Market House On The Square

2÷2÷16 update: my husband and I returned to this location over the weekend for date night with get and I’m happy to say that the service was fantastic. The bartender was personable, the waitress was very polite and the food was delicious. I have the salmon and my husband had the steak. The drinks were flavorful and the atmosphere had the perfect amount of dim lighting to create a cozy dinner ambiance.

Appetizers were good, service was good, our orders were all messed up, my fish was supposed to have a sauce, it was over salted and dry, my wife dish was missing a purée, and one of our guests dish, well it was nowhere to be found.
I do say they did make up for it though, we were charged only for the 3 entrees and not charged for the drinks and appetizers. The owner or manager was quite sympathetic. If not for that I would have left a 1 star rating.
Will not return

Honestly, it was just okay. The Caesar salad was awful! I didn’t think it was possible to make a Caesar dressing that was actually offensive but I guess all you have to do is load it with anchovies and Voila, you have the worst caesar salad in the history of Lake Forest. The ambiance is nice with the fireplace and all and perhaps the burgers are decent as I overheard some people talking about them. As for the whitefish, it SUCKED, I could continue about how bad the caesar salad was but I won’t and the doughnut holes for dessert… Well let’s just say I would have had the same experience with a dozen doughnut holes from dunkin donuts and a bottle of Hershey’s chocolate syrup. Major Pass…

Do not come here.
The place looks great from the outside. It’s cozy and well decorated on the inside. So we thought it had the potential to provide us a decent brunch. We were wrong.
The entire staff acts as if you are putting them out for being a customer. Wait staff disappears for long periods of time. Coffee isn’t topped off unless you walk up and ask the hostess — and then wait 5 more minutes.
We ordered. And then waited 45 minutes for our brunch. We all had very simple orders.
When our food finally arrived, every order was either wrong, completely overlooked, or both. Over easy eggs were well done — yolks solidified and eggs crusty. My poached eggs were hard boiled. And the bacon was inedible (how do you mess up bacon).
I have never sent an entire order back. This was a first for me. But we couldn’t eat anything that was on our plates.
The only bright spot was the manager agreed to waive our entire order which allowed us to walk a block away and eat at Einsteins Bagels where we got a decent lunch.
We will never go back. And I hope this review saves some of you from the mistake of walking in the door.

Not a fan. I have been here several times. Mediocre food. Pricey for what it is. The last straw was them adding service charge on a group of 5. 3 of the 5 were children under 6! They added 20 percent. When I said to the owner I never saw tip added when it was mostly children I was informed, that’s how it’s done in the north shore. She was rude.

We’ve been here twice. The service is always very good and the food is excellent. The wine list is average. Both times we’ve been here we’ve eaten outside. It’s a very nice atmosphere outside until the sun goes down. Then it gets cold outside. Would be nice to have some kind of heaters outside.

Overall, not worth the money. I was quite disappointed.
Pros–
The restaurant was quaint.
The food was served piping hot.
The tuna tartare was passable (though a portion of four bite-​sized pieces seemed small).
Cons–
The waitstaff was icily polite while at our table and were openly quarreling and joking while not serving.
The menu was dull.
The food was so salty I could only finish a small portion.
He jalapeño burger was extremely spicy.
The children’s’ menu was mostly fried food with a side of fries.
The floor in the ladies’ restroom was sticky… Yuck.

The service was so awful I can’t even describe it. We had to get up and ask to please have a server assigned to our table after about 20 minutes. We were ignored the entire time. How can people give this place good reviews? The flys were buzzing around the inside of the restaurant during the whole meal, there was water spilled all over the floor that no one cleaned up– very dangerous. The owner was walking around with a sour puss and she didn’t even smile or say hello to anyone. The hostesses were fabulous but they need wait staff. Did it surprise the owners that the art fair was Labor Day weekend?
UGH never going back– I have said that the last 3 times I ate here –the food is decent but the service is so bad it is embarrassing.

Had lunch at Market House during the Lake Forest Art Fair. It took over 30 minutes to get two chicken quesadillas. The patio menu was only available on the patio, which was not made very clear at the onset. The waiter did apologize for the very slow service, but no offer was made to make up for the long wait. (maybe a complimentary iced tea?) Very disappointed. Pricey for a quick two appetizer lunch — over $ 40 with tax/​tip.

My family and I had a nice lunch here after taking a tour of Howard Van Doren Shaw’s Ragdale. The inside of the restaurant is lovely, but we ate outside on the patio because it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
I had the chicken paillard. Normally I do not like chicken breast, but this was seasoned nicely, pounded, and grilled to perfection. It was served with a tangy salad and some really amazing fried capers (which are not in the description on the menu, but accent the dish deliciously!). My other dining partners enjoyed the Mexican cobb salad, caprese grilled cheese, and the burger «straight up». Our waiter was also really nice and attentive. Great place — also loved the square and the cute shops nearby.

overall nice place for lunch. friendly staff. chef needs more attention to details. see my pictures. next time check dinner menu. recommend.

Quite literally the best tuna tartar I’ve ever had. It was absolutely wonderful!
The Reuben was just okay. The meat wasn’t so soft. Although I’ve had it before and it was great.
The patio outback is EXACTLY what you want on a summer’s evening. Be sure to check this place out!
It is set aside Market Square in historic downtown Lake Forest, which is the first planned outdoor shopping area in the United States. Designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw in 1916. The statue in the front was actually sculpted later on by his daughter.

Couldn’t handle the Father’s Day rush. Waitress and staff didn’t seem to know how to handle tables without food. Sad, because very nice setting and food is good.

