Al Capone’s Hideaway & Steakhouse

I loved this place. I’ve been going there since I was I kid every year for my Birthday.
I always was fascinated with Al Capone since I was litte. My Aunt Knew him so I guess that was why. This place had the best food and I loved all the history behind it.
The old photos were the best!
PLEASE PLEASE REOPEN

We just found out this weekend that Al Capone’s was closed due to foreclosure. My husband and I were extremely sad. I actually started crying a little bit because I really enjoyed going there every year for dinner for our anniversary! Please if anyone can relate to this, pray they will clear up what is wrong with their finances and reopen, I don’t think we can continue leaving Al Capone’s out of our tradition of going to St. Charles every year for our anniversary! They had the best lobster tail I have ever tasted and no one can compare! Please open up again!!!

This place was legendary and I am so unbelievably sad that it’s gone. The food was oustanding, as was the location. I came here every year for my birthday. It had such character and history. I miss it!

Sad, sad day. I just heard about the closing. I always look forward to each visit. Next time I kayak past it this spring, I will have to pause for a moment of silence. I wonder what will become of the building? I hope it has some sort of landmark status.

first things first… you must have GPS to find this place. And even then it’s a little tricky. They don’t call this place a hideaway for nothing.
Ambiance/​Atmosphere: I have a strong weakness for old mob stories so that is what initially drew me to this place which was an actual old speakeasy of Al Capone’s. This place definitely has the character and charm of an old hideaway. It is dimly lit and we were lucky enough to garner a table in the front room with a great view of the Fox River. That said, be aware, this is a house. And an old one at that. It even smells like an old house (&steak and garlic). One word of warning… the bathrooms are small. Actually small is generous. They are tiny. The women’s room has 2 «stalls» and my husband said that the men’s room is basically a urinal with a door. So if you are going here, don’t try anything new to eat. You’ll be sorry if it doesn’t agree with you and you are stuck in the tiniest bathroom ever.
Service: It was decent, but nothing that blew me away. We tried to make small talk with the waitress, asking what she recommended and all but she seemed to be just kind of «meh» about everything. Our food came out promptly enough, but we waited on a few things here and there. I was also a little taken aback by her comment when we finished our appetizer. We had the baked shrimp delonghe, which is really just 4 medium sized-​but very yummy-​shrimp. When she came to clear our dishes, she made a comment as to how quickly we had finished them, and my husband and I looked at each other a little stunned. We didn’t inhale them by any means and we wondered how long it takes most people to eat these tiny shrimp.
As a server myself, I will say that I analyze service more than the average person, so take that all with a grain of salt. Most of the servers I noticed seemed to be older women that have been there for awhile. A few looked harried and in the weeds, but most just seemed to do their jobs well, but without any extra pizazz, if you know what I mean. I get it, working in the same restaurant for years does that to people. There was one young blonde girl that had a radiant smile all night… maybe she is so new she isn’t jaded yet?!
Food: My husband and I are steak people and we’ve been to some of the best steakhouses around. I would rate this one up there. Not the top of my list but definitely a contender. For the money, I think you get a great value. Most fine dining steakhouses nowadays only offer steaks a la carte and nickle and dime you for all the extras… this place does not. My husband and I both ordered an 8 oz Prime cut filet and it came with soup, salad, bread, a lovely lemon sorbet palette refresher, and your choice of potato. With both our steaks, an appetizer, 3 glasses of wine and dessert our dinner was only a little over $ 100 +tip. Not bad if you ask me, and certainly not bad compared to other places we have been.
For an appetizer we got the Baked Shrimp Delonghe and it was amazing. Small, but certainly not on flavor.
Next we got the French Onion soup. We both splurged and paid the $ 3.95 to upgrade to the Baked French Onion soup because lets be honest… the cheese and croûton are the best part. It was well worth it. The soup is flavorful with out being super rich like some F/​O soups can be.
Our salads were also good, the house dressing is the way to go. It is light but very flavorful. The bread was ok, but a little too oily for my liking. Plus, the herbs coating it were overwhelming but the actual flavor of the bread was lacking. That is fine by me though because if I am about to eat an 8oz steak, the last thing I need to do is fill up on bread.
The waitress came by w/​lemon sorbet on a tiny cone which was a nice touch, especially after eating onion-​y soup and garlicky salad dressing.
The steaks were awesome. But be advised, like most steakhouses, they tend to err on the side of rare when cooking them. Obviously, this is because it is easier to cook a steak more & you can’t uncook it, but if you do not like your steak red, I would order it more well done than you usually do. That said my husband and I both ordered our steaks medium. His came out medium rare and mine came out rare rare. Normally we both don’t mind a rare steak, but being pregnant, I don’t care for super rare anymore. Our waitress offered to bring it back but I declined. Truthfully, I was already kind of full and was also saving room for dessert. I ate around the outside, which was more cooked and had her wrap the rest. Rare steak always heats up better anyways. The garlic mashed potatoes were also great.
For dessert we ordered the Brandy Ice which is what our waitress recommended. It was light and tasty.
Overall this is a great place and I would come back again & recommend it!

