Their pizza is easily the best in town, their salads are incredibly tasty, seasonal dishes are…read morefantastic, apps are nearly a meal in and of themselves, and the pasta is expertly crafted. Waited tables is a dying art but this establishment gives me hope for the culture of elevated dining. Staff knows the menus, are courteous, and are one of the defining marks of the restaurant ambiance. The sportsball TVs can be a bit annoying at time, especially when trying to have a pleasant evening with the kiddos (there is no winning their attention vs the screens) and do more to break the "dressed down" atmosphere by inserting a bit more "sports bar" than needed. At least they keep it at the bar most nights. One of our favorite date night spots in Arlington Heights!

The evening began with the sort of optimism that has historically led men into bankruptcy, war, and…read moresecond marriages. The hostess appeared wearing a blue-and-white striped sweater hanging off one shoulder like she'd stepped out of an Italian perfume commercial. Around her neck was one of those little cornicello pepper necklaces, dangling just enough to suggest fate had finally decided to throw me a bone. Blue eyes. Not "blue." The kind of blue sailors used to abandon families over. She laughed at one of my jokes. That was all the encouragement my diseased brain required. I immediately conducted a full tactical assessment of the restaurant. The P.O.A. Index... ...was approaching DEFCON 1. Every direction I looked was another devastatingly attractive waitress carrying Aperol Spritzes with effortless confidence. It was like wandering into a government-funded supermodel relocation program. Then... A shadow fell across the table. A man. Our waiter was a man. Christ Almighty. The emotional whiplash nearly snapped my neck. It's like going to the zoo hoping to see lions and discovering the enclosure has been replaced with an accountant named Kevin. There are beautiful women everywhere, and somehow I'm discussing pasta recommendations with a guy who probably knows three different olive oils by taste. Cruel. Absolutely cruel. To his credit, the b@5tard was outstanding. Friendly. Fast. Knew the menu inside and out. Kept the drinks full. Never interrupted. The s.o.b. gave me absolutely nothing to complain about, which only deepened my resentment. The food, meanwhile, was infuriatingly good. The pizzas arrived looking like they'd been blessed by an Italian grandmother carrying unresolved anger from 1947. Thin crust. Fresh mozzarella. Just enough char to remind you that ovens are supposed to flirt with fire, not electricity. The pasta had that unmistakable handmade texture that makes Olive Garden feel like a felony. The cocktails disappeared with alarming speed. By my third Negroni, I was convinced I could hear Dean Martin narrating my life. Walking out, I glanced back toward the hostess one last time. She smiled. For approximately three seconds I considered abandoning my entire life to become a part-time sommelier with absolutely no qualifications. Then reality returned. The male waiter handed me the check. Four stars. The food was phenomenal. The cocktails were dangerous. The hostess should be classified as an Italian national treasure. And our waiter deserves a raise... despite committing the unforgivable crime of existing between me and the waitresses.

The former JD's Que and Brew has been transformed into a lovely fast casual Greek restaurant with…read morecounter service. There is even a bar are with counter seating and three - five tables (two standard height and three counter height. There is a monstrous screen behind the bar for sports, but they mostly show videos of Greece, but they are mesmerizing videos of a beautiful country. It's a cleaner version of Dengeo's. And, dare I say, better version. Except for their avgolemeno soup. Such a weak travesty. Please fix this. It's just a watery mess. However, everything else is delicious. I ordered the Greek Chicken with their lemon-butter rice. They debone the chicken and serve atop a mountain of their rice. If also had their potatoes (which are good) but the rice is magical. The first time we went, they had a serve yourself soda fountain and they since got rid of it and sell soda in bottles and cans. They do still have a self-serve water station. Once you order, staff will bring to your table, so please tip when you order or leave on the table as they do come by and clear your table as well. It is first come first served and you grab your own tables. I've been there on weekends and weeknights and they get pretty packed. The food is flavorful and quite tasty. The portions are huge so you're definitely going to bring something home. Nostimo is now in our rotation of places to go in a pinch and they do have an outdoor seating area, too.

Simple good Greek cuisine in an informal atmosphere. The staff makes rounds in the dining room to…read moregreet or assist you. They have the yummiest Greek potatoes. My usual go to is the chicken kabobs. Every thing is hot, fresh and tasty. We go often and haven't been disappointed!