EXCEPTIONALLY BAD SERVICE. After years of frequenting one of the most lovely spots in Lake Forest to have a good meal and on a nice day do so in a beautiful outdoor setting, we will be reluctant to go back.
Our server introduced himself by saying, «I must look so discombobulated». Which he obviously was but more importantly so, I believe this was his way of warning us of what lay ahead. After 1.5 hours of waiting for our four simple sandwiches, one burger and one order of hash to arrive (by the way, no drinks other than iced teas and lemonades to justify a delay) we politely asked our waiter as to the status of the delay. With no response offered the first time, I insisted he go find out and come back with status the second time. He quickly came back apologetic and explained it would be another 20 – 25 minutes because the kitchen was so backed up! ALMOST 2 HOURS FOR A SIMPLE MEAL. All the while tables had come and gone around us and the patio was quickly emptying with barely 50% of the tables filled at this point. Ironically, within 3 minutes our meals did arrive (to his surprise when he came back) except for one which he said was the cause of the delay. Two minutes later the missing meal arrived and our party of six was finally able to eat. Obviously our waiter had either forgotten to submit our ticket or something else had happened.
Our visits have continually gotten worse and until we hear some news of significant management changes or service recovery we will be sure to warn our friends and family to stay away from what was at one time a Lake Forest establishment.

DO NOT PATRONIZE THIS RESTAURANT. IT is NOT the same as it was with previous long-​time owners!
We had been going to the restaurant for a number of years under the previous owner. This was our first visit since new ownership took over and we were so very disappointed in so many ways. What’s worse is that we were hosting a group of about 14 people for a special event and they really let us down.
1) The server was as slow as molasses and only came when we finally looked for him. On top of that, we had a set menu of choices and he intentionally deviated and offered additional items… but then when asked about it he made it seem like our guests asked for those things (we know they did not). It was absolutely a way to build up his bill and tip; you could even hear the tone of his voice was that he was nervous knowing we were on to him. With that being said, how do you tell your guests that they cannot have the additional off-​the-​special-​menu items? You can’t, so you’re left in an uncomfortable, uncompromising situation. GRRRRRRRR.
2) Managers and the owner were too busy to give us a minute on site. In fact, the owner was less than friendly when somebody by chance introduced me to her in passing.
3) The private room we got… but luck of a cancellation… was so cold feeling (not temperature-​wise but rather cozyness/​welcome-​ness).
4) The mimosas were absolutely boring in flavor of the sparkling wine/​Champagne used and virtually flavorless in terms of the orange juice. When the food arrived, it was less than attractive and average in flavor and temperature, especially given the prices charged. DISAPPOINTING. Desserts were also underwhelming especially in comparison to how we were pitched on them when ordering.
5) When it came time to pay the bill, the genius server presented me the check FACE-​UP in front of our guest of honor!!! What the heck???
6) When I had to actually walk outside of the room to find the server to ask him about the extremely high charges, he was unapologetic and again nervous about how he finagled us. I wanted to speak to a manager/​owner but they were nowhere to be found until we were actually leaving the building and the owner was preoccupied with what appeared to be people she knew.
THE FINAL BLOW WHICH CAUSED ME TO WRITE THIS REVIEW…
7) When I called the restaurant the following day or two later to discuss this with the manager who I pre-​arranged the event with, she was defensive on the front end and not willing to make any concessions. I asked to speak with the general manager and she said she’d have him call me. Almost three weeks later and I’ve still not heard from anyone and am confident I never will.

The ONLY reason I didn’t give our most recent visit 5 stars was because of the horrible smell of fish in the bar area. Have no idea where it originated, but it was nasty. We entered the restaurant just as they were opening for lunch, so it’s not like it could have been an accumulation of a day’s cooking odors. Whatever the source, it needs to be addressed.
Our food was absolutely delicious and the service was both friendly and efficient. Great hamburger. Great french fries. Great caprese grilled cheese sandwich.

Service exceptional. Larry and his crew go above and beyond working to achieve each diners satisfaction. We were there at the height of Easter lunch/​brunch …
Flawless! Thanks again!

Summertime outside dining makes Market House an ideal garden patio location for an enjoyable meal.
On a perfect afternoon, my daughter and I ordered lunch: the cheeseburger by me, the Reuben by her.
Both these entrees can be classic or classically disappointing. They turned out to be classic.
I ordered the burger medium rare (a test) and it came that way – perfectly. (The old restaurant located here failed that test).
The Reuben was highly reviewed for our visit as well.
The prices trend higher for what you get. Thus the 3 stars.

When I heard they were finally updating this restaurant last year, I was so excited. I know people were sad to see the old place go, but it needed a serious facelift. And boy did it ever.
The new interior makes me think it belongs in «Horse and Hound.» Dark inviting wood with modern touches so you don’t feel like you’re going to your parents’ restaurant.
On two occasions, I’ve had lunch here and ordered the fish specials both times. I was really pleased with both, as were the people I dined with. Sometimes fish dishes can be boring but the kitchen serves an elegant plate.

A nice place with a big outdoor area.
We sat outside since it was a very nice day.
The service was really good, our server was very attentive and made sure we had everything we could ever possibly need.
I ordered the tomato basil soup and the salmon gravlax.
The tomato soup was not bad but I don’t know if I would get it again since it was $ 8 and I just thought it was ok.
The salmon gravlax was very good. Came with everything I wanted, tomatoes, onions, capers, lox, and cream cheese.
The only downside was the bagel wasn’t the best and it came with an olive tapenade which was just weird and not at all needed for the plate.