They did a really nice job rehabbing this place, lots of room inside and out. Service was a bit slow but those are the times, so no knocks there. The menu was just kinda boring. We split a Cuban and got the goat cheese app. The goat cheese was essentially a spoonful of goat cheese in a bowl of genric marinara sauce served with white toast that has some pesto spread on it. It was edible but disappointing. The Cuban was nondescript. I remember it being on a hoagie bun of sorts. The fries were gross. Overdone 5-guys style. We had a few local beers. They weren't bad. In the end, I think the food at Light the Lamp is 10x better, but the location is really a positive for big groups or outdoor dining. read more

The bar service is HORRIBLE. We came in around 3 pm on a Saturday. It wasn't super busy at this time. We were sat at the high tops, right in front of the bar. We ordered 3 cranberry mojitos off their signature cocktail list, 2 soft drinks and 2 appetizers. The waitress brought our soft drinks immediately and apologized for the wait on the bar drinks. We understand, with all of us previously working at a sports bar, this happens. Our appetizers were served and the bartender, Amy, is back there making everyone else's drinks besides ours (we watched other server's tickets come through and be made before ours for over 15 minutes). After we FINISHED our appetizers the waitress was sent in the back to "find mint" for the bartender- this is pushing over 20 mins for one round of drinks. The bartender should have checked before her shift if she had mint or not- in the end there wasn't any mint and it took about 30 minutes to get one round of cocktails after reordering new ones. She also messed the 2nd round of drinks up by putting salt on the rim when we requested none. She just dumped them into new glasses- so all the salt on the inside was now in our new glass. The reason we gave this a one star is because our waitress was super apologetic and really nice. The food was ok- we won't be back though. read more

Back a second time, and we enjoyed ourselves. Not much to change from the original review, although I can add that Cody, our waiter, was SO nice! Also, we had the turkey club and Cubans and we enjoyed both of them! I'll add some pics. After tomorrow 11/9 they mentioned they'll be going to carry out only with the indoor ban (we sat outside) so be sure to support a local business and consider carry out! read more

First Draft - Turkey club - American Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

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I love the environment, beer and the new entrees are awesome. People are very friendly

This is the 4th time I've eaten here over the course of the years they have been open. I keep thinking it will change but every time there is something wrong with the food. No flavor, cold when it should be warm, staff finger print in the pizza. It's really too bad because the place is nice and it has a great atmosphere. But 4 times is enough for me. Won't ever go back. read more

First of all the only good and attentive waiter here is the Hispanic guy who wears the Jordan's. Everyone else doesn't know how to greet their guests and don't know anything about customer service. The hostesses look at you like they're completely lost. Little girls can't handle seating people or saying hello to guests. Workers get drunk when they still have tables to wait and ignore customers. Food is not consistent, tastes dry and flavorless the last two times I've been here. The waitresses are all rude and have stank look on their faces. Overall crap team and manager. Place has potential with whole new staff and a manager that care about their customers and stop acting like the dumb hipsters they wish to be. read more

First Draft - two glasses of beer on a table - American Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

Great beer selections, and a solid happy hour. We go periodically, and have never been disappointed. It's certainly worth trying.

We had the sliders and build your own bowl (chicken, brown rice, peanuts). Local beers on tap. Wait staff attentive. Ambience is laid back (100 year old warehouse feel). Very nice outside patio and upstairs private room. Only thing missing is on-site brewed beer. read more

I came here one night for dinner with my husband. We got seated right away and ordered. The drink selection was decent but were out of the first two beers we asked for. The appetizer of fried pickles was good but our meal was mediocre, nothing different than bar food. My husband got a club and I ordered the Cubana. The waitress was friendly and the restaurant was clean. read more

We've been twice now- and it's just nothing special. Food is mediocre and in my opinion overpriced.

