We are a little late to trying this place out . I went with a group of 5 girls which was the perfect sharing party size for small plates so we decided to order to share together. We started with the corn hummus, I will Literally dream about this dish the subtle warmth was so yummy. We also tried the eggplant, sweet potatoes, California chopped salad , short rib kebabs! All We're beyond delicious and superb. We always asked our server questions and she helped us along the way to make our choices . Dishes come out as they are ready we were not rushed . The decor is so beautiful, fresh and vibrant! We will Definitely be back read more

Came back for a second visit after such a great first experience, and it did not disappoint. The atmosphere is great, and the service was excellent both times. My friend and I tried almost every appetizer plus the mushroom kebab everything was flavorful and beautifully done. The Big Eye Tuna and Octopus Carpaccio were my favorites. App portions are a little small, and with drinks included, we spent around $280 for two. Finish strong with dessert though the frozen pistachio Greek yogurt was next-level. read more

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Love love both Ema and Aba located in the city so I was excited to check out Ema here in the suburbs. Everything from the decor/ambience, the service and the food was amazing and may I say might even be better than the one downtown. The restaurant was packed and the food kept coming and everything was just delicious. Great to see a gem that's downtown expand to the burbs and surpass my expectation. read more

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5-star service in a really bright and vibrant restaurant!! The roasted broccoli with the crunchy rice and tahini drizzle was delicious. Shared the mixed salad and had a falafel sandwich with tzatziki and z'tar fries. Great!! Should have ordered a bourbon. There's always next time. read more

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I've been wanting to check this place out for a while so finally gave it a try for restaurant week! Beautiful relaxing decor, everything my husband and I had was delicious, he really enjoyed his cucumber/jalapeño cocktail. Charred eggplant was my favorite, smoky and delicious! The location ran out of the date cake I wanted to get so we were offered the panna cotta instead, I was pleasantly surprised as it's not something I would normally go for but it was very refreshing. Plenty of parking outside! read more

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This place is so cool. There are plants every where I mean wow. There is a big tree in the middle of the restaurant. The food was pretty good. We got this raw fish that was meant to be raw and it was not good. But the rest of the food was pretty good. Some things were a little over cooked. All the workers were so nice and helpful. Over all this is a great spot especially if you're looking for a picture worthy dinner. read more

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Beautiful space. You feel like you're in the city and not in a suburb. Very modern yet warm. It was packed on a Saturday night. Food was so yummy. I had grilled shrimp which was delicious. We had some apps which I loved. I'll be back. Fun for a group or a date night. read more

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The positives: Ema is a Mediterranean small-plates restaurant that's perfect for taking photos for social media, going on a date, or having a fun night out. The facility is inviting and spacious, with lighting and greenery that create a warm atmosphere. Their classic hummus and braised short ribs were absolutely magnificent! The negatives: The broccoli florets were not worth $15. They lacked flavor and tasted burnt. The spicy kabobs were either overly salty or completely flavorless. The service was disappointing. Our waiter was not attentive--he didn't ask if we wanted more drinks or food and rarely checked in on us. One dish took over 40 minutes to arrive. While we received our hummus and short ribs fairly quickly, the kabob came out 40 minutes later. We tried to look for our waiter after waiting 30 minutes, but he was nowhere to be found. He also didn't offer us the dessert menu after our meal, despite my husband noting in the reservation that this was a birthday dinner. It would have made sense to celebrate with dessert. Lastly, the parking lot was an ice rink--completely unsalted. I nearly fell both entering and exiting the restaurant. The negatives soured my experience. I was so excited to try the Glenview location because I loved the Chicago one. I'm giving 2 stars solely for the hummus, short ribs, and decor. read more

Grab take out from here! Presentation for take out is really nice. I got the chopped salad, halloumi, and grilled eggplant dip. I thought the chopped salad was just okay, the dip and halloumi were delicious. I love that they have gluten free crackers available to swap with pita bread. And they were really yummy crackers. Next time I want to try their blistered green beans since the reviews look great on that! read more

came for restaurant week! loved the space and is decorated similarly to their other location, very aesthetic! the restaurant week meal didnt save much value, but it was still a fun option! really enjoyed the cook on the salmon kebab as it wasn't dry and the zhoug sauce pairing. the red onion was pretty raw unfortunately to those who don't like onion. the spicy brisket kefta was super well seasoned and we loved the freshness from the greens it came with! the truffled salmon crudo while tasty, was a small portion for how much u paid for if a la carte. we also got to have additional pita which was nice! both desserts were super good as they weren't overly sweet! specially loved the honey cake in its depth of honey flavor and lightness, a real showstopper when the slice came out. the sticky date cake was fun in textures and flavor as well! really enjoyed the whole experience and prefer it over the river north location! read more

