Nieto’s

The truffle pomes frites are exceptional! Your hosts offer gracious, warm service in a cozy neighborhood atmosphere with toothsome daily specials as well as a creative menu. Busy place, yet dinner conversation is possible — rare and welcome treat. Service is great. The food is really good! We plan to make this a regular stop!

So we made last minute reservations here with no problem on a Wednesday night. The surrounding area was packed so we valet parked for $ 5 and went in and were seated immediately as the place was not that crowded. Got our drink orders pretty quickly and it went down hill from there. The waiter/​host/​bartender was busy waiting on his other 5 tables (which was the total occupied in the place) and came back finally 25 min later to take our dinner orders. We asked for the check instead and he seemed shocked that we wanted our check. He actually asked if we were ready to order. We responded «um 25 minutes ago!» So we got the check and headed right next door to Casa de Isaac for excellent Mexican food and margaritas! As for the menu at Nietos – very boring and all over the place. More like winter classics than a menu for July! Wake up management! Btw get some more help too.

the rebirth of Carlos in Highwood is a major success. The food is as great as ever, and the atmosphere warm and welcoming. I am not a regular, but Debbie always treats me as if I am. The food is creative and delicious, and more affordable than Carlos had been. Highly recommended!

If I could give Nieto’s 10 stars I would. Not only is the food delicious and made with the highest quality ingredients. Carlos and Debbie make you feel as if you are sitting in your dining room. I adore them and Nietos! If I could eat out 7 nights a week this would be the place. I recommend this place for any and all occasions.

Carlos turned causual. one of my favorite places near Highland park. Food can be as casual as a gourmet burger or fancy as a good steak. Still has Carlos style of quality on the food.

Solid spot in highland park. Good selections on menu and everything was very tasty. Will go back for sure.

We went for Mother’s Day and my sons 16^th bday. Special occasion yes ! Food and service great. Carlos and Debbie are amazing hosts. We decided we cannot wait for another special occasion, which means we will be back soon! No special occasion necessary !

service great
food great
carlos and debbie great
i miss the restaurant «carlos» but times have changed

2.5 stars. Meh. Food isn’t great. No reason to go out of your way for the food here. Service is nice. Not bad, not great, just middle of the road all the way around.

Basic dishes, done very well. I had the Cobb Salad with Lobster. Lots of lobster, and the dressing was not your typical Cobb salad dressing. Okay, it is a little pricey, but the food is good, and service is wonderful.
Have been twice now, and will come back again.

I really hate to give this review because my wife and I went to Carlos probably 15 times for special occasion-​type meals. I know that the thought here was to have a casual dining experience with hints of the old Carlos. Unfortunately, I think they are stuck somewhere between those two concepts and have sort of an identity issue.
My biggest issues:
I did not like the variety on the menu. I had problems settling on an entrée because I felt like that section of the menu only had like 8 things and three of them were salads. I had the skirt steak which I thought was just okay and my wife had one of the fish entrees which she did not like very much at all.
Pros: the oysters were great.
We will definitely come back and try it again. But for now, just 3 stars

I love supporting our neighborhood businesses! Nieto’s makes that easy to do!
Hubby and I came here when they first opened a couple of years ago. We took our daughter and her beau. I still remember the mouthwatering short ribs I had… mmmmm-​mmmm… Well, after that, Hubby and I hadn’t been back. We just seemed to forget to go back and we were so busy trying the other new businesses around the area.
About two weeks before NYE, we tried it again. It did not disappoint! We ate at the bar (fun!) and chatted up the bar tender. Nice guy AND he makes a good drink.
We shared the ceviche. The bowl was as big as my head!!! so much good food to eat. I had Debbie’s chicken, and hubby had tilapia. Both dishes were very good. Nothing cosmic, just good food, and good portions.
The whole evening was so comfortable and pleasant, that we decided to make a res for NYE. We were going to have a very hectic holiday week before NYE and figured a nice quiet comfy spot nearby would be good.
Once again, it did not disappoint. They had a special menu for NYE, but we didn’t want that much food… and I was still thinking about that ceviche! So we started with a couple of good drinks and a ceviche. I had their baby-​back ribs and hubby had the pork chop. Oh, their mashed potatoes are the yums. cheesy melt in your mouth type. Once again, not cosmic, but a very satisfying dinner.
I won’t make the same mistake and wait too long to come back. This is now one of our nearby «go to» places… and I won’t forget it!

I really enjoy this place. The staff is always great (I especially LOVE the woman who greets you at the door on the weekends)! They take reservations and I have always been seated promptly when I have arrived. The menu has a large selection to suit almost anyone. They offer a lot of starters/​small plates which can be nice for a group. One thing I also enjoy about their menu is you can choose from sandwiches or salads on up to a true entrée. Everything I have tried here has been good/​not outstanding but good. I will mention its a bit overpriced here but keep an eye out for groupons or other deals to help keep things in line. If other area restaurants you are checking out in Highwood have a long wait, stop on in they are very accommodating. Or check out open table and see if a last minute reservation is available. :)

Last ate at Carlos’s many years ago. Now we’ve had the tasting menu at the new version of the place, and we were just as delighted as I remember being all that time ago. For an additional tariff, you can get four wines paired with your courses. If you’d like to expose someone to an expert wine pairing experience, this is a great way to do it. Great, warm service experience from Debbie and Luis our waiter.
Carlos and Debbie remain among the top tier of Chicago restaurateurs.

