I'm a fan of J. Alexander's and have visited at least a half dozen times. The staff is excellent and while the food doesn't challenge, it is still unique in its own way and well prepared. The place is always packed, so reservations are suggested. At seven on Saturday, the wait time was an hour plus, but if you can find a seat at the bar, or one of the few tables there, you can be served without wait. I'm not sure if this is good, or bad as it leads to a Lord of the Flies type environment where the many self-important titans of suburbia aggressively vie for recently vacated seating. In the span of an hour, I witnessed two heated altercations between patrons insisting that the newly opened seats seats the bar were absolutely their property. The potions are quite large, so if it is just two of us, we usually split an appetizer, salad (Ahi Tuna is excellent) and an entree. The staff is happy to do this and everything comes out pre plated separately. I'm not sure if there is a charge for this, I've never looked. The wine selection is quite good and prices reasonable for the quality with a good pour in the $9.00 to $16.00 range. The waitstaff are skilled sellers of extras like desserts and appetizers, but I've always been happy when I ordered either. In particular, the desserts are large and enough to serve four without feeling deprived. The vanilla ice cream and carrot cake are personal favorites. I've been to the Deerfield location a couple of times. I like it as well, but for some reason am always more satisfied with Oakbrook. read more

First time at this location. Masks required indoors. Clean. Loved the lighting! 5:15 reservation. Our server, Emily was Amazon good!!! Great food , great wine, and great service!! read more

Dinner on Resurrection Sunday. Not extremely crowded, which was nice. Ambience: casual, subdued lighting. Moderate noise level. Great place to go with friends and family. Not recommended for kids, but can be kid friendly. Full menu from burgers to mahi mahi so those with picky taste buds. Everyone should be able to find something off the menu. We ordered the east coast shrimp appetizer. It was plenty for 3 people to share. Very tasty with a little 'heat' . Comes with a remoulade sauce and cocktail sauce. I have also has the con queso dip and it is also very good. Entrees:. We ordered the pork loin with Thai sauce. Just the right amount of heat. Comes pretty rare, do order medium if you only want a little pink. The rattle snake pasta, it's enough for 2 meals, unless you have a hearty appetite. Very creamy and the grilled chicken is seasoned very well. I added a little broccoli, but it will cost you an additional 2 bucks. The chicken tenders sampler is a long time staple and always good. Heaping serving and chicken, swapped out the fries for cous cous. Tried to add something a little healthy. Desserts included the carrot cake and key lime pie. Best carrot cake around. Served warm. Yummy. We had a great server. I think her name was Diane. Very professional, yet personable and attentive at the right times. Will definitely go back. read more

Solid 4 star experience. Food was very good and well prepared. Wait staff once we were assigned someone was very attentive, but took quit some time to get someone to our table. It was full though so pretty loud as the layout is very open and booth backs low so not much sound break or privacy table to table. read more

I was extremely pleased with our dinner and service here. I made a reservation for my husband, his parents, and me to celebrate his parent's anniversary. First off, the hostess was extremely kind and genuine. We had arrived early as traffic was good and put our names in. She first said she would get us in before our reservation, but then looked again quickly and said she would get us seated in just a few moments. We certainly didn't mind since we were early and were seated before the bar could even make our drinks. Our waiter, Frank, was friendly and asked if he could answer any questions and made suggestions. We opted for the spinach con queso and calamari--both were great. Calamari was tender and they gave us plenty of chips. We each had a different steak for our entrees (filet mignon, new york strip, ribeye, and prime rib). Everything was cooked and seasoned well. Sides were great. Loved how the waiter asked if we were okay with the sides or would like to substitute. He obviously knew the menu well. We had coffee and dessert as well. We had the special ice cream "cake" with toffee ice cream and snickers as well as the key lime pie. Desserts were HUGE and my mother in-law said it was the best key lime pie she had outside of St. Thomas. It was the best I'd ever had since I haven't been to St. Thomas. The lime curd was silky and the whipped cream was fresh. Ice cream cake was out of this world! Overall it was a lovely evening with good food and service. We couldn't have asked for a better night! read more

Try the spinach queso to start. The salads are all great but the ahi tuna salad is a go to favorite for everyone I've brought here. If they have the street tacos on special those are amazing. Whatever you do, do not leave without having the carrot cake. Order a piece to take home if you have to! read more

Went here for our anniversary dinner and might I say ...... fucking amazing!. Down to the atmosphere to the food.

