This place really puzzles me. It's busy like none other and so incredibly overpriced! The food is pretty boring in selection and in taste. I can only assume the location is what does it. read more

My husband and I go here often for date night, the food is good but they really need to think about putting some gluten free options on the menu. There has never been a gluten free dessert option and the staff doesn't seem to know what GF means. read more

I met a colleague there and neither of us had been there before. First, they were kind enough to seat us outside of the sun setting so the glare wouldn't be in our eyes. Our waitress was Floria, she was amazing. She was kind and sweet and offered some of her favorite choices for us. She was very entertaining and just overall a great server. I would definitely ask for her again and recommend her specifically to others. We ordered Calamari as an appetizer and it was delicious (recommended by Floria). I am always nervous to order it because if it's not prepared correctly it can come out tasting really poorly. This was fried and delicious. She also recommended the filet kabobs which my colleague ordered and said they were delicious. I had the scallops, also very delicious with fresh asparagus and cous cous. Portion size was very good for the price and the food all tasted great. For dessert we split a carrot cake with ice cream. Also very delicious. I'm not sure if it was made in house but everything about it was good. Even the leftovers the next day heated nicely and tasted good. The manager, Kathryn, stopped by our table twice and we assured her we will definitely come back and our service and food was wonderful. read more

Must have been here at least 25 times and have never ever had a bad meal. I'm a big fish eater and they never disappoint. Great service, atmosphere and if you're into desserts, you've come to the right place. This is a can't miss restaurant. Sheldon Goldner read more

We ate there this past Saturday evening and were pleasantly surprised. My partner had the Asian tuna salad and I had the ribs. Both were properly prepared and were very tasty. The service was excellent and we were impressed by the pro-active manager, who made it a point to visit each table, asking about the food, etc. He even bused a few tables and took drink re-fill orders. The only negative were the margaritas. Both were sour and needed more triple sec.... read more

Food very good and bartenders are very nice... And very attractive... Good environment... I recommend this place to anyone.. My fish tacos were amazing... See you there... And be nice to the bartenders.... read more

First time visit. The restaurant was nice with several TVs menu was limited in some ways. Ordered club sandwich and instead of fries ordered side salad which was the regular house salad on menu cost was but on the high side for many of the items. Not all the food arrived at the same time and waiter didn't get the order correct for one member of the party. read more

Great New American cuisine! Ambient atmosphere!

This particular J Alexanders is the worst place to dine in Chicago! I have been to other J Aexanders around the country but this location has poor food(cold), bad service and the management is "out to lunch" literally. I will never go back to this restaurant after returning 2 dinners back and the place was empty. I even wrote the corporate office twice and never heard back. Dom NOT waste your time and money at this restaurant! read more

Great food and service, the french dip was fantastic ( Prime Rib Sandwich) and so was the mac and cheese, The char cut ( fish) was done nicely with a vegetable and coocos, They worked well with a wheelchair in our group, and they did not charge for bringing in a cake. The Cheese Burger was also great. read more

One of my fav place to eat. The afternoons are usually not busy and the food is what keeps me coming back. The tomato bisque soup is absolutely delicious. Too bad the one in the city closed down as this is a bit of a drive into the burbs, but so worth it. Although the steak and fries sounds basic, your tastes buds will thank you. read more

Steen made this evening a lovely experience .What an accommodating. Personable server(and I've never bothered to write a review before!)

Service is amazing! Love the atmosphere. Food is great! One of my favs!

Had lunch here, I've been here before and it was OK. I thinks its way overpriced for what they are giving you.A salad for lunch with chopped chix on top should not be $17.00. They did have a corned beef sandwich that look good, but I didnt order it. Maybe next time. read more

This place sucks butt as well. Some sort of smoked salmon dip was ordered for an appetizer & oh my God!!!! It was the most disgusting thing I have eaten in a long time. The flavor was so overpowering that I thought I would gag on the spot. Wouldn't go back. read more

Great atmosphere...yummy cheesey dip n chips, great chicken fingers, HUGE salads! It def has a corporate feel to it...btw

Bread is by request only, very tacky. What a dumb policy. Anyway, I requested and the bread was pretty good. Mac and cheese was a mix of gruyere Swiss and parm. Not stringy but a bit creamy it was ok. The open kitchen view allowed me the opportunity to watch the slicer be wiped down and the same hand that held the rag, used to grab the meat for cooking. The prime rib did not smell fresh but was very tender and the flavor was descent. The mashed potato was also pretty good. After I saw the food handled the way it was I was worried I'd get sick; combined with the awkwardness of asking for bread j Alexander's is lucky to earn a C- read more

