Through word of mouth and a general good vibe, I heard good things about Wildfire. I wanted to take my girlfriend to someplace special for our anniversary, and Wildfire looked like it fit the bill.

The reservation process couldn't be easier. I was browsing restaurants at Digital City Chicago, and an option to reserve online was available. I did it that way and it was entirely painless - I highly recommend it.

Wildfire itself is in a prime location: Gino's East, Ed Debevic's, and lots of other great spots are nearby, so there's ample parking. The restaurant has a 20s theme going, with rich wood walls and gorgeous B&W pictures of celebs from the period. The dining area is not overwhelmingly large, which adds to the intimacy. Lighting is dim, but the entire hearth/cooking area - which was right in front of us on our visit - is awash in light, and is wonderful to watch. Music is 20s swing and lounge, and is enjoyable.

Service was prompt, but nothing exceptional. I opted for the filet mignon (around $24), and my girlfriend went for the portabella-crusted steak (around $25). The wait for our actual food was almost long, but the onion bread provided - which was excellent - did tide us over.

When the food did arrive, we were impressed with the portions. They were large, but not overwhelmingly so. The waiter asked us to check the steaks to ensure they were okay, but didn't wait around to get our answer! He seemed overly busy, although the restaurant wasn't swamped at the time. The food was superb - succulent, perfectly cooked, and delicious. I haven't had much better filet mignon, and the steak my girlfriend had was quite unique.

Busboys seemed overly anxious about getting our plates out of the way, but were courteous. The wait for the check was average.

All in all, the Wildfire downtown is a great spot that needs to brush up on service just a smidgen to become really great.

The Other Wildfire

There is another Wildfire located in Oakbrook. Based on my recommendation of the downtown location, my friends and I visited last night for dinner. Our reservation options were limited to 3:45pm and 9:30pm but were told we'd have a good chance at a table by just coming in around 7:30 or so.

We did, and waited for nearly two hours for a table. Honestly, the place was not that swamped, and there were in fact some people who came in after us, sometimes well after us, and got seated well before us - with the same number of people in the party.

The first impression of this Wildfire was: cramped. While you've still got the pictures of the downtown locale, this location is much brighter and not nearly as intimate - definitely not for couples, this. The music was loud, but not nearly as loud as the overall volume - we had to yell across the table, or at least speak in a loud tone.

The service was bad. Just not good. Our waitress was very curt and seemingly impatient with us - somewhat mimicking the waiter downtown, just amplified. Drink refills were hard to come by (downtown, this wasn't even an issue). The upside is that the food was at our table in under 10 minutes - now THAT is nice. It was apparent, though, that while we waited two hours for a table, we weren't going to be there for two hours!

This time I had the horseradish-encrusted steak ($25), which was excellent, but the portion seemed a little small. This Wildfire only offers mashed potatoes and french fries - downtown, a baked potato was an option. The mashed potatoes were hot, and quite good. My steak was again very tasty and well worth the cash. My friends enjoyed steak and chicken dishes, and all liked the food although one complained about the BBQ chicken portion being small.

He also pointed out that when you're paying $25 a dish, you expect just a little more in the way of service than when you go to, say, Chili's. We certainly didn't get it. Again, our waitress was not rude in any way, but definitely didn't fulfill her duties.

Summary

In summation, go to the Wildfire downtown and just skip the Oakbrook one. It seems like the latter is just a pale imitation, made to satisfy hungry (and patient!) shoppers. The food is excellent all around, the service is simply okay, and it's just about worth the money. Just about.



Recommended: Yes