The first time we ate here it was really good. So then we brought our in laws and it was horrible. The steak was dry and tasteless and the service was horribly slow. Really dumb waitress.
They need consistency, but I’m sure the whole nostalgia thing will continue to draw a crowd.

My new favorite restaurant! After hearing people rave about this place literally for years, my wife, friends and I went to the Hideaway last January. The meals ordered (from steaks to seafood) were outstanding. Cooked to perfection. The service (every time) has been friendly, patient, helpful and very attentive.
The drinks were reasonably priced and generous, the house beer was delicious. Be sure to get the house dressing on your salad, the fresh grated Romano brightens up the flavor of the vinegar and olive oil dressing.
I have since returned 2 times and I am preparing to dine there this evening. Yes, it can be little pricey, but you get what you pay for. There are daily and weekend specials that include all the flavors and courses as the other meals, at a very reasonable price.
So, take a tip from me make your reservations now and enjoy great atmosphere, friendly people and fantastic steaks and seafood.
No, I am not related to the owner.

I really wanted to love this place but it was just OK. The service was fine and the unique atmosphere is fun. The steaks were just okay though and I expected better. The upcharges were a little frustrating too. You want bleu cheese dressing? That’ll be $ 2 more. Several of the steaks were pricy and came with nothing else. Some of the less expensive ones came with soup and salad. What’s up with that?
Not saying I’d never go back but my expectations are lower now.

Probably my favorite steak house. A bit on the pricey side but absolutely worth it! I discovered this place 15 years ago while walking my dog through the forrest preserve around there.
The service is impeccible. Every course comes out just as I’m taking the last bite of the current course. After a couple of visits, I had to ask if they were watching from in back with a hidden camera, to know when to bring the next course.
The steaks/​prime rib are always excellent but they also have great seafood here. The pallet freshener (orange serbet) is always a nice touch. And the shrimp de jong is to die for.
And you can’t beat the atmosphere. I always enjoy having a drink before dinner in their bar, although it can get a little crowded. I think I like the fact that its an actual speakeasy from the 1920’s. Definately, a must for a special night out.

Truly, the best overall food experience I’ve ever had. If I had a last meal, it would be from here (and I thought nothing could beat my mom’s cooking). Let me tell you the story…
When I was working on «Real Housewives of Orange County» a few years back, we came here to shoot a dinner scene with one of the cast members and her family. My producer was very savvy, and was able to arrange us a complimented dinner from the owner (great guy! Definitely talk to this man). Smelling the aromas throughout the shoot, and with money no longer an issue, I went all out and got the porterhouse steak, medium.
FOOD:
We first received their house baked bread. Trust me, it’s like nothing you’ve eaten before! The bread was fresh, warm, and dripping (literally) with flavor. Bursts of sweet onion, herbs, or garlic were infused in each bite. With complimentary bread this good, how much better would it get?
Oh, it got better. Next came the house salad. Now, I don’t think much of house salads, but here, it’s another level. The house dressing they used complimented every bite I took. And at this time, I hated salads. But this thing swung me over, or how I learned to stop worrying and love the salad*.
Then the French onion soup. I’ve had this soup in many iterations in many restaurants, and almost all of them have been too salty or bland. This one was phenomenal! The cheese was perfectly layered on top and crusted with beautiful golden color. And the bread they used was the same house baked bread I ate previously. Without a doubt, the best French onion soup I’ve ever had.
Then the king of all steaks, the porterhouse arrived. It was beautiful. Grilled to perfection, the steak was large and the aromas were destroying my manners. I wanted to devour this beast! I cut in and it was beautiful. Marbled meat with just the right amount of pink; the juices of the steak gushed out. The first bite was nirvana. The second was ecstasy. I was in a state of bliss and didn’t want to leave.
I didn’t think I would be able to finish the steak because of all the food I had previously, but the pure flavor of the steak willed me into completion, even after my stomach tapped out. The flavors wrestled all my reservations away. I was in heaven.
DECORUM:
This place is awesome. The restaurant was actually one of Capone’s speakeasies back in the day. The owner collects as much Capone memorabilia and puts it in the restaurant.
The restaurant is right next to the Fox River and is away from all the busy city life. It is truly a hideaway, with an incredible view from the dining room. You can really relax here.
The bar is fully loaded and they make their own tequila (Tommy Gun tequila with some bottles in the shape of a Tommy gun), and their own cigars (the tiny ones that Capone use to smoke).
PEOPLE:
The owner is absolutely wonderful, welcoming, and charming. If you’re here, you should definitely talk to him. All the crew are friendly and easily accessible. They treat you like family.
CONCLUSION:
This place is both a blessing and curse to me. I am blessed to know perfection in a meal, from beginning to end. But cursed with this place being so far away from where I am now. I will be haunted of this place until I can be reunited once more. A reunion I plan on having as soon as I can.
BEST. COMPLETE. MEAL. EVER!!!
*reference to «Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb»