I've been here several times and each visit has been a pleasant experience! The service and food…read moreare always great and I love that they switch up some of their menu items seasonally. I do get a little sad when I come back and don't see something I loved on a previous visit, but I also appreciate that rotating the menu makes room for new and delicious dishes to try! I've had their brunch cocktails and coffee on past visits and have enjoyed them every time. This time, I tried their strawberry matcha latte and it was such a delicious sweet treat! I also love the cozy farmhouse vibe of the restaurant! It makes the whole experience feel warm and inviting. Totally recommend this place!

If only for my wife, I have tried my best to accept this place as a weekend date for her. It just…read morewon't happen. My first experience as a diner in this establishment at the behest of my beautiful bride was during Brunch service. As I ordered the brisket hash with tea, the question was raised as to what wood and how they smoked their brisket. The server could not immediately answer, so she asked the kitchen/owner. They buy already smoked brisket from a third party supplier. Which one? "A supplier local to Illinois" they assured me, unable to specify the type of wood used (they think it is cherry). Their tea is bought from an upscale third party as well. The food was nothing special, and was about as scratch-made as the local McDonalds up the street. The inside of the dining area is wonderful if you're next to the window yet an utterly cramped experience sitting anywhere further back than the bar. Does this place need a bar? Is it just for the soccer moms and the owner? For the price they charged me, I could've gone to an actual smokehouse for cheaper, and see the cooking process firsthand while talking about smoking meats with one of the pitmasters over a much more lovingly curated selection of libations. My second experience was an al fresco lunch with my wife and children. While the outdoor dining in Arlington Heights is always top notch, the service and food was again not up to par. I ordered a doppio and was served an entire mug of espresso. Our server then decided to argue that I was indeed served a doppio, revealing that this establishment does not educate their servers on basic fluidic measurements in the very industry they work in, nor do they train their servers to speak honestly or respectfully to customers when their errors are brought to their attention. The food was also not worth the price. Scratchboard Kitchen is a subpar establishment that brings in third party food cooked offsite to remix into something they claim is "made from scratch" simply because they reheat it with a few eggs. Their waitstaff is unable and unwilling to understand one of the most fundamental pours in coffee and would rather lie to customers instead of simply admitting they weren't properly trained. There are better eats in the area for cheaper. Avoid.

Tried this location for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised. The inside was cute,…read moreorganized, and had very refreshing colors that made the space feel clean and inviting. All of the ingredients on display looked really fresh, which is always a good sign. I ordered the Honey Steak Crunch and swapped the pickled onions for broccoli. It was really flavorful with a slight kick that added a nice touch without being overpowering. The steak tasted good, but the color was a little off-putting to me personally, so I think I'll try it with chicken next time. The portion size was solid and definitely filling. It came out to about $18, which is on the higher side, but you can tell the ingredients are quality. It's not somewhere I'd go all the time because of the price, but it's a good option for an occasional treat. Staff was helpful and made the experience even better.

Create your own salad while in town for work. Overall pretty good but nothing overly special, not…read moreenough to make me come back for lunch again this week. Also waited probably 10 mins past my pick up time

