Best Mediterranean Restaurants in Northbrook

Dinner reservation for a birthday. Our reservation was on the earlier side, 5:30, and it was a phenomenal experience. Restaurant was busy, but tables available. A very nice atmosphere, active but comfortable, perfect for anything from casual family dinner to dress to impress date night. It was a Saturday night, but we were blown away by how fast our orders came out, and the quality was nothing less than exceptional. The service was top notch, not just from our server, but the staff as a whole seemed to stay aware and responsive of all the customers. Can’t wait to return!

The servers were very nice and welcoming. The food is awesome. I used to live in Chicago little Italy area 20 years ago and Francesca was my favorite Italian and was located on Taylor street. I moved out of chicago and missed this place so much. Now I am visiting Chicago and found out Taylor street one is gone. But near my hotel in Northbrook, Francesca’s North reminded me the flavor that I was looking for. Perfect pasta and perfect calamari!!

the noise level was obnoxious. the DJ had a practically empty restaurant and she played loud techno music with willful disregard for the impact on a mostly empty restaurant and a few tables of guests trying to enjoy DELICIOUS food. The space is beautiful. The food is delicious though I found the fish stew disappointedly oily and less enjoyable than I hoped. I will return and recommend it BUT a bit of "reading the room" is indicated. She is the only person who seemed to enjoy her loud music

This was a girls night out to celebrate a birthday and the holidays. My favorite thing about Ema - aside from how delicious and creative the food is - is that the portion sizes are big enough to share, but not so huge that you feel guilty ordering multiple dishes. There were six of us and we ordered a variety of cocktails (which were beautifully presented) followed by several dishes from all sections of the menu. We started with the classic hummus and the toasted almond & garlic spread. The hummus was predictably delicious, but the real standout was the toasted almond garlic spread. It was crunchy and nutty and had lots of flavor. We next had the chopped salad and the big eye tuna with Honeycrisp apple and pomegranate seeds. The chopped salad had a pleasantly surprising bit of spice to it, which we all enjoyed but….the tuna preparation was stellar and is a relatively new add to the menu. Ema’s previous tuna dish – from October – included watermelon, but this dish was truly spectacular! The bright pop of color and tartness in the pomegranate, paired with the tuna and diced apple, along with the mint… Made it look like Christmas on a plate. SK SO good!! We then had falafel, brussels sprouts and brown butter dates. The falafel is crunchy and flavorful, and served with a beet-laced tzatziki. The brussels sprouts were prepared with shallots and pumpkin seeds and a subtle hint of sticky sweetness. The dates were fine, but nobody was raving about them like we did the other dishes. We finished our meal with the harissa crusted halibut, and the cauliflower kebab. Both were excellent, although my personal favorite was the halibut. It is served on a bed of mushrooms, in a Dashi broth with a spicy crust on top. The fish was tender and flaky and full of flavor. Service (Morgan) was attentive but not annoying; ambience is chic and classy but comfortable. You would never know you are in a parking lot in Glenview as opposed to a terrace in the Mediterranean.

The food is always great at Avli. It was very busy and the noise levels were quite high but bearable. Maybe they could play some music to drown out some of the chatter. We had the hummus and eggplant spread. Both were great. Big portions. We also had the mini chicken skewers which were delicious, and the meatballs. They were quite good although the tomato sauce on top was quite tart and tasted a bit like tomato paste. My husband liked it more than me. For dessert we had the orange pie which is actually orange cake. It is delicious. We also tried the cheesecake and chocolate filo sampler. Both were very good. We love Juan who has been our server in the past. Very attentive and friendly.