Very nice atmosphere on the outdoor patio which is why we decided to try The James. We both ordered the prime rib dinner. It was served on large shiny silver rectangular trays. Kind of cafeteria looking. Everything was pretty tasty. The potatoes could have used some seasoning. Wasn't a fan of the salad that came with it. They don't offer dressing choices. Ordered the old fashioned. It just tasted like bourban straight up. Wondering if bartender forgot to add the rest of the ingredients. Very one dimensional. Probably wouldn't go back for dinner. Maybe I'd try lunch at some point.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Emirandme
Had the BLT here today and a California grove salad with chicken to go. Both bland. The salad was mostly iceberg lettuce & was given a tiny amt of dressing. No where near enough for the salad. I’ve consistently had way better salads than this at the chic place. $24 for a flavorless salad. Won’t be returning for lunch again
Food: 1
Bob Keating
This is truly a gem in Geneva! We had planned to visit this restaurant and finally made it. We were not disappointed. Service was exceptional (thank you Freddy), food was terrific, and decor was intimate. We had the Bourbon corn chowder, which was excellent. We even had time to talk to the manager, Iran. This will be good for a repeat visit. August 25: we are planning to rent one of their banquet rooms for a private party. While we came to check out the rooms, we stopped at their patio area for drinks and appetizers. Excellent! Parking can be a hassle. Street parking on 3rd, and parking lots on Fulton and James Streets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brussels Sprouts
Scott Tocs
Nice restaurant in Geneva IL with a beautiful outdoor eating area. Nice selection of food and drinks. I had the French Dip which was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric F
Great food, friendly service, kids eat free.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Angela Giovannoni Matijevic
We had a wonderful dining experience. The service was excellent—attentive, friendly, and made us feel truly welcomed. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michał AlwaysOnTime
The James is wonderful intimate, cozy, romantic restaurant . Modern and tasty cuisine Old style house that was converted into a restaurant. At least 100+ years old building. Patio area is spacious and very welcoming with outdoor bar and live music. We came when Ross Filla sang and it was great! Food is high quality and service friendly and go above and beyond. Special shout out to our server Ash she is the best! She made our evening amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Andrew Bruderli
Overall, my party and I loved it from beginning to end. Our server, Andrew, was polite and attentive. All of the food was extremely tasty and the prices were fair considering the quality and portion size. I would absolutely come back for a special occasion.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Kat Tur
A tasteful celebration at Jame's
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Taylor Kammes
The food is always amazing, kids eating free always brings us back. We usually have Jannet who delivers top notch service!
First time visitor to The James. I was intrigued by the menu, and we selected this as a spot for my Mom's birthday as she had been there a few times for lunch. The ambiance is nice, and I will give points for being able to hold a conversation. A few observations I hope to share so management can make adjustments and improvements. For an establishment that presents itself via the menu (and prices) as more of a fine dining option in the area- I would suggest bringing drinks and meals at the same time for the seated guests. My mom received her drink a good 5 minutes before the rest of our drinks arrived.
A few other observations: -Amouse Bouche/Starter plates were so small. Far too small to enjoy shares of several different starters on a single plate -Bussing service cleared starter serving ware and never replaced it before the mains. Mains arrived and we had to wait to eat as we did not have clean utensils and no one noticed -Mains arrived at different times, a good 5 minute difference between the first two mains, and the remaining three - which meant we waited for all mains to be placed before we ate -General rushing to clear plates - We were seated at 6:45pm and the restaurant closed at 8. If the restaurant doesn't want to complete a service close to closing; consider not having a 6:45pm seating...
Again for an expensive meal, it would seem standard practice to not rush the patron with clearing etc
I would probably give this place another try, because the food is delicious and well prepared - but service is paramount for me in an overall experience and likeliness to return. Hope this review is helpful in the feedback cycle!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Ashley Knipp
Absolutely amazing experience. Excellent cocktails, great food, amazing vibe. Expensive but so worth it. Best date night. Feels like you’re in a nice restaurant in Chicago it’s that good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Faith
New favorite spot! Great food, drinks, atmosphere, and service. I ordered the elote stuffed pepper and my sister ordered the cod with green goddess dressing. Both were phenomenal. The pineapple express cocktail was also refreshing and perfect for a summer evening. I will be back! Outdoor seating too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ania Jakubas
Very good, perfect place for brunch
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Colleen Schor
We ate outside despite some ominous looking weather, and we were accommodated!! The weather turned out magnificent, the food was splendid (their asparagus was to die for) and the staff was delightful!! We enjoyed Janet and Ron so very much!! Thank God for the great weather and thank The James and staff for our anniversary dinner!!