Wonderful celebratory dinner, with casual patio atmosphere! We were visiting our college-student son in suburban Chicago, looking for quality steakhouse for celebratory dinner before heading to airport for late-night flight home. Comfortable evening, fantastic meal, attentive service! Just perfect! read more

My husband and I had a good meal and experience at J. Alexander's after shopping at Oakbrook Mall. Tasha was our waitress and gave us good attention. read more

Great food, great service and ambiance. My steak was cooked perfectly. Just wish we lived closer!

Take out only. It was really good actually. Would love to go and spend some time at the restaurant. Be warned : expensive read more

We was traveling thru from Ohio and decided to try it never ate there it was the worst ever it smelled like a sewage and was nasty service wasn't greatest and we ordered steak and fries and a side salad which looked like they dripped a small spot of dressing on it and steak was small and tasted burnt fries was over cooked And for the 2 of us was 84$ for a crap meal will never eat there again couldn't finish food due to smell made me nautious very upset!!!! read more

When you walk in, you are immediately comforted by the woodsie "up north" smell of a smoking fire. I did not actually see a wood burning fireplace upon entering or on our walk back to the booth in the rear of the restaurant but the smell was amazing. The atmosphere is a bit darker & masculine {and you have to watch out for the dimly lit steps}, but it was comfortable and cozy. We came on a Friday, late afternoon and were seated right away and assured our server would be right by. It was actually quite awhile before the lovely Danielle graced us with her presence, we almost left to go to an old favorite, but then decided to stay and try something new. Upon glancing at the menu, I was a bit more sticker-shocked than I was expecting. I realize they were in the "$$" category but I was having trouble finding anything to match my appetite and budget on their one page menu. I ended up ordering the $15 Redwood Salad which was composed of rotisserie chicken, pecans, avocado, tomatoes, bacon, cheese {not indicated to which type but it was shredded cheddar}, croutons and ranch dressing. I asked for dressing on the side, anticipating that a $15 salad would be massive, and I was right, I was only able to finish 1/3 of it, and brought the rest home for dinner later that night. Danielle even packaged up the salad dressings for me, which was an unexpected surprise when I went to open up my leftovers that night, when I found I was out of dressing. It is little details like this that bring a smile to my face and keep me coming back. My lunch buddy ordered the $12 "Hyde Park" Chicken Sandwich {grilled chicken breast with monterey jack & french fries} and it must have been good because he plowed right through it. The fries were delicately cut into very skinny strips. Later he told me it wasgood, not absolutely mind-blowing, but a good ol' chicken sandwich... pretty hard to mess that up. He also ordered their Amber Ale, but after Danielle took our menus & specials list away, we forgot what it was called, but he thought it to be delicious. Service was great, food was good, and atmosphere was incredibly cozy. I did feel under-dressed though, because we just picked this place on a whim to try something new after running boring errands. I walked out, and passed a lady in her fancy furs walking in and immediately regretted my zippy and yoga pants "comfy day attire" for errands that day. Oops. Word to the wise, wear some nicer clothes, than I had chosen, if you KNOW you're going here, it was a bit more upscale than we were expecting! read more

