Juliana K.'s Profile

"Eek! Methinks not." is right....

I used to come here with colleagues from work periodically about 10 years ago and it was a great place.

A friend of mine who is also a fan (but of the north suburb location) mentioned to me that I could get a free dinner for my birthday. I registered, printed out my little coupon and was somewhat excited about revisiting this old haunt.

I will NEVER visit this location (and likely not the north suburban location) EVER again.

1 - Empty. Nobody was there. Granted it was a Wednesday. Read on.
2 - My food was salty and bland. The chef was friendly enough but sadly that was his only redeeming quality.
3 - They try to rip people off.

I had the Crown dinner with Scallops
- Chicken noodle soup - bland bland bland...but somewhat peppery
- House salad - bowl of lettuce with a cream dressing that tasted like sesame seeds and fish-sauce. I'm serious...JUST LETTUCE.
- Shrimp Appetizer - These are good - the egg sauce is heavy but its basically egg and butter.
- Veggies - Stir fried - hard to screw up.
- Fried Rice - YUK. Bland. No veggies
- Scallops (Main entree) - Overcooked, soaked in soy sauce, salt was sprinkled all over them. I was not impressed.
- Rocky Road Icecream - They didn't make it - can't screw it up.

So I sat there and thought - wow....this place kinda went to hell since I was here last. We waited for the check.

Now remember that I came in for my FREE birthday entree. I was billed. No biggie - I mentioned to my server that I brought the coupon and gave it to the greeter at the door. She said disappeared with my bill and my credit card. Came back with the same bill with 18% gratuity handwritten into the margin (4 people ... I don't think so) and removed the ~22 dollars for my entree.... but ADDED 25.

We then argued it again, and they came back with a charge slip of 141.00. The original bill was 143, the corrected bill was 117.

It was all finally settled, no gratuity (I added it myself) - But my card was charged for the 141 bill AND the 117 bill and now I have to argue with them about charging me twice for a craptastic experience.

The same occurred to our table mates. They split the tab, one girl paying cash - the other paying with her card. They took the cash AND charged the full amount to the card. I wish I had my phone at the moment - its incredible that they did it to both of us.

NEVER AGAIN NEVER AGAIN - If I could give it negative stars I would.

Summary -
Gross Food
Quick to rip you off

Avoid at all costs.

I was excited that something new had opened in the neighborhood.

To sum up my experience, I found the waitstaff to be awkwardly over-friendly and also instrusive.  Also food was overpriced for the serving size and quality.  

I was very dissappointed.

While S@kura offers classic selections on its menu I suggest ordering from their signature menu. I'm happy to report that it is  Mexican-Japanese fusion at its best.  

We ordered 4 of the signature maki, my favorite being the Sexy Chic roll.  I was impressed by the freshness of the fish, the generous serving sizes, and the classic yet creative presentation.

Our waitress was extremly helpful and accomodating.  The chef even came out from behind the bar to chat with us at the end of our meal to guage our experience and asked what he could do better.

Try the plum wine icecream if its available - I saw someone else say that on here but will repeat.  Do it!

Absolutely yummy. For starters, I recommend the seasonal flat-bread and the sweet potato fries.

I had a beautifully presented seared trout served with sauteed spinach and fava beans. It may seem on the mundane side, but I have a great appreciation for a well cooked vegetable. The spinach was perfectly prepared and it was just as tasty as the trout.

The waitstaff was pleasant, attentive, and kept the sangria coming. With regards to your immediate surroundings, you'll find that it is pleasantly lit and cozy. On the night that I went their was a live band, who was great but their sound person liked to tune things on the loud side which can be a bit much when you're sitting close to a speaker (like I was).

This is a great little brunch spot in Greek Town.

When I'm feeling more 'breakfasty' I get the Meli Toast.  It is served  with the usual acoutrements but the whipped honey butter is the best.  

Waiting is hit or miss.  It could take 2 minutes or 20.  Larger parties tend to wait longer because seating is layed out to accomodate parties up to 4 people.

I have eaten at Pauline's twice - once inside and once outside.

My outside experience - We were seated outside at a table that was too small to accommodate even two people.  The table teetered back and forth and I recall being distinctly aware of where to place my feet below the table so as to no upset the entire works.  Our server was courteous but not especially friendly.  

I ordered a vegetable omelet and an orange juice.  The OJ was delicious and pulpy.  The vegetables in my omelet were fresh and crisp however in their original size.  They didn't bother to cut them up so I had huge stalks of asparagus thrown in my omelet.  Other than that being a bit odd, it was tasty.

I had a lovely time while eating outside however I think that had more to do with the weather and my company.   The outside experience should get 3 stars.

The reason I gave 2 stars is because my experience INSIDE was bad enough to detract from my original score.  

I was seated in the booth next to my son across the table from my friend.  (Just setting the stage).  The server came by took our orders but she was extremely rude and weird.  My son ordered pancakes and a coffee.  He was 11 at the time and the server went on a diatribe about how it was going to stunt his growth.  

1.  I didn't ask and 2.  I didn't ask.

I don't remember what anyone else ordered but I do recall the waitress making a regular appearance to mutter what felt more like a obligatory 'is everything ok honey' AT us stand there and wait for a response.  She poured coffee from 2 feet above the cup splashing it everywhere.  She burned my friend with the splash not once but twice and she reached over me while I was taking a bite to clear my son's plate.  She was the pits.

Anyway, if you are going to go:
Get cash as it is a cash only establishment.
Go on a day that you can eat outside
Avoid the weird older server that calls everyone 'honey'.

This is one of my favorite spots in Portage Park.  I do wish that they were open later on the week days.

I can't believe this is canceled. What a disappointment!

YUM!  I had the Ahodaga Torta and  Aztec Bean-to-Cup Chocolate.  

I can't wait to go back to taste the rest of the menu!

WOW stands for World of Wings...but it should be World of Waiting.

The food was palatable but unremarkable. Certainly not worth the wait.