Stopped here for a dinner with family as we travel through. Our server Bailee did a great job. Each of us has slight adjustments (no mayo, extra ketchup, whatever) and she handled them all. My salmon on a salad was delicious. This is where I want to eat when I visit. Nice atmosphere -fun casual. read more

Decent environment and beer menu. Otherwise, a total failure. I waited 45 minutes for a flipping sandwich which never appeared. Paid the tab for the two beers I drank, and left. Terrible experience; won't be back. read more

I have eaten here probably 25 times. When they first opened, there were growing pains, from service to menu to food. This yelp is over due; First Draft has evolved into a fantastic grill. the menu has been refined, the recipes are delicious, and the service has become outstanding. our server today, Julia S. couldn't have been better...the type of service that makes people request a specific server. I really hope the customers that have drawn their opinion from the early First Draft days will give this restaurant another shot, because it has become a hidden gem, and Julia, thank you for an fantastic experience. Dean F. read more

Do not use a cc got 3 drinks and received 2 charges on my cc bill, one was correct the other was not ($200+). Called to sort it out and was told it would be "refunded" to my account, 3 weeks later Tom who handles merchant services is never there when I call and never there when I am told to call to speak with him and wont call me back. Seems kinda shady to me!! read more

If I could is put no stars. worst service ever. got seated and didn't even get acknowledged and were seated for 15 minutes before just walking out. plenty of staff walking past and nothing. read more

straws are not covered with paper and use the same menu for all customers. In these times of COV-19 pandemic, it is not a good idea and no healthy. First and last time . read more

First Draft - American Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

Very nice location with great outdoor seating. Prefect gathering place for small groups and causal dining. Most in the group had burgers or sandwiches. The feedback was positive. Not the best but good food. Beer was priced from $4.00-$8.00 per glass. They also had a nice selection of reasonable priced wine. read more

Great place ,,, good food, good service & looks like a fun atmosphere. Was here in winter for first time ,,, look forward to checking it out in warmer weather for the patio. read more

So first off....I would like to say that First Draft is amazing for late night and dinner. Our brunch experience....not so great. We went this weekend hoping to have the breakfast pizza like the online brunch menu but was disappointed when asking the server that the menu online was the old menu...Bummer. My son and husband were so disappointed.....my husband had the breakfast sandwich....complete disaster...the bread was soggy....no butter....there were only two pieces of bacon.....and the hash browns were also soggy....my son had an omelette and pancakes....pancakes had too much flour...soggy hashbrowns...I had an omelette as well with bread not even toasted...soggy hashbrowns....I can say we won't be coming back for brunch to this place again.....to make matters worse....it took 40 min to have food at our table and spent an hour and a half here....which is way more time for an empty place at the time.....we will take our brunch business elsewhere and do not recommend. My husband even said my sandwiches are way better than what he had.....please update your menu as it was deceiving. read more

1-star, only because that's the lowest you can go... 3rd time here was bad, pretty much erasing the decent experiences we had the previous two times we had been here. Service was not great; our waitress was nice enough, but didn't show any concern at all when my order came out completely wrong. Speaking of my order- the bus buy who brought out the food pretty much just threw the plate on the table without saying a word. Very rude. Finally, as it turns out, my wife ended up getting sick from her order and I'm not feeling 100% at the moment either. We ate at First Draft a little over an hour ago. Long story/short- we will not be returning to First Draft any time soon. read more

Travis is the best bartender. Great food, great service and great vibe. Always my first stop in G-Lake.

Service was terrible. The man that was "manager" had no time to help the staff. We left because it was soooo slow. They left our food under the lamps to long. We couldn't even eat anything because it was rubber. read more

Love this new location in Grayslake! From the moment you walk in the staff is very welcoming. Nice selection of beers on tap. The food menu provides some good variety but not too much and they have a vegan option for burgers as well that is not on there ... just ask. The gruyere cheese dip appetizer left me wanting more. Burger was done to perfection, I asked for medium and that is what I received! Nice and tasty and juicy. Waitress made the dining experience really enjoyable, interacted well and very personable. Will be back again for sure. read more

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I've been here two times and the service was not great. Long wait and many beer selections were out

I'd only recommend appetizers and drinks that aren't made by them. Had a chicken wrap and it was rubber. Substituted ingredients in a drink on their cocktail menu without asking (was awful) and replacement not great either. On another occasion the bartender hit my husband in the face with a bottle cap. No apology or even acknowledgment. Servers are usually very nice but bar staff and food, not so much. read more