I have been here a couple of times and the last time I noticed that the prices seemed to have been lower or received more food for their money.
I love their shrimp de jonge (sp?) I also like their prime rib. I am a huge bread fan and was disappointed that their bread tasted a bit stale and was drenched with the oil which didn’t penetrate through the crust and just sat on top of the bread.
It is a nice place to go to bring people from out of town and boast about our Chicago history.

AVOID at all costs!
This over priced steak joint is NOT worth the money. We had reservations for my husbands birthday with another couple. We thought this was going to be a cool place to check out as it advertises as having a cigar bar, microbrewery, and restaurant. Out of three they have a restaurant (barely).
To start our waitress was a larger lady who was red in the face and sweating from waiting tables. She continued to reach over the table with her sweaty arm pit in our face instead of walking around the table to pour water or whatever she needed to do.
Secondly, You would think that if you are spending $ 35+ on a stead it would at least be cooked to order. Our friend who was with us ordered his steak medium rare and my husband ordered his steak medium. When the food finally came out (45 min wait for our steaks) our friends steak was medium and my husband steak was medium rare. When we showed the waitress she got out her lighter and reached over the steak to hold the lighter to is and said that is a little more than medium rare. Arguing with him until she acknowledged it was not medium rare like the steak was ordered. My husbands steak was medium rare even though he ordered a medium cooked steak. Since at this time we needed to go to make a show we had tickets for we told her we didn’t have time for them to make another one. The Manager came over (still no apology) and said she will take $ 5.00 off our bill. ($ 5.00 off for $ 70.00+ of steak that was cooked wrong)
Do yourself a favor and don’t eat here.
Its called Al Capone’s hideaway and if you read the menu it wasn’t even Al Capone’s place it was a place that different gangsters came to get booze during prohibition. Its a tourist trap!
The reason I gave it 1 start (aside from Unilocal won’t let you give 0 stars) is because the bread in the beginning and the mini gelato they give you before dinner is served is awesome!

The Hideaway has been on my to-​do list for a while, and we finally went and tried it last night. I loved the mobster ambiance, and the food/​drinks were good. This is not a place for anyone on a diet, a vegetarian, or anyone watching their pennies!
First off, you better have very specific directions and a tuneup on your car before you head to the Hideaway, because otherwise you will be lost and/​or end up sliding into the river. There is a very steep hill right before the entrance and no guard rail to prevent you from driving into the river!
The menu is mostly comprised of steaks, although there is a chicken dish and a few seafood options. I got the shrimp dejonghe (aka scampi), and the BF got a chopped steak. All of the meals come with french onion soup (baked with cheese and bacon for an extra $ 4), salad, big greasy rolls, a lemon sorbet palate cleanser, and choice of potato. Wow, that’s a lot of food, and wow most of the meals are $ 20+.
The soup was excellent. I highly recommend splurging for the baked option. The salad suffered from dressing overload. The rolls were in a puddle of oil– yuck. After drying them off, they were actually pretty good and yeasty. The shrimp was good, and the BF enjoyed the chopped steak even though it was a little plain. I ordered a martini and the BF ordered a margarita. The margarita was awesome, but the martini was meh.
One thing that I have to note is that the women’s bathroom is super creepy. The stalls are tiny with curtain doors, and the lighting is very dim. You sort of feel like the ghost of Al Capone is going to pop out at any moment… Boo!
Overall, like many tourist destinations, you should try the Hideout at least once. The food is not bad, but I don’t know if I’d hurry back.

This place is amazing for so many reasons. The memorabilia throughout the place is enough to keep you on that roaring 20s high all night. They even have the original bathtub that the place used to make gin.
It truly is a hidden gem as we got lost trying to find the place. Once you do get there, you get an appreciation for the peacefulness of its surroundings and makes you think how that might have played a role back in the 20s. I can imagine it now, having the type of gangsters that frequented this place, throwing who knows who into the river or just being outside having a cigar and taking in the beauty of the area.
The food is not out of this world but not bad compared to some of the reviews I have read and the food seems to just keep on coming. I don’t think you initially come for the taste as much as the experience anyways, but I am glad that it was not disappointing.
I had the opportunity to ge a personal tour upstairs where the actual gambling took place and what used to be the original entrance to the joint. The host that was giving us the tour was very knowledgeable as to how the place ran back then and how it has changed since.
We ate in the parlor area near the fireplace which used to be where they made the hooch. If you love that era then you will defintely fall in love with the place as I did. The gift shop and bar is small but accomodating.
I would highly recommend this place, especially for its history!

