Cafe Central

The restaurant is very well laid out, with comfortable seats. The service was very good. Adam, who I believe is the manager, sat us down and made sure we had a good seat.
The wine list was modest but decent. I had an Argentinean Malbec, which was very good.
The bread was pretty good, not magnificent but it was warm and well made.
For the entrée, I had the calves liver, which is apparently their flagship dish. I liked it a lot but the portion was very large for what a rich meal it was. So they could afford to shrink it down a little bit.
Prices weren’t cheap, but competitive compared with other high-​end French-​themed restaurants.

Just called to see if they were open and I received HUGE ATTITUDE! The male voice on the other side said «Café Central were you on hold? I said, just checking to see if you were open but it appears you are» Response back: «I asked if you were previously holding?!» I repeated what I said whereupon he says, Let me start over, café central how can I help you?” A Total female dog if you know what I mean.
Wow really? I ate here once and wanted to try it again but with this bad customer service and major attitude, they just lost a customer and many more.
Café Central: first impressions start on the phone, train your staff customer service skills and phone etiquette!

Fairly good food and service. Adorable dining room. The kind you want to be sitting in during a snow storm with a cup of French onion soup. We have dined here many times and have had both excellent and not so excellent meals. Very expensive for the offering. My husband recently had the best filet mignon and truffle potatoes… done to perfection! I however was really disappointed with their version of a tuna Niçoise salad. It is tuna fish! I expected better. Having said that, the burgers are good, French onion and gazpacho the best. This is our go to place for dinner. The staff is very helpful and friendly. They seem to get along very well with each other too. That’s a plus.

This place will always hold a special place in my heart. And now it holds a special place in my tummy as well!
First the heart: At my daughter’s high school graduation (about a decade ago), I made reservations months in advance at Bella Via. After graduation when everyone and all their relatives were descending on the restaurants in HP, I showed up at BV and was told they meant to get a hold of me to let me know they could not accommodate our res. They had booked their back room. Whaaaaaaaaaat? As panic set in and I had to try to find a place to accommodate 15 relatives, I would deal with the awful customer service of a place we frequented as a family for years later. For now, I had to find a solution! I called several places… Café Central was the one that said «We will make it work». And so they did. We had a nice meal with a table pushed up to one of their booths. I will never forget their accommodating service!
Now the tummy: Hubby and I have recently been frequenting this place on Fridays and having dinner at the bar. There is not much room for people to eat at the bar, but since we get there early, there are usually a couple of seats open. Adam is always nice and all his wait staff and bartenders are equally as nice.
First, they make a mean cocktail! I love their cosmos and hubby loves the manhattans. We sit and chat and watch the kitchen and staff do their thing while we think about what to get. I have never had a bad meal. I usually get some kind of fish, but I go the duck last time. It was nice and crisp and came with wild rice and red cabbage. Not really a summer meal for me… but delish. Hubby has recently had the pork tenderloin. He has enjoyed it as well.
The one thing I really noticed last time we were there… The staff is always helping each other out. They are on top of everything and making sure the customers get good service. Not just Adam, but every single one of them! It was inspiring to see how everyone worked together as a team.

Had lunch here several times before and tried the dinner for the first time. My husband was happy with his Burger. I wish there were more than 2 soft shell crabs in my order! Bit pricey!

Great food and great ambiance. Classic French food and great quality. The best French onion soup outside of France. We will certainly be back soon. The manager Adam was very friendly and welcoming, he made us feel like we were regulars.
I had the fish and my friend had the steak both were wonderful great wine and great beer selection.

I love Adam (and Debbie) but honestly a $ 20 burger (good but Not great buy any means) and $ 24 for a Cobb salad? I know you love tradition but time to update that menu and move with the times. That theatre is not coming back and your prices have gone over the top. After 10+ years I won’t be back.

3^rd annual Valentine’s Day dinner and it was wonderful. Two people had the liver and two people had the roast chicken. Everyone was thrilled with their dish. Adam, you’ve done it again. The restaurant was festive with heart shaped balloons and vases. We got a coupon for a future dinner too!!!