What is it about hair in my food lately? I live close to J. Alexander's so, by default, it's a staple of ours. Last time, though, was, in fact, the LAST TIME at this place for me. I had the Oriental Chicken Salad . Everything was seemingly fine until my first forkful, which had an ENDLESSLY LONG BLACK HAIR attached to it. I was with five girlfriends who gave off a collective EWWWW as the hair kept unspooling from my salad. Hey, at least it wasn't a short black hair, right? OK, sh-t happens. I'm reasonable. I call over our server who looks at my hairy plate with a "not again" kind of expression on her face, takes my plate and says she'll be right back. Three minutes later I get another Oriental Chicken Salad delivered to me, without a word as to how this situation was resolved. Did they pull the hair out, retoss my salad and Viola? Or did I actually get a new salad? I would have loved to ask our server but she disappeared, not to return again until dessert time. When she finally reappeared, she glanced down at my untouched salad and said, "can l clear that?" Not "how was it?" Not "why didn't you touch your food?" Not even "can I get that wrapped for you?" Just "can I clear that?" So, being with my pack of girlfriends and not wanting to ruin the evening for myself and everyone (normally I'm shamelessly frank), I told her to take the food but that I don't want to see it on my bill. Well, the bill arrives and IT'S ON THE BILL!!! She tells me that they cannot comp my food simply because I wasn't hungry. That's when the critical decision had to be made: A) Rip into this barely legal dimwit and make her cry. B) Keep my cool because life is too short to waist on barely legal dimwitted waitresses. I'm not telling which I chose. read more

This was my first time coming this place and I'll definitely be coming here more often. Our waitress was very nice and the time to get our food was quick. We started with the grilled artichokes. Now I'm not a huge fan of artichokes, but I devoured these. They were perfectly cooked and fresh and they are very good with the leaves dipped in some salt and then pulling the artichoke off the leaves. I also tried the chicken pasta soup. It was good, but it was a little too creamy for my taste. We both got the prime rib. The prime rib was extremely juicy. The meat just melted in my mouth. It came with mashed potatoes which were nice and creamy, au jus which was so flavorful, and a delicious horseradish sauce. For dessert, I got the carrot cake which is the best carrot cake I have ever had. It was so incredibly moist and it had the perfect amount of sweetness. This is a great steakhouse to go to, prime rib is a must. read more

Went with the family for my dad's bday. Arrived around 5:45pm and seated right away on a Friday night in a wonderful window booth. We all ordered different entrees and each was pretty good. I had the Grilled Pork Tenderloin that comes with this truly amazing "Bang-Bang" sauce. The pork was cooked absolutely to perfection and was the best I'd ever had. The "smashed potatoes" that came with it were also the best mashed I'd ever had, and they seemed more like "garlic herb mashed" than your standard mashed. The other entrees ordered were the Maui Rib-eye, which I tried a piece of and it tasted great, with its pan-seared top. My sister had the salmon, which was the least favorite of the four dishes we had, and seemed like basic salmon with no special kick to it. My mom had steak with some Madeira wine sauce that seemed kind of fatty, but I think it was because she ordered it cooked so rare. After I polished off the entire plate of pork and potatoes, we split the chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream and a slice of key lime pie. Both were decadent, and the chocolate cake was extremely moist and topped with really thick hot fudge. The key lime pie was refreshingly light and the crust was particularly good. The service was flawless, and our server Tony was really funny and made us feel at home the entire time. This was all of our first times there and we all will be returning soon! read more

Restaurant location has frequent car break ins. No video cameras outside and thieves target cars with laptops inside. Police confirmed 2-3 break ins per month. Food was good but not exceptional. If you want an OK meal with high possibility of your car getting broken into....feel free to dine here. Management has done nothing about the break ins. read more

Loved this place. The atmosphere is really nice, yet still casual so you can wear jeans. The music was definitely enjoyable, the service was fast and friendly, and the food is great. A little more expensive but worth every penny! read more

My husband and I come here on a fairly regular basis. When we first moved to Northbrook we loved this place but have found it a little inconsistent through the years with menu changes, etc. This past Saturday we went and feel back in love with it. We made reservations through open table, arrived a few minutes late and were seated in a booth right away. My compliments to the hostess who, given all the people waiting had he work cut out for her, was extremely organized. Our waiter was very attentive even though the place was packed. We shared a tasty bottle of red wine. I ordered the seared tuna and my husband had the chicken. Both were very tasty. No room left for dessert but looks like we'll have to order the carrot cake next time as it looks like it has gotten rave reviews. I look forward to coming back in the near future. Also, I noticed that some people have compared this place to Applebee's. I think that is a pretty big insult to J Alexander's ; the decor is far more sophisticated and the food and service far superior. read more