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Awful disappointment! My husband made Saturday night reservations here for us to celebrate a new job offer I received. Our reservation was at 8:00 pm. We arrived 45 mins early so killed some time at the Container Store. We walked into JA's at 7:55 pm and it was all downhill from there. When we checked in for our 8 pm reservation at 755 we were told we were early and that JA's running a few minutes behind so we would be seated closer to our reservation time. Also they said my husband's reservation was under Mark. His name is Mike and when he corrected them they ignored him! They gave us a buzzer and we took a seat in the crowded waiting area. By 815 we were still waiting. I looked at Yelp to check out entree options and was happy to see a queso/spinach app, several fish options and also a pasta. My husband suggested we leave due to the delay. The menu variety convinced me to stay even though the customer service was awful. At 820 we were still waiting. I approached the front desk to ask how much longer. I was not given a clear answer just an unapologetic "2 other parties with an 8 pm reservation checked in before you". I asked "so by 830?". I was hesistantly told "yea..." 10 minutes later we were buzzed and "Mark" and I were seated. Our service was fast but the menu had changed! We couldn't believe our reservation was delayed due to their poor planning and that our favorite dishes were no longer on the menu. We had 3 choices for appetizers plus 2 soups. We chose the chips & queso. Good but way overpriced. We got an iced tea and a bottled root beet for drinks. For entrees I got a steak burger and "Mark" got a porterhouse. we asked for medium well and received bloody rare. We had 4 different servers so didn't get a chance to ask for medium well and were starving so just ate. The first few bites were alright but overall was overpriced and low quality. When our $80 bill arrived we felt ripped off and disappointed in the quality of food and service. Clear decline from the JA I grew to love 5 years ago. Next time we are in the mood for this type food near Oak Brook mall, Wildfire or Cheesecake Factory will be our choice. read more

I always love this restaurant and had not been in awhile, but tonight we had a delicious dinner with a fabulous waitress who made us feel very special. We enjoyed the prime rib and the salmon. But we came for the carrot cake. I also adore the brand of earl grey tea. I forget about this restaurant as they are not on open table but it's never disappointed me. They also are a restaurant that served great family meals during the shutdown and thru COVID and I am truly happy they survived. read more

J.'s has resorted to using farmed fish. My husband and I each ordered it on separate occasions and we both got hives from it. I called corporate and got their voicemail. I left a message voicing my concern for their choice and shared my experience, and never heard a peep from them. Epic fail. Will never order it again. I"m very disappointed in them as a company for making this choice and also their lack of response. Service at the table is always good. read more

This is one of my wife's favorite restaurants and Steak Maui is her favorite entree. The fish tacos are about the best I found outside of San Diego. Steaks are what they excel at. The service is usually very good. I say usually because they have this team concept where you ask one person for something and someone else brings it. When it works it works great. Sometimes though the left hand doesn't always know what the right hand is doing. But, I give them credit for putting such emphasis on service. I must say, I don't care much for chains but these guys pull it off pretty well and it does make for great consistency and is well managed. read more

Dinner was really great, I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant. Dimly lit so its great for date night. A lot of chatter over at the bar so it looks like a nice place to cool off and hang with the guys. My only dissatisfaction was the service. I felt like based on my choice of comfy apparel for the day that I was slum. Sure I was not dressed for success but I was out and nearby and hungry! Staff made me feel really insecure and it wasn't appreciated, they had great quality food. read more

For a chain, they do a great job. Good roasted artichoke to start. Nice prime rib. Limited beer selection, but adequate. Very complete dinner menu. Excellent service throughout the meal by multiple servers. Manager stopped by. They obviously train their people well, and it shows. Big space décor, typically for a suburban steak house. Nice but nothing special. read more

J. Alexander's has been a staple in my family's dining repertoire for at least 10 years. I know we ate here after my high school graduation, for countless birthdays, Mother's Day, Father's Day... any occasion, we're likely here celebrating. Most recently, we took my mom here for Mother's Day and enjoyed ourselves, as usual. The menu is great and hardly ever changes. We all order the same thing every time, but we're happy with that because the food is always made well. The restaurant is classy, so dress up or down and you'll fit right in. This is a reasonably priced place to take someone on a special occasion without spending WAY too much money, so you can come here without feeling like you've splurged. Get the French Dip, veggie burger, steak - really any entree. The food is always made well and the French fries they serve on the side are AMAZING. We talk about them a lot and then we'll take a trip to J. Alexander's just to have them. Also, get the queso dip - it's to die for. Creamy, cheesy, yummy.... so good. Great dessert choices, full bar and a cocktail menu and TONS of wine. We'll keep coming here for all kinds of celebrations and parties for years to come. Totally yummy, even for a chain restaurant. read more

