Gibsons in Rosemont - a disastrous experience

I had dinner on Thursday with my sister to celebrate her birthday. Gibsons in Rosemont has always been my top choice for a steakhouse (I don't like eating downtown), until now.

First, let me say that I have always hated the layout of the room. It's ridiculously cramped. When it full, it's impossible to get up without bumping into someone at the next table. I'm surprised the staff is able to move efficiently in such tight surroundings. The food and service have always made dining here worthwhile, though, until now.

Start with the service. The busboys were outstanding; quick to take plates, refill water glasses, remove crumbs, etc. Our waiter was attentive until the room got busy and an extremely attractive blonde sat in the two top behind my sister. Then we became afterthoughts.

As a man, I certainly understand why the waiter doted on the blonde (think a younger Helen Mirren). As a customer, I wasn't happy about it, but it's not my style to make a scene or talk to the manager about it. I didn't make my sister aware of the situation because she probably would have done those things. It was annoying, but not unforgiveable. Overall, I'd say the service was adequate. I'm used to exemplary service at Gibsons, so it was disappointing.

However, it was not nearly as disappointing as the food. The problem was the flavor, or rather, the lack thereof. I ordered the Delaware Bay oysters. At $15 for a half dozen, these would have been a ripoff even if they were fantastic. They weren't. (And to think I wasn't happy paying $11 for a half dozen excellent oysters in Seattle a few days prior.) I can confidently say that I will not be ordering Delaware Bay oysters from anywhere in the near future. I prefer my oysters straight up, and these were completely flavorless. I didn't care for the accompanying horseradish cocktail sauce.

I ordered the shrimp bisque and found it rather boring, though my sister enjoyed it. The asparagus with Hollendaise sauce was not worth ordering. I'm no expert on Hollendaise sauce by any means, but I'm fairly certain it's not supposed to taste like plain yogurt.

On to the entree. I had the porterhouse, medium rare. Cooked to the correct level, but shockingly ordinary. I had to be very generous with the salt to coax any flavor out of the meat. I'm used to eating the finest steaks at Gibsons, but I've had better tasting steaks at diners. Unbelievably disappointing. My only consolation was that it wasn't just me; I noticed the blonde sending her steak back to the kitchen.

For dessert, we split the chocolate mousse cake. I mentioned to the waiter that it was my sister's birthday, but there was no pomp and circumstance. I didn't mind that, but there was no acknowledgement of the occasion whatsoever. It didn't help that the cake was dry (my sister mentioned to the waiter that she thought it was stale) and, again, lacking in flavor.

For years, I've recommended Gibson's in Rosemont when anyone asked about a steakhouse. I can no longer do so. In fact, I will dissuade people from dining here. I'm not trying to be vindictive, but people who know me respect my opinion, and I cannot tell them to spend a significant amount of money if I'm not certain the experience will be worth it. Even if my meal was an aberration (and I hope that is the case), I wouldn't put someone who trusts my opinion in a situation where they could have a similar meal.

Did I finish my meal? Yes; if I'm spending that kind of money (my bill was roughly $100/person all inclusive; thankfully we're not big wine drinkers), I'm not leaving much on the plate. Did I enjoy my meal? Absolutely not. The food was flavorless across the board. When the highlights of the meal are the bread and the plain baked potato, that's a bad thing.

There are some real problems in the kitchen in Rosemont. When I've thought of Gibsons, outstanding food and service came to mind, until now. I'm not a regular customer, but I've been loyal to Gibsons over the years, until now. They've lost me as a customer. Money's tight for me right now, and if I'm going to splurge, there are numerous places I would go before I would return here. This was the most disappointing dining experience I've had in years.

jaybo wrote: At $15 for a half dozen, these would have been a ripoff even if they were fantastic. They weren't. (And to think I wasn't happy paying $11 for a half dozen excellent oysters in Seattle a few days prior.)

Not to be snippy, but why order something that you think is a ripoff even if they're perfect?

This was a special occasion, so I wanted to splurge. You're right, though, in that I wouldn't have normally ordered them. Lesson learned.

My family dined at Gibsons in Rosemont a couple months ago and were also very disappointed with the quality of the steaks. We won't be going back.

Thank you so much for the review. Being an extremely attractive blonde, I'm making a beeline for Gibsons immediately!

I don't know if you'll like your steak, but you'll definitely love the service!

Gibson's in Rosemont is the place where I was asked to cut into my steak the moment it was delivered to the table, with the waiter hovering over me, to make sure it was cooked properly. That struck me as incredibly amateurish and wrong on several levels. Since the steak had not rested properly, cutting into it at that moment, ironically, ruined it. I'd never experienced anything like that at any other steakhouse and I've never returned.

