Holt’s

This place is a combination of sports bar and a family restaurant. Has great food and drinks. Passed this place few times and one day finally decided to go and give it a try. They have all kinds of beer and wines and great food. Their cheese fries and curds are amazing. Taco pizza is unique. Overall I liked the place as it has that unique feel to it. I would like to point this place is very busy at times so it wouldn’t harm calling in advance and reserving a seat. Staff is very polite.

Kind of pricey for a burger and beer joint. My burger was very good, and so were the fries, service was decent and the place had a nice atmosphere.

Great Pizza. Make a Reservation on Weekends
We’ve had pizza here a couple times. I personally think the pizza with goat cheese, carmelized onion, and red grapes is the best. We’ve also had the meatball with ricotta pizza which is also very good. The place can get very busy, so make a reservation. Also in the early evening hours expect lots of kids. The beer selection is very good and the wine selection is decent. Cost per person for pizza and a beverage is about $ 20.

Holt’s is a charming neighborhood spot. One of the owners, Matt, seems to know just about everyone who comes through the door and welcomes everyone warmly. The waitstaff are attentive and seem very knowledgeable about the menu and the extensive offerings from the bar, including the different craft brews Holt’s has or has had on tap. We’ve now been to Holt’s several times and haven’t had a thing from the menu that we haven’t enjoyed. It’s now our go-​to place for thin crust pizza, dining in or taking out. The cheese curds are fantastic, the house burger is a burst of umami flavors and probably my favorite non-​pizza menu item, the wings are done very well (note that even the mild wings have a bit of a kick), the taco pizza is an interesting and fun choice (I ordered it on a lark and actually quite enjoyed it). Our vegetarian daughter has enjoyed the pepper & egg sandwich and the grilled cheese with tomato soup. The grilled cheese is very decadent (and even more so with bacon!). The beet salad is quite good, though I would have enjoyed a bit more goat cheese on it. The dressing was especially good, kind of an emulsified, thick balsamic vinaigrette. The desserts don’t appear on the menu and the selection is limited but the ones we have tried were all fantastic: butterscotch pie, hot gooey chocolate chip cookies and olive oil cake (it sounds weird but is moist and delicious!).
I’ve seen mention in other reviews about the noise, and yes it is noisy, but that is more about the type of place it is than anything else. Kids are welcome, there are several large TVs, a table shuffleboard game in the back, and a vibrant bar. So this is not a cozy, intimate spot. It’s a lively neighborhood place so I wouldn’t expect it to be quieter.

Sad that on a Thursday evening, a party of 3 had to wait while the 2 cute hostess looked at each other trying to decide which one look better. We asked if we just sat anywhere & 1 of the cuties said she would seat us. Set us to a high top with stools without backs !!! I don’t think so ! We asked to sit at another empty high top & told it was held for someone else. We asked to sit at a regular table, but again it was being held for someone else. We left & may not be back. Walked up the block to The Pick & had a wonderful meal at a great table & excellent service. Get it together Holt’s
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I’ve been here a few times and was very impressed. I love the smaller menu they have because I know everything is fresh and they focus is on making everything fantastic.
The pizza is one of the best I’ve ever had. I’ve tried the sausage and mashed potato pizza and had to use restraint to not eat the whole pizza in one sitting. I’ve never tasted anything like it. The other pizza I tried was my own personal creation, sausage, bacon, mushroom and green pepper which is my standard pizza order. Easily the best I’ve ever had. Again, restraint was needed not to eat the whole thing. Every thing just tastes fresh and is loaded with flavor. I don’t know what they do to the bacon, but it rocks. I’ve had the custom burger with the plank bacon and cheese curds added on a pretzel bun and it was as good as any place that specializes in burgers. It was cooked to perfection (med rare) and the fries were fresh cut, not frozen, bagged that most places use.
The beer list was quite extensive and I thought the cocktails named after characters from the Rocky films was very cool. I loved the atmosphere and it felt like the place to be. Our server was very attentive and friendly, even recommending a couple beers from the list. The last time I was there I noticed they have the pages from the playbook of the ’85 Bears Super Bowl victory framed and hanging on a wall. Super cool for a diehard Bears fan like myself, who still remembers the game and still has it on VHS. The owner was there every time I’ve been in and actually came up to our table to ask how everything was. Judging by the high quality of the food, I assume he’s quite particular with what leaves his kitchen and is served to his guests.
I can’t wait watch the Hawks playoff games there, especially when the weather warms up and those huge windows are swung open. I think Holt’s is a much needed and great addition to Park Ridge.