How sad that this place has been on a nose-​dive for the past year. They have changed their menu and prices, combo specials, basically everything that was good about the place has been replaced. WTF? This is evidenced by the «no wait» to sit down, should have ran then. This place used to be packed, I mean SUPER packed. I live close and used to go their at least once a month, so this is coming from experience.
The last two times I went, the steak was not cooked to my liking, seemed everything was «an extra charge», which completely drives me insane, and the wine pours are an insult. This place needs a Gordon Ramsey Kitchen Nightmare show to bring it back to prior glory…

A unique fun place to have dinner, some drinks and enjoy a piece of history. I wish I could give them a 5 star but they were so mean to me last time I have to deduct 2 stars.
I love the atmosphere and mood of the place. You feel kind of secretive going there. Its hard to find with only little hidden signs to lead you there. Its dark and cozy. They have a gift shop in the front by the bar, where you can by gansta memorabillia or a tommy gun full a vodka!
The food part of it it not my fav. They dont offer anything for vegetarians. I have been there a couple times and each time I explain the veggieness and they always talk to the chef and he makes me something. Usually not very good but still I get to eat. Last time I went the waitress was a total B! She was rude and questioned my vegetarianism, then went and asked the chef if he could make me something without meat and he sent his answer back. NO! I still think she hated me so much she probably lied.
So that really pissed me and my family off. I had to dine on the rolls and a side salad. My family says the food is amazing but I wouldnt know. Actually the rolls are pretty awesome they are dowsed in oil and garlic just my style! Oh yea I like that they bring you sorbet to clean you palette between dishes.
Sadly I will most likely not go back since they were so rude to me last time.

Hard place to find if you don’t know the area. Be careful on the big hill down. You end up in the fox river if it’s slick. Good food and a really cool place to see. Especially when you learn the history of the area. I would go there at least once but it is pricey for what you get. They are very heavy on the garlic so vampires beware!

My bf and I decided to come here with some friends during a little Chicago winter storm. On our way there we saw a car in a ditch, then we ended up clipping some guys bumper and the cops had to come out… in a winter storm! Needless to say, we were an hour late for our reservations but they sat us right away. Then the guy we hit came in right after us… awww S@#T. lol Prohibition. that is the décor theme. Very dim lit, and the tables are pretty close together but luckily there wasn’t alot of people there that night.
The one thing I really liked about this place is that the menu was NOT ala carte. Our meals came with a soup, salad, rolls, a potato and get this, a palate cleanser. Very nice. I had the ribs, they were pretty good. My bf and our friends had steaks, and they all said they were tasty and HUGE, I don’t think any of them finished theirs.
During a winter storm, it was pretty scary going down the steep hill, and if we wouldn’t have gone with our friends, it would have taken a while to find this place. It was a pretty good Hideaway ;)

I’ve heard great things about this place — location and food — over the years. And my experience this weekend confirmed some things and contradicted the others.
The location is tough to find, but on a late sunny fall afternoon it was beautiful to arrive just before sunset. Great setting along the Fox River.
The food? Average at best. Salads swimming in congealed oil & vinegar. «Fresh baked» rolls that were clearly reheated and bathed in some undistinguished oil and cheap Parmesan. Appetizers on the skimpy side (3 Potato skins to an order? — Frozen then fried Calamari and jarred sauce). The entrée’s looked good but were no better than what you might find at an American legion Hall on a Friday night.
The service was fine — nothing great — nothing horrible.
Certainly. nothing drove me to believe I’d be returning.

If you’ve never been here before, I suggest you come in the daytime or have a good GPS navigator or you will get lost. It is literally in the middle of nowhere off of Route 25 in St Charles. You go through a residental area to get there.
I would also recommend getting there before 7pm on a Friday or Saturday and having reservations or you’re going to wind up parking on the street. For the most part, you get seated right away, but we had to wait a bit on Valentines Day, which I expected.
My wife introduced me to Capone’s when we first met 6 years ago and I absolutely love the place. They have great appetizers, great soup and their steaks are the best in the Chicagoland area. They used to charge you for every soft drink you would get which shocked the heck out of us. $ 16 for coke is a running joke with my wife and I, but they have recently changed it.
I was going to be taking a star away because they cut out the combo’s which really upset both of us on Saturday, but changed my mind after they quit charging per soft drink. Regardless, it’s still a great place to eat, foodwise, servicewise and atmposphere wise.