Prasino

I came here for brunch on a pretty overcast, but mildly warm Saturday even after I saw a terrible review for this place a few days earlier. I just wanted to sit on a patio and eat @ 11:30 AM.
I came by and asked if there was any patio room available and they told me it would be in about 5 minutes… my dining companion wasn’t there yet so I didn’t mind waiting. Once she got there we ordered pomegranate mimosas as we looked through the menu. Mimosas were so good that I think we ended up having 4 a piece by the time we were done. I ordered the sweet potato hash along with a side of their chicken sausage. I am a guy that likes a hash and that was not a sweet potato hash. It was a bunch of big chunks of sweet potatoes along with onion and maybe cilantro trimmings. It was ok but I was expecting something different as I have had hashes in quite a few places and that was not it. It was one of those moments where you wished the menu had pics of everything. The side of sausage was the show stealer.
The place itself is quite nice as it has quite a clean, modern look inside and out. The service was great as our guy took petty good care of us. I would love to go back and try something else in the near future.

I don’t feel bad giving this place 3 stars, because I see the overall average (right now) is 3.5 and that’s what I would want to give it. It’s better than middle of the road, but not enough to merit 4 stars.
Nice location with comfy outdoor seating. My friend and I didn’t have big appetites, so we chose a flatbread and salad to share. Side note: I found it annoying that they don’t have a menu on their website. I get that it’s seasonal, local and farm-​to-​table, but you should still let people know what their options are ahead of time.
Flatbread — three cheese, truffle and honey. Very very good. The flavors went together very nicely and the sweetness of honey at the end was great.
Salad — Asian salad. Good flavor, good mix of ingredients, but way too much dressing (should have asked for it on the side — our bad) and way too salty.
We skipped their dessert menu and walked down the street to Alliance Bakery instead. All in all, a satisfying and tasty meal, but only slightly above ordinary.

I lived on Division before Division was Division if you know what I mean.
Had a great time at Prasino. Food was pretty good, décor was really good and the service was excellent and what will keep me coming back! We had a group of 6, our server was… Jim? James? red hair. He was HILARIOUS, knowledgeable about the menu and incredibly personable. He made our dining experience so very memorable and we’ll back for more.

Let me begin by saying that I have been to Prasino numerous times, mostly for brunch. The Austin Texas is one of my favorite brunch dishes in Chicago.
However, beyond that, this place is the pits. It has definitely gotten worse with age.
I have had many a terrible entrée here, and so many bad cocktails. And I am not one to call anything with alcohol in it bad. But seriously, these things are just gross.
This review is specifically about the last time we visited Prasino, which will be the last time we visit Prasino.
We arrived on a Wednesday evening for dinner. The restaurant was fairly empty, which has never been the case the other dozen times I have been there. However, we were seated between two tables of loud, obnoxious drunk women. At one table a woman actually appeared to be passed out. Ok, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
We ordered a bottle of wine that was upwards of $ 60 (I can’t remember which) which was supposed to be a 2009. For that particular region, 2010 – 2012 were not good (per my wine expert bf). The server brought out a bottle of 2012, and thankfully we noticed. She then came back with a 2010, noting that they did not actually have the vintage that was listed on the menu. We selected another wine.
The appetizers here are solid — mussels and tuna tartare are my old standbys.
The entrees, however, leave much to be desired. I read their menu and always have a hard time choosing because everything sounds SO GOOD. On this particular occasion we had the brick chicken and the short ribs. The short ribs were not even that — they were chuck. Tough, greasy and gross. And incredibly salty. The brick chicken was rubbery and the skin wasn’t even crispy (which is the whole point of brick chicken). The side for both dishes was a cauliflower gratin that was not even close to edible.
On other visits I have had the burger, pork belly BLT, lamb baguette, scallops, beet salad, various sushi and a couple kinds of tacos. All, despite their mouth watering descriptions fell flat. Except for the beet salad, but how do you mess that up?
Thankfully I have figured out how to recreate my Austins at home, so I never have to set foot in Prasino again.

