Been here before, but it's been a very long time. We were passing through the area and looking for a place to eat. It happened to be a very busy weekend, and the Informalist was one of the few places that did not have a long line to get seated. Got in right away and seated for some brunch.
The restaurant is spacious and well designed. It's a bit upscale, but perfectly capable of making people feel relaxed and welcome. We got greeted right away by the server and settled in with menus and waters.
Our order wasn't complicated: some of the Custard Battered French Toast, a short stack of pancakes, and two eggs. I also ordered a London Fog Tea Latte (a little lavender, a little vanilla, and extra foam). It didn't take long for the food to come, but the London Fog took a while longer.
The French Toast was amazingly good, and the pancakes and eggs were also very good. I was half done with my meal by the time my London Fog arrived, and the server was very apologetic (saying that the coffee shop was very busy). I might have been satisfied with that, but the London Fog was just okay. While there was some extra foam, the drink itself was flat, as if they just heated up the milk and mixed it with the tea. (They need to do a better job with polishing the steamed milk so that it creates a creamy texture, especially if they ar charging $8)
Overall, a good experience, and a few tweaks would have made it excellent. Would stop again if I was in the mood for the French Toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Anthony Peluf
We were staying at the Lismore (double tree) and decided to come here for dinner. We didn’t have a reservation and did have to wait a while - no problem as it was Friday night and busy at the hotel.
The atmosphere was excellent, open kitchen, beautiful decor etc. We started with drinks and fries for an appetizer. The fries were crispy and hot with a tasty bernaise sauce.
For dinner I got the tater tot hotdish - this was really good. It was a more elevated version of the traditional hotdish. My girlfriend got the lamb and it was just alright. The flavors didn’t work as well together as expected. The side was quinoa spaetzle with mint and root beer glaze that didn’t pair well.
Overall it’s worth a trip especially of you are already staying at the hotel. I would try the pizza next time as those looked really good and were ordered at many other tables.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
chuck gibbons
Great pizzas
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Juls Joy
Fresh, Local and Best of Eau Claire
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mary Thunder
A great experience. I would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Michael Nash
Good, healthy food choices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Dave Stanley
Nice atmosphere. Austen was a great server. The two of us ordered the Ribeye. Both steaks were horrible. Loaded with fat and what seemed like muscle. Disappointed. I’d go back but not have the steak.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Stacey Louise
Good food and fun drinks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Kathy Condon
The only right words...we loved it. Wasn't expecting a hotel to have a terrific restaurant. We were so wrong.
I would go here even if I wasnt staying at the hotel.
We shared the steak, and ate every it. The sauce with it was sooo good.
Make reservations for the word is getting out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stephen Miller
Went with a group of close work colleagues and family for a special outing. A few members of the group had previously went for brunch and had a great experience so our heads were high. When greeted by the hostess we were told about the specialty pizza, and was told around 15-20 minutes for it, so naturally me, and another ordered it.
We arrived at the restaurant around 5:20ish and had our drinks in likely by 5:35 max. It was not until 6:30 at least. My margarita pizza’s cheese was burnt to oblivion. The duck breast ordered was cold on the inside, as well as the ribeye which was ice cold in the middle, which was ordered medium rare. (I will note I did not make the pizza aware to the manager as I did not notice the quality until comparing it with my family members pizza, who’s was correctly cooked.) After making this all clear the manager came out only to blow off it all off because a 12 top came in and got their order right before us. And claimed the duck was cold due to the toppings, which is not only incorrect as the middle was cold, but shady operating as a manager to incorrectly give paying patrons about the food they are ingesting. Thankfully the steak was heated up, unfortunately after this experience though I would not doubt if it was microwaved. Overall a poor display of cooking, serving, and managing.