Very nice atmosphere on the outdoor patio which is why we decided to try The James. We both ordered the prime rib dinner. It was served on large shiny silver rectangular trays. Kind of cafeteria looking. Everything was pretty tasty. The potatoes could have used some seasoning. Wasn't a fan of the salad that came with it. They don't offer dressing choices. Ordered the old fashioned. It just tasted like bourban straight up. Wondering if bartender forgot to add the rest of the ingredients. Very one dimensional. Probably wouldn't go back for dinner. Maybe I'd try lunch at some point.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Had the BLT here today and a California grove salad with chicken to go. Both bland. The salad was mostly iceberg lettuce & was given a tiny amt of dressing. No where near enough for the salad. I’ve consistently had way better salads than this at the chic place. $24 for a flavorless salad. Won’t be returning for lunch again
Food: 1
This is truly a gem in Geneva!
We had planned to visit this restaurant and finally made it. We were not disappointed.
Service was exceptional (thank you Freddy), food was terrific, and decor was intimate.
We had the Bourbon corn chowder, which was excellent.
We even had time to talk to the manager, Iran. This will be good for a repeat visit.
August 25: we are planning to rent one of their banquet rooms for a private party. While we came to check out the rooms, we stopped at their patio area for drinks and appetizers. Excellent!
Parking can be a hassle. Street parking on 3rd, and parking lots on Fulton and James Streets.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Brussels Sprouts
Nice restaurant in Geneva IL with a beautiful outdoor eating area. Nice selection of food and drinks. I had the French Dip which was great.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food, friendly service, kids eat free.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We had a wonderful dining experience. The service was excellent—attentive, friendly, and made us feel truly welcomed. Highly recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The James is wonderful intimate, cozy, romantic restaurant .
Modern and tasty cuisine
Old style house that was converted into a restaurant.
At least 100+ years old building.
Patio area is spacious and very welcoming with outdoor bar and live music.
We came when Ross Filla sang and it was great!
Food is high quality and service friendly and go above and beyond. Special shout out to our server Ash she is the best! She made our evening amazing
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Overall, my party and I loved it from beginning to end. Our server, Andrew, was polite and attentive. All of the food was extremely tasty and the prices were fair considering the quality and portion size. I would absolutely come back for a special occasion.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
A tasteful celebration at Jame's
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
The food is always amazing, kids eating free always brings us back. We usually have Jannet who delivers top notch service!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
First time visitor to The James. I was intrigued by the menu, and we selected this as a spot for my Mom's birthday as she had been there a few times for lunch. The ambiance is nice, and I will give points for being able to hold a conversation. A few observations I hope to share so management can make adjustments and improvements. For an establishment that presents itself via the menu (and prices) as more of a fine dining option in the area- I would suggest bringing drinks and meals at the same time for the seated guests. My mom received her drink a good 5 minutes before the rest of our drinks arrived.
A few other observations:
-Amouse Bouche/Starter plates were so small. Far too small to enjoy shares of several different starters on a single plate
-Bussing service cleared starter serving ware and never replaced it before the mains. Mains arrived and we had to wait to eat as we did not have clean utensils and no one noticed
-Mains arrived at different times, a good 5 minute difference between the first two mains, and the remaining three - which meant we waited for all mains to be placed before we ate
-General rushing to clear plates - We were seated at 6:45pm and the restaurant closed at 8. If the restaurant doesn't want to complete a service close to closing; consider not having a 6:45pm seating...
Again for an expensive meal, it would seem standard practice to not
rush the patron with clearing etc
I would probably give this place another try, because the food is delicious and well prepared - but service is paramount for me in an overall experience and likeliness to return. Hope this review is helpful in the feedback cycle!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Absolutely amazing experience. Excellent cocktails, great food, amazing vibe. Expensive but so worth it. Best date night. Feels like you’re in a nice restaurant in Chicago it’s that good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
New favorite spot! Great food, drinks, atmosphere, and service. I ordered the elote stuffed pepper and my sister ordered the cod with green goddess dressing. Both were phenomenal. The pineapple express cocktail was also refreshing and perfect for a summer evening. I will be back! Outdoor seating too!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good, perfect place for brunch
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We ate outside despite some ominous looking weather, and we were accommodated!! The weather turned out magnificent, the food was splendid (their asparagus was to die for) and the staff was delightful!! We enjoyed Janet and Ron so very much!! Thank God for the great weather and thank The James and staff for our anniversary dinner!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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