I know people rave about this place, but I’ve been about 3 times now and to me it’s just okay. I’ve been to better brunch spots. Yesterday we did things a little differently and came here late afternoon and got to chill on couches in the patio area. Normally this place is packed, but since everyone was watching the world cup game it was pretty sparse.
We ordered only one drink each (mentioning this cause it has to relate to the service). I had the Punch 151 Bacardi. It was sweet and refreshing… just how I like it. Although I still was full from my brunch my friend convince me to share the 3 cheese truffle honey oil flatbread. It was absolutely delicious!!! I would go back just for that.
Now the disappointing part was the service. This place was not crowded. We only ordered a drink a piece and flatbread. Me being budget conscience once we got the bill I noticed immediately something was off. $ 19.00 a person??? We noticed that the waiter charged us for an extra drink. I know you’re thinking mistake, but how this guy was acting the whole time… not too inviting, slow service, etc… I sort of feel it was done on purpose and he thought we would overlook it. I march right back inside to have the charge removed. I’m not knocking this against the restaurant because my other two times here were find, but just something all the same that was annoying to deal with. This place wouldn’t be my first choice to go to, but if it’s a nice summer day and not pack I may stop by.

8:15pm reservation for 2 on a Friday night was easy to get (made that afternoon around 6pm), and when we arrived, the place was fairly empty. We chose to sit outside, which was also quite empty, but then again it was a chilly summer night. We used Über/​Lyft to get there, so I can’t say how parking is in the area. They have valet for around $ 12 I think?
Our waiter asked if we were familiar with the menu and since I had never been there, I said no. He then proceeded to basically say «here are the side salads, here are tacos, here is sushi» etc… yeah, thanks killer, I can read! The only helpful part of this was that he said how many pieces of sushi (8) were on each plate, as well as how many tacos were in an order (3?).
1^st course — we shared the fig and prosciutto salad, which was incredible! The prosciutto was crispy and the figs were warm and melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious. The cheese and arugula were perfect companions to those. Order this for sure. ($ 6 – 8 I believe? It’s a small salad but was a good starter.)
2^nd course — bricked chicken with sauteed greens and roasted potatoes. The chicken (boneless) was crispy on the outside and juice on the inside, just as it should be. Not overly seasoned with anything, but simply tasty. The greens were decent but nothing incredible, and the potatoes were bland. They needed some kind of seasoning, or at least some salt. There was a sauce on the plate but the flavor was not something I could determine and it was just «there.» ($ 18 I think)
3^rd course — we shared the dessert special, which was one scoop of banana ice cream covered in chocolate sauce and chopped peanuts, with strawberries and caramelized bananas. The bananas were the star, with a little bit of caramel crunch on them! The rest of the dish was good. We cleaned the bowl, that’s for sure. ($ 8 I believe?)
I had two glasses of breccheto and my date had 2 glasses of wine, as well as a «duck two ways» entrée (with really good brussel sprouts!). Our bill was just over $ 100. It was good, but the outdoor seating is a bit uncomfortable (wicker-​type chairs that did not love my legs in a short dress — FYI ladies). Our table was also at a slant, so it was just a bit odd. I can’t speak for inside the restaurant because we never went in. I would go back probably, but I am not dying to do so anytime soon.
Side note — the waiter said they are «revising» their cocktail menu, which he basically made it sound like there would no longer be specialty cocktails. We didn’t have a cocktail menu to choose from; simply a wine and beer list.

Prasino is muy fino.
Brunch is good here but dinner is better. Passed by after a Hawks game and people were breaking it down. Who knew people party at Prasino?
The space has a really open, clean, and modern feeling with huge floor to ceiling windows and dark wood tables and booths. The bar area is pretty cute too with ornate chandeliers and fixtures.
I purchased a Gilt City for a «tour of prasino.» We got the lobster avocado, lobster sushi, farm flatbread, soy chorizo tacos and the clean slate cocktail. Lobster avocado was creamy and very fresh. The sushi was good but not my fav. Soy chorizo is something I buy from trader joe’s regularly and can easily replicate at home. Sorry, Cubanas can cook! Now, the farm flatbread had truffle honey and gooey cheese. I almost proposed to this thing. I never wanted to let it go.
Our server was really knowledgable and helpful but a bit overwhelmed. Too many party people for prasino to handle?
I will def consider this place another time for dinner.

