Quintessential Dining & Nightlife
Our name Quintessential defines our ambition - to represent all that is excellent in quality and class. Q has been designed to provide you with a multitude of dining and entertainment options. Located in the heart of historical downtown St. Charles, Q has upped the ante when it comes to providing our customers with a rich dining experience. Q has perfected the art of dining out by offering a welcoming ambiance with an upscale menu.
Dining alone, with friends or the family, Q provides an acclaimed award-winning menu set in a smoke-free atmosphere on the main level. Guests can also enjoy our full menu on the upstairs terrace where smoking is permitted. To cleanse your palette, Q offers an extensive wine list, as well as novel and traditional mixed drinks and a broad selection of popular import, domestic, specialty and seasonal beers.
Popular dishes
Mushroom Risotto
1 reviews
Epic Chocolate Cake*
Seven Layers Including Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Ganache. Served w/ Vanilla Ice Cream
1 reviews
Salmon Tartar
1 reviews
We had a visitor in town and shared some wine and appetizers. All were tasty! It was fairly quiet that evening as many people are staying home, perhaps due to the recommendation for social distancing.
Enjoyed it very much!
Booked the reservation after reading reviews suggesting mixed experience, that's exactly what we got. Service seemed unintentional, beverages were top of the experience, food descriptions fell short when plates arrived. Had hoped to enjoy the patio on a rare cool summer evening, one-third of patio was chained off
The food was not as good as it use to be.
Took forever for Ketchup then looking for salt. Put it on the table. food was cold by the time we got it.
Walked in music and talking was very loud. Opted to go to the rooftop. As we walked up the stairs the odor got stronger (like someone had gotten sick). Turned around and walked out. Doubt if we will be back.
The place was empty and the service was good. Food was great. Only complaint was that our main course came out less than 5 min after the apps and we had to put the plates on the table behind us because we didn’t have room.
Food was good and the portions were plentiful. We all took home leftovers. The server was not very attentive and she left a drink (and charged us for it) after a bug went swimming in it (yuck!).
Great food and service. We went on a Sunday evening, night of Stanley Cup game.
Personally this place was just okay. The appetizers (Spinach and Artichoke and Hummus) were fine, dinner was fine. Service was a little slow, but fine... it was all just fine.
Would like to see more diversity in the drink list... there are more flavors than cranberry and pineapple. Somehow even my dirty martini came back sweet. I don't mind a sweet drink, but to be located in the heart of St. Charles main and not have much more to offer than fruity drinks was disappointing, especially with their spirits list.
I have nothing bad to say, but there wasn't anything stand out. It was all fine, and its too expensive to only be fine.
Great location and service. Food and ambiance were fine.
We recently chose Quintessential on another friend’s recommendation for celebrating a special occasion. The staff was wonderful, as was the food. One of our out-of-town guests remarked that the kebobs were the best she had anywhere. The salmon was another big hit, its delicious flavor almost eclipsed by the scrumptious mushroom risotto served alongside. The martinis were also a big hit (in particular the chocolate). I’m so pleased this restaurant was recommended to us, and I certainly will be recommending it to others!
Food was mediocre, not as good as in the past. We had our son's rehearsal dinner there a few years ago, and it was much better then. Most of the food seemed to be precooked earlier in the day, and reheated for dinner. Will not be coming back.
Delicious food, quality menu items and wonderful atmosphere. Service was great as well!
Nice atmosphere,
Very tasteful dinner music. Singer with guitar.
Staff and food awesome.
Thanks for making a great evening for my wife and I.
My wife and I went there for Valentine’s Day. Everything was great. Our server was great, live music amazing (quiet enough to have a conversation), and the food was spectacular. I was not expecting the chef creations that we received. Best salmon dish I’ve ever had! We will definitely be back.
We came to Quintessential early on a Friday night, about 6:30 pm. The menu looked excellent and I was really excited to try it out. However, I ordered the crab cakes as my main course and they were tasteless. My husband got the wet burrito and said it was good but not outstanding. We both had the white chicken chili as an appetizer which was good but very thin--white chicken soup, really. The chocolate cake was outstanding, but then, it's hard to go wrong with a good several layer fudgy cake and vanilla ice cream. Throughout our whole dinner, the room was packed with drunks talking so shrillingly loud that it hurt our ears. Our server was fine if a bit overwhelmed at the crowd himself. They had live music on the other side of the room, but we couldn't really hear any of it because of all the noise. In fact, we could hardly hear ourselves. We won't be back. This is a party place, not a place for foodies or grownups who want intelligent, sober conversation.
First time at this restaurant. Easy to get a reservation through Open Table, very friendly staff and attentive service. Music was very good, atmosphere was classy but laid back, food was outstanding!
Sat in a booth that myself and my son couldn’t reach the table. Slow service that when he did come felt rushed. It was super bright for evening. The food was not good, not worth the price. Only plus was the live music they had for a short time.
This place was a total disappointment. I made the reservation online, obviously. We arrived on time for our 8:30 reservation. We waited, along with a few other couples, for more than 10 minutes for anyone to say a word to us. Several servers and other employees walked by everyone standing around the hostess stand and no one said a word to us. Finally the man, I assumed is the manager, came up to talk to me and informed me that Open Table was down on their end and they did not have our reservation. He did apologize to me and said he’d figure it out. We waited some more, went to the bar, couldn’t get anyone to serve us there for longer than bar service should take. Finally the bar tender walked our way only to stop at a group of people that already had drinks! After the door man came on shift I was hassled for an iD when I stepped out to use my phone. If our table had been ready when we walked in or even 10 minutes later we would never have had to deal with the rude door guy, it was the night of my 41st bday, fairly certain no one needs to ID me! What it boils down to is the restaurant completely dropped the ball , should have notified open table and they in turn could have remedied the reservation issue. The whole experience was a damper on my birthday night as we then left to go find somewhere to get drinks and my birthday meal after 9:30 without a reservation. I am rethinking using the app at all anymore. This is not the first disappointing experience after booking with Open Table.
