Ad-Lib Geo Cafe

What!!! Right here in Lindenhurst in a strip mall!!! Talk about a hidden gem. My sister and I went here for dinner to catch up. We chose the 4 course spontaneous tasting menu with the wine flight. Why would you choose otherwise??? We started with a selection of mussels in a broth I wanted to drink, along with their portobello mushroom topped with feta and pine nuts. Both were to die for! We then had the lobster broth (ummm I think God made that!!) and the cauliflower curry soup. Paired with a buttery Chardonnay, my mouth was in heaven. For our main course, we had mouthwatering scallops topped with bacon — I mean everything is good with bacon. We also had arctic char over a cauliflower purée along with a lemon sauce. The red wine paired with was delectable. Even my sister, whose palette is developing, loved it. Finally we had their flourless chocolate cake and a key lime tarte. Service was amazing and the atmosphere was simple yet charming. Compliments to the chef. If you haven’t been here shame on you!!! I can’t WAIT to go back!

NORMALLY amazing food and service here.
The last time we came in was not so great. They have awesome lobster broth soup to start with. This normally comes with generous lobster meat chunks in it. Maybe it was because it was Valentines Day weekend and they were trying to save their lobster meat, but they served the lobster broth with a scallop instead. Hugely disappointing and it didn’t compare to the normal dish. The server said «maybe they didn’t get their lobster shipment in?» .
The entrees were good — pork chop and sea bass, BUT the mashed potatoes and vegetables that came with the pork chop were cold.
We love Ad-​Lib, but last time was very disappointing!!!

What can I say, Rick Star is definitely the star of the restaurant. His cooking is amazing. Outstanding food. The lobster broth is to die for. Rick definitely could win any of those cooking shows on TV. The flavors, sauces, texture, portion size, it’s all perfect. Never had a bad experience at this place. The only downfall is the seating are is small but that makes it all the more fun trying to get in.

Incredible chef’s menu and pairings, was awesome! Food is spectacular especially when you weigh the price… Way underpriced top quality. The order of things late in evening can get a little mixed up and the no reservations mixed with an always wait time would the only reason why can’t do the 5 stars.

What can you say about ad-lib…this place is a lake county staple that not many people know about. Chef Rick has a bonifide hit here with his upscale courses and menus. A very unique dining experience, where the menu changes daily and usually consists of a meat, fish, salad, appetizer and dessert. Everything is cooked fresh and made to order. I’ve had the pork chops both times I’ve been there and they were utterly amazing. The service is top notch and this place has a great selection of fine wines that go well with any dish! Highly recommend, if you are in the mood for a unique dining experience!

This is by far my favorite place to dine in Lake County. Originally from Chicago and then Evanston before moving up here; it’s been difficult to find other upscale dining in this area. Bonus that this place sources it’s food locally. Our latest venture was for NYE. We got a late reservation (9:30pm) and enjoyed the prix fixe menu. I had the oysters, goat cheese and roasted/​pickled beets, filet medallions, and bittersweet chocolate dessert. My husband and friends ordered other options, so we could taste a bit. Everything was AMAZING. I have been here about 6 times, and have never been disappointed. If you come, and you should, get the lobster broth soup. I don’t know if I have ever had a more delicious creamy broth in my life. The food is beautifully presented, creative and delicious! The ambience is great for a romantic dinner or a night with friends. I love, love, love this place.

