Restaurants in Prospect Heights

The smell of baking pitas wafts from the ovens at Falafel Bistro, where chefs churn out steamy pocket bread and loads of healthy, vegetarian-friendly Mediterranean cuisine. Pitas serve as the base for the eatery’s namesake dish, which stuffs the freshly cooked dough disks with fried spheres of ground chickpeas, herbs, and garlic. Over at the rotisserie, beef and chicken rotate while slowly collecting the heat required to transmogrify into plates of shawarma, and cuts of lamb share skewer space with sliced, impeccably punctured veggies. Each of Falafel Bistro's entrees emerges from the kitchen with a pat of basmati rice, scoops of house salad, and pita frisbee. After diners polish off main courses, they can peel through layers of dough, honey, walnut, and pistachio—the building blocks of baklava—or predict futures that involve cars equipped with fog lights as steam twirls above mugs of mint tea.

After leaving behind their hometown in Greece, brothers Angelo and John Sellis put their entrepreneurial minds together to build a new life in the United States, with their restaurant Palm Court at the heart of their new venture. More than 30 years since greeting their first diners, John and other members of the Sellis family continue watching over the eatery's three dining rooms, learning the names of regular customers and giving them courtesy calls when their favorite specials are back on the menu. The brothers' team of chefs—overseen by Angelo in the kitchen—constructs its long-perfected dishes from foundations of duck, oysters, beef, and seafood as tinkling piano tunes fill the adjacent cocktail lounge, where customers sip signature martinis, wines, or domestic and imported brews.

An unassuming strip-mall storefront belies Retro Bistro’s cozy dining room, where wall murals painted by a local artist and white-draped tables set the scene for elegant French and Tuscan cuisine. The menu, which pleased Zagat’s tasters, balances upscale plates of seared foie gras or wasabi-crusted ahi tuna with more casual options, including sandwiches and Alsatian-style flambeed pizzas.

“I think that’s what people realize when they get here—how affordable it can be to get out for dinner,” said Christopher Barth, who owns the bistro along with his wife, Lorraine. “We have so many regulars.”

The couple took over the business from Lorraine’s father, Dominique Legeai, in 1997. Lorraine cites the pair’s love of food, people, and wine as the passion behind their business, and the amply stocked wine list features plenty of budget-friendly bottles, as well as reserve vintages to toast special occasions, such as an engagement or a piñata making it to retirement. The eatery’s bar and lounge area also facilitates revelry, as mixologists blend specialty martinis with a focus on fruit-infused and chocolate-flavored options.

Food has found a good home at Emerson’s Ale House. Here, chefs present half-pound burgers with pretzel buns and their very own beer pairings—the Smoke House burger with manchego cheese and pulled pork pairs with Rogue Dead Guy ale, for example, and the Roy-Ale burger with fried egg, smoked bacon, and English cheddar lines up nicely with Three Floyds' Robert the Bruce. To char-grilled salmon they add a side of dirty rice; to braised short ribs, garlic smashed potatoes. And they grant their desserts—chocolate-crepe cake, bread pudding, and Chicago-style raspberry cheesecake—the power to satisfy two diners at once, even if both are very upset about a failed attempt to gerrymander their foe’s sock drawer.

Emerson's TV collection helps patrons take in the game with friends, and its complimentary bacon bar provides the opportunity to see if bacon still tastes like bacon. Because liquor bottles only prosper when they're close to other liquor bottles, Emerson's has wisely grouped them all together behind the bar, where they huddle in wait before getting all mixed up inside your glass.

The chefs at Pavilion Restaurant's two locations elegantly blend and fuse flavors from European and American cuisines into gourmet entrées. Drawing from the French, the chefs sear foie gras a la Versailles appetizers, presenting each rich morsel on a crisp pear slice dressed with signature sauce and a witty description from the previous night's salon. The marinade of soy sauce, teriyaki, orange juice, and fresh thyme on the Asian skirt steak expands the scope of the menu to Eastern territories. The chefs focus on Italian tradition as they crown the seafood linguine with fresh shrimp, scallops, and alfredo sauce. Stationed at the bar, bartenders fill glasses with a selection of international wines, beers, and expatriate cocktails.

Inside, modern decor and soft hues combine to create an elegant atmosphere for diners to enjoy mimosas during Sunday brunches. Patrons can relax and unwind their ears after a long week with live jazz music at the Northbrook location as they split butter crepes with red caviar from the late-night menu.