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When the chef partner CJ makes a special hot sauce and hand delivers it, table-side; when they bring complimentary dessert to celebrate our 28th anniversary; when the food is so good, you want to lick the bowl, you know it's more than just a meal--it's a place that cares. Thoughtful, personal, and absolutely delicious. read more

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Gorgeous setting and most dishes were delicious like chicken kefta, Braised beef short rib. I'd try a different carpaccio next time as the octopus one was pretty citric. Most veggie dishes were good. Try the honey cake. Very nice staff read more

Loved the beautiful interior, the delicious food, and omg the sticky date cake was unreal I went back the next week just to get a slice of that cake. read more

Ema - Warm Sticky Date Cake - Mediterranean Near Me - Glenview, Illinois

ambiance here is fantastic! i walked in really impressed by the vibe of the place. everything seemed so neat, clean and lighting was perfect.. it was just simply beautiful! and our server and staff were excellent food -short ribs with polenta: the ribs were a little tough and i thought it was a little salty but the polenta really saved the dish for me. the polenta was so good! -salmon: it was good. standard. i really liked the sauce it came with -kefta kebab: really yummy and flavorful! probably the favorite of the ones we've tried -potato latkes: crispy and a good start to our food all in all i would come back for a nice dinner. i did feel like the dishes were all a little salty but when paired with the bread and butter it was fantastic read more

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We find the downtown version of Ema a little better than their newer Glenview location. The fusion Mediterranean menu is hit or miss and way overpriced. Cool atmosphere and decor. read more

I absolutely love Ema. It's such a pretty spot and a welcome addition to Glenview. The atmosphere here is lovely and I love the spreads and pita! I especially enjoyed the shrimp, as well, but everything was incredible! The staff are very kind and accommodating. I highly recommend this restaurant! read more

Firstly, The Ambiance is amazing .!! With all the light tones with asthetic vibes and amazing vibes. The Service and the staff are so friendly where they were given suggestion regarding the food and drinks which are quite famous and Now here comes the big one THEeeeeee Food It's just amazing we have ordered almost 4-5 varieties like shrimp,salmon ,chicken rice and everything tastes yum yum and the drinks are too good and a beautiful day to remember read more

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Dinner reservations are booked solid until ???, but we had better luck with landing a Saturday lunchtime reservation. We'd been to Ema in River North before and were curious to compare. The Glenview location is not only more accessible but has ample free parking. The décor is an absolute wow. Our server was cheery and professional, but service was erratic only because she had more tables than she could manage efficiently. Our party of 6 sampled a nice cross-section of the menu. Our cold apps were classic hummus and charred eggplant spread, served with za'atar-dusted pita bread segments that we couldn't stop eating. From the hot mezze list we ordered sweet potato latkes and hot honey halloumi, best described as heaven-on-a-plate. Happily, a runner mistakenly brought two orders of the latter to our table but we were not charged for the extra. Entrée-size portions of the California chopped salad and grilled chicken sandwich followed. We were stuffed by then, so most of the sandwich and accompanying fries were enjoyed at home the next day. We need to return to sample other menu items. read more

I had Ema figured for one of those restaurants where they charge you a lot for tiny portions and then mess up your order, but it is not that kind of place. I tried the pumpkin hummus and the garlic-almond spread -- the former with bread and the latter with crackers, which I think was the right call. Both were delicious. Made just right. And the portions were enough for two meals. My only quibble is that there are relatively few vegan dishes available. And as a vegan, I would like to be able to try modified versions of the many intriguing items on the menu, but they don't allow you to make modifications, at least not when ordering delivery. Still, on the culinary merits, this place totally lived up to the hype. Count me pleasantly surprised. Would recommend without hesitation. read more

I went here yesterday for my Birthday after seeing it online. The design was probably the best part about the restaurant. The food was good, but pretty pricey - so just beware that a bill here will be pretty high. I have to say I was very disappointed with how crammed the space is. The tables are so close together, you can't even squeeze through to get to your seat without touching or disrupting the people sitting next to you. You can't even squeeze in through the entrance/exit because it stays so packed. I get the restaurant wants to get as much business as possible, but they should probably take out some tables to make everyone more comfortable. Overall, the food was good, but I probably wouldn't come again - the design was the only real highlight. read more