Disclosure: Our dining experience was on New Year’s Eve with a prix fixe menu. I can’t imagine the food quality improves simply due to a holiday, but I always feel compelled to share special circumstances.
Look, I followed Ad-​Lib Geo Café on Facebook for a year or so. When it seemed apparent my husband and I were never going, I unliked the page and kind of forgot about them. That made it a pleasant surprise when my husband came home from a local liquor store with a printed menu for Ad-Lib’s New Year’s Eve dinner and suggested we go. We made our plans a bit late — we always do; it’s like New Year’s Eve is a surprise to us – and they were able to get us in for a 5:00 p.m. reservation.
We had a little trouble finding the place, mostly because they recently moved from the south end of the strip mall to the north end. There isn’t any obvious signage on the exterior and the address hasn’t been updated on their website yet.
We were seated right away and greeted by our server shortly thereafter. We spent some time browsing the wine menu, which was robust. It wasn’t mentioned on the menu or by the server that there was a wine flight pairing with dinner — my husband asked and then the information was shared. That seemed a little odd. He ordered the flight and I had a glass of petit syrah.
I started dinner with the colossal peel and eat prawn, which was served with a lemon aioli. It was excellent and, really, I could have licked the aioli off the plate when the prawn was gone. My husband started with the deviled duck’s egg and said it was good, but agreed my small plate was better.
For the second course, I had the lobster broth. If that lobster broth had gotten down on one knee and asked me to marry it, I absolutely would have. It was rich, buttery, and flavorful with large pieces of fresh lobster in it. My husband had the potato curry soup, which I didn’t try, but said the winner of that course was the lobster broth.
For my main course, I had the three-​grain riso, a creamy risotto served with homemade sausage and pecorino cheese. I could have eaten the risotto without the sausage, it was that good, though the sausage was a nice flavor complement. My husband had the short rib, which looked amazing. People at the tables next to us who also ordered it were raving about it.
We got one of each dessert — eggnog panna cotta and flourless chocolate cake. The panna cotta was good, though a bit runny. The flourless chocolate cake was amazing. It was topped with a bit of raspberry sorbet, which had pop rocks (or some other exploding bits) infused. The cake was dense and creamy — almost like eating a dark chocolate bar.
Both our server and the kitchen were excellent about accommodating my food allergy and leaving the truffles out of my truffle course (the lobster broth).
We’ll definitely be back — this was an excellent experience.

We went to Ad-​Lib on Sunday with another couple we frequently dine with and based on the positive reviews we were excited. We arrived at the restaurant at 7:15, the restaurant is located in the corner of a strip mall, there was no signage but we noticed people dining inside.
Although the restaurant hours were posted on the door (they close at 8:30 on Sunday) we asked, who I believe was the manager, what time they close and he said they close at 8:00. We asked for a table for 6 to which he said that he could not accommodate 6 and was discouraging us from dinning there that evening. After persuading him to put a couple tables together we were seated.
I have been to many restaurants in my life and if a party of 6 comes in, if there is room and clearly there was, they accommodate. The dining experience did not start off on the right foot but we gave them the benefit of the doubt.
There server suggested the 4 course dinner with wine pairing, we kindly declined. Instead we ordered 2 salmon entrees, 3 pork chop entrees and 2 chicken breast entrees along with 3 appetizers and a bottle of wine. We ordered a bottle of wine and after bringing us the wine she said that was the last bottle. We asked for some bread with the appetizers the server was hesitant but she brought about four pieces of a baguette. Then we asked for more bread and perhaps olive oil. She brought over more bread and jokingly said that she received attitude from the kitchen as she was bringing us the bread.
Long story short after dropping $ 350.00 at a strip mall restaurant on a Sunday I was terribly disappointed and expected much more. The food was plain, it did not excite our taste buds at all, the server was fair with attitude and the manager was unforgivable.
The employees and the restaurant need to come down off the high-​horse they are on and realize where they are and the market they are serving. They act like they are a downtown Chicago high-​end restaurant.

