Adina’s Restaurant

We went here for the 1^st time last week and had a great time. They are currently under new ownership and changing their menu. However if they keep the same staff and some of the food on the menu we’ll def be back! The food was outstanding, with large portions and very tasty.
If your looking for someone new to try, I’d highly recommend.

Come here on Friday night for the fish fry. For $ 10 you get 3 huge pieces of perfectly breaded and fried fish, a side of homemade chips and coleslaw.

Service was great, as others have mentioned. I was asked by 3 or 4 people how the food was, how the service was.
Had the skirt steak, I can say that that’s the best skirt steak I’ve had. Very flavorful, not charred at all, ordered it medium, received it medium. Portion size of steak, mashed potatoes, veggies were all decent, and soup was a bowl, not cup.
Fresh bread that came with food was hot, which is great, and butter was soft, not hard (not easy when it’s low 20’s outside in winter here.
I hear it’s loud on some days, but for a Thursday evening, it wasn’t packed, only half filled or so, and it was great.
Had the Shrimp appetizer (sorry, I’m not even going to try spelling it). It was good, too buttery for my taste, but I know my wife would have loved it.
Topped it all off with the brownie dessert. Good, but cold ice cream on top wasn’t my thing. I should have asked for it on the side. But that’s not the restaurant’s fault, that’s just me being picky with my desserts.
Price for all this plus a diet coke? Ridiculously low. Less than 40 bucks after tax and tip, and that’s for appetizer, steak entrée, dessert, and soda.

Food was good. Really bad service. We placed our order through the hostess.

wine was excellent; food was average; the service was good

First off I will start by saying I live in Vernon hills but am not originally form here so I am always trying to find great places to eat at and based on the reviews I had to try Adina’s. I really wanted to like this place, I was hoping this could be me and my husband’s new favorite spot, and based on everyone’s reviews we were thinking it was going to blow us away, but unfortunately, that did not happen.
There was definitely more than one thing wrong with this dinner, to start, we went there at 7:30pm on a Saturday, they seemed somewhat busy but not crazy yet. We walked in and they seemed very frazzled as to where to seat us. They kinda pointed at a table and said how about this? It was fine, it was sort of weird because the table had no chairs and my husband had to move the chairs from another table over… ok that was slightly off.
The server we had was very friendly so that is a definite plus I will give, we received the dinner specials, one being prime rib — that is what my husband ordered, I ordered the greek skirt steak.
A couple minutes later the server came back and said they were out of prime rib but she could switch another dinner for the same price and she suggested rack of lamb, my husband was ok with it and ordered the rack of lamb instead. We were very stunned that they had ran out of prime rib at 7:30 on a Saturday, considering its one of their specials!
We also ordered saganaki as an appetizer, which was good. but they didn’t bring anything to eat it with, we asked for some bread and they brought dinner rolls that were not fresh nor warm. My husband got loaded baked potato soup which was amazing (definitely the best thing we ate all night) and I had a salad that was just umm… a salad I guess, nothing exciting.
When our dinners came, my skirt steak was good, cooked perfectly, and you could taste the flavor they marinated it in. However my husbands rack of lamb was not so good… it was very rare and it had a strange taste to it. I tried it and didn’t like it, which is very unlike me as i love lamb usually. I flagged the waitress and told her i don’t think my husband likes his lamb and my husband being the guy he is, hates to cause a stir and doesn’t ever want to hurt anyone’s feelings just told them to cook it a little more so they took it back no problem. When they brought it back it was cooked to medium so we were hoping that weird funky taste would go away and unfortunately it was still there. We didn’t say anything about it again to the server. We did hear another table complaining about the same thing, it just had a weird gamey taste to it. It did not taste good! Almost rancid tasting…
Considering my husband hated his meal and was probably still hungry we decided to order desert. We saw a table next to us order a huge piece of cheese cake so we decided to do the same and split it. Well when ours came out it was literally half the size of the piece at the other table and i started to think maybe this was the last piece and they had to cut it in half? I don’t know, but that is all we needed at the end, no redemption for adina’s. Our bill came to 65 (my husband had a beer and a cocktail.) We literally left angry that we had spent that much for crappy food, and we were praying that we wouldn’t be sick from eating the funky lamb (we did not end up getting sick thankfully.)
Bottom line, over priced for mediocre food and I definitely have no confidence in their quality control, on a positive note, they had nice servers and the live music was really good
However, we will not be back…

Awesomely friendly service. Me and my room mate were hunting a good place to have some memorial day BBQ food. Accidentally found this place as they were grilling for regulars and family. They invited us for free food and we just had to pay for drinks (which we gladly accepted). The food was good too. I’ve been heading there frequently now.

Hands down, the best thing here is the service. Our waitress and busboy were attentive, friendly, fast, and efficient.
My experience here was less than fantastic for a few reasons. First off, we were seated 3 feet from the bar. It’s a small place, so it wouldn’t have done much to move, but there was a point where my ears were literally ringing from the the yelling of those sitting in the bar area. I could not hear across my own table. I’ve never been in a restaurant where people were this loud.
The food is a bit tough for me to judge. I don’t like salad, and I’m a vegetarian. We arrived for dinner. I’m pretty sure there were no vegetarian appetizers, and 3 