Best Restaurants for Special Occasions in Crystal Lake

Outstanding food and environment. Fish was outstanding, meat excellent, drinks supurb, environment the best. I am sick of restaurants undercooking meat to "prove" they are sophisticated. "Medium Rare is what "Rare" was 10 years ago. I like it rare to medium rare; but high end restaurants keep pushing it more rare - IMO so they aren't "judged" on being unsophisticated. It's becoming absurd today - for ALL high end restaurants lean in this direction. We need to develop a legit standard.

On this busy Valentine night, it was our tenth wedding anniversary, and our server Courtney was wonderful! We ordered some of our favs: the hubs loves the lobster bisque and the surf and turf. I had the special: brown butter scallops on top of jasmine rice with spinach in a wonderful buttery balsamic reduction. NOTE: the portion size of the scallops was VERY generous and well priced (by comparison, I once ordered scallops at another local winery type restaurant, and it was served - I kid you not - three scallops in a row on a long plate with NO SIDES for nearly the same price as CH). The sauce esp was sumptuous and the scallops were cooked to perfection. I had the recommended wine with the scallops as well: the Artists SAG awards White Blend. I had to have the chocolate cremeaux dessert: a chocolate mousse with a toffee cream on top, and whipped cream with toasted coconut, almond, chocolate crunch on top of that. DIVINE! I also ordered a glass of sparkling almond wine which was our wedding drink. Simply delicious! Courtney celebrated our wedding anniversary with us (we were married at a different CH ten years ago) and was knowledgeable, caring, and non-intrusive. Loved this dinner! Will be back of course!

The food and the service were outstanding! Our waitress was attentive any very helpful with the menu choices. We were there on Valentine’s Day but didn’t feel rushed at all. The only negative was that the hostess was a bit rude.

Love daisies! The service was impeccable-the food is always a different flavor but one I never knew I NEEDED! The apps, pastas and entrees! Happy to return and I’ll be back!

My first time visiting, but everyone else in my group has been to The Junction numerous times and has raved about it. My experience was delightful. I was first in my party to arrive, and was greeted warmly and promptly. In a nutshell: Naomi was our amazing server and was very attentive throughout. Menu was very impressive, hard to choose because it all sounded so good. Two in our party ordered burgers, the other four ordered the Mediterranean Chicken Caesar wrap. WOW!! So amazingly good... the chicken was perfect... so tender and delicious. The burgers were a huge hit as well. I also ate every last little French fry that was on my plate- they were perfectly seasoned and cooked to a crispy light golden. Prior to ordering our food, street corn and tortilla chips were brought to our table. I seriously could've eaten the corn with a spoon- it was phenomenal! The atmosphere of this cute restaurant is simply perfect for a family meal or gathering friends together. There is an adorable outdoor seating area for dining in warmer weather- can't wait to come back win the Spring for that! So happy to have such a great restaurant in Crystal Lake and I certainly plan to become a regular! For those that don't live in Crystal Lake, hop on the UPNW Metra and check it out, the restaurant is just across the street from the Crystal Lake train station!