Had wonderful early dinner before movies in Highland Park. Carlos was too stuffy ans expensive for my taste. Nieto’s is fresh concept. Enjoyed atmosphere and especially great service. Cheerful and knowledgeable waitstaff. Wine list is adequate, if not extensive. Skirt steak was juicy and flavorful, special lobster risotto was very good, perhaps, not very inventive, but done right. Hope to be back during summer months to enjoy terrace sitting.

We came here twice in two weeks, once for a special night out and once to please my picky grandma. But really, we were all pleased.
The food here is impeccably cooked, and the tasting menu is not only diverse and inventive but also reasonably priced.
The service here is always great, as is the bartending… Try one of their cocktails; the gin and elderflower one is unbeatable. It had some herbs in there– either basil or mint, and it just bumped the entire cocktail to a whole new level. Foodwise, you can’t go wrong with the lobster ravioli or the lobster cobb salad. But when has lobster ever led anyone astray???
So good. Hard to believe you can get groupons here!

Such a disappointing meal. Usually gastropub is synonymous with delicious food. Unfortunately this meal was an overpriced, underwhelming experience. Debbie’s chicken was nicely seasoned with herbs, but did not have a crispy skin and was on the dry side. A short-​rib dish contained a cheap cut of meat that had been overcooked to the state of a chewy pot roast. The bread was overloaded with salt. Nieto’s could benefit from fresher ingredients and a revisit of cooking methods.

Happy Birthday! – That describes the essence of this great restaurant.
The day of my wife’s birthday, a weekday, we went to a movie which was followed by ‘let’s go to Nieto’s’.
Carlos, the owner, greeted us warmly, learning that we were celebrating a birthday. The waiter was also in tune with the event – a pleasant smile, a wish for a happy birthday.
We happily ordered our meal. We splurged. Some of our meal: guacamole (prepared at the table – input from us – perfect!). I had the pistachio crusted tilapia – exquisite – crispy on the outside, moist.
We ordered dessert and it came with a candle in it – of course, happy birthday was sung and the birthday girl beamed.
I ordered a cappucinno and we relaxed in the very pleasant surroundings (a hint of a 50’s club or a clubby bar). Two complimentary flutes of champagne were brought to us with another wish of happy birthday. More smiles.
The menu is varied – from burgers to the unusual. The typical usually has a creative twist to it that enhances and the unusual is always well executed.
Recommendation: sit, relax and savour. This is a perfect setting for all of that.

Highland Park Restaurant Week 2013 experience:
As we walk into the restaurant, 20 minutes late, the hostess, who I believe is Mrs. Nieto herself, exclaims, «Oh! You came after all! I was getting worried… you are Sofia, right? Come right this way». The rest of our experience was just as personal, from the waiter to Mrs. Nieto’s farewell.
Pre-​fixe menu was good — we enjoyed our salad (beet/​pear/​brie w/​pomegranate vinaigrette salad and soup combo. Halibut and lamb chops were both delicious and come with intriguing sides (the halibut had a garnish of swirly wonton sticks layered with nori). For dessert, they ran out of one of the pre-​fixe options, so we got to try a few delicious sweets — tres leches cake, cappuccino chip ice cream, and chocolate molten cake. At $ 30 per 3-​course menu, a great value!
Finally, tasty drinks — blood orange margh-​tini and the berry fiz drink on the rocks. Cheers!
P. S. For a more private experience, ask for the booths tucked into the side of the restaurant.

For transparency sake, I must declare that my husband I tried Nieto’s for the first time the other during restaurant week. The restaurant week special was a three course tasting menu for $ 30 — a great deal!
We were very warmly greeted at the door by Debbie, the owner. Then, the staff was so friendly and even enjoyed a small toast with us. I already liked it so much better than the stuffiness of the former Carlos’ restaurant.
I began my meal with a blood orange margh — tini. Highly recommended! So yummy.
The three course tasting menu began with a soup and salad combo. The soup was a corn and shrimp bisque. It was creamy, warm and delicious and on top of that it was really pretty. The salad was a beet and brie salad. This too was extremely tasty. For our entrees we had the choice of lamb chops, fish or duck. I had the lamb chops and I am only slightly ashamed to say that they were so good that I had to pick them up and make sure that I got every delicious morsel off the bone. The chops were accompanied by spinach, a crispy polenta and a piece of vegetable terrine. The crispy polenta was only okay but the other sides were outstanding. My husband had the fish and it was being touted through out the restaurant as the outstanding item of the night. (I don’t know because I didn’t even taste it because mine was so good) For dessert I think it was tiramisu but they didn’t say for sure — anyway it tasted good!
We learned that when it’s not restaurant week they offer a four course tasting menu for $ 48. We will certainly be back for that!