I had really high expectations since some of my most trusted foodie friends praise Prasino to the skies. Since it was gorgeous day, I immediately thought to give it a try and take advantage of their outdoor seating. When we got there, it was pretty packed but we were seated quickly thanks to our online reservation via OpenTable. We chose to start with the lobster avocado mango salsa, chili beurre blanc. There was a very generous helping of lobster, but for $ 16, I expected it to come with more than half an avocado.
For our entrees, I chose the Mediterranean salad: house greens, feta, cucumbers, tomato, herbs, lemon, pepper. This was a huge disappointment. My greens were so soggy by the time my salad arrived. Much of it had to do with the fact that it was completely drenched in dressing. Needless to say, I will never forget to ask for dressing on the side. The dressing was also so pungent, that I opted to take it home so I could drain the excess dressing.
My fiancée chose the Prasino burger: smoked gouda, tomato jam, arugula, pickled onion. He felt like there was too much tomato jam on the burger because it overpowered the patty. He actually had to scrape some of it off.
Considering our bill was over $ 50 before tip, we had much higher expectations for our meal than what Prasino was able to deliver. There are so many great organic/​vegetarian/​vegan options with outdoor dining in the city now, that I know I will never be returning to Prasino.

Nice people.
Nice ambiance.
Nice food.
I will be back soon.
I went to this restaurant last night, with a friend, for my birthday. Last night was my second time there. The first time I was there, I just had drinks with friends. I remember the drinks tasting very earthy (in a good way) and was interested in visiting again for the food.
I really appreciate the menu here. They have plenty of vegan and vegetarian dishes to choose from. Since my friend is a vegetarian, this place worked out for the both of us.
What I ordered:
~Hummus for the appetizer
~Short ribs as my entrée
~Tempura banana for my desert
~Cola oogave for my beverage
The hummus were delicious. It was a little different than what I am used to since I normally eat hummus with pita bread but they serve it with fresh veggies which I think is a good idea. It was refreshing to eat it with veggies especially since it was hot out yesterday.
They give you plenty of short ribs which were very tender and delicious, I only wished that the greens were separate from the short ribs instead of smothered with the sauce, there was no color to this dish because of everything being smothered under the dark sauce but like I said, it was tasty, just a little too saucy for me. The cauliflower gratin that came with it was delicious.
My desert would have been better if it had more tempura on it. I kind of felt like I was just eating a banana with chocolate.
My friend ordered the chorizo tacos and a cookie/​ice cream desert which she enjoyed but I really can’t speak for her but I do know that we will be back to visit in July for her birthday.
Overall, I like this restaurant. The ambiance and the people are nice (although I did not receive my points for making the reservation on Open Table but my friend said it might take 48 hours before it hits).
Oh, we also ordered the truffled potatoes and I really enjoyed those. Next time I want to try the mussels and the tofu stir fry. And btw, I love the oogave soda!
Their cocktails are delicious but I still had a lot of work to do, so I decided not to order.
The only thing that was uncomfortable was the air conditioning. It was below zero in there. Bring a blanket.

Prasino has one of those menus where it is extremely hard to decide what to order because everything sounds so delicious. Luckily my mom and I shared so we got to try both the Florentine Crepes and the Crab Cake Eggs Benedict. Both were delicious and large portions. I would probably go for the benedict over the crepes next time, but it would be close.
Delicious brunch cocktails including yummy bloody marys and a pomegranate mimosa. Service was great and the restaurant was beautiful. They didn’t ask our preference on inside versus outside which was somewhat disappointing. I would come back for lunch or dinner next time.

Prasino reminds me of Hub 51 in River North, minus the good service.
This place will test your patience because the service is super slow, at least during brunch. We sat for 15 minutes before we saw our server to come only for her to say she’d be right back. She didn’t return for another 15, bypassing us every time she walked by our table. So know your full order by the time the server comes to your table. Otherwise, good luck trying to ask for anything else.
Fortunately, the food and the environment make up for the slow service. The outdoor patio has a ton of space, and is one of the nicer ones in the area.
Everything we had is super fresh and clean. I ordered the crab cake benedict, which was portioned perfectly.
The pretzel croissant French toast is simply awesome. I will be getting that next time.
Also tried the veggie skillet with seitan. Has a great kick to it, but it’s definitely on the heavy side. I just can’t eat that heavy in the morning.
The black coffee is just ok. Didn’t have that bold and robust flavor that I’ve had at other places. Not strong either. I went to Starbucks afterwards…
All in all, come here for a good meal. Just exercise some patience.