I've been here twice so far and sat outside both times. It's a really pretty space and a nice addition to Grayslake. I had an impossible burger, and my boyfriend had a different kind of burger. Both were good! I was pretty surprised at how small their menu is, but I'm sure it will improve over time. The patio and rooftop are both really nice, but they could definitely use some more outdoor lighting! Or at least always have the fires on for some extra brightness. The second time I came was with a group of girlfriends, and we had a lot of fun. Our waitress was very sweet (Megan) and personable. I definitely see this becoming a fun late night spot as well. The upstairs was lively as we were leaving, and it was only 10pm! I would just recommend some more outdoor lighting and hopefully an expanded menu going forward. I'm a vegetarian, and there weren't many options for me. read more

First of all, if you're looking for a great location with great options for drinking outside, this place is worth a try. The outdoor ambience is excellent and it's pretty nice inside, though it's dark in there and no one was wearing a mask. Yeah, I know certain people have declared that the pandemic is over, for my part I'll wait for a majority epidemiologists to say that. We would love for this to be our (at least weekly) restaurant. We really wanted to like it. We pictured the large window screen they have in the front that is open to the outside would make for alfresco dining even on a rainy day. The building, patio, and rooftop deck look really classy from outside and the ambience is truly pleasant. The place definitely gets at least a B+ for its architectural vibe and open flow. None of the following is in any way a reflection on our server, Caiti. She served us both times and she was very nice and helpful. I can't say enough good about her, actually, but unfortunately I can't picture her lasting very long at this place. We ordered food and had the following problems (again, Caiti did what she could): 1. Food was slow to arrive on both visits despite our ordering as soon as we sat down. I heard Caiti apologizing to another table nearby for their wait. 2. Visit #1, I ordered a turkey club, one of the lunch specials, and it came without turkey. To be fair, Caiti brought me a complete turkey sandwich after I brought the missing turkey to her attention. The sandwich was just OK. Not worth the price. 3. Visit #2, my wife had to do a blind taste test to distinguish the water from the iced tea. She wasn't sure she would be able to tell the difference, so she actually closed her eyes and had me rotate the glasses. She was able to distinguish a slight difference, but also thought it might be because she knew the water had more ice. I also noticed on both occasions that they did not offer us refills even though it was warm both days. I suspect this might be policy because Caiti brought water refills without our asking. 4. Visit #2, my wife ordered a dish with guacamole that had odd-tasting avocado. My wife thought maybe the avocado used was in the process of turning. At any rate, the guacamole did not have a pleasant taste. It was bland besides. I asked my wife if she thought it was worth what we paid, she said well, the tomato soup was good and *maybe* if the avocado was OK it could have been worth it, but it was definitely pricey in the best case. 5. Visit #2, I ordered the breakfast special which included sausage, and slicing into it revealed that it appeared to be only partially cooked . Caiti insisted on coming back with cooked sausage and even waited for me to try the replacement. But this was the last straw for me. I would not order food there again. And really, I think this is the kind of thing I ought to have heard from the manager about. 6. No price reductions were offered on either visit. This got me reading the other Yelp reviews and my conclusion is that this is not a good value, in our experience the food is meh to be generous and even non-alcoholic drinks are watery. It's probably a good place to savor the view if you're drinking something bottled, but I wouldn't put it past this place to take some shortcuts to save a few bucks. read more

Great place to go to. Nice food and many different beers for those so inclined. read more

We had a private party upstairs. Everything went fabulous! Buffet style delicious Italian Beefs. They played our Spotify music playlist. They played our photo slideshow. Architecture design upstairs indoor and out is perfect for a large celebration or a fun night out on the town. Upstairs Billiards, Foosball and Darts... Fun for all! Not to mention an extensive and impressive beer list and great wine too. Last but not least the staff were stellar. I highly recommend! read more

This place is on point! I got the First Draft burger just how it comes and it was amazing! It has a 3 meat blend that I promise will knock your socks off. Additionally if you have a gluten allergy like me go to this place. They have a bunch of gluten friendly options including a gluten free burger bun. It was so good I even asked out amazing waiter Merly if it would be possible to speak with one of the owners who happened to be there that night. It was extremely good and well worth the price. Lastly I was talking about how good the service is and do your self a favor ask for Merly when you go, she knows the menu inside and out and must have been one of the nicest waiter I've ever had. To sum this all up great food, great service, great atmosphere and great for anyone with a gluten allergy! read more

