
The food is nice but not like others claim it to be for foodies.
Drinks are just ok.
The bad:
Slow service.

Have to give this 5 stars for the lobster ravioli and the ceviche
Had a couple glasses of wine very good but pricey

The menu had a nice variety of options. The atmosphere is trendy-​intimate but cozy.
Very much a «foody» place. Food is appealing in appearance but flavor is not the most interesting.
People watching is a must here, as it is anywhere in the North Shore.

After a super long day at work, the thought of anything other than a cocktail and someone bringing dinner to me and setting it down before my face was out of the question.
I went and tried Trifecta Grill for the first time (this was about 2 months ago.)
Even though I was tired and feeling hyper-​critical about the world, Trifecta was an amazing experience! I’m a vegetarian and there were tons of great options for me. The cocktails are magnificent and I look forward to going back and trying the wine bar. I had a fantastic blueberry lemon drop cocktail which I later found out was a created combo by the owners wife. I had the Roasted Brussel Sprouts, and have never had a brussel sprout in my life but am willing to bet they aren’t always as tasty as the ones at Trifecta. Also had the White Pizza and would have it again!
The price point is great. Excellent food, drink and value.

I did not feel like cooking the other night and I was sick of my usual take-​out places, so I called down to Trifecta Grill for something different. The chicken chipotle lollipops & lobster ravioli were delicious! Service was quick, friendly, and efficient. This is a great place to go for drinks as the selection is extensive, but it does tend to get busy most nights, so make sure you plan ahead!

My boyfriend lives a couple of blocks from Trifecta Grill so we’ve ended up here a few times for drinks and/​or dinner. I am a fan of the wine menu and the ambiance. It has a great cozy feeling with warm service. The patrons make for interesting people watching (some women probably haven’t moved their foreheads in years).
The food is hit or miss. My favorite dish is the ceviche, but I’ve been less impressed with other food, especially the burgers which have a weird seasoning. I’d recommend having a few appetizers and pre-​dinner drinks here and then heading elsewhere.

This is actually 2.5 stars. There are some nice aspects of this place which compel me to round up.
Pros:
Really cool décor. For an owner who throws nickels around like manholes (thanks coach), it looks like he spent some money on the buildout. And, really good job. Notwithstanding the other comments below, the décor and vibe are great.
Pretty good drink menu. They spent some time thinking about their drink menu and it shows.
Portions — for what is basically a tapas place, there are a bunch of plates where you get a bunch of food. And, I don’t think I have ever had anything bad there.
Cons:
Service — probably the worst service I have experienced at a place on the north shore since I moved back in the early 2000s. And, it is not only the average/​sort of above average servers fault. Basically, they understaff the place some times and everyone suffers. I subscribe to the one ounce rule — when your drink is at one ounce, the server should offer you another drink. At this place, the rule seems like the zero ounce + 10 minutes rule. Pretty weak.
No draft beer — all of the oneills restaurants do not serve draft beer. This is code for «we are cheap asses». With craft beer being the rage, get with the program.
No Amex — seriously? How cheap are you?

I really like this place. I like it alot.
First off they have a very cool décor, trendy and inviting but not overboard. I am also a sucker for orange and gray together… bias alert.
My friend and I came sunday night. She had been here before and wanted me to try it out. Well I am glad I did. We were the only brave souls that sat outside in the patio. It was a bit chilly but they turned on the fire pits for us. Fire pit +bottle of wine= warmth. All good. The inside was packed but the outside wasn’t. I am ok with that, as I have noticed that the older I get the less I like people in my aura. Especially the pretentious onces from Winnetka.
For the food I decided to listen to my fellow Unilocalers and try the tri fries. I didnt care for them. They were very blah to me. The sauces were fun but I wonder what the ingredients were. Two of them looked like they had some sort of mayo base to them. Didnt strike me as healthy. I got the popeye salad and my friend got the shorty. I loved my salad and my friend’s short ribs. Yes I did reach and stuck my fork in her plate. Sharing is caring, no? The meat was so tender and so well seasoned and my salad was really good but seemed really boring after I tried the ribs. Delish!
The one thing I am going to say tho, is that the service wasn’t the best. Once our server did realize that it was her table she did do a good job but I shouldn’t have to wait 15 mins for a server. I get that they were rearranging the patio after a private party but still the restaurant was open and customers were there and they were hungry.
Next time I go I plan on utilizing the wine dispensers. I am intrigued. Overall a great place to go on a date. I am excited to return.

Drove past the Trifecta Grill some weeks ago and saw a beautiful ivy-​walled-​in rear garden, a fun hectic buzz and sexy wall-​height steel ‘tiki torches’ and promised myself I’d try the place with the Mrs.
A last minute and impromptu decision to go out on a Friday night and (they don’t take reservations) we showed up and with a huge dose of luck … we snagged a table in the garden. WowZa. At 8pm … the place was hopping, loud, and was awash in typically-​Northshore-​pretentious loud («look at me /​listen to me!») crowd of 40-​somethings dressed as 20-​somethings which was only a buzzkill because I hadn’t had enough Gin to give a monkey’s but I digress.
The atmosphere was fun, frantic, and fake, but heck … it was a gorgeous summer’s night to be outside!!!
The Mrs. ordered a pappardelle pasta dish and her silence indicated thoroughly (and quickly) devoured satisfaction.
I ordered a burger (my lack of adventurism summed up my spirit that night but I wanted something easy as I was famished) and … it was crap. Bland, undercooked, and brutally mushy. HOW do you make a BAD burger? The ‘tater tots’ were golf ball-​sized deep fried mash potato ball things. Inedible crusty outside and molten wallpaper-​glue on the inside. Looked like a failed prop from a Romanian-filmmaker’s copy of Jurrasic Park.
The service was a bevy of under-​age local kids … They were pleasant enough but crap, inattentive, slow, and … brutally ineffectual!
I did peek inside the restaurant and I must say it looked gorgeously laid out, with ample space between tables, exposed brick, designer lighting … beautiful artwork etc … And perhaps cosy and fun in the winter but … I can’t imagine going back. I’m kinda bummed because when the Gin kicked in after a long stressful work week and I wanted to play … the indigestion from the burger kinda robbed any residual playfulness. But hey, that’s why Tumms where invented! Amirite? :-)
Footnote: They did make a damn-​fine Dark and Stormy!

Hostess: «Hi. Are you looking for the moms group that’s eating here?»
Me: Looks around to see if there’s a «mom» standing next to me because surely she can’t think I look old enough to be a mom. And then I realize a) there’s no one else standing near me and b) most women eating out in Winnetka do tend to be moms.
And yes, I was looking for «the moms group.» The board for my daughter’s pre-​school was celebrating the holidays in their back room. It was a pre-​set menu and everything was delish. Favorites included the beet & goat cheese, gourmet pizzas & of the course the tri fries. As for drinks they had a «wine vending machine» in the back where you can actually use a credit card to dispense wine by the glass. How cool is that?
It was the perfect room for a large group of «moms» and delicious food. I couldn’t believe in the 10 months I’ve lived in the area I hadn’t discovered this gem just minutes away. I’m planning to go back soon. In fact, when I got home that night I told my husband that I found our next date night spot!