=R=

I have to agree that Gibson's in Rosemont has dropped off my go-to list. Steaks were nothing special and it's almost like they are drawing people based on their name alone.

ronnie_suburban wrote:Gibson's in Rosemont is the place where I was asked to cut into my steak the moment it was delivered to the table, with the waiter hovering over me, to make sure it was cooked properly. That struck me as incredibly amateurish and wrong on several levels. Since the steak had not rested properly, cutting into it at that moment, ironically, ruined it. I'd never experienced anything like that at any other steakhouse and I've never returned.

=R=

I agree 100%. You can tell by touch if the meat is to your liking. I always scoff at servers who tell me to cut it open. The cook is supposed to KNOW if a steak is done by touch. If I cut it open and it's not cooked enough, who loses? Me. Stoney River Steaks does this too, and I suppose on one hand it's a nice touch so people feel like the restaurant cares and they are getting extra attention, but those of us who know a steak will be ruined by a return to the grill if we cut it open do not appreciate the lack of confidence the cook has by not knowing if a steak is done properly (as they should always know). That being said, I like Stoney River (Deerfield).

Ram4 wrote:I always scoff at servers who tell me to cut it open. The cook is supposed to KNOW if a steak is done by touch.

There's also a layer to this that feels like the restaurant attempting to "indemnify" itself against the possibility of a complaint. "Looks about right? Great. By clicking agree, you have now forfeited any right to come back at me in a few minutes telling me it's not done right." There's a flavor to this indemnification process that presumes customers are going to be unreasonable jerks if given the opportunity, which is aggressive and unfriendly on the restaurant's part. A restaurant shouldn't be about protecting itself. At least not so openly.

I've been happy with my orders and overall experience at Gibson's on Rush in recent visits. Maybe Gibson's Rosemont is slipping in a way the downtown location isn't.

I would have to agree about how crowded (and noisy) the place is. My Bride and I stopped by last year and it was ridiculous on what a circuitous path we had to take to get to and leave our table as nearly all the aisles were blocked. The service though was outstanding.

My Bride is sensitive to noise and I do not think I will be able to get her to return.

Ram4 wrote:The cook is supposed to KNOW if a steak is done by touch. If I cut it open and it's not cooked enough, who loses? Me.

Right on there! This was the problem I always ran into at Magnum's steak houses, which is why I stopped going there. Medium rare would always end up served pretty much raw, and the steak they would return with after I sent it back would be medium-well.

I've not been to Gibson's for a while, mostly because there are as good or better steak places more conveniently located than the one on Rush (never been to the one in Rosemont).

I'm a bit unsure as to why you're upset at 2.5/oyster

A quick review of other prices come up at about 2.5-3/oyster. Getting even ok oysters to Chicago is expensive.

jpschust wrote:I'm a bit unsure as to why you're upset at 2.5/oyster

A quick review of other prices come up at about 2.5-3/oyster. Getting even ok oysters to Chicago is expensive.

I agree. Oysters at a fishmonger tend to run $1 to $1.75 each. I usually expect to pay twice that much in a restaurant. So $15 for 6 oysters seems entirely reasonable to me. You really can't compare the price of oysters in Chicago to those in Seattle. (Now, the fact that the oysters weren't very good is another story.)

I guess I've just been spoiled by the early bird special at Bob Chinn's. It just seems expensive to me. I had some oysters at the Raw Bar on Clark last night; kinda tasteless, but the horseradish cocktail sauce was infinitely better. Those were only $8.50 for six. They have an AYCE deal on Thursdays for oysters at $.40 each, but I believe you need a coupon (that they give you when you dine in, I think).

BTW, the oysters in Seattle were great, just more expensive than I thought. In fact, I think I used to get a dozen for $9.95 at the same place I ate at a couple of years ago.

jaybo wrote:I guess I've just been spoiled by the early bird special at Bob Chinn's. It just seems expensive to me. I had some oysters at the Raw Bar on Clark last night; kinda tasteless, but the horseradish cocktail sauce was infinitely better. Those were only $8.50 for six. They have an AYCE deal on Thursdays for oysters at $.40 each, but I believe you need a coupon (that they give you when you dine in, I think).

BTW, the oysters in Seattle were great, just more expensive than I thought. In fact, I think I used to get a dozen for $9.95 at the same place I ate at a couple of years ago.