First, the restaurant is beautiful on the inside. The place is creatively designed and has a well decorated dining and bar area. The food here was tasty as well, but I did not find it particularly worth the price. I thought the portions were pretty small considering the price you are paying for each dish. The chicken kefta kabob and salmon kabob were great, and it was served with some delicious rice on the side. Both of these dishes were cooked perfectly and were filling. The meats were succulent and tender throughout. Furthermore, the California chopped salad, octopus carpaccio, and sweet potato latkes are phenomenal options to share. The warm pita bread is excellent as well. On the other hand, the king salmon and halibut dishes are not worth ordering. The salmon is served with a very small piece of fish compared to what you get at other restaurants, leaving you still hungry after eating it. These dishes are on the more expensive end of the menu but were not filling at all. Also, the hamachi and melon dish was not enjoyable, and I thought it was an odd flavor combination. It was also served with very few pieces of hamachi. Additionally, the spicy hummus was fine but could've use a little bit more spice. For dessert, the honey cake and chocolate torte are both scrumptious. The honey cake was unique and not too sweet, and I liked this dessert the best. It comes with one big slice, and it is very shareable among multiple people. The chocolate torte is also a great option with a nice flavor profile. The desserts were definitely the highlight of the meal for me. Our server Finn was very awesome. He was helpful and gave us some good recommendations on what to get. He was a very nice guy, and I enjoyed talking with him. Overall, Ema has solid food and awesome service, but there is better value somewhere else. Ema has some awesome dishes but also some mediocre ones, and the menu has solid variety. It was nice to try this place since it opened recently, but I enjoy some of the other Mediterranean places in the area a little bit better. read more

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Ema was extremely amazing. The interior is so amazing. and everything is clean and so many cool texture of plants and also cool lamps and seats are comfortable and food was good and service is good read more

i was so excited that another ema opened up in the burbs! made a reservation as soon as i heard - my husband and i had our anniversary coming up so it was perfect. we dined there on a sunday at noon and there were a good amount of seats open. our server was very friendly but did take some time getting back to us especially when it was time for dessert and the check. she recommended we get about 2-3 dishes per person since these are shareable. we started off with the moroccan onion dip which came with the best pita (refillable by the way). loved that there were dates in them. we also got the brussels sprouts and honey crisp apple salad which was also delicious - had pomegranate in it. next we had the sweet potato latkes. you'll like this if you like sweet potatoes. and then for the entree we shared the braised short rib sandwich with fries. very flavorful and filling. we were too full for dessert at this point but they brought out the best yogurt dessert with a strawberry puree. i could eat a gallon of this. overall had a great experience and will be back! read more

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This Mediterranean/California mezze style (similar to tapas) restaurant offers a variety of amazing dishes in a bright and airy atmosphere. Portions are decent and the sandwich and kebabs are light entree sized. read more

Ema - Moroccan Onion Dip - Mediterranean Near Me - Glenview, Illinois

So happy Ema opened in Glenview! I've eaten at Aba in the city before and Ema was even better than I expected and only a 5 min drive from home - score! Service was 10/10. Our waitress and the other waitstaff were super attentive and the ambiance is so earthy and beautiful - absolutely gorgeous to stare at. I had the Greek salad, the onion dip and sweet potato latkes!! All were absolutely delicious we had zero leftovers. Will definitely be coming back again and again! read more

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Oh hey, we were happy to be able to snag a reservation for 4 for our first visit here. The interior is stunning-- a cool mix of Tunisia and Newport Beach perhaps. We sat at a booth with chairs on the outside and took it all in. Our server was friendly but fell a tad short on timeliness of service towards dessert/check time. The menu has a nice variety of small plates to share-- we enjoyed our spread, Brussel sprouts, potato cakes and proteins with a nice drink menu too. The chefs version of a Greek village salad left us puzzled as this village was apparently out of any greens (see pic). Oh and the short rib portion is barely shareable-- felt like we were on the wrong side of a rationing campaign. Overall a solid experience and we'll be back to explore more of the menu! read more

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Ema is a restaurant my wife and I have been wanting to try for a while now. The small plate style of menu really played well for getting to try a bunch of things. We had the Moroccan onion dip and the sweet potato latkes, both of which were incredible! Our server, Jessie was really attentive and offered gluten free crackers for my wife to enjoy the onion dip with. The ambiance is also gorgeous, really beautiful atmosphere. For the mains we got the leg of lamb and the short rib. I thought the leg of lamb was under seasoned and the figs didn't necessarily "work" for me. The short rib dish comparatively was much better. All in all, I enjoyed our dinner but I did feel that it was a bit overpriced. With ordering one beer and one cocktail in addition to the food I listed, our total before tip was $130. I didn't think that was necessarily worth it to me, but I am glad we came and tried it! read more