Had a disappointing experience last night. Waiter was snippy and rib eye steak was very disappointing! Asked for bread from server who brought our salad. When we asked again from our waiter he snipped, " we only serve bread upon request and you never asked me for bread." Steak was pricey, tough and flavorless. I've had better tasting rib eye bought at the Jewel! And mashed potatoes were too soupy. Salad on the other hand was delicious - so I'd recommend going back for lunch only when you order salads not a main entrée. Also didn't tell us that chicken Milanese came with salad and my husband had already ordered and eaten a salad. We easily could've shared a salad had we known this. read more

Met friends for dinner Friday nite. Extremely busy and loud. Servers were not especially attentive nor pleasant. Ordered an entree salad which was served with the dressing on. Was not given options for dressings on the side and was told it was ranch. The $19.00 salad was tasteless and I ate less than a quarter. All staff were young. Suggest they hire folks with experience who would take time with customers. I would not choose to eat here again and don't understand its appeal. read more

I order the Redwood Salad as my entree every time I go there. Excellent.

Went in with a large group and we were seated promptly. Server was rushing us from the moment we sat down. He pushed us to order, coming back to the table every 2 minutes to see if we were ready to order. I would imagine we were his last table and he wanted to leave so the service he gave us was awful. Our food came very quickly after we ordered. The manager never came to see how our meal was, and when we finished the bill was placed in the center of the table. It was not presented with any flare but instead was just a receipt tossed in the middle of the table. Our server did mention that 18% gratuity had been added which was standard. Our entire group felt he did not deserve any gratuity. I will not return. read more

The soup, salad and burger were good, but my husband and I split everything, and each got a soda....the bill was $50.00 with the tip. This is just outgageous. Will not be going back. read more

I'm giving J Alexanders a 5 star because they are so fast and cater to the business work crowd at lunch. It's incredibly fast and predictable. Their food is very good, albeit a little pricy or small portions. The Caesar salad always leaves me a little hungry, but it's very good. The service is fast and good. Our glasses are never empty and we always get out of there quickly. read more

Great experience and the food was excellent. Please do yourself a favor and order the mac and cheese... ummmmmm good! Oh, and I highly recommend the key lime pie for dessert. read more

Had dinner here the other night and while we, four of us, enjoyed our meals the exceptional part of the dinner was our service. John, our server, was simply incredible. Very professional but also personable. Genuinely so I might add. We had a very good dinner and most pleasant experience. Thanks John! read more

Went to REDLANDS for Father's Day dinner. The place was not that crowded at 8pm. The service, however, left a lot to be desired. The food was good and well prepared, but that was ruined by the quality of the wait staff. Our waiter would disappear for a protracted period of time and would appear only after several messages were sent via other waiters. He even forgot to bring a side order of heirloom beets that were ordered with the entrees, It only arrived after we were almost done with dinner, Needless to say, that was my last visit to J. Alexander's Redlands Grill. read more

I was visiting the area on business and a colleague took us here for lunch. Had a chainlike feel but upscale. Most of us started wih the Chicken Tortilla soup which was huge and very good. I had the French Dip sandwich with horseradish sauce. Probably one of the largest and most flavorful french dips I have ever had. Everyone raved about heir meals. I will make it a point to stop here again! read more

Came and had a wonderful server named George, one of the nicest people we have ever met! We can vouch for the beet salad, turkey burger, and veggie burger all tasting phenomenal. Would come back here in an instant, I highly recommend dining here! read more

Very nice place. Clean and friendly staff. Food is good except the grilled Artichokes. But Ryan the manager really took care of that. Enjoyed the steak. Nice place to relax. Fish is amazing. Specially Scottish Salmon grilled Amazing food. Key lime pie was almost as good as the one I had in Florida. read more

The service was great Our waiter was very attentive. Both my self and coworker ordered the Redlands Salad, It was a nice blend of flavors. I would come here again! read more

http://www.chicagonow.com/chicago-board-tirade/2012/11/no-mas-tequila-senor-j-alexanders/

We happened upon this restaurant while looking for a steak place on a Saturday night. First off, the host (who waited on us for the drink/appetizer) recommended buying a bottle of wine. At first we were all for it, til we realized how expensive that bottle was, and he then recommended the glass. Well, he was right the first time, the bottle was the cheaper option at $42, because four glasses of wine were $48! My husband had the prime steak = medium rare and there it was sitting lonely on the plate with some mash potatoes (from the box...come J. Alexander's, those are not freshly mashed potatoes!) OK, so if money is no object, keep patronizing this place. if you're on a budget, pass on this place! read more

Very basic fare. Nothing you can't make at home. Poorly flavored entrees with dull sides (mixed veggies sautéed in oil -- yawn).

Great spot for a business lunch. Reservations suggested. Get there before 12:00 as it gets totally full. Very good service, very nice meals especially the salads. Big portions . Loud. Overall a good choice though NOT a destination read more