We dined here on a Sunday evening for a birthday dinner. This restaurant moved north along the same strip mall to a new location. The last time we were at the old location it was winter as well and I remember that the restaurant was very cold. Unfortunately the new space, although bright and open, is also extremely cold. They have large picture windows along the front and sides of the room with no window coverings of any kind. The floor is concrete, it was only 20°F outside and quite cool in there. Can only imagine how cold it’s going to be when it gets really cold outside for a sustained period of time.
On to the food and the service. The service was very, very good. Our server explained the dishes as well as possible and if she did not know something she brought over one of the managers to give a better explanation.
We ordered a charcuterie board for the table, the roasted brussels sprouts with house cured bacon crispy chunks, honey chili and pomegranate. Let’s start with the good — the brussels sprouts were absolutely sublime. We asked for the recipe and they said if we came to one of the cooking classes (they are held in the old restaurant location) they would give it to us. Since I live 30 miles away I was not really happy with that answer but I understand. The sprouts themselves were cut in half and roasted to perfection, slightly creamy with nice caramelization. The sauce made from the bacon drippings, honey, chili flakes or purée and reduced pomegranate juice was an amazing flavor combination — savory, sweep, spicy and good enough to eat with a spoon. Pomegranate seeds and a tiny bit of either feta or goat cheese sprinkled on top rounded out the dish. One could eat this with a side of rice or potatoes as a meal.
The charcuterie board on the other hand was a very big disappointment. $ 18 for a nice looking wooden cutting board filled with things that once you started to investigate were mostly pickled radishes, sliced grapes, big dollop of mustard, half an ounce or less of a beer soaked cheese and a cheddar cheese, 5 or 6 half rounds of salami, one small slice of smoked pork loin and then a peppered something — not sure if it was duck or pork but it was chewy and did not have good meat flavor — the pepper overwhelmed it significantly. There were two piles of pickled fennel some sliced pickled garlic and two really inadequate slices of toasted bread — but come to think of it none of this was worth putting on there anyway.
Everyone thoroughly enjoy the entrées which were all high-​quality with very good flavor. The Atlantic salmon had a very crispy skin served on top so that it stayed that way if you’re into that sort of thing, it rested on top of a bed of puréed turnips which were characteristically slightly bitter and part of them were mixed with either a sweet potato, a carrot or squash to make it orange and was flavored with curry. Miniature florettes of broccoli and cauliflower were tender and moist and seem to have been steeped in a broth which was very flavorful.
The porkchop with homemade applesauce was very good, it did not seem to have any overwhelmingly fantastic flavor but was solid. Three in our party ordered the flat iron steak and as is a normal finding one had a little bit of gristle and the other two found it to be extremely tender. The scallops entrée was served three scallops on top of a parsnip purée with crispy leeks or some other shredded and fried vegetable on top of each. The scallops were perfectly cooked and tender.
Being such a small restaurant in such a faraway location one cannot expect too many offerings and dessert is quite limited. Salted caramel cheesecake, a banana chocolate puff pastry type dessert with a miniature scoop of ice cream and a panna cotta were the three options. Did not taste anything but the panna cotta — which was extremely creamy with fresh dairy notes and a hint of vanilla, however it was certainly not the set texture to which I am accustomed for panna cotta. This was more like a very soft custard in a dish and if you tried to unmold this it would run all over your plate like a sauce.
The prices are relatively reasonable — my salmon was $ 28, the flat iron steak was $ 30, the pork chop was $ 24. They also had a vegetarian option — a black bean «steak» which was described as two black bean burger patties with a middle layer of red and white bean purée for $ 20.
They do have a tasting menu for $ 50, $ 70 with optional wine pairings. We might return for that.

Always a great experience at this Lake County bistro. The restaurant has expanded into a new, nicely designed space but the locally soruced cuisine is as good as ever. Having a new lounge next door makes the usually mandatory wait more tolerable. However, the wait is always worth it. The ever-​changing menu always has somthing to offer whatever your taste may be. Skip the myriad of chain restaurants in the area and enjoy a truly unique dining experience.

Outstanding. A hidden gem. While not easy to find, make an effort to visit. Service is excellent, the food is as good as anything you’ll find in Chicago. The menu offering, while limited, as never failed to meet my exceptions.

Amazing. We did the tasting menu with wine pairings. I loved every single dish. Would do it all again & wouldn’t change a thing. The scallops, lobster broth, and desserts (pumpkin cheesecake and poached pear) were to die for. Can’t wait to go back!

What a wonderful delight right here in Lake County! I selected the Chef’s spontaneous 4 course dinner with wine pairing and was excited with every course!
My daughter and I had the dinner together so we get to taste so many things we would not have normally ordered! The food was fresh and delicious and the dessert received was the perfect finale! To top it off, the waitress heard it was my birthday and topped my cheesecake with a candle!
I will definitely be returning!!!

Absolutely fantastic! Chef pairing is a must! Also bring your wine– totally worth the corking fee. Or become a member for that for free!

I think this may be my favorite local restaurant for a few reasons.
This place came after a few recommendations and to be honest wasn’t so easy to find as there is no sign above the door. Small detail though because the interior makes up for it.
This was my first experience at a farm-​to-​table establishment that changes it’s menu daily depending on the resources available. I love the open kitchen and ability to watch passionate chefs create the meals.
The décor is perfect and simple that includes the never ending greenery growing at each window. I think it’s great that these herbs, greens, and spices are grown in the restaurant and pulled up for meals as needed!
As for the menu itself, there was such a great variety and I wanted everything but I settled for a few things:
— The first was a must that usually stays on every menu due to it’s popularity… The Maine Lobster Broth! A large claw swimming in an addicting creamy broth…
— The Charcutery Board served on a wooden wheel (Very cool!) with an incredible variety of sausages, cheeses, plickled asparagus, pickled peppers, pickled garlic, smoke ham, and crackers
— Hanger Steak in a balsamic sauce was just perfect and tender
— Prime Pork was juicy and accompanied by season vegetables
There are a few items that I just cannot wait to try and will continue to pop in until I get them: Morel mushrooms, Salmon, Venison, Halibut, Sea Bass, Pheasant, etc
Thank you for a perfect meal that was served beautifully as well as using a ton of local ingredients.