Great food and venue
Great service and food. Definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for a great date night experience.
Service was absolutely horrible. We wanted to order a glass of wine to go with dinner. Wine list came before dinner and waitress never came back until after we were done eating. My husband asks to sub risotto for the potatoes. When food was delivered it was clearly potatoes, he asked and she said no, it’s risotto. Again didn’t come back until we were done for him to tell her she was incorrect
We had a table for 8 that turned into a table for 11. We can to see the live music so we were there over 3 hours. The waiter was very accommodating allowing us to order food at various times through the evening. Food & service was great!
Pros:
Food & Service was great. Music by “Grant & Kara” was amazing
Cons: Waitress’ dress like they were at the gym
Food was really good -
Good service - reasonable prices. Grilled Caesar salad was not good though. WAY too much dressing. Other food was fine.
The food was very delicious ! There were four of us and we ordered four different entree’s. We received our food in a timely manner and it was hot and well presented,
Food was well prepared and ambiance was nice. Come hungry as the portions are big. The wedge salad is enough for 2 people to share. From out of town but will definitely go back if in the area.
Good service, Good Food, Waiter was Friendly, and Attentive. Would recommend.
Great service... not rushed or too slow. Food was fantastic!
I had ate here before but not with my family. Excellent atmosphere and good live music that wasn’t over powering . My 18 y/o son said I can’t believe you paid $30 for a steak, but when I cut my Filet With a fork and gave him a bite he said he was getting it next time. Besides $30 for a meal is not high. Their wine selection was excellent with at least 100 on the wine list. Waitress was very good and bus boys were quick to get finished dishes off the table. Highly recommended!
Valentine’s Day
The food and the service were excellent. The wine was great. There was live music so we asked to be seated farther away from the musician and we were. We didn't have any trouble carrying on our conversation. A very enjoyable evening. Their crab cakes are really delicious.
Service and food were outstanding, lots of choices on the menu, great neighborhood place!
We visited the restaurant on a friday night to eat and hear the live entertainment which went off at 9pm.
Service and food were good, prices were as expected. They were clearing away the tables in the middle of the floor a little too quickly and it made us feel like we should finish and leave.
There was also a birthday party with a lot of people upstairs so we didn't feel like we could go upstairs.
overall we would return and try to get there a little earlier to relax and listen to the music during dinner!
Great atmosphere, Food is always good , Came for my birthday with my daughter's while hubby was at work, they loved it, We came doing the week day , did rsvp, recommend especially doing weekend. However was not busy which was perfect it's like having the whole place to yourself, service great as usual , a mistake was made on my daughters food manager took care of it and gave us a ten dollar gift card which pays for for desserts, love love the chocolate cake. Great place😛😛😛😛
Food was good. The entire staff seemed confused, and new. Not sure what that was about. I brought 4 people with me, and all were disappointed in the service.
We have eaten at the “Q”multiple times in the past. We were in town for the holiday and had dinner there 2 nights in a row— great both nights :)
Our experience was horrible. This was my husbands 55th Birthday. He ordered the oscar medallion steak. Steaks, cold and tough, crab cake insides were cold. They remade the steaks and brought them out but the crab cake never came out. I had finished my dinner before any of his food came back and he ate most of my fries, while waiting on his food. We basically ate separately. The waitress was very nice and apologized but we never saw a manager. To top it off, we were charged full price for a dinner, which he only received half of. Our bill was 66.00 plus a tip. We tipped our waitress well because it wasn't her fault. She did give us a 10.00 gift card to come back. Very disappointed in the food quality and lack of customer service by the manager.
This was the MOST unfortunate experience we have ever had, & it was at the expense of my 49th birthday. We had tickets for a show so we scheduled an early dinner, at which time Quintessential was not "busy" as there were 4 empty tables around us. To start, our beer cheese soup was served downright cold. We sent it back and they brought back such a steaming hot bowl that you could see the steam rising up from across the table, so we guessed that it was over-microwaved. Also, we had to ask twice for salt & pepper after our salads, soup and appetizers were brought to our table. For refills on drinks, we had to stop and ask other servers passing by for more tea or water- And the worst part about all of this was that our waitress was training a new server. Hopefully the trainee learned that night, what "not" to do. After finishing our salad, soup, and appetizers- We waited a good 25 minutes on our main entrees, and had to wave down our waitress again to ask how much longer it would be? Our entrees were finally delivered to our table by other servers or staff, but my birthday dinner was wromg! We again waved down our waitress to let her know that I had ordered the rib eye, but was given a filet, & unbelievably she responded, "No, you ordered the filet". Finally, to top off this terrible experience, one of our entrees had a sharp, broken piece of hard plastic in it! That was the final straw & we waved down our waitress again & asked to speak with the manager. AGAIN, we waited. After 10 minutes, we found our waitress at the bar & it was obvious she never went to get the manager-She just thought we'd leave! We were very excited about trying this place & were hoping for a wonderful birthday dinner celebration with family. Unfortunately, it was hardly pleasant-especially after the "assistant manager" tried to reason that our poor service was because they were "really busy". For great service & fine food, GO ELSEWHERE! Do NOT let the name of this establishment fool you.
FAQs
Quintessential Dining & Nightlife is rated 4.2 stars by 61 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.