Came in on a Tuesday night so there was no wait, but the restaurant looked pretty full. Question: Are you supposed to get bread to start the night off?? We did not get any and this was my first time so I'm wondering. My sister and I ate the: - 12oz prime rib (medium rare) - bacon & swiss burger - not your ordinary mac & cheese side - fully loaded baked potato side - ginger ale and a coke Prime Rib was exceptionally GOOD. I'm not a big Prime Rib fan. Last Prime Rib I had was at Lawry's and I thought that was OK. This blew them out of the water. Burger was pretty good too. The mac & cheese however, was really good. had a nice creaminess to it. Ginger Ale was a little flatter than I would have liked though. Service was fine. He seemed busy. Overall, before tip, the check came out to be $42. Not Bad for all the food we got. Plenty of left overs to take home. I'd be back for sure. read more

This review is long overdue. I have been going to J's for nearly nine years for mostly business lunches. The first thing of note is the service. It is apparent that management focuses on providing great customer service. Both the employees and the processes are designed to ensure you receive prompt and friendly greetings, have your drink order taken usually within sixty seconds of sitting down and your food is brought out promptly when it is ready. I rarely have a bad service experience there and even more rare now that I ask to be sat in "Jen C.'s section". Jen is friendly, knowledgeable and takes ownership of the exceptional customer service she delivers. In regards to the menu, it is your typical eclectic American fare. The menu does vary between lunch and dinner but the biggest difference I noted is the prices are slightly higher but portions larger. I have enjoyed everything from the fish to the burgers to the chicken tenders. The fries are more along the lines of the thin cut (reminds me of petite frites you typically get in Paris) and are my one weak spots. I invariable finish them all whenever I order them. You can count on easily spending $15-$20 for a lunch entree and drink which is a bit on the higher end of the scale. The one knock I have to give them is the decision to get rid of the croissants (at least at the Oakbrook location). The croissants were fabulous and topped with a drizzle of sweet glaze. They got rid of these in lieu of non-memorable loaves of bread a few years ago. If you want to get under a manager's skin drive home the thought that you think this was a poor decision. The atmosphere is wide open and with high ceilings, it stays quiet enough that you can have a conversation and conduct business. Highly recommend for business lunches. One thing to note though is large parties can be challenging as the tables (I am told) cannot be joined so if you have much more than 8 in your party you will likely not be seated together (at least comfortably). read more

J. Alexander's - Moscow Mule - New American Near Me - Oak Brook, Illinois

One of my favorite restaurants!! My only gripe is that I ALWAYS have to send my steak back due to it being undercooked. No matter how many times I say well well well done!! At this point I know it's not the waitress fault, it's the cook that insists on cooking steaks the way his sees fit. Over the years that prices have gone up but the quality has gone down. Nonetheless, still one of my favorite steak houses!! read more

Not "Fine Dining", but upscale. Good food and drink- reasonably priced. Engaging wait staff and barkeeps. Daily specials to augment the realistic amount of menu choices. Consistency out of the kitchen, quick to fix anything amiss. Pleasing, club like "adult" atmosphere. This is our GO-TO place. Our rotation is all about predictability. When we go here we expect the meal to be good - and it is. read more

So here it goes, I would not sit in the bar. I'm traveling for business and wanted a nice meal. The service has been horrible. Waited 10 minutes for a water. The people seated after me are already eating and all I've gotten is a bowl of nuts. Service I would give 1/2 a star as they seem more interested in what they did over the weekend then helping customers. And I'm Sorry but I've seen at least 3 mangers walk by me and no one has asked if I needed anything, if my meal was ok, nothing, epic fail. And the place isn't busy, that's the worst part. They aren't under staffed, they just don't seem to care. Really sad. I ordered the tuna salad, which was petty good, I just couldn't get any more ice water, or anything else. I took a risk, it didn't pay off. I would have been better off ordering room service. read more