There is a sign in the parking lot but not on the door. There are not many good restaurants out this far north in the burbs. We heard good things about this place and had to try it, and I am glad we did. The service was excellent and personal. We decided to try the tasting menu with the wine pairings. Everything tasted fresh and seasoned well and had some visual flare in the plating. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. My only advice is to not skip desert. I am not a sweets person but the desert was amazing.

I took my wife here for our 11^th anniversary and I was incredibly happy with the choice. We both did the spontaneous tasting (I did the paired wine flight). This gave us 4 courses and 8 dishes to try, mine with a paired glass of wine with each course.
Everything was fantastic. We had the portobello mushroom, mussels, Cesar salade, lobster broth, chicken in beer glaze, scallops. It was all excellent. There was a desert course which was fantastic but I do not remember what it all was.
My personal favorites were the lobster broth, scallops, and the chicken.
If you do the spontaneous tasting make sure to mention any food allergies or dietary restrictions as the chef decides what you will receive.
I will definitely go back again and probably soon.

We got to this place around 6pm last night (Friday) and we gave our name to be on the wait list. We seated at the bar stools without any of the hosts telling us how long the wait is going to be. After around 15 mins, we approached one of the hosts to at least get our drink orders while we wait. So after 30 more minutes of waiting, we finally got a table. We ordered the softshell crab and mussels for appetizers. The crab was flavored well and it was good, but it was literally one half of a small crab:(There were a lot of mussels for one serving but we did not enjoy this dish that much because the broth didn’t really have any flavor. I wanted to try something different so I ordered the Sunchoke stuffed sunchoke. I’m not sure if it was just me not being used to these kinds of flavors or it’s really that the food tasted nothing but plain roasted potato. There were
pumpernickles surrounding the 3 potatoes and that had a bitter aftertaste to it, I felt like I was eating dirt. I wasn’t satisfied with my $ 18 choice of entrée although the presentation was nice. We also ordered the scallops with strawberry and vanilla. 3 pieces of scallops for $ 25($ 28?). Nothing extraordinary with the flavors as well. So to sum it up, we left hungry because of the very small servings and we thought it was pricey for dishes that weren’t exceptionally flavorful and service was a thumbs down as well. Lesson learned.

Went here for the first time this valentine’s day and loved it! I can’t wait to go back. We tried everything on the aphrodisiac tasting menu and everything was fantastic! I love the open kitchen experience. Will be returning very soon.

This place is so cool! The menu is constantly changing and the food is so unique. My fiancé and I came here, kind of a weird story, we were going to The Vine in Grayslake (because it was near our house and we like their martinis) but they were on an hour wait which I was not going to sit around for. So as we were leaving, a woman who was out front smoking stopped us and made a joke about the wait being too long, and then said if we were looking for something really good that would put The Vine to shame to go over to Ad-​Lib because their food was amazing. So we found it online and gave it a try, and she was absolutely right, it was fantastic! I had lived in the area my entire life but just had never heard of it, which is too bad, because we would’ve gone there over The Vine or similar places any day had we known.
We have since moved, but still think if we’re in the area again that we’ll have to stop here for dinner again sometime. We did the chef’s choice dinner/​wine pairing which was so, so good. You have no idea what you’re going to eat or drink, they just bring you a four course meal and wine pairing based on what they have in-​season. My fiancé and I both did it, and our meals were completely different so we got to try 8 different things in total (the wines were the same, but each food course was different). The wine choices our server chose were excellent and the food was amazing, we tried things we never would have ordered and they were awesome. Some of the things that were brought out for us were escargot, lobster bisque, pork chops, scallops… so, so good.
I think the only thing that could use updating/​changing in this place would be the decorating/​ambiance. And it’s possible that this isn’t the plan as far as a long-​term location goes so maybe they haven’t put a lot of money into the look because they don’t plan on staying in the strip mall they’re in, which is totally understandable, but it used to be a pizza place and still kind of looks like a pizza place.