The Turf Room Restaurant - North Aurora, Illinois

The Turf Room is located just off Randall Road in North Aurora. You can't miss the place...it's the building with an exterior made out of 100% reclaimed barn wood planks. It's actually pretty cool looking. It was my second visit to The Turf Room. Each time with a group of friends for dinner. The Turf Room is more than just a restaurant. It actually has a full service Off-Track Betting facility attached to the main restuarant. In fact the restaurant's theme is based on horse racing complete with individual "horse stalls" as bathrooms. No joke! But the off-track betting is a pretty cool touch if you're in to horse racing, gambling, and cocktails.

The atmosphere is contempary. Concrete floors, wood burning stone fire pit surrounded by plush sofas, and some secluded table options for larger groups. Overall it's a nice looking place to take a date, or when you're in the mood for some ambient dining in the burbs!

The Turf Room comes complete with three different bars and the specialty drink menu is fairly extensive. The beer and wine selection is decent. There's an extensive beer list by the bottle but it's filled with mostly common brews. The wine list is ok but nothing to write home about. But it works unless you're a self proclaimed wine snob. It's a good list for the value.

My latest visit to The Turf Room was Saturday night with the Misses and our friends from Chicago. We arrived early to take advantage of the fire pit with drinks in hand but unfortunately there was no fire. Not sure why but maybe we were too early for a fire. We got there at 6. Regardless we enjoyed our cocktails sans fire and then decided to take our seats.

Shortly after we ordered our appetizers our server brought us a "Chef's Selection" appetizer on the house. Nice touch and it was good. A fried tomato three ways which included a really nice dipping sauce. It wasn't out of this world but it was good and an unexpected surprise. I like surprises.

Appetizer time...Fried Brie Curds and Carpacio. If you're not from Wisconsin or live within a 100 mile radius of Wisconsin you may be wondering what the heck is a cheese curd? Well...they aren't sexy and I'm not going to pretend they are but damn are they tasty. Did I mentioned they were fried?? Take a look...

The Carpacio was just ok. I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Carpacio. At the Turf Room they roll the thinly sliced beef and fill it with the condiments you traditionally get served on the side. Personally I think this reduces the portion size significantly (only four to a serving).

If you're a Carpacio afficiando then you'll be dissapointed.

Main Course - My first visit to the Turf Room I devoured the Filet Mignot. It was dry aged for 45 days and I have to admit it was pretty good. A little on the small side for $34.00 but overall it was a quality piece of beef. This time I opted for the Braised Short Rib with mashed sweet potatoes. My friend (a self proclaimed red meat junkie) ordered the T-Bone. So here's where things get a little interesting. My Beef Short Rib was tender, fall off the bone, and sizeable. But when you think about it it's hard to screw up a Braised Short Rib. You really can't over cook it so all you need to do is make sure it's tender and you pair it with a comparable sauce. The Turf Room proved they can do this. Although the mashed sweet potatoes were not 100% sweet potatoes. You could tell they blended regular potatoes into the receipe as filler I suppose. Nice try but you can't fool me. I mean how much more does it cost to use 100% sweet potatoes? There must be another reason for this tom foolery that I'm overlooking. Anyway check it out below...

BUT (there's always a BUT) my friend's T-Bone was a dissapointment. It was entirely too thin coming in at maybe an inch on a good day. And the overall flavor was a bit on the bland side. It was their special of the night too and for $36.00 it should have represented.

This leads me to the following conclusion. I think the Turf Room is a great place for a unique dining experience in a western suburb like Aurora, IL. It's an interesting spin on the Off Track Betting experience and the atmosphere is unique. I found the place to be a bit more cozy my first visit thanks to the huge fire pit in the center of the room. This time around it was still daylight outside, the fire wasn't happening, and I was hoping for that cozy vibe. But overall the consistency of the place held true. And I should note the service (so far) has been very good. So if you're in the mood for some pretty good food, good service, and a little horse betting on the side then I think it's worth the trip. If you're in the mood for some red meat then stick with the Filet. But don't associate their namesake (The Turf Room) as an indication you'll be settling in for date with a side of beef...more like a $2.00 Perfecta Box on 4,5, and 6. Good luck!

The Turf Room

650 Randall Crossings Ln

North Aurora, IL 60542

(630)906-9300