Worst food and service that I’ve had in EC. Took an hour, food was cold or bland. Completely dismissed by management. 👎🏻
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Frank Peraza
The service was great and the menu options sounded amazing but all our dishes were over seasoned with paprika and salt. Great combination of ingredients on paper that would be very tasty if not over powered by spices.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Aubree Lennon
Sadly the informalist lacks both style and substance. Our dining experience was one of my worst in recent years. We were a four top, excited to visit a restaurant in the new city my sisters just started to call home. Not only was the server woefully inexperienced (taking 20 mins for water, leaving dirty dishes and barely checking in) the food was worse. Out of our four dishes; one was lukewarm, one was served with a nearly raw potato (if you can’t execute a hassleback, take it off the menu), and the other two while edible lacked any seasoning or finesse and definitely don’t look like what you see online. After sitting with our dishes for nearly 15 minutes waiting for our server to return — I had to physically return the dishes to the expediter. We ended up eating in shifts — with the potato that was part of a $57 steak dish coming out after everyone had finished. There was minimal apologies given and it was only made worse when the bill came. I am happy to pay for a good meal but wasting good money for no skill or service offends me. I explained that I thought given the array of issues something should be comped — to which I was told they had taken off a $12 glass of wine (which was meant to go with the steak but came out only after I explained the issues with the food). If I were the general manager or the Pablo group I’d be mortified to have such lack of service and experience under my charge.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Grace Gao
Great location, great atmosphere. I’ve visited EC several times and have always wanted to come. On a weekend morning, there weren’t many servers, and although the restaurant wasn’t crowded, it still felt quite busy. I ordered brunch and a Margherita pizza. The food was delicious, but there were a few flaws, like the eggs Benedict being overcooked, with no runny yolk at all.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Megan Lindsey
Had the orange mocktails which were super tasty. Fabulous mussels for an appetizer. Great bread and yummy coconut broth Entrees were steak and the Airline chicken. The airline chicken was DIVINE. The sauce was just chefs kiss, perfect. The crispy cornbread with it created a textural masterpiece. Well done. Did not expect something that great from a roast chicken dish but it was just so yummy. Matcha cheesecake was pretty good too, nice and creamy. base a little crumbly and blackberry curd not Zingy enough. But still good. Also free for a birthday celebration we were having.
Staff was prompt and friendly. I would definitely return for the apps and entrees!
Been here before, but it's been a very long time. We were passing through the area and looking for a place to eat. It happened to be a very busy weekend, and the Informalist was one of the few places that did not have a long line to get seated. Got in right away and seated for some brunch.
The restaurant is spacious and well designed. It's a bit upscale, but perfectly capable of making people feel relaxed and welcome. We got greeted right away by the server and settled in with menus and waters.
Our order wasn't complicated: some of the Custard Battered French Toast, a short stack of pancakes, and two eggs. I also ordered a London Fog Tea Latte (a little lavender, a little vanilla, and extra foam). It didn't take long for the food to come, but the London Fog took a while longer.
The French Toast was amazingly good, and the pancakes and eggs were also very good. I was half done with my meal by the time my London Fog arrived, and the server was very apologetic (saying that the coffee shop was very busy). I might have been satisfied with that, but the London Fog was just okay. While there was some extra foam, the drink itself was flat, as if they just heated up the milk and mixed it with the tea. (They need to do a better job with polishing the steamed milk so that it creates a creamy texture, especially if they ar charging $8)
Overall, a good experience, and a few tweaks would have made it excellent. Would stop again if I was in the mood for the French Toast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
We were staying at the Lismore (double tree) and decided to come here for dinner. We didn’t have a reservation and did have to wait a while - no problem as it was Friday night and busy at the hotel.
The atmosphere was excellent, open kitchen, beautiful decor etc. We started with drinks and fries for an appetizer. The fries were crispy and hot with a tasty bernaise sauce.
For dinner I got the tater tot hotdish - this was really good. It was a more elevated version of the traditional hotdish. My girlfriend got the lamb and it was just alright. The flavors didn’t work as well together as expected. The side was quinoa spaetzle with mint and root beer glaze that didn’t pair well.