We have loved this restaurant for birthdays and special occasions In the past, but tonight we were very disappointed by the very, very rude lady at the reception desk. So disappointed. I hope they replace hwe with a kinder, more welcoming host. read more

Really classy joint, extremely good food, out of control portions. Very busy so even on a slow night (like when I was there on Tuesday at 6pm) you should call ahead and get a reservation. Ambiance was dark and the music was odd. This night there was a disco-techno vibe happening. Couldn't place it. Anyway, the place has a full bar, small but varied menu, excellent high-quality meals. I had the fish tacos which are made with the daily catch. They were de-LICIOUS! Came with black beans & rice (also tasty). My entree came with 3 large tacos, so plan accordingly. I made the "mistake" of also ordering the mac-n-cheese (which is made with bacon...yes, BACON!). Total cost of those items plus a glass of Merlot was $30. If you are looking for a nice place with great food, give J Alexanders a try. read more

We went here for lunch and I had a delicious filet mignon with Bearnaise sauce :) Mmmmmmmmmmmmm. So good. Cooked perfectly. I was very surprised that there was a 15 minute wait at 11:30am on a Wednesday... but there was! We got a seat in the bar without a problem though. read more

This place is on the other side of Oakbrook Mall by MB Bank. It is pretty fancy on the inside. The server tried really hard to be sarcastic and funny. It was kind of weird. I ordered cranberry sprite... it was pretty watered down. Then the server brought me an iced tea as a refill... I didn't tell him that was not my initial drink and just drank it. I got the french dip ($19) with mac and cheese on the side. The mac and cheese wasn't the greatest, not very tasteful. I tried my friend's (skinny) fries and they were just meh. I'm not a fan of skinny fries but that is all they had at the restaurant. The french dip, however, was SOOO good! The prime rib slices were super tender!!! The server said most people go there for the prime rib so maybe next time I will get the actual prime rib. The place is super pricey. read more

A friend of mine recommended this restaurant a while ago and i finally got the chance to visit. It was excellent...the food, drinks, service.. everything. Melissa was my server and she was nothing short of wonderful. I wish I remembered the names of the mgr and bartender, because they deserve recognition as well. read more

Tonight 2/24/17 was my first time dining here at J. Alexander's. My best friend and I came here and our experience was Amazing!! Our servers name was Kirklyn and he went above and beyond for me and my friend. He explained the menu very well and suggested some great items. My friend and I enjoyed our meal, I personally ate like a Queen lol. But if I could give this place 10 stars I would. We will be back! read more

This particular restaurant chain is similar to an Applebee's only on steroids. The website is a little misleading as they do not serve all the posted dishes in all locations. i was really looking forward to a few items I found on the website that this particular restaurant did not serve... including Creme brulee. Service was good but wine selection was poor. They had a few high dollar wines on the menu but they made sure to put them "over the top expensive". Service was very good and the bathrooms were clean. They cannot seat a party larger than 8. We had 13 and had to sit at 3 different tables. The pork they serve is not only edible (I have the hardest time finding decent pork chops served in restaurants), but it's outstanding. Go early, go late or go home. This place is busy! read more

Have you seen Party of Five? Old 90's sitcom. There was a restaurant owned by the family. This place reminded me of that. Anyways came with coworkers, we were able to make reservations with opentable and we were seated promptly. Waitress was very attentive and friendly. Started with some calamari and grilled artichoke. Mmm both were delicious. Calamari seemed fresh not like the same circle shapes and the texture was good not rubbery. I ordered the steak and fries. I was surprised the steak was a good size and cooked just above med rare which was good with me. It wasnt tough and good flavor. We were comped a couple of their famous desserts. A slice of warm carrot cake and a slice of banana cream pie. I couldn't decide both were phenomenal! I would have gladly paid for those! It was a great experience, great service and good food! read more

