Emmett's Tavern

User Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Don't go here for the fish fry. Too much breading and it takes far too long to get more. I don't know if it was our servers first day or that she had tables everwhere but it took too long. It wasn't even busy when we came 6:30.

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User Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Awesome Food and awesome beer! I would go back again and again....love the plank whitefish!

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User Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

My wife and I recently visited Emmetts in West Dundee on a Saturday evening in late September. This was actually our second visit.

The first thing you will notice when going to Emmett's is that the parking situation is bad. It is located in "downtown" West Dundee. The fact that M.T. Barrels is practically right next door and another restaurant is right behind it does not help the matter.

We eventually got lucky and found a spot on the street over one block. A short walk and we were ready for some beer and food.

I ordered the sampler, because I wanted to try everything.

Munich Light - yellow, tasteless. If you like American macro brews, you'll like this.

1 A.M. English Ale - nice body, interesting, yet subtle flavor. I would drink this again.

Victory Pale Ale - nice and hoppy as I would expect. Not an exceptional example of the style, but very drinkable.

McCarthy Red Ale - This was a pleasant surprise. It was flavorful enough to keep me interested and the spice of the hops kept my mouth happy.

Double Barrel Stout - this tasted a lot like coffee. I usually love this style of beer, but the DBS did not excite me. I didn't dislike it, it just didn't stand out as a strong stout like I would have expected. To be fair, I wonder if my tongue was a little too amped up from the Victory and McCarthy that I drank prior to this one.

There were two seasonals on tap in addition to the 5 standards.
They were Oktoberfest and German Altbier. I found both of them to be fair, but nothing of note. I would not get them again.

The price of the sampler was very reasonable. I think it was about $6. But one thing that I found odd was that they only gave me a half of a sample of the two seasonals. This made for a terrible presentation and limited my ability to get a good taste. They should just charge whatever they think is fair for full samples. I would have gladly given them another dollar or two. Instead I was left with a negative feeling about that aspect of the experience.

The food was not very good in my opinion. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't meet the expectations set by the hefty prices.

I ordered a special salmon that was supposed to have a sauce with dill and hops on it. I had never heard of hops being used in cooking like this before. Being a hophead when it comes to beer, I just had to try it. Unfortunately, I could detect nothing different about the flavor. It tasted like a little dill had been sprinkled on top and nothing more. It was almost bland. On top of that the serving size was tiny. I know fish is expensive, but for $18 it should not fit in a sardine can. Perhaps I should try something a little less challenging, like a burger, in the future. Come for the beer, stay away from the "fancy" food.

Our server did a good job. I like to pace myself slowly through meals, especially when I am tasting beer. It is sometimes hard to get servers to understand this. If I make the mistake of ordering when they want me to, I end up with my entree arriving before I have finished enjoying my appetizer. So I gave this server a specific time (10 minutes) at which he could return to take my order. He got the hint and kept his distance.

We sat in the dining room at the rear of the establishment on this visit. We were hoping that it would be quieter than the bar. Unfortunately, the small space was quickly filled with loud talkers and perfume hosers. This detracted from our experience somewhat, but it was more the patrons fault than Emmett's.

On our previous visit, we sat in the bar area and I would probably do that next time I go there. The room felt better and by coincidence, our server gave off better vibes.

So my overall impression is that Emmett's is good for a beer, but don't expect too much from the food. I would return, but the parking situation might make me think twice.

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