Free parking?! Please and thank you! This is one of the few places in the area that offers free parking so that’s already a plus for me.
I’ve been here a couple times and was able to dine outside both times. I like how attentive the servers are. They offered me sunblock since it was so sunny out.
The food is filling but also refreshing. I ordered an omelet with goat cheese, spinach and tomatoes and it was delicious. The drinks here are good too but they didn’t have any specials when we came.

I don’t give out many 5s, but I’ll lob one this way. Very good food, large portions so you feel like your wallet is being show some love, and a swanky feel. Great Sunday Funday spot, especially if you’re a hipster, hipster-​wannabe, or hipster-​watcher.
LOTS of outside seating for nice days make it a solid stop through whether you’re breaking bread in large groups or just passing through.
Get yourself a skillet. Your tummy will thank you!
Peace and love,
Ev

Great brunch location! Dined here on a busy Sunday afternoon with a group of six people. We made a reservation which helped us get seated rather quickly. There was a pretty good sized patio that I would have loved to sit on but the earliest table we could get was inside.
This place has a very appetizing menu! I struggled to land on one dish but ultimately settled with the Austin Texas. The Austin was super good — eggs scrambled, jalapeño biscuits, bacon and chorizo gravy (not your typically gravy, more like a salsa). Rounded it out with pomegranate mimosas ($ 9 each).
Great place for brunch with friends (babies okay-​we saw TONS!)! Noise level is pretty high so probably not the best for a first date ;)

Came in for a friend’s birthday dinner on a Saturday night at 7:30 for a group of 9 people. My husband and I were the first ones there, and they offered us seating immediately which at most restaurants they require your whole party to arrive first. It was a fully packed night so make reservations. Definitely a great restaurant for fine dining, very romantic, and I feel like it’s a great place to start for a girls night out or if you’re just meeting with friends.
Impressed by the seasonal cocktail list, I couldn’t decide what to order. Our waitress was wonderful in being patient waiting for the whole party to arrive, happily introducing herself again as more people arrived. We were all happy with our cocktails and started off ordering a few appetizers for the table. We ordered truffle potatoes, mini beet salad, spreads, hummus to start off with. Not sure what’s available in the bar area, but I would definitely just come for appetizers and drinks.
We ordered a few of the farm pizzas for the table which is My most favorite dish on the menu. The kefta meatball is a large meatball that’s pretty dry but has all the Mediterranean flavors. Our waitress also named delicious sounding specials. Lamb Chops came in 4, not as meaty and a little tough, but they were good. I’ve come here before and ordered a sandwich but I wouldn’t recommend that.
I gave this restaurant 5 stars even though I don’t love everything on the menu, it always seems like a town’s favorite, great service, and the perfect place for a menu featuring gluten free, and a variety of items, and veggie friendly. Delicious dessert menu and had a taste of some. WIll definitely return, possibly for brunch or a drink at the bar.

Really delicious brunch without the long wait, and they take reservations! Hallelujah! This is two blocks from where I live, so at least I know I will not have to starve waiting in line at Bongo Room.
Coffee, for me, determines 55% of how much I will enjoy the brunch experience. The coffee here is pretty delicious, I believe it’s a brand from out-​of-​state, which is ironic because their suburb location carries the Caffe Streets (in Wicker Park) brand. One recommendation would be to carry some raw sugar. For having such high quality ingredients in the cuisine, I would think that is a must for the coffee
The eats — everything is really fresh — local, sustainable, farm to table ingredients. The veggie skillet is my favorite, it doesn’t come with toast or anything, which is a-​okay with me, but the vegetables are crisp, freshly cooked, unlike most restaurants where you can tell they’ve overcooked or re-​warmed the veggies multiple times because it gets to that standard soggy level…
The feel — Prasino means «Green» in Greek, and that is obvious from the moment you walk in. I love coming here in winter because two entire walls are plastered with floor to ceiling windows, so it’s super bright! Summer in winter? They have a «green» design, which means higher efficiency equipment/​lighting/​fans, which I definitely support.
I will definitely be back here at least 15 more times before I move out of the neighborhood =)