I will come out of my way to eat here. Best French Dip sandwich ever and i need to have my fix of this on a regular basis. i'm not a big french fry fan but they are so good here I eat every last one. read more

J. Alexander's - New American Near Me - Oak Brook, Illinois

I am so totally obsessed with this place. The food is always phenomenal and the service is always impeccable. I hate that you can't make reservations, but on a Saturday night around 7:30, you'll really only wait about half an hour. And it's worth the wait! The spinach queso dish is a really great appetizer. Alex's salad is a favorite of mine and my boyfriends - lettuce, tiny croutons, cucumber, carrots, cheese, bacon, and the. best. ranch. dressing. ever. I usually get either the burger, or the filet. I LOVE the bearnaise that comes with the filet - it has the tiniest hint of spicy heat that really elevates the flavor of the sauce. The smashed potatoes are perfection, and the loaded baked potato is a fat kids dream. Get the chocolate cake for dessert - warm, moist cake served with ice cream - you can't go wrong! I also recommend the pear martini - strong, but soooo good! read more

We went to J.Alexander's for dinner. We had a wonderful experience. The service was wonderful. All of the servers worked together to make sure you had everything you need. Mike was especially attentive and personable. I highly recommend him - he made the whole experience more enjoyable. The food was delicious as well. Overall, an excellent dinner! read more

We enjoyed our meal at J Alexander. The decor is warm and inviting and perfect for a date or evening with family. The menu is a mix of casual American fares. We were recommended the roasted artichokes and we ordered that as an appetizer, I'll be honest, it was inedible mostly because it seemed too crisp and charred. we complained and our waitress promptly switched it for the cheesy spinach dip which was much better. Other items we got were rotisserie chicken and the fish tacos. Both were quite delicious. read more

Good service and food selections. Consistent and great for a meeting or casual lunch or dinner. Love the salads and they have a nice wine selection by the glass. read more

This makes the list of one of the better suburban places I've been to. The only thing I didn't like and the reason why they aren't getting five stars from me is their weird wine club thing. While on the subject, not only did the server not know which wines were a part of this exclusive club you have to buy into, she didn't try to explain it to me at all after being delayed in selecting a wine because I selected one of the club wines. The wine list didn't do a good job of explaining this detail either. One would think that a featured wine would be featured for everyone. Moving on to the food. It was very good. For appetizers I ended up having the deviled eggs as welll as the artichockes. The grilled artichokes were tender and wen't well with a slightly lemony tangy sauce. You could also defintely taste a little somky charachter from the grtill. The deviled eggs were creamy and had nigve salty charachter from the bacon. I opted for the trout entree and because i am on a low carb diet, I asked to substitue the beets for the rice with the trout dish. Confundingly the trout was accompainerd by not only the mediocre rice that I didn't want, there was also an unadvertised orzo salad that was quite tasty. That aside the fish was well cooked but I don't undedrstand why you would serve an entree with two starches. read more

Never disappointed in the food! Other than they eliminated their honey butter croissants decades ago. I'm still not over it Haha. I was a huge Lawry vip member until they closed downtown and this is a good replacement for my PR fix even though there is not a silver serving cart or spinning salad here. I'm not a huge seafood fan however the crab cakes here are the best Ive had ANYWHERE! It is the only place I go now when I want them. It is all lump crab meat with a thin layer of seasoned breadcrumbs on the top ONLY. Romantic vibe & decent drinks. Last visit was on Christmas eve. Had an 8:15 resv and while our server was good, we felt rushed. She tried to run away quickly each time and didn't allow us to finish ordering. I had to actually call after her to add my salad. We always split an Alex salad this was the first time they didn't split it up, not a big deal at all. I didn't ask for it that way because like I said they have always served it split when we said we would share it. I'm mentioning the rushing part because she also came by with the check without even asking us about dessert. Which we did order. I mean it was Christmas Eve but it wasn't even close to closing time. Over all I will still give 5 star because it has been a solid choice for the last 30 years I've been going. read more