You have to compare like places for prices- Bob Chinn's isn't in the same pricepoint as Gibson's. Gotta compare oysters to oysters

jaybo wrote:BTW, the oysters in Seattle were great, just more expensive than I thought. In fact, I think I used to get a dozen for $9.95 at the same place I ate at a couple of years ago.

You need to go to Elliott's next time you're in Seattle. Make sure you're there on a weekday at 3PM sharp and sit in the bar. Prices start at .50 each and go up by .25 cents every 30 minutes. You're also limited to ordering 36 at a time, but yum, some of the freshest, cheapest oysters you can find anywhere.

Gibson's in Rosemont was a regular business lunch and dinner spot for me during my years in Chicago primarily due to its convenient location to my office.

It seems that, like in my experience, yours has been largely good there until this visit and that you had come to view it as a nice special occasion place much like I did.

Any restaurant can have a bad night, in food quality and/or service.

I'm reminded of one unfortunate meal there, where the restaurant had just installed a new salamander that day and everything coming out of the kitchen was either burnt or raw. The staff was quite apologetic and the shortcomings were taken care of by an adjustment to the bill that more than adequately addressed them.

Both before and after that, I had many wonderful meals at Gibson's.

But, that didn't preclude me from giving a restaurant that had served me quite well over the years another chance to do it right (which they did).

What Gibson's may lack in formality of its service, it has always made up for it with the absolutely wonderful treatment I have received from the front of the house staff there.

Like any place that fails to meet your expectations, especially a high end place that you have frequented for some time, you should share your experience with the general manager and give them the chance to address your concerns.

It seems a bit drastic to cut off an old time favorite over one bad dinner.

About the steaks...
1) I can't imagine anyone who posts on this board being bullied by a waiter to cut into a steak upon its arrival to the table. Just tell them to go away and come back in five. Which leads me to...
2)Isn't the steak properly rested by the time it reaches the table? I always assumed they took care of that by letting it rest a bit then adding in the time it takes to reach the table.

hoppy2468 wrote:About the steaks...
1) I can't imagine anyone who posts on this board being bullied by a waiter to cut into a steak upon its arrival to the table. Just tell them to go away and come back in five. Which leads me to...

Ronnie is a nice guy who, all things being equal, will not tell anyone to go away. I don't think it's that he was bullied but that he tried to be accomodating. I might do exactly the same in the situation he described (as might others, particularly if the assumption is that the steak has already rested prior to delivery at the table).

David Hammond wrote:

hoppy2468 wrote:About the steaks...
1) I can't imagine anyone who posts on this board being bullied by a waiter to cut into a steak upon its arrival to the table. Just tell them to go away and come back in five. Which leads me to...

Ronnie is a nice guy who, all things being equal, will not tell anyone to go away. I don't think it's that he was bullied but that he tried to be accomodating. I might do exactly the same in the situation he described (as might others, particularly if the assumption is that the steak has already rested prior to delivery at the table).

In a business setting, where everyone else is happy to just plow into their lunches, I'm not going to be the guy who holds up the entire meal. Just because I'm discerning and care about food, doesn't mean I'm unable to understand and manage my priorities. Of course, we have business out that way every so often and because of that experience, I've always chosen to go somewhere else.

YourPalWill wrote:It seems a bit drastic to cut off an old time favorite over one bad dinner.

Well, in my case it was never actually a favorite. It was just a choice near the airport, which has since faded from my radar.

=R=

I'm a regular at Gibsons in Rosemont as I pass it on my way home every night. Usually its top notch stuff. But a couple of months ago I had the most flavorless ribeye steak I've eaten at any establishment at ANY price point. There was no flavor whatsoever. I even salted and peppered the damn thing to bring it to life. Since then, however, it's been better, so I'd suggest giving it another try.

. . even if they treated me like a criminal i would return because their ribeye sammich is other-worldly and has been touched by the hand of God.

My fave steak joint is David Burke's but i had the worst steakhouse experience there last week. First they completely overcooked my steak to well done. When they returned with another, it was rare instead of the requested medium. But by that point I ate it because my companion had already been 25 minutes into her steak. To make matters worse, the staff was not attentive to refills, and they threw away the half of the steak that i'd told them to place in a to-go box. I didn't want to make a scene in front of my friend (who i hadn't seen in some time) so I left without saying anything - be that as it may, its left me seething and will make me think twice about returning, which is something i've never said about any place before.

I had one of the worst filet's of my life there. I was just glad it was on company business and could expense it. I did not even finish the steak. If you know me, and my appetite and girth, you would know that it was a bad steak.

Are you talking about Gibson's, or David Burke's in the post directly above yours?

Gibsons. also on a note the double stuffed potatoe on the side was very dry and flavorless as well.