The wannabe cop that runs this joint almost ruined this dinner for my husband and parents. He was so loud and talking with a table next to us for about 15 minutes in trying to sell them wine. He was continually talking about himself and how he has had a fiancé for 6 years, believe me I know his WHOLE life story after that meal.
Our server could not even do his job by explaining the menu because this «wannabe» kept cutting in like Zoro and explaining everything on the menu and then running off to talk with other tables. VERY unprofessional, made me feel like I was on an episode of Mystery Diners, where everyone in the restaurant, including the workers, knows this guy is a little nuts, but can’t say anything!
The food was good and my steak was cooked well. The dessert apple crisp left something to be desired but the ice cream was delicious. I think they need to do some updating, the place looks like it’s from the 90’s.

Great gem in the north shore. Super service, everything we had was delicious.
The wine list is impressive, prices reasonable and a terrific atmosphere.

I ordered the tuna Niçoise salad and noticed it was priced at $ 22, which seemed quite high. I assumed that fresh tuna is a little pricey so I ordered it anyway. When it came, it was some romaine lettuce with a can of tuna dropped on top of it. That’s pretty much it.
I couldn’t find any potatoes, there were maybe three string beans (both traditional in this salad). It was tasteless. I had to ask for more dressing. I feel completely ripped off and will not go back. I could make this better at home.

I feel really taken care of, not over taken care of.
Just the right balance of having my meal and being paid attention to. Their food is the kind of food that when you eat it, the hungrier you get. It just taste so good. This to me is the mark of someone who knows what they are doing.

I’ve been coming here for quite some time. Having grown up in HP, it’s been a favorite of both my grandparents and parents forever.
Excellent food, adorable ambiance, and really great service.
Have only happy memories at this place. Definitely recommend!

The food is simply not French. If you close your eyes and taste the steak with fries and veggies, it will remind you more of lomo saltado (peruvian?). I happen to like lomo saltado. My French onion soup just had too much gruyère in it and maybe lacked a bit of sherry? The pâté was a bit dry and almost looked like a chorizo patty. It tastes like a high-​end cafeteria or hospital food. Friendly staff.

Wish it were far more authentic French!
Adorable setting and ambience, generally friendly staff. However, the menu sometimes seems less modern French and more outdated 90’s American «white table cloth,» place.
It’s not that the food is bad, it’s just that I have never eaten anything memorable here. This place could be so great if it just really jumped into real FRENCH food, European dining, and were a tad more inviting. They have an excellent location and so much potential. But the food is just missing the mark!
…Especially with Froggy’s and Abigail’s to compete with!

Amazing kitchen, really nice owner and the best comfortable interior in Highland Park area.
When you visit that place you enjoy home atmosphere, high quality kitchen and amazing music. Service high level 5 stars.

First time here, heard great things, we will try the following:
1) French onion soup
1.5) mushroom soup
2) country pâté
3) escargot
4) poached pear salad
5) duck and mushroom ravioli appetizer
6) black angus filet mignon with truffle mashed potatoes
1) French onion soup –the best I have ever had — not the overly salty overly greasy or watered down soup.
1.5) added the mushroom soup and glad we did
2) country pâté —
3) escargot —
4) poached pear salad —
5) duck and mushroom ravioli appetizer —
6) black angus filet mignon with truffle mashed potatoes —
Service is not really that good so far.

Quel rêve de soirée … Un carnaval sucré de l’énergie. It was a reunion of loved ones and buoyant happiness. Our smiles were suspended by good food and wine and spirits uplifted by one another.
We were there on a bustling Saturday evening. Our reservation was early and we saw the transformation from busy to the swell of liveliness. Every table was occupied and people crowded around the door waiting for their turn to indulge. I don’t mean to boast, but our table was perfectly located in a corner behind the door. It was at the end of the row and somewhat secluded. We also had hooks on which to hang our coats. Other tables were not afforded such space and comfort.
I was surprised by the owner’s youthfulness, but he had the care and attention of a seasoned business owner. He ran around chatting up each guest. Our friend was a regular and referred to him by name. He seemed to shower us with geniality as a result; even selecting our two wines for the evening and personally decanting the red one at our table. Later he graced us by showing pictures of his family on his phone.
Our friend is in love with the duck at Café Central. She loves that the skin is crispy and the inside meat is juicy. She asks for the sauce to be served on the side so that the exterior maintains it’s integrity. Our ménage à trois got two of those and I got the fish special. The fish was served on a bed of lentils with sides of greens and mushrooms. We also shared escargot and a salad amongst the three of us. In the end we each got dessert and accompanying drinks. I don’t remember them but I do know that I was given an complimentary taste of the suggested pairing.
I must say that the food was good but it wasn’t crazy about it. I suppose it’s exactly what you might expect from a French Bistro. The service is outstanding. They don’t have a cocktail menu but can make whatever you want. I think I would have taken off a star if we happened to sit at any other table because they just looked like a clusterfrak.

