Wilde & Greene's Rooftop Bar: Skip It

The Rooftop Bar at Wilde & Greene is beautiful, but its looks aren’t enough to make up for massive shortcomings. High prices, mediocre service and serious menu problems make this bar one to skip in Skokie.

I first attempted to visit the spot at Westfield Old Orchard Mall on Aug. 20. A rainy morning had given way to a cool, sunny evening, so I anticipated the outdoor space might draw a big crowd. I tried to call ahead, but no one answered the phone number listed on Wilde & Greene’s website. I then called the mall and confirmed the number was correct. After multiple calls going unanswered and never hitting a voicemail, I decided to just go.

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I’ve tried calling back several times since, and have concluded that, as well staffed as Wilde & Greene is, no one ever answers the phone at the recently opened location.

When I arrived, a barrier had been placed in front of the door leading up to the roof. Inside Wilde & Greene’s restaurant, I was informed that all the furniture was still wet, so the bar would be closed until Sunday night. I was not the only one turned away, and was shocked that it did not have some plan for covering the furniture during inclement weather, since it meant an entire night of lost business.

My fiancé and I wound up dining at Wilde & Greene early Thursday evening. We were immediately greeted by a hostess and offered our choice of seats at the large space. We chose a couch at a table near the edge of the flower-planter bordered rooftop, with an umbrella providing partial shade.

Our server came over soon after. She was very friendly, but showed little knowledge of the menu. She seemed lost any time we asked for recommendations, only able to tell us that certain things were popular, good or OK.

My fiancé ordered the Berghoff Hefe-Weizen ($5.50) but was told the bar was out of stock of that beer, so he ordered a Leinenkugel Summer Shandy ($5) instead. I asked for cocktail recommendations and our server suggested the Mean Green ($9), which she said had Midori and tasted like pineapple.

When it arrived, I could not tell whether the drink had anything besides the melon liqueur and juice. There was no taste of alcohol at all. It reminded me of the very weak cocktails served at bars trying to maximize profits on discount drink nights.

The Rooftop Bar’s menu emphasizes shareable small plates and that’s what we planned to order. We asked how big the seafood platter ($18) was, but were told it was unavailable. We had also been considering the artisan cheese plate ($14) but when I mentioned that, the server said the restaurant was out of artisan cheeses and was just serving cheddar and jack. We decided to just order the mushrooms side dish ($4) as a starter and each get entrees.

Our server went to place our orders, but soon returned to let us know that the kitchen also didn’t have the mushrooms for the side dish. She said the bar is still having supply problems since food service started only the previous week, surprising since the spot opened July 23.

We decided on our fourth pick, the hummus ($6). This turned out to be a huge disappointment. The hummus was bland; you can get much better at Larsa’s or Evanston’s Pomegranate for half the price.

The pita gets some good flavor from being covered in curry powder, but the pieces were too hard to eat easily. At first, I thought they had been toasted. However, after bitting into a second piece, I was convinced they were just stale.

We asked our server if the pita was supposed to be that hard, and she passed a piece to a manager who broke it in half and said "No." He took the dish and said he would get new chips. Predictably the hummus came back right as our entrees were coming out, at which point we no longer wanted an appetizer. We wound up just sending it back and having it struck from our bill.

My fiancé was unpleasantly surprised to taste grilled onions when he bit into his mushroom panini ($8.50). They’re not listed as an ingredient on the menu, which surprised us since so many people don’t like onions and people who dislike them tend to really dislike them. After he picked them off, the sandwich was fine, but nothing special.

My heirloom tomato caprese salad ($8.50) was tasty but small. The dish had a minimal amount of cheese on top of the tomato slices, with colorful small tomatoes arranged around the plate. I was still hungry after finishing it, and wound up eating my fiancé’s side salad, which was just lettuce with Caesar dressing.

Our server apologized for all the problems and said she hoped things would go smoother on our next visit. But unless I hear that The Rooftop Bar has gotten its act together, I won’t be back. I wanted to like The Rooftop Bar, but its squandered potential left me all the more disappointed.

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