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We snagged a reservation at Ēma for our wedding anniversary. We wanted something a little more casual than fancy because it was a Sunday evening. Getting the reservation was a bit of a feat, as with any newly opened, highly anticipated restaurant. After much refreshing of OpenTable, we came out victorious with a 7 p.m. reservation. As others have noted, there is plenty of parking. Ēma is situated in a shopping plaza, adjacent to Wildfire (another Lettuce restaurant). The exterior was illuminated and welcoming, and the lobby area was bright and airy. We were seated right away at a booth, and a member of the staff brought a carafe of water over. Our server stopped by a few minutes later and gave a brief overview of the menu, recommending 1-2 plates per person. Plates come out in the order they're ready, not at all at once, which is helpful for pacing the meal. She also took down my food allergy information and shared with me how their process worked (all dishes that were safe would come out with an allergen pick in them). We each started with a cocktail. My husband's passionfruit gin and tonic was the winner, though my mango broke was also very good. We both appreciated that they weren't overly sweet. We ordered the Greek Village salad, spinach and feta spread, crispy potatoes, broccoli, and spicy brisket kefta. The spinach and feta spread was amazing, garnished with crispy kale, and served with warm, seasoned pita. The broccoli was my favorite, both because of the crisped rice and the date tamarind tahini sauce. The tamarind barbecue sauce served with the spicy brisket was also quite good (but by that point I was getting full). Crispy potatoes were good but I would probably skip those for something more interesting in the future. Our Greek salad was the last course served to us, even after the kefta, which felt like a miss because it didn't stand out and we had moved well past timing for salad. Service was mostly good, though our server seemed to ghost us a bit at the end. Not sure if she got busy elsewhere or forgot about us, but other staff picked up the slack including someone else running our tab for us. Overall, it was a great evening. I'm surprised at other reviews criticizing the lack of options or an uninteresting menu. I'm already looking forward to a next visit because there were so many dishes we wanted to try. read more

Newly opened in Glenview! Suburban location means comes with parking-- that's a win! Been to the one in the city; decided to check it out. I had a great overall experience. Environment: Airy, Instagram worthy decor, Le Babo soap in the bathroom... Walking in, felt like I was walking in to a hotel lounge. Dining space is shared with the bar area. Space is open and can get quite loud when it's a full house. I love how bright it was on an afternoon. Suburban diners are differently a different crowd from downtown Ema crowd. Service: Garret was super nice and friendly. He knew the menu well, although is recommendations were more for his preference. We didn't end up ordering all, but it was still good. Food: Came out rather fast. I thought it would be paced based on the appetizer, cold dish and warm dish, but they all came out together. We had to send warm dish back because we had too much food on the table and was still working on the salad. Triple Chocolate Torte was so good! read more

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My wife and I made a visit to Ema after hearing positive reviews. We enjoyed a calm, delicious lunch on a Saturday and truly feasted on an incredible meal. Service was top notch upon arrival. Based on the recommendations of our server we tried a few small plates - sweet corn hummus, hot honey haloumi, and brussel sprouts. The unexpected standout was the amazing pita bread that accompanied the hummus. Fluffy, warm and well seasoned! We finished with the salmon bowl with vegetables and heirloom tomatoes and basmati rice, all cooked to perfection! We will definitely return. read more

We went to this new Ema location on a Monday night to celebrate my birthday. The dining room has a warm, Mediterranean vibe that makes you forget you're across from a strip shopping center. We were seated at a two person booth in the bar area. Ema does small plates and asks that you order everything you want and the items come out as they are ready. We ordered the spinach/feta spread, the shaved Brussels sprouts and apple salad, the crispy potatoes, the chicken kabob and the spicy brisket Kefta. For drinks my husband ordered a cider and I tried two drinks from the nonalcoholic cocktail list. One was the Mocking Jay and the other was the Say Less. If you like margaritas you'll like the Say Less. The Mocking Jay is a stunning looking cocktail but I found it to be too tart for my taste. We highly recommend the spinach/feta spread which comes with warm bread. The salad was also something we recommend. The crispy potatoes were good. We wish the serving came with a larger portion of dipping sauce. The meat dishes were okay. If we want kebabs there are many other restaurants in the area that offer kebabs that are equally good for less or at least come with more than one kebab for the price. For dessert we tried the sticky date cake with an espresso and oolong tea. The cake was good. The restaurant used loose leaf tea. The pot was so packed with leaves that it was hard to tell when it was properly steeped. I let it steep too long which made the tea bitter. The restaurant has been open about 2 weeks. The service suggests they are still finding their groove. At times there was a woman who helped us and other times a bartender helped us. It took really long for the spread and cake to come out. Overall, we'll return but after the initial interest dies down. read more