My coworkers treated me a couple of times for lunch. It’s our favorite place to get some authentic French food. When the weather is nice and perfect, enjoy your lunch in front of the bistro with a small glass of pinot noir and a plate of escargot as starters. Eh? Escargot? Actually this was the first place I’ve tried it. I love how the snails (it is what it is) are doused in this pesto garlic sauce. Yeah, it sounds kind of gross, but you can’t say it’s gross if you haven’t tried it. I can’t wait to get a chance to try it in France in the future.
I always order the fish of the day (poisson du jour) which is always exquisite. My favorite lunch was an unforgettable one. It was a salmon dish on top of a bed of red beet risotto, served with sautéed veggies. The plate was probably the most vibrant plate I had ever seen and tasted. It was just gorgeous to look at and even better to eat! The color of the beet risotto was so stunning against the white plate. More importantly the risotto was creamy and well-​cooked. Also the salmon was a perfect marriage to the creamy risotto, offering the crunchy yet meaty textural contrast. On top of everything, the plate was drizzled in what seems to be a lemon beurre blanc sauce. I felt like I just tasted a beautiful rainbow. It was epic.
I must say that the food is a bit pricey here, but you’re eating in Highland Park. It”s a bit expected. Café Central gets my stamp of approval for lunch, but I would say isn’t the best restaurant out there, but so far, I enjoyed everything I ordered here during my visits. I would be interested in coming back to enjoy their dinner menu.

Café Central is a place I’ve driven past many times in the last few months, but never really noticed. Yesterday, we were set on going ot Tamales up the street for dinner, and the only parking spot on Central was smack dab in front of CC. When we got out of the car, we were met with a sign «$ 5 glasses of wine on Wednesdays!»
Well, crap, how do you pass that up? We decided to have a glass of wine, then continue on to Tamales. Well, one glass turned into a glass with some bread (homemade, fresh from the oven, crusty, French bread. Fantastic) and perusing the menu. That turned into being über impressed with the menu selections, and deciding to stay for dinner.
Ordered:
Me: French onion soup & the daily fish special, which was sautéed soft shell crabs served with sautéed veggies, mushrooms, red cabbage, and the «risotto of the day»
Him: Caesar salad (complete with anchovy) and the pasta of the day.
Service was prompt and polite. I don’t know why people have complained about Adam, he was a phenomenal host. Courteous, friendly, not overbearing. He made nice conversation with us throughout our meal, topped off our wine glasses, etc. He was not any of the things past reviewers had indicated.
Ambience: Cute. Typical French bistro/​café. I really liked it. Warm colors, smooth wood, etc. What I really loved was the bar top was copper. A really nice touch.
Food:
F.O. Soup: unfortunately, just ok. The broth was light, maybe a chicken or veggie base instead of beef, and it lacked salt. The flavor was just okay.
Soft shell crab: outstanding. Soft shell crabs are one of my favorite crustaceans, and almost everything on the plate was amazing. The only thing I didn’t care for was the braised red cabbage, but braised cabbage really isn’t my thing anyway.
My other half raved about both his salad (he’s a sucker for Caesar) and pasta. I tasted a piece of the shrimp, it was really garlicky and really good!
It was a little bit pricier than we had intended for a Wednesday night dinner, but I’d definitely go back for a special occasion meal. 4 stars because of the soup.