First Draft - First Draft Burger with a gluten free bun(you can't really see the bun in the picture) - American Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

First Try. Expectations not high - word on street opening very rocky...hostess station did not impress, no real greeting them felt like we had to talk them into putting us on the list, "pleeeease can we eat here tonight?" After that really good. Bartender was helpful, seated in about 20min. On a busy Friday night. Waiter exceptional-Stephan! Apps good - split burger - cooked to perfection. Menu minimal right now - but get that right now-specials looked good. Great craft beer choices - amazing number of quality TVs inside and OUT! Hope this place flourishes! read more

First Draft - Upstairs- nice! - American Near Me - Grayslake, Illinois

Good neighborhood place. It's especially nice in the summer to sit outside. Food is good and nice wait staff. Always have a good meal there. read more

None of employees were wearing masks I ask waitress reason why and she apprised me it was managements decision

Came for brunch on a beautiful Sunday and we were able to sit outside which is very pleasant. It was downhill from there. Ordered the $14 biscuits and gravy which seemed to be a long row of deep fried Pillsbury dough... turning it very tough. Then asked for two eggs over easy. Missed on that too...yolks were solid. Everyone else's meal was sub par as well...a burger. Mac n cheese and a couple other egg dishes. Music playlist was on point though. I won't be back to eat food...maybe just for beers on the patio. read more

I would give zero stars if I could. Where do I start. We have been going to this placed since it opened and always enjoyed the outside area. Service was good to start but slowly down hill since last year, tonight was last straw. Customer service is absolute worst in Grayslake. We ordered take out while at a concert down the street. Went in no hostess, workers walking past without any acknowledgment Finally someone asked to help me after almost 5 min. Couldn't find order then finally did but not ready yet even though online said ready by 6:52 p.m. it was now 7:07 and was sitting waiting. Food comes out but I did not pay yet I told server that he said someone would be out. Here waiting at hosted stand manager running around again no hostess waiting finally acknowledge and paid. Open to take out order and no fries with wife sandwich that is supposed to come with no napkins nothing. I don't know about you but every take out order we usually get napkins plastic forks knives salt pepper etc nothing. Will never go there again and will tell everyone I know not to go there. I heard it had a reputation of only catering to the bar crowd and definitely looked like that. Family and middle age people should stay away read more

My birthday is 7/4 and at 12:03 on 7/4 we set up pool to play and the bartender took the pool sticks from us so we couldn't play because a band was playing. Before that the bartender told me "she didn't give a shit that it was my birthday" and that we couldn't play because a band was playing and my friend asked another bartender if we could play and he said it was okay.... Great customer service. The owner is not a good person read more

Love this place. Great vibe. Fun place to drink and gather. I see other reviewers complained about lack of masks. I will come back here BECAUSE they are not mask nazis. If you're afraid to go out because of "covid" then stay home. And look at the warning label on your mask box. Literally reads it cannot protect against "corona virus". I will frequent this place often. Great atmosphere. read more

Went on a Wednesday afternoon and the place was busy! Friendly and attractive bartender and waitresses! Great food and drink selection! Huge , beautiful bar. Tons of seating inside and out and a party room to boot!! Clean and spacious bathrooms! I read more

I would skip this place. Recently moved to Grayslake and wanted to try it for date night, because it looked like a decent place. The waitress was great and very nice. However, the food is less than mediocre. Especially for its price. My partner ordered a burger and we had to send it back because it was practically raw. The fries were old and it was easy to tell they had been sitting for a while. The new burger they brought back was cooked better but there was just no flavor. Not what I expect for paying those kind of prices. read more

Had dinner here tonight with friends. Service was sub-par at best. Chicken Wings are AWFUL!! Rubbery skin, which I absolutely Hate, and the larger ones weren't even cooked through. My wife had the "Make Your Own Bowl" and said it was just OK. The menu has 8 pages of food and 15 pages of cocktails. This is NOT the place to eat, it's the place to start your evening with drinks. Grayslake has a lot better places to eat than here. Friend had the Pulled Pork sandwich and you could tell they didn't smoke it. It's from a package. Put it this way....I left HUNGRY!! Eat somewhere else!! read more