I went to Nick's in Rosemount last November with a group of 8 people (6 adults, 2 teenagers) and was quite disappointed.
The service was perhaps the worst. It was very hard getting a drink order in when we got there.
Their wine list pretty much sucked, but their bar was quite good.
Our appetizers were room temperature and not very appealing. I don't know if it was a difficulty in serving 8 or what.
I had ordered a pasta dish with scallops, the scallops were horridly overcooked. They did replace them with about half of the original scallop amount with nicely done ones when I complained.
Basically the food seemed overpriced and underquality.
I don't know if Nick's in going downhill or it's just the Rosemount location, I had a nice meal (for two) at their downtown location in 2001.
I haven't been to Port Edwards in a while but I've always been happy there.
Bob Chinn's is probably a better bet than Nick's, but I sometimes wonder about their quality. But I've mostly done lunch there and haven't been there in a while. But in 2002 the quality seemed quite downhill from the late 90's.
I hope you're figuring the space at Shaw's in Schaumburg is the same as the space at the downtown location - it is MUCH roomier in Schaumburg. I can't begin to imagine it being more cramped than Chin's.
Good luck, frankly I've been hoping to find some new exciting seafood place but haven't yet.
Nancy Sexton