Prairie Grass Cafe

Best brunch in the northern suburbs, great food, friendly service, great décor and a real bargain! Worth the 15 minute trip from downtown. Jim R

Came here last minute with a very close friend of mine, I had seen the restaurant being promoted months ago on WGN midday news and ever since then, I knew I had to come and try this place.
Katie, our waitress was an absolute joy… Friendly, attentive, and very knowledgeable about the menu and offered great suggestions about different food items and drink parings. She even went as far to bring an order of the lentil soup to the table, on the house. Needless to say, it’s was pretty delectable. Made with brown lentils, these small bean-​like orbs have a great earthy flavor which pairs perfectly with the melted goat cheese throughout the dish. Very satisfying, great flavor, delicate but distinct and all without an overwhelming feeling of being stuffed or bloated before your main course.
The special that night was swordfish, again… No complaints on this one either. While I’m not particularly accustomed to having swordfish in a red sauce, it was the balance between the two components (fish and sauce) in an unconventional way that really made the dish.
Overall would defiantly recommend, great place for dinner, large bar, and professional staff that keeps this place going strong.

Went here for a special dinner to celebrate. It was very crowded but we were seated exactly at our reservation time. Service was nicely done and a special request was handled by the bar quickly and much appreciated. A special roasted cauliflower appetizer was outstanding. All other dishes were exactly as ordered and had very high quality ingredients. Overall everything was top notch.
It is very noisy when full and hard to carry on a conversation, it got better as the evening went on and they were a little less crowded.

Went here after shopping at Northbrook Court with a friend. He had seen this place on Tv and we thought we should give it a try.
The place itself is tucked away behind some corporate buildings and has a side front display entrance. Once you walk inside you immediately see the hostess stand and the bar area on the left with some tables off to the left. On the right is more seating tables and booths.
Once we were seated Kate came over and asked us what we would like to drink. She is wonderful and very knowledgable. I chose a glass of Riesling and the Parmesan Crusted Tilapia. The Tilapia was perfectly prepared and had a side of creamed spinach. Delicious. Before we received are food since it was our first time here Kate brought us a bowl of Lentil Soup. I thought the gesture was very sweet and a excellent way to give us a warm welcome. Overall a very well kept atmosphere, excellent wine and a perfect meal.

Surprisingly, Prairie Grass is one of the very few places in the area serving breakfast on Sunday morning. My husband attended a business dinner here several weeks ago and said the food was very good. Sunday morning — here we come!
Reservations: I called ahead asking if I need reservations for breakfast and was told that if we get there around the time the open (9:30am), there will be available seating. They were right. And as we ate our breakfast, more and more people came in but it still was not completely full.
Space: Non-​descript and somewhat tucked-​in building that is not readily visible from the street. The interior is upscale, but not too formal; spacious with high ceilings.
Greeting: As soon as walked in the door we were greeted by the host and escorted to the table.
Service: Our waiter came to our table right away, poured water into our glasses and told us about the specials. He was pleasant and enthusiastic the entire time. At the end of the meal, he offered dessert. Yeah, he assessed us right:)
Food: My husband is not a gushy type, but he said the word DELICIOUS many, many times. I have to agree. Our over-​medium eggs were done perfectly. His skirt steak was very flavorful and tender. My chilaquiles were good, however, I would have added more cheese in between layers.
Overall: The price was on the high side but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

After years of going to Prairie Grass, we were very disappointed with our last visit. This is a place that I always recommend to friends for the delicious food and great service, but I’m not sure if I will suggest it again.
We went to PG for a recent Sunday brunch and we arrived 30 minutes early. Our intention was to hang out at the bar with our family and catch up with each other.
When we checked in, the hostess, Helga, was quite aggressive towards us. She stated that our table was not ready. We said that it was no problem and that we understood that our reservation was in a half an hour. She seemed to be totally irritated and she completely misjudged the situation. I thought hostesses are supposed to be welcoming.
Anyway, we sat at the bar and wanted to order some cocktails; however, there was no bartender. Kind of surprising for a Sunday brunch!
We later were seated and everything was rushed and frenzied — not a relaxing family brunch at all. The waiter seemed like he was done for the day and not interested in providing good service (which PG usually has). I have a background in food service — I get it that it’s tiring work but that comes with the territory — sorry, no excuses, especially at a top-​notch restaurant.
The buffet brunch was good but I thought it was more limited in its dishes compared to the past holiday brunches.
Maybe PG is cutting corners on staff and their food offerings? I think it showed this time.
I say all of this because guests pay a premium for brunch ($ 48 per person) and anyone would expect good service and a wonderful dining experience at this price point.

I came to eat here with my
mother while running errands. a funny restaurant tucked into an industrial park. our sever, Humberto, was excellent and very attentive. he explained the fresh fish fry of the day, which was Arctic char and we happily ordered. it was very tasty and I like that they have all the fish certified safe through the shedd aquarium and fish safe org. we also shared a caesar salad which was good. we didn’t have dessert. I’d probably eat here again if in the area.

I was a little bit sad when they didn’t have the brunch menu for me to order from. I saw the brunch menu on their website, but they told me they don’t do brunch on weekdays? Anyways, I had a good time there and the food was decent.

Very very expensive for portions and quality. If you want a good burger just go across the street to Fuddruckers and save yourself money.

Went here for dinner last night. Food was good, service was very good and price reasonable. The only reason for not giving 5 stars, the ambiance of the room is only OK. Way to loud and hard to have a conversation. We will go back again.