Meal was complimentary (Media Lunch) THE COMPLIMENTARY STATE OF THE FOOD DOES NOT CHANGE THE…read moreREVIEW. prices here are competitive with other upper end bistros. Drinks are nice and they provide very good water quality The hibiscus pineapple spritz was tasty with a light flavor. Dominated by mint and pine apple the hibiscus was a dim note. The Bloody Mary was delicately made with lovely easily readable notes of lemon and lime. The pepperoni olives add a delightfully erotic combination. I have no way to describe this Bloody Mary other than erotic. There's an anchovy chunk hidden in the olive muted by a creamy sauce. It gives a lovely salty kick to an otherwise calm Bloody Mary. Honestly I like a calm Bloody Mary that has a lot of defined flavors rather than a shelf made clusterbomb of chemicals. This tastes like home made pours. The calamari appetizer is soft and almost reminds me of the yesteryears of long John silvers fish sticks. But more refined with octopus for the core flavor. What a delightful recipe. Mushroom blue crab. Very soft and enjoyable. A lovely lightly salty earthy treat with a rich crab slice covered in batter. Lightly spicy in the aftertaste. A great minimalistic mid meal palate cleanser. Their lemon braised chicken I was only able to get a tiny taste by the time the press plate made way to me. The skin is actually IMPRESSIVE. I can only imagine the meat inside but the other press member who ordered that dish had a lovely time with it and said it was fresh and made him happy to eat. The Margherita pizza was flavorful despite missing a lot of visible basil. I would appreciate more leaves next time but this isn't a demerit as much as it's a presentational desire to have. This whole restaurant carries a delighting spirit. It's very easy with the music here the good food and good people to slide upward on the mood scale. This isn't a bistro. This isn't your stuffy formal place. This is a place to flash your fashion in a daytime club atmosphere. This is a place for a business luncheon where high level service needs exist. Addendum V1: This restaurant was a sensory nightmare, as a person with autism I can only call this restaurant "socializing on extra hard mode" the acoustics are not very good with the curved walls and there is poor to no noise isolation, if you're sat next to the windows and the tree cutting team starts cutting ENJOY THE REST OF YOUR DINE (Or ask for a new table, the waitstaff are glorious people here who will accommodate most any request. They are great personalities and everyone is very sociable. There was a three way birthday at our table and they brought out wine and fireworks for us to all take pictures with. I found the birthday presentation simple classic memorable and highly photographable for pro photographers looking to experience lighting in an exotic location. LIGHTING and ENVIRONMENT is where I had to take a half star off, due to the existing California Pizza Kitchen design having been overlaid on top of much like a Bathtub remodel all of the existing CPC issues were brought to the new location, some were reduced others weren't eliminated at all. Sound propagation in the restaurant is a total mess, the windows at mid day allow too much noise and could use a thin soft black curtain that mutes the dull city landscape. The atmosphere here at dinner changes so I'll have to revisit this restaurant at evening time and see how the sensory noise problem is, but visiting this restaurant at lunch is something I'd save for a quick drink at the bar rather than a drawn out meal. Having a drawn out meal here definitely sounds better at evening. When I get complaints about being socially unresponsive and am almost unaware that there were long periods, clearly I was retreating onto working on the phone trying to extrapolate a review from a limited amount of food instead a full menu flight in one bite serves. The complaint was that this review isn't detailed enough, this should resolve some of that and as for lack of details, well stop complaining on this one because the conditions I was creating my review in. Also I left out one of my FAVORITE rooms to review in a restaurant, the waterclosets... Here they were impressively clean and well decorated. The atmosphere here is minimalist modern eclectic, the only thing I hate is that damn ceiling and those walls. Fix the acoustics in here and I can probably go back to a five star. Oh and seriously, more basil on that margarita pizza.

Flavors were good and the service was average…read more We ordered their "Our Chicken Parm" although the flavors were good, the plate did not have good temperature, there were parts of the chicken that were cold. It seemed like they had it made due to beating their top selling plate. The chicken had a rubbery feeling, for sure did not meet the hype. We ordered it and it was served very fast. In the other hand, their "Pesto Cavatappi" was served warmed and you could tell it was just made. The chicken on this dish tasted very good and the texture was very different from the Chicken Parm. I would recommend this dish instead of their number one as it was told to us by the server. We ordered two cappuccinos and their Flourless Chocolate Cake. Both cappuccinos were very milky and not warm enough. The dessert was really good but it also took a while to get it. We were half way done with our cappuccinos. Price - I feel they are priced too high for a chicken dish and pasta. Although it is a good portion it is still chicken and pasta. It was $31 for the chicken parm and $26 for the Cavatappi. The dessert was $12 It was a busy day but they should still keep their standards and serve food with the right temperature. I will give it another change for sure.

