Restaurants in Barrington

Nozumi’s culinary team of world travelers turns to seasonally available ingredients and their own global palates to create innovative Japanese cuisine. While seated at a high-top table beneath a hushed lighting fixture or nestled in a cushy booth, diners can choose shareable plates from five tapas-style menus or entrust their selections to the chef, who employs a fresh selection of seafood to furl signature sushi rolls such as Rinjin Dragon, packed with shrimp tempura, fresh-water eel, and veggies drizzled in spicy mayo. Non-sushi entrees include grilled tiger shrimp and seared day-boat scallops swimming in creamy basil sauce and fettuccine noodles, and a tuna sandwich anchored by seasoned yellow-fin steak and coleslaw. Guests can also set up shop at the sushi bar or reserve the private Tatami room, designed to accommodate 8–10 people or one very large secret.

At six locations dispersed throughout the Chicago suburbs, Old Town Pizza Co.'s dough doyens handcraft an array of Italian edibles, including four styles of pizza—signature thin crust, double dough crimped with a hand-rolled edge, Chicago-style deep dish, and Sicilian-style stuffed pizza. Specialty pies, which comes in such varieties as the Florentine and The Butcher Block, arrive adorned with fresh spinach and spices or a choice of four meats. Chefs also tempt carb cravers with pastas, calzones, and sandwiches, including italian beef.

The epicurean alchemists at India House, winner of Chicago magazine's Best Indian Buffet designation, draw inspiration from the cuisine of Bombay and Delhi as well as Indian street fare and homestyle tandoori cooking. The menu's more than 250 items please vegetarian and meat-eating palates alike with curries, kebabs, and grilled saris that utilize the flavors of fresh cilantro, chilies, and coconut. A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune praises the restaurant’s “incredibly tender tandoori chicken,” and Chicago magazine says that the fiery "Hyderabadi-style mahi-mahi … is a must." Midday lunchers can dig into a buffet whose myriad options beget multiple trips and consultation with a pack of tarot cards before deciding which delicious curries should be ladled over naan and rice.

The epicurean alchemists at India House, winner of Chicago magazine's Best Indian Buffet designation, draw inspiration from the cuisine of Bombay and Delhi as well as Indian street fare and homestyle tandoori cooking. The menu's more than 250 items please vegetarian and meat-eating palates alike with curries, kebabs, and grilled saris that utilize the flavors of fresh cilantro, chilies, and coconut. A reviewer for the Chicago Tribune praises the restaurant’s “incredibly tender tandoori chicken,” and Chicago magazine says that the fiery "Hyderabadi-style mahi-mahi … is a must." Midday lunchers can dig into a buffet whose myriad options beget multiple trips and consultation with a pack of tarot cards before deciding which delicious curries should be ladled over naan and rice.

Owner Gregg Majewski doesn’t call Jerseys a sports bar—he prefers to think of it as a “sports restaurant.” A fleet of 35 high-definition flat screens and two 6'x10' screens project in-the-moment sports action, and etched glass murals depict all manners of contests from track and field to basketball to Greco-Roman thumb wrestling. The lengthy menu of signature sandwiches, pizzas, and entrees is what differentiates Majewski's eatery from a simple bar with a cable connection.

Three types of potato skins cover spuds with bacon, pico de gallo, and house sauces, and 11 types of sauce douse wings in innovative flavors such as Coca-Cola and spiced honey chipotle. On specialty pizzas, grilled chicken, homemade sausage, and stir-fried veggies cover specialty pizzas paired with creamy tomato and southwestern sauces. Families wash down suppers with fountain sodas, while adults nurse house wine and beer from independent breweries such as Two Brothers and Three Floyds. Diners can also peruse the menu of catered fare ideal for parties, business meetings, or training before the Olympics of competitive eating.

The chefs at Maxwell's Hot Dogs sling dogs, burgers, and polish sausages into buns to create a sprawling menu of enticing options. Inside the eatery, guests lounge around classic checkered tablecloths, gazing at flat-screen TVs broadcasting sports. Meanwhile, an outdoor patio bedecked with lampposts caters to those who want to feel the wind in their fries as they dine on chicken sandwiches, pastas, or salads seated at tables with shade-summoning umbrellas.