I’ve been in four times so far: three times for brunch and once for dinner. Each time was generally a good experience. I can’t wait to check out the outdoor patio once this horrible winter passes.
For brunch, I loved their house bloody marys — they have a perfect amount of heat to them. I have ordered the short rib skillet and the eggs benedict which I have really liked. For the eggs benedict, he hollandaise sauce was excellent and nicely balanced. The english muffin was toasted just enough to withstand the sauce without being overdone. My only gripe is that one of my poached eggs was slightly overcooked. The short rib skillet was amazing as well — the meat was so tender and fully of flavor.
The not so good part. The one time we came with friends after we recommended the place. I had ordered the lobster omelet and one of our friends ordered the same. It tasted a little weird and fishy. I sent it back which I rarely ever do. The other guy did too. It made brunch awkward and is our last brunch impression. However, that being said, the manager really took care of things and came to check on us multiple times afterwards. He handled it very well.
We gave this place a whirl for dinner with a gilt city deal. I ordered the scallops with came with spinach. The spinach was nicely dressed and the scallops were cooked perfectly. The dish came with some bacon jam which was a nice complement to the dish. My husband ordered the short ribs after I had raved about the brunch dish. He was pleased and I have to admit I had some food envy. They were just falling apart juicy. We split a side of the potatoes with the aioli and cotija cheese. The portions are pretty big but we didn’t leave feeling stuffed. However, without the deal, it would have been a little more expensive than I would have expected.
Service was been good. However, they are sometimes a bit slow in bringing things out to the table. For instance, it took almost fifteen minutes for us to get our drink at dinner last week on a weeknight when it was not busy.
Note: They have a lot of gluten free items for both brunch and dinner.

Great food, amazing drinks I’ve never even heard/​thought of before, upscale atmosphere, reasonable pricing and accomodating staff. That’s 5 star if you ask me! My girlfriend also created a Unilocal review but it wasn’t posted for some reason. Here’s what that one said:
We had a chance to stop in this past weekend and it was great! We were so impressed with the entire experience that about halfway through our dinner we began to take notes and this is what we came up with:
Reggie– the front door guy. This guy was absolutely fabulous from head to toe. Subtly kind and forthright in his mission. Vital asset to this restaurant. He had an appearance of utmost confidence and style. Had we opened our own restaurant we would pay him double to work for us.
Dimitri– attentive to detail, comes off quiet but very confident when it comes to recommendations. Certainly knew what to suggest as everything was fantastic and served with a genuine smile.
Lucas — while he was not our server we could clearly see that he was incredibly posed, genuine and sincerely dedicatedly to his craft. His actions alone were proof of this.
Denai– although we only briefly met, she was sincerely kind and absolutely genuine. She seemed to only care about us and that our experience was grand. Well done.
Todd– we had sent a drink back that wasn’t initially what we thought it would be. Todd sat down at our table then personally delivered a «customized» drink made up entirely on the spot according to what I liked, and it was amazing. It was like nothing I had ever tasted before. This is service at its absolute finest! We will definitely be coming back!

I really liked it here! The décor was cute. Trendy without trying too hard. Loved the outside patio. If you are coming here– absolutely sit outside.
Started with the lobster avocado. Outstanding. Then got the beet salad. It was good. Can’t go wrong with a beet salad. Then we got polar bear roll. All of their rolls were 10 dollars that evening. Lastly, we got the short ribs. Our waiter really hyped these up and I thought they were good, but nothing crazy.
I would definitely come here again. Great service. Nice ambiance and a big menu!

I had a chance to visit Prasino during my visit to Chicago!
Loved it! I loved everything from the food to the décor to the service!
I ordered the Paris Egg Benedict which was divine! So savory and just plain good! Definitely give it a try!
My friends love their Fish and Short Rib Tacos!
I can’t wait to visit them again on my next trip to Chicago!!! Nom nom ^^