Restaurants near Brookside Shopping Plaza Shopping Center

We had a fabulous holiday work lunch. Our server was fantastic and our food was delicious

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!!

As part of my team Christmas outing we went to dinner at DiPescara. After going to the Chicago Botanical Gardens light show it was the perfect place—friendly and attentive staff, good selection of beverages, specials, appetizers, salads, entrees and wine. Everyone loved their meal and the prices were very reasonable.

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.

Very good food. Large portions and very reasonably priced. Service good and very accomodating.