Great atmosphere, food, and service!
I had Chicago magazine’s best burger without bun for my late lunch. It was after 2pm and finished lunch time menu, but I was still able to get a burger.
Burger was greeeeat!!! Combination of blue cheese and burger created a nice salty taste :) Even though it was without bun, it still came with some bread. Grilled vegetables were just right with texture and flavor!
I want to come back here for lunch and dinner!

I came here with about 20 people from work for a team dinner. They were very accommodating by putting us at a long table tucked away in the corner which was nice. The servers were all friendly and got our orders served promptly and correctly which is always very nice when you have such a large group of people.
However, it is a restaurant and the food was not that great and quite expensive. I had the marinated local beet salad which was very basic. My co-​workers ordered all different items like burgers, fish and chips, and pasta dishes. No one was really impressed with any of the dishes. Even though the service was great, we wish the actual food was better since we all like to eat.

We tried this place for the fist time last night, and can’t understand how this place doesn’t have at least 4 solid stars across the board. We went for dinner around 7pm on a Friday night, and although there were plenty of people there, we were seated right away and our friendly and attentive waitress offered recommendations off the bat. Service was QUICK. There was always someone around to make sure we never lacked for bread or water.
I got the delicious Friday fish and chips ($ 28) which came with a pomegranate slaw that was really great and refreshing, and my husband ordered the blue cheese burger ($ 16, great quality burger, also delicious), which came with the same kind of roasted potato wedges as my «chips.» We both enjoyed our meals and were completely satisfied with the taste, quality, presentation and service. We also had the French Silk Pie for dessert, which was really good but a tad overpriced… ($ 7.50).
We did think that the prices all around were about 20% more pricey than they should have been. Maybe I’ve been to Wisconsin too often, but $ 28 for fish and chips just seemed really steep to me — but it was sustainable bass, so maybe that’s why. The burger was just about the cheapest menu item, so expect to spend somewhere between $ 16 to $ 33 per dinner entrée. On the other hand, we both really enjoyed the meal and our experience there, so we will certainly return… just not as often as we’d like to!

Don’t let all the negative reviews fool you, this restaurant was fantastic.
To start, the ambiance was very cozy and warm. It was lively without being annoying.
And YUM the food was so fresh and tasty. My boyfriend had their famous burger which was perfectly cooked and had a velvety smooth texture– delicious! I tried the lamb sausage with goat cheese and that too was excellent! The service was also impeccable– our waitress was fast and checked up on us multiple times. The food also came out very quick for a Friday night!
Definitely recommend to everyone in the area!

Stopped in last night to FINALLY try the sirloin burger everyone is talking about. Aside from it being undercooked (ordered it Medium and it came Medium Rare) it was quite tasty (high quality beef with a silky mouth feel) and a good size. Its an impressive presentation with a thick cut roasted tomato and onion slice as well as a couple roasted potato wedges. Also comes with carmelized blue cheese which I got on the side. I wouldn’t say it’s the BEST burger around, but definitely VERY SOLID. PG is a little on the pricey side. We got 2 burgers and a sausage dish and three cocktails and it was $ 90 with tip. So $ 30 per person.
Ambiance was a bit «cold» and waitress was attentive but always seemed to be in a rush. If you’re looking for a really good burger up north, I think PG is worth a visit.

While I did enjoy the food I ordered (a single burger, with mushrooms instead of onions and some very, very fresh fries), I have never come closer to dining and dashing as I did at this restaurant — I had to ask for my check four times, getting brushed off each time, before I actually received it.
Our lunch took nearly two hours, only thirty minutes of which we actually spent eating. The rest of the time was spent waiting for a server to come talk to us, waiting for our food to arrive and then waiting for the check.
Although, like I said, I enjoyed the food, I cannot recommend this restaurant. There are much better burgers that come with much better service.

Excellent menu
Food for everyone
Service is very attentive
Solid 4 stars all the way around!

The décor inside is really nice, slightly industrial, but still chic. The service is fantastic, and courteous. But the food just isn’t very good.
I ordered the Asian chicken salad, which I know isn’t their specialty, but that doesn’t excuse the poor quality of the ingredients. The lettuce was like leftover salad express, the crispy strips were dry flavorless pieces of phyllo dough, the chicken even seemed to be prepackaged and was flavorless. My mother ordered an omelette which looked pretty, but was greasy and not flavorful. The worst part is that our bill was $ 40 for 1 coffee, 1 tea, a not so great salad, and a not so great omelette.

This place is actually great! Despite the crowd and the inability to hear the person next to you, I really liked this place! We ordered the fried lamb rolls with the yogurt sauce and they were pretty good. The actual meal was spectacular. My boyfriend and I decided to share the Parmesan crusted tilapia and the famous burger. The burger was probably one of the best I had in awhile and I could understand why it’s ranked as one of the best in the northshore. The meat is juicy and the blue cheese is such a perfect touch. The tilapia was placed on delicious creamy spinach and overall the dish was good! I would definitely recommend trying the burger. That is probably the hit of their menu! The only reason this place lost a star was because the entire restaurant was too crammed and on the loud side… but, the food and service was A+.

Great meal! We flew in for a short conference… literally in town for 26 hours. Our hotel recommended and shuttled us here. It was a GREAT dinner.
My only complaint is that my burger was SO GREASY, I ended up with grease stains on my dress. That wasn’t cool.
But everything else we had was tasty. A great meal after a long day of travel. The waiter was super attentive and helpful when I asked about my food limitations (no pork, no dairy) and he checked things as needed for me.
I would definitely come back if I was in town again!