My wife and I went there with three other couples for a Saturday night out. We liked the atmosphere — as one in our party said, it felt more like a happening place in the city, than a corner restaurant in the suburbs.
We indulged in their lengthy beer and wine list, there was something for everyone on it. I wish they had more than eight beers on tap, but the selection of bottles had several dozen options, including many craft beers. Meanwhile we also ordered the cheese curds and the calamari from the appetizer list. Service was very prompt and friendly. We never had to seek out our server’s attention, she was quick to drop by at just the right times.
Back to the food… I have to say that the cheese curds weren’t what I expected. On account of their small size, the ratio of cheese-​to-​fried batter didn’t seem right, and they were hard to handle. However, for a night out at a table of eight, that was the only gripe on the food front. The entrée orders at the table varied — a couple burgers, a kale salad, a taco pizza, and a goat cheese and grape pizza. Our group had many complements on the unique flavors, especially on the unique pizza topping combinations.
During dinner, our conversation turned to the topic of Holt’s and The Pick being in close proximity, and sharing our observations about the dining experiences at each. All at the table were rooting for both to succeed — but our feeling was that Holt’s has done a bit better on their menu options, unique flavors, and presentation.
Overall a great night at Holt’s, with very little to critique on the food, service, or ambiance.
Pros: excellent service, great atmosphere, unique flavor combinations especially on the pizza list
Suggestions for improvement: some kind of coat rack near the tall long tables that are equipped with bar stools, check on the size of the cheese curds

Called ahead and they said they don’t take reservations right now but they aren’t busy. Showed up 45 min wait for two people. There were plenty of empty spots not even including at the bar. What’s even more frustrating a family came in after us and said ‘hi we have a reservation for…” Oh well guess I will not be trying this place any time soon.

Can’t figure this one out…
We had this place picked out a week ahead of time. Day of we call two hours ahead of time asking to put a reservation for two at 6:30. They tell us no they don’t take reservations until 9:30pm that night. Okay fast forward to 6pm we walk in, place is half full and we’re told one hour wait (they don’t even mention the bar that has two people at it), and as we’re walking out a family of four walks in saying they have a reservation.
Sorry, we won’t be trying you any time soon. Maybe when you have a Groupon we might come back, but given this experience I can only imagine the stipulations on the Groupon.

Second weekend Holt’s is serving brunch… AMAZING! I recommend Bloody Mary, biscuits and gravy, and olive oil cake! Can’t wait to come back!

So I’d give Holt’s a 4.5 out of 5. As others have said, «Holt’s is exactly what Park Ridge and the surrounding area needs.» Its an actual bar, something the city of Park Ridge has fought for years. (The city — not generally the residents of the city). Anyway, lots of mixed reviews it seems. I think this place did a fantastic job! I’ve been here about half a dozen times now. Pizza is really good, the bar is great, with some interesting micro-​brews. The atmosphere is hip and relaxed, and caters to a family equally as well as a person who is just looking to go and have an appetizer and drink with a friend. Casual sophisticated would be a good description. The location is to die for in PR.
A lot of complains here about the menu being limited, which in my opinion I don’t agree with. Its a pizza pub, and they have a reasonably good selection of pizza and pub food. Its not advertised as an Italian restaurant, and as such, I don’t expect a full menu of Italian food. Very good pizza and pub food. The burger is wonderful, and the pizza is unique to this place with a great flavor and crust. The cheese curds are amazing, and I feel in general the prices are in-​line with the area. A few things were out of wack, including the Buratta, but most were what I expected. Honestly, the cheese curds I thought were a steal, given what even a Culvers charges for curds. (And these were SOOOOO much better).
So why the 4.5, well, I agree that the seating is just wonky. You almost always are siting with other people you don’t know at a long table. They could have had more tables with a better configuration. There seems to be a lot of wasted space the way they have it now. Additionally, the place gets crowded, (which is awesome that they are doing good). The problem is that the acoustics of the place amplify this. I’m not looking for a french restaurant quiet here, but it gets really loud and difficult to hear when its packed. Finally, the service is still a bit inconsistent, but its clearly getting better. Everyone has always been super nice, but they seem, during the rush times at night, to be under wait-​staffed. (Though the food always comes quickly).
I look forward to having a beer here in the summer when they have the windows open in the front on Prospect!

Brunch was a dud
We came with great anticipation knowing that Park Ridge really needs a nice bar that serves good food. We left disappointed and empty.
The «traditional» brunch meal was a grease bomb. The obrien potatoes were swimming in oil with awkward large sliced red peppers n onions. The eggs also looked like they were basted in oil or butter. Even the toast was made on the grill with oil or butter. The bacon was sweet and maple syrup tasting. I will eat just about anything and I left 90% of my food uneaten. Afterward, I went home and made myself lunch.
The chiliquilles were wet and soggy and did not have much flavor.
The place also seemed to have a weird exhaust smell. Maybe the furnace was on the fritz or maybe the new bar smell of the varnish still lingers.
We ate at the bar and drinks and service were ok.
I wish it were better. We will give them another try again for dinner.

I have been here twice now. At both visits the food was really good. I’ve had their burger which was perfectly done and very tasty, and a salad which was fresh and ample and also very good. The atmosphere is comfortable and clean and modern. On both occasions, the servers were professional, friendly and attentive. They had great suggestions and polished presentation. I would definitely recommend Holts.
P. S. Also loved that the owner (or manager) was on site and making the rounds of the restaurant checking on the customer satisfaction.

I was excited when I saw that Holt’s was opening, I thought «Finally, something different!»
When we arrived at this restaurant a little after 5:30pm on a Friday, I must say I was a little shocked that there was an hour wait. We decided to stick around and my, oh my, was it an interesting wait. Several families walked in and walked out, not wanting to wait. A family leaving and saying that «this place has terrible service.» A man that came in complaining because he «called a few minutes ago» and he «was told that there was no wait and now it’s an hour and 15 minutes!?» A large family came in for a reservation to learn that their reservation could not be honored because they didn’t actually have a table (the hostess didn’t even know about it?). What appeared to be the owner’s family or friends came in, at least two tables worth of people, one of which was a larger party that was ready to walk out until the owner followed them out and gave them a table (probably the table that was reserved!!!), and another which was a few older ladies that got seated right away by the owner. This restaurant is very small, so I don’t see how giving your family tables first is a smart idea. Your family isn’t going to become your regular customer and pay full price for your food and drinks! But apparently, doing so was worth losing a bunch of could-​be regular customers.
Finally, around 6:45pm, we were seated but told that we needed to be done at our table by 8pm due to a reservation. Kind of a weird question to ask a first time patron. If we said no, how much longer would we have waited?
The restaurant appeared to be understaffed, which I’m sure didn’t help the wait situation. I saw a total of three waitresses and a couple of bussers, which is funny since they had two hostesses.
In an effort to get in and out, we ordered our appetizer and entrees at once, cheese curds, a salmon BLT and house salad for me, and a small meatball ricotta pizza for my husband. The cheese curds were very good, very gooey and light. They were Lagunitas battered and had great flavor. The salmon BLT was about what you’d expect, though the bacon was a tad overcooked. The pickle it came with was so acidic I didn’t finish. The salad was much bigger and better than I expected, with flavor — it wasn’t just iceberg lettuce thrown on the side. I tasted the pizza, which had a light tomato sauce and a softer crust that I liked. My husband who ordered it wasn’t a huge fan, he said he would rather have gotten pizza at Iron Horse in Norwood Park.
I had high hopes for this one, but I can’t say I’ll be returning anytime soon.

PROS: No problem getting seated at 5pm on a Saturday. Cozy interior and good placement of TVS for watching sports.
CONS: If you come to dine, expect an extremely limited menu. Decent selection of burgers and pizzas but not much else. Our group stayed with appetizers which were okay, but nothing too rave about. Also, the server was very inexperienced — served one persons’ soup first, delivered the second person’s order about ten minutes later and the third was served about 20 minutes after the first person finished her soup. Also, double billed for an item but it was quickly corrected.
OVERALL: Not impressed. The food was so-​so but they really need to get their act together on the service end. The rating is kind of generous — 1.5 is more like it.

Complete turn-​off by our server. Snotty, rude, thoroughly untrained and unsuited for the job.
So-​so food. Limited menu. Odd seating configurations. I’ll stick with Morretti’s for local pizza.

Went there for lunch with some coworkers. I got the house burger and it delicious. I asked for medium rare and it was cooked just right. The atmosphere is nice and the staff was very friendly. I even for a cute mini Tabasco sauce to go!
However, the appetizers are a bit pricey for what you get. They could be more generous with the portions. Also, we wanted to order cheese curds but they ran out of it! C’mon guys. Not cool.
Overall, I would come back again to try the pizza! And HOPEFULLY some the cheese curds.

Pros: beet salad, service
Cons: smelled odd during week day lunch, out of cheese curds
Decent food. Ordered a burger. Bun seemed not too fresh but it tasted good over all. Beet salad was great. Highly recommend. Service was good. I would go again to try the pizza.

Holt’s is exactly what Park Ridge and the surrounding area needs. This restaurant has already helped revitalize the downtown area of Park Ridge which has quite a few family-​oriented restaurants, but perhaps not enough trendy hot spots that would attract people of all ages. Holt’s is at the center of the downtown area so it easily draws in the crowd, whether that be troupe of old friends meeting up for drinks, a couple of their first date or even some parents with their kids… like I said — it brings people in from every cut of the cloth. Holt’s offers an intimate enough space that allows for people to relax in the bar area or in the restaurant area; the restaurant is very open and there’s an easy flow throughout the restaurant, making for a comfortable environment. it’s very trendy inside of Holt’s so it’s great for a late night chill session… if that’s what you want, of course.
Okay, enough about that, let’s talk about the nitty-​gritty stuff like the food, the beer, the prices and the noise. It’s always better to talk about the good stuff first so here it goes: the food is very, very good. The meatball and ricotta cheese pizza was amazing — it’s probably one of my favorite thin crust pizzas that I’ve had in the area and I’d definitely order pizza from here in replacement of some other pizza joints in the immediate area. The pizza is not layered super thickly with cheese and it’s also not that greasy so you don’t have to worry about your stomach acting up on you after eating the pizza… unless of course, you have a really sensitive stomach. Besides the pizza, we also ordered the cheese curds and the burrata (essentially it’s a huge slab of mozzarella cheese served with some toasted pieces of bread). The cheese curds were not cheesy — they were SUPER cheesy and SUPER amazing. As for the burrata — I absolutely love mozzarella, but this appetizer was mediocre in my book… it was also way over-​priced. The appetizers and the entrees were all about the same exact price (around $ 12 – 15).
Holt’s did offer some good beers, most of which were bottled, but they didn’t offer all that many beers on tap which was somewhat sad. I wish that they’d have more beers on tap because I’m sure that everyone in the area would greatly appreciate that as well, but I can’t complain too much because they did have some unique beers to offer that I haven’t seen on other menu’s across the area. On a slightly different note, it was awesome to see that the owner of Holt’s was behind the bar, assisting his bartenders with serving the beer and mingling with his patrons. The owner seems to be very involved with his restaurant staff and patrons — I believe that this will aid in the popularity and success of this restaurant.
Something that the owner cannot help so much is the noise of the restaurant. I’m sure it is quieter in the earlier parts of the evening, but when my fiancé and I went on a Thursday night around 9 pm it was quite busy and quite loud. It was somewhat difficult to have a conversation with my fiancé because it was so loud and everyone was crowded around the bar, but it wasn’t so bothersome that I wouldn’t come back around the same time. I’m not sure how late it is open, but people seemed to keep on flooding in through the doors for the entire hour and a half that we sat at the bar so if you want to enjoy a night in a fun, lively environment this is it.

Wow, what a let down. I have been waiting for this place to open up for awhile now and was excited when I called to conform that they were open for business, after seeing their «soft» opening private party last week.
Walked in on a Sunday afternoon, and the place was far from crowded, and my family and I was seated quickly. The menu is small and very unappealing looking, a plain laminated piece of paper. Not many inviting salad options, and no where is it apparent that a protein can be added for an up charge.
8 minutes and some odd seconds after being seated without any attention, a manager walks over to ask if we had been helped, and was told that we had not been and that their time was short before we walked out. He apologized and took our drink order and after the delivery we were once again left w/​o being able to ask questions or order food. There seemed to be confusion over who our server actually was; as one was seated at another table chit chatting away and the one that delivered our drinks did not return until she was sent back to us.
We then ordered, nothing crazy; cheese curds and wings for apps, and three burgers and the grilled cheese w/​bacon and tomato soup, with a side order salad in place of the french fries.
The curds were fantastic! The kids said that they melted in their mouths, and were excited that they were not overly breaded.
The wings looked good, I ordered Hot, but they had very little flavor. The «gorgonzola» dressing as the menu stated comes in the form of a mousse, not a traditional dipping sauce. Mistake kids, you are NOT a fine dining downtown restaurant, and you do not serve «mousse» with wings. My wife and kids stated that their burgers were salty, and after tasting one I agreed, there is not a heavy salt taste at first, but I definitely got that high salt lingering taste a few seconds after the initial bite.
The grilled cheese was good, nice presentation and flavorful, served on a nicely grilled sourdough with a very nice cut of bacon. However the tomato soup was more like a thick purée, and not even warm, that a soup. It was lacking flavor, but I used it more for dipping that I did for eating as I would normally eat soup.
As we left the hostess gave my wife a dirty look, as she had been «chastised» earlier by I assume a manager who took our drink order after waiting for a long period of time.
Another tip; You are in Park Ridge, use real glassware for water and soft drinks, not plastic. Not sure about the whole «communal» table idea in Park Ridge, but I hope it works for you.
You blew it guys; nice thought, horrible execution. You won’t make it a year at this rate, I wish you luck.