Overall it’s worth a trip especially of you are already staying at the hotel. I would try the pizza next time as those looked really good and were ordered at many other tables.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 4
Great pizzas
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fresh, Local and Best of Eau Claire
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
A great experience. I would definitely recommend.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Good, healthy food choices.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Nice atmosphere. Austen was a great server. The two of us ordered the Ribeye. Both steaks were horrible. Loaded with fat and what seemed like muscle. Disappointed. I’d go back but not have the steak.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 5
Good food and fun drinks!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The only right words...we loved it. Wasn't expecting a hotel to have a terrific restaurant. We were so wrong.
I would go here even if I wasnt staying at the hotel.
We shared the steak, and ate every it. The sauce with it was sooo good.
Make reservations for the word is getting out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Went with a group of close work colleagues and family for a special outing. A few members of the group had previously went for brunch and had a great experience so our heads were high. When greeted by the hostess we were told about the specialty pizza, and was told around 15-20 minutes for it, so naturally me, and another ordered it.
We arrived at the restaurant around 5:20ish and had our drinks in likely by 5:35 max. It was not until 6:30 at least. My margarita pizza’s cheese was burnt to oblivion. The duck breast ordered was cold on the inside, as well as the ribeye which was ice cold in the middle, which was ordered medium rare.
(I will note I did not make the pizza aware to the manager as I did not notice the quality until comparing it with my family members pizza, who’s was correctly cooked.)
After making this all clear the manager came out only to blow off it all off because a 12 top came in and got their order right before us. And claimed the duck was cold due to the toppings, which is not only incorrect as the middle was cold, but shady operating as a manager to incorrectly give paying patrons about the food they are ingesting.
Thankfully the steak was heated up, unfortunately after this experience though I would not doubt if it was microwaved.
Overall a poor display of cooking, serving, and managing.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Worst food and service that I’ve had in EC. Took an hour, food was cold or bland. Completely dismissed by management. 👎🏻
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The service was great and the menu options sounded amazing but all our dishes were over seasoned with paprika and salt. Great combination of ingredients on paper that would be very tasty if not over powered by spices.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 5
Sadly the informalist lacks both style and substance. Our dining experience was one of my worst in recent years. We were a four top, excited to visit a restaurant in the new city my sisters just started to call home. Not only was the server woefully inexperienced (taking 20 mins for water, leaving dirty dishes and barely checking in) the food was worse. Out of our four dishes; one was lukewarm, one was served with a nearly raw potato (if you can’t execute a hassleback, take it off the menu), and the other two while edible lacked any seasoning or finesse and definitely don’t look like what you see online. After sitting with our dishes for nearly 15 minutes waiting for our server to return — I had to physically return the dishes to the expediter. We ended up eating in shifts — with the potato that was part of a $57 steak dish coming out after everyone had finished. There was minimal apologies given and it was only made worse when the bill came. I am happy to pay for a good meal but wasting good money for no skill or service offends me. I explained that I thought given the array of issues something should be comped — to which I was told they had taken off a $12 glass of wine (which was meant to go with the steak but came out only after I explained the issues with the food). If I were the general manager or the Pablo group I’d be mortified to have such lack of service and experience under my charge.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Great location, great atmosphere. I’ve visited EC several times and have always wanted to come. On a weekend morning, there weren’t many servers, and although the restaurant wasn’t crowded, it still felt quite busy. I ordered brunch and a Margherita pizza. The food was delicious, but there were a few flaws, like the eggs Benedict being overcooked, with no runny yolk at all.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Had the orange mocktails which were super tasty.
Fabulous mussels for an appetizer. Great bread and yummy coconut broth
Entrees were steak and the Airline chicken. The airline chicken was DIVINE. The sauce was just chefs kiss, perfect. The crispy cornbread with it created a textural masterpiece. Well done. Did not expect something that great from a roast chicken dish but it was just so yummy.
Matcha cheesecake was pretty good too, nice and creamy. base a little crumbly and blackberry curd not Zingy enough. But still good. Also free for a birthday celebration we were having.
Staff was prompt and friendly. I would definitely return for the apps and entrees!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
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