Lovely place, not a great brunch the idea of a brunch. They removed the lovely specials menu and substituted a mediocre brunch menu. Not a pleasant experience. Go there during the week for a good lunch not brunch on weekend it is a ripoff. very costly and not as good as during the week. read more

Israeli food with a California flair was just the right combo for this restaurant. The natural lighting and plants make for a pleasant environment, and our waiter was very kind and offered his recommendations from the large menu. The food was fantastic. My personal favorites were the hot halloumi, the charred eggplant spread, the truffled salmon, and the sticky date cake. That cake may be the best dessert I've have in months - will definitely be coming back here for it. Overall, very happy to have tried Ema and to see it open in the north suburbs. read more

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Beautiful ambience. Very inviting. Excellent service. And food was delicious. Variety of Hummus . Highly recommended read more

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Great new cornerstone for the updated dining options in Glenview. Have eaten here three times now and each one has been excellent. Great, attentive service, (twice for early dinner, once for brunch). Portions aren't huge but ideally you're coming to share plates and explore the menu - it's not cheap, but for a nice night out - not sure you can find a better alternative within a 15 mile radius. read more

Started off with the cocktail, 6/10. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to drinks, but I felt as if mine was quite watered down and could not taste the guava at all. Onion dip came out second, and was the best thing my boyfriend and I enjoyed this night, 8.5/10 (would love to taste some more onion flavor!). The green falafel was the most underwhelming dish of the night, 5/10. Very basic falafel--some earthiness that I appreciated, but was dry and a bit overcooked. I was looking forward to the beet tzatziki, but it wasn't anything to write home about. With the combined dryness and blandness of the falafel itself, it made for a rather disappointing dish. The chicken kebab took over 20 minutes to get to us after we had finished our starter dishes. The chicken was extremely dry, although the seasoning was great. The accompanying rice was good. The dish was acceptable due to the lemon flavor and seasoning that offset the dryness. 6/10. Our server was nice! Although kind, she checked in once when we asked about the chicken kebab that we had not gotten yet. Other than taking our order, no check in (probably due to being understandably busy). The ambience was great--not TOO loud but a comfortable volume to talk without being self-conscious or having to speak loudly. Interior design is very pretty. All in all, 6/10. For the price point and also having a reservation booked in advance, I thought the wait time as well as flavor was just okay. Would probably not visit again. read more

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Good experience overall. The service was great and everything was handled well. The staff was helpful and made the process easy. The only reason for giving four stars instead of five is that the space felt a bit too crowded and things were packed close together. Other than that, everything else was very good and I would still recommend it. read more

Ema's dining room is modern and attractive. The atmosphere is lively and fun. The service is friendly and attentive. But all this pales in comparison to the food at this new Mediterranean restaurant in Glenview. The exceptional food here puts Ema among the best three restaurants I have ever eaten at. No visit to Ema is complete without trying some dips. I am partial to the eggplant dip with pita crackers. The garlic flavor is well balanced--not too intense, but just enough to be perfectly flavorful. The hummus, too, is outstanding. I love the salty, toasted pita bread they serve with the appetizer. I also recommend the halloumi. To the uninitiated, halloumi is a delicious type of cheese (kind of similar to saganaki). This halloumi is drizzled in hot honey. It's a little spicy, but mostly sweet, so that the rich flavor of the cheese is not overwhelmed. Culinary fireworks abound. Dining at Ema without ordering this scrumptious appetizer would be a mistake. The kabobs here are fantastic. Served with rice, a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of olive oil, the mushroom kabob in particular is grilled to perfection. But save room for dessert! The honey cake here is a towering, 10-layer dish of perfection. It would be worth dining here just for this cake alone. For special occasions, there is no better choice in Chicago's northern suburbs than Ema. I look forward to dining here again very soon. read more

Went for Valentine's Day and was disappointed. I came with a vendor few months ago and it was great. Today meh. The eggplant was lack luster, we sent the octopus back as it smelled fishy from across the table. The lamb was dry and the food didn't come out at the same time. With the amount of money we spent I expected more. read more

Ive been to Ema in the city so I was super excited to find out it was here in the suburbs. This location is very open and bright. Our waiter was great had amazing recommendations but was a little slow. Im unsure if it was the waiter or the kitchen though, our meal was 2 and half hours. We started with the hummus with lamb ragu and hamachi. Then ordered the chicken kofta and shrimp kabobs. We asked which chicken dish was better and our waiter suggested the kofta and we were so glad we asked they were so good! Then we ended with the triple chocolate torte. I would highly recommend the hamachi, the chicken kofta, and shrimp! read more

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