There was one restaurant in the Barrington area that I always neglected due to negative reviews.
I had read that the restaurant was pretentious, overpriced, and the food mediocre. I ignored the bad reviews and decided to check this place out myself.
The name of this restaurant is Hampton Social in South Barrington.
The evening that I dined at Hampton social was on a Tuesday. There was live music in the bar area. The restaurant was also somewhat busy for being a Tuesday night.
The decor of Hampton social in my honest opinion is fabulous. I love that they went with an upper-class beach theme. The use of whites throughout the restaurant really makes other colors pop.
I had an overall very warm feeling like I was in a friend's stylish beach house while dining here. I was greeted by our server who was very friendly. Our server informed us that there was 50% off all rosé tonight for happy hour. Our server also told us that all Woodfire pizzas were 50% off.
I was not drinking this particular night so I tried one of their mock-tails. It was a grapefruit fizzy beverage garnished with mint and orange that was absolutely delicious.
They serve the table with water and an extremely small glass. I was told there was an option to purchase water in a much larger glass with ice.
I started with some appetizers. I ordered their loaded chips that consisted of blue cheese drizzle with actual chunks of blue cheese.
I also ordered their take on oysters Rockefeller Called oyster Saint Charles. My wife also ordered a bowl of their clam chowder.
The appetizers arrive at our table and they looked absolutely fantastic. The chips were delicious my only complaint was that they were stone cold. I told our server just as a suggestion the restaurant should think about possibly warming the chips it would make it so much better.
The Oyster Saint Charles was also very tasty with creamy spinach and cheese on top of a fried oyster. My only complaint was that the spinach was room temperature and not very hot.
I ordered a Woodfired pizza for my main dish. I ordered the specialty pizza called The South Hampton loaded with pepperoni and sausage. My wife also ordered one of their specialty pizzas that consisted of sweet corn and avocado.
These pizzas were so good, better than 90% of all other woodfired pizzas I have had.
I also was completely full but wanted to try their desserts. I ordered their Tres Leches pound cake with fresh strawberries and their Banana Cream pie that came on a waffle.
The Tres Leches cake was good but I would not order it again, The Banna cream Pie, on the other hand, was fantastic. The waffle on the bottom was a little overcooked and hard but the flavors were fantastic.
The dishes were absolutely on point. I thoroughly enjoyed everything that I ate.
A bill came to the table and it was just under $130. Many of the items on their menu are expensive. This is definitely not a budget dinner date.
On my next visit, I will definitely come in for the pizza it was some of the best pizza that I’ve ever had. You cannot beat the price of nine dollars during happy hour.
The rest of the food items I did feel were overpriced. Oyster Saint Charles I don’t feel was worth $22. The drink I ordered that had no alcohol in it called the shoreline was not worth nine dollars.
I do think they’ll for the overall decor and ambiance with live music it definitely calls for another visit I had a very good time.
I rate Hampton social an 8 out of 10. This just goes to show you don’t always just listen to other's reviews check the place out for yourself you may be pleasantly surprised with your experience.
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