I just dined here for the first time! I usually dine at the Buffalo Grove location which I've been…read moreto twice already, and is 10 minutes from my office), but I was dying to try this location since it's also about 10 minutes from home! Anyway, even though I placed an online pickup order, I decided to eat my order inside the restaurant, since there were a lot of available tables (I came in at about 8 pm on Sunday 9/13)! Plus, the whole place looked so nice, clean and relaxing to dine in! My order was accurate and ready on time! Overall, I had a great experience with this location and will definitely be back! I had a Build Your Own Grains Bowl with lamb meatballs and braised lamb, plus almost every dressing, vegetable topping and all the spicy sauces (the only topping I chose not to order were the Kalamata olives, which I'll probably get next time), plus I got the free side pita, 1 full side pita, and the Blueberry Lavender Lemonade (I was going to get the Strawberry Ginger Lemonade, but changed my mind at the restaurant)! The food was so spectacularly deliciously fresh and flavorful! I'm glad I got the extra side pita (I think I should've ordered more -- they're so huge and pillowy soft here! Definitely been get and better than the smaller typical pitas served by Naf Naf Grill and most other Mediterranean type restaurants)! Plus, the drinks here are more imaginative and flavorful (I'm hooked on the Blueberry Lavender Lemonade)! Anyway, like I said-- I do plan on coming back to this restaurant!! Great food, service, ambience and location!!

My son took me to Cava for the first time tonight. Here are my thoughts:…read more -Place was packed on a Friday night at 9pm. Very nice vibe. Place looks new. -My son described it as "a healthier, and better tasting Chipotle." -You get to pick your base--we did the mixed greens and rice--you can also choose grains. I prefer Chipotle rice over Cava's rice. -Then you get to choose your meat, we went with the honey chicken. Very good. Plenty of meat. -Finally, I added tzatziki, hummus, cucumbers, olives, and a few other exotic items. -All I can say is--all the ingredients were high quality, and tasted great! I will be going back again soon! -Cost was about $13 a person, $2 or $3 more than Chipotle, but worth every penny : ) Highly recommended!

This place was extremely accommodating for my allergies. Instead of brushing me off completely, the…read moremanager went above and beyond to make sure I had something to eat. He was extremely knowledgeable about which foods had which allergens, which I really appreciated. The food I eventually got was SO GOOD. Even my mother (who also got a bowl) said it was really good too. It's a cute little place! They tend to play lots of korean pop, which adds to the ambience. Will be returning! Love it!

We have been here twice in the past few months…read more The first time, we ordered an already curated bowl. It had chicken and corn and some other things. Since it was our first time, we weren't really sure how or what to order so that's what we went with. The second time, we each made our own bowls. After we sat down, we tried what everyone ordered. Everything was very good. Bowl building seems to be the in thing right now with BIBIBOP and Cava and Naf Naf. I'm here for it. I also love the complementary miso soup... it's really good. I ordered a small bowl, I wanted a kids bowl but he said they were for kids. The tables were a little sticky as was the drink area but nothing a wet napkin couldn't fix.

I really liked the Whiskey Hill Brewery & Kitchen in Mount Prospect…read more They have a bunch of tables and a big bar you can sit at. They also have their own beer selection that they brew - I got to try some of them - pretty tasty! I enjoyed the Hush Money IPA- pretty good, not too heavy or bitter , a very easy drinking IPA. The other good one was their pilsner - Gotti Gold - very light beer that's refreshing. I also tried their double burger - it was good, the food is kind of pricey but it was tasty, and they do have some daily specials. Overall, I'd recommend a visit if you're in Mount Prospect and want to try a new bar/restaurant.

Have returned twice and tried their specials and Salerno's pizza. Chicken tenders appetizer is…read moreindeed homemade and delicious, as was thw Salerno's thin crust pizza. Their selection of craft beers are fine, but their seltzers and mixed drinks are better. Will return and sit at the bar for stellar service.

I was looking for a smoothie and looked for nearby places. I'm so glad Pure Juice Cafe popped up…read more The welcome to the shop was super warm and the person working helped me make a good choice on a smoothie. I was excited to see the erehwon dupes and the smoothies were as good as they looked. The menu has a lot to choose from and I will definitely be back if I'm ever in the area again.

Stopped by Pure Juice Café and really liked it. Everything tasted fresh and not overly sweet, which…read moreI appreciate with smoothies and açaí bowls. We tried avocado toast, almond butter banana toast, an açaí bowl with PB swirl, the PB banana breakfast bowl, a few smoothies, and a turmeric latte. The açaí bowl was thick and filling and the PB swirl was so good. The toasts were simple but hit the spot, especially the almond butter banana. The smoothies were refreshing and didn't taste artificial, and the turmeric latte was warm and comforting. The staff was amazing and super friendly. Definitely will be back.