Ballaro

Fantastic!!! Bravissimo… Every dish was well executed and full of flavor. Millie Grazie Scott

Great restaurant! I was dining alone, so I didn’t want to waste a table. I sat at the bar and Miguel immediately took my order. I think I’ve found my new favorite bartender and solo dinner spot. He knows his bourbons, and his mixology flair was an added bonus.
I had the salmon with a side of spinach (ricotta creamed), and it was delish, not overdone, with the perfect crispiness to the skin (on one side only).
Even though the food was amazing, the highlight of my evening was joking with the owner and the bartender about a transfer of cocktails to «table 43». Great night!

Finally the north shores has a restaurant equally as good as restaurants in the city. The food is tasty and the service is great. It’s new so be sure to call ahead for a reservation. There are two eating areas. The bar area is louder with more vibe but the back area is better for more quieter conversations. The short ribs are great.

I don’t get the hype. Maybe we just caught it on a bad night. The restaurant itself is broken into two separate sections and the bar is right next to the tables in the main room. Little funky, but also pretty loud.
Our service was horrible. New people, not enough servers. Couldn’t make a Cosmo. And we went to the bar directly rather than waiting for our server.
The only saving grace was the food. It was excellent. All four dishes, the appetizers, everything we had was either very good or excellent. The price, as expected given the neighborhood was pretty high.
The service, ambiance and value were not there for me at all. The food was terrific but I can’t look past everything else that detracted from the experience.

Went here for a romantic dinner last night and had a 4 star time. The first course crab risotto crab cake didn’t seem to incorporate any of the items in the name, and wasn’t the most impressive app. Instead if recommend getting the gnocchi as that was delicious. The saving grace was the pizza that I would go back for, plus the entrees all looked excellent, but I was stuffed.
Beer and wine list was very good, they had a very cool wine bottle of the month for $ 24 which I find to be reasonable.
Finally the ricotta cheese cake was excellent and I will be trying to recreate at home.
The place was very busy and our server wasn’t very attentive, plus the crab cake debacle the only reasons for not being 5 star, but for sure a place to check out if you’re a foodie in the north suburbs.

Great service, even better food. I made a reservation for Ballaro using Open Table, and somehow it changed my selection from one night to a different one, without me realizing it! When we arrived, I felt so stupid for not catching the mistake and was ready to turn away and find a different dinner option. But they found us a table even though the place was packed!
We sat down and had some wine and cocktails. The list of Italian wines is extensive, and the wine I had was very good. For dinner, I had the rainbow trout which I can’t recommend highly enough. It was melty and savory, super flavorful. All of the different elements balanced each other out perfectly. And it was a generous portion, too. I know my husband really liked his risotto too, but I can’t imagine ordering anything else.
The place has really transformed since it was Gabe’s, and is a completely inviting, warm, modern, and comforting Italian restaurant now. Great addition to the Highwood dining scene.

Service and Sumptuousness! Had a special event to celebrate with the family and gave the new restaurant in town a try after hearing rave reviews. They were extremely sensitive to our special night and bent over backwards to make everything memorable for us. Each of our appetizers through deserts were prepared exactly to our liking. The kids were accommodated with special attention to making the detailed menu grounded to their needs. Atmosphere, a festive but not too loud environment and a bit of a family feel make us feel quite at home. We will definitely be returning with friends and our excited about this great new addition to Highwood!

Classic, yet not. Definitely great!
During mid-​week, we stepped into the restaurant. We were greeted by host and hostess, each interested in finding a table for us despite not having a reservation. Shorter than the offered 5 minute wait, we were seated at a comfortable table.
The restaurant décor is sparse, spacious. At night, the dusk-​like setting with artistic bulbs reminds one of a star-​lit open-​air café.
Our meal started with a basket of parmesan crackers and bread. Our friendly server asked if we’d like parmesan and oil – we accepted and a small holder of parmesan cheese was brought to the table. The bread, oil and cheese set us onto a good start for the meal.
Looking around, observing the fairly new restaurant in operation, it was impressive to see the subtle, deep-​rooted attention to all things good about a well-​run restaurant.
We ordered the sausage ravioli – perhaps indicative of the classic (yet not), the ravioli was a pocket of pasta, scrunched, not a pillow – al dente. Accompaniments included pickle fennel – the right touch of sour mixing with a light sauce. Delightful!
Duck was ordered by the gluten-​avoiding partner – the server negotiated that issue effortlessly.
The very same partner, dairy-​avoiding this time, sought to order a dairy-​free sorbetti – the hostess smiled, shared her similar experience and suggested a fine choice.
But the other dessert ordered, Chocolate Orange Crush, is easily one of the top ten desserts I’ve had!
Three taste treats come on the plate: a small orange soda, a crumble of chocolate candy and chocolate cake. Each great on its own, together mixing the tastes with variations of orange and chocolate, classic, yet not.
All great!

Outstanding food. Outstanding service. Our table had the crispy eggplant, gnocchi, fried octopus, Delmonico steak, creamy spinach, and the chocolate-​orange torte for dessert. Each dish was better than the last. My husband, who is not an effusive person by nature, could not stop raving about this place. Don’t miss it!

We love to support local business. And apparently it’s very busy and doing well. But I’m
Not sure why.
The menu is sparse and while trying to be creative, is meh.
We each had minestrone which was served I a unique bowl but the beans were undercooked and the broth a little bland. A dollop of cheese sat on a lonely croûton in the middle of the bowl
The cracker bread is nice. The bread itself was chewy and there was no butter or olive oil to give the bread any flavor.
We split the sausage ravioli. The sausage was flavorful with a peppery aftertaste but the ravioli were undercooked.
I typed more words here than our sever engaged us with. Coffee and dessert weren’t offered.
I hope they succeed at Ballaro, but
It will be without us.

Beautiful abiance, flavorful fine dining experience. Valet parking. Private dining room. Great bar. Older crowd. Great new place!
Closed on Mondays.

Wonderful restaurant. What a great addition to Highwood!!!
Service was excellent. Friendly and informative. Wine list was delightful.
We had crispy eggplant (awesome) and octopus (took my companions’ word for it that it was totally worth eating!)
Gnocchi was awesome and we tried all the sides — the creamed spinach was the best and the Brussels sprouts were a close second. Fries were delicious!
Other diners in our party had the short ribs and hamburger — both were excellent, they said.
We were too full for dessert but they looked so yummy.
I’m going to be back!!!

I can not say enough good things about Ballaro. The gnocchi with butternut squash was out of this world! Everything we had seemed to be better then the last while the prices were extremely reasonable
I will come back here often.

The place is good. An impressive build-​out from what was once Gabes. It’s fun to see a space converted from what was once full of drunk teens, to what is now elegant and full of rich adults.
That said, the food was fine. Dull if you ask me. Our party split 2 pastas and 2 entrees. Nothing stood out as fantastic, we bad a bland risotto, short rib (which is better down the street at the old Carlos place), a couple tiny appetizers too.
To tell you the truth, I left hungry. We ended up getting desserts on the other side of HP where they have massive desserts served in gigantic martini glasses.
If you are looking for similar quality, with larger portions head towards the Italian place in Ravinia.
Ballero is nice. Would make a great date place if I was trying to impress a girl on a first date.
*notes– bread was served room temp without butter or oil. Waitress was very nice but inconsistent. Owners, no need to follow up with me. I’m sure I’ll be back eventually, and I’m sure things will change as time progresses. This is a review site.

We had the most exceptional dinner here on Wednesday night. I would highly recommend getting pizzas to share as appetizers, and the short rib was out of this world. The friends I dined with loved the chicken also — it looked delicious. For dessert, their homemade ice cream is a great way to complete a meal. Thank you for a great experience and we look forward to coming back.

I’ve been to Ballaro four times since they opened, which I think was about 5 – 6 weeks ago. I’m so impressed with this place. The food has been amazing as well as consistent. For the last dinner we split three appetizers and one entrée. We had the risotto cakes, mixed greens salad (I’ll get this every time I go), eggplant and the gnocchi. The gnocchi is truly one of the best pasta dishes I have ever had! I was blown away. Will be back soon… of course!

The perfect place for an impromptu date night… i found out about this place because of an article of their chef Joe winning the Chopped competition, and the food didn’t disappoint. The service was really good too. I def want to go back to try their dessert and other items on the menu.
I wonder if Highwood will become the west loop of the north shore…

WOW. Just finished. Food was off the hook. Wait staff was so nice, general manager, chef-​owner, all as good as you can ask for. The food hands down some of the best I have had. We had fried octopus, crab cake, I had the burger, my friends had the pizza, and salmon salad. Amazing food, staff, and desert ended the night off at 5star. See you soon!

This place has been getting a lot of hype from the foodie blogs even before it opened. So being the «gotta try it, gal», I told hubby we had our Saturday plans! Unfortunately, they were all booked up for reservations, so we took our chances getting a seat at the bar. We got there very early, and snagged a couple of seats… then the fun began…
Miguel made a GREAT sidecar for me and a «Hubby approved» manhattan-​type drink called a boulevardier. My drink had just the right amount of lemon for me. We recognized Miguel from another North Shore City type restaurant. I’m glad he switched to this one, because I know we will be coming back often. Between Miguel and the other bartender, Ben, we were well taken care of.
I took a pic of the bread. Nice and soft with soft butter. Simple but perfect.
I had the fried octopus, and hubby had the minestrone. The octopus was very tender. It comes with a bit too many potatoes, and a spicy sauce. Drop one potato and add another chunk of octopus, and I’d be in heaven. Hubby LOVED the soup. He said it wasn’t like normal minestrone (he’s the kinda guy that usually likes his food «normal»)… but then he said, and that’s a good thing! He raved about it.
For dinner, I had the salmon and hubby had the amish chicken. The salmon was WONDERFUL. It had the crispy skin and it was cooked to perfection so it was juicy and warm. I ordered a side of mushrooms that was also very good. Hubby’s chicken came with polenta (yum). The skin was nice and crispy, just a bit too salty. The chicken was also cooked perfectly, not overdone.
We weren’t going to have dessert, but Ben said the pistachio one was very good. We tried it, It was very good and had unique flavors. I’m not sure I would order it again (I prefer cake type dessert), but I was glad I tried it. It was very good.
As we were at the bar, the place livened up. Everyone around us was raving about what they ordered… the burger, a salad, the trout… it didn’t matter. Everyone liked their food.
Parking is easy peasy. They have complimentary valet parking with a parking lot. That’s a good thing… because this place, and the rest of Highwood are kicking this town up a notch!

My wife and I went to the preview last night and were more than impressed. Beautifully renovated room, with exposed brick, a gorgeous bar, and large front windows that let in wonderful natural light, when the sun is up.
But the real star is the food. A crispy eggplant appetizer with chili sauce, herbed ricotta, and honeycomb struck the perfect balance of spicy (but not too spicy), creamy, and sweet – a creative, fantastic play on eggplant parmesan.
Braised short rib with espresso-​roasted carrots, watercress, and raw carrot salad was hearty, satisfying, and fall-​apart tender. And the rainbow trout with carmelized apples, crispy cauliflower, brussles sprouts, and white wine sauce was bright and delicious.
Also, despite it being a pre-​opening dinner, the service was cheerful, friendly, and very knowledgeable… giving us great suggestions!
Just… go!