Best Seasonal Restaurants in Highland Park

Excellent food and service. The Benny is the best and my wife really enjoyed the grits.

The Tam is always such a wonderful place to go during the holidays. The decor is beautiful and the atmosphere is so festive. My good friend and I have been coming for years and mainly for the Dickens carolers and this year did not disappoint! There were three groups performing around the restaurant and we were delighted to have at least a half dozen table-side performances. The service was good considering how busy it was and we both had the filet mignon, which was quite tender and flavorful. My friend’s was a bit undercooked, but our server took care of it and quickly returned it hot and cooked to her liking. If you’re looking for a place with good food and service and a joyous holiday spirit and beautifully sung Christmas carols, definitely check out the Tam.

This was the second time I had tea at the Gardens. The first time we were a small party of 3 celebrating my sister's B-day in the March. This time we were a large party (of 10) for a day-after-Christmas party, after visiting the gardens. And though we were a big group, the staff kept our tea non-chaotic without feeling confining. The service was attentive without being invasive; the hot tea pots were kept filled with an assortment of delicious teas and each tea sandwich was seasonally exquisite and quietly delicious and different from those in March--except for the James Beard sandwich--which was a favorite at our table.

Good was good, they had great gluten free options, the piano music was nice but was rather loud. I would’ve liked to sit by the windows but it appeared there was no ramp for wheelchairs for a member of our party so we were sat by the piano which was a bit dark. The service was good however I think there should be more food for the price of each plate. Regardless, we have made it here for the past two years for Christmas and plan to continue every year.

We had a few snags being seated. The restaurant has a large draft area and when we asked to be moved to another two top that was empty we were told no as it was reserved. Except so was our table. The dinners were after us that took the table. We were offered a communal table seat by the manager but the host - he would not budge and honestly had an attitude all night even when we thanked him and said good night. We pushed the seating aside and dug into the menu with our waiter who was super attentive. Explained all the dishes. Made excellent recommendations and spaced everything out perfectly. He made sure we knew dishes were to be shared which we usually like to do anyway but made this made our choices even better. Let me just say start with the dates- you will be drinking the butter they are in! We added chicory with bacon vinaigrette which was a warm tasty bite of goodness. One of my favorites was the seasonal squash with farmers cheese. I can’t wait to eat the left overs! Then the main mushroom crusted pork chop. It’s literally one of the largest chops I have seen. So delicious. Get yourself some cheddar potatoes to round out your meal! We came with enough packages it looked santa had come early! The staff is supper attentive and continually acknowledged our anniversary which was so wonderful. The manager went above and beyond to assist. Everyone there seems to help each other and it creates a welcoming atmosphere that makes us want to dine again. Make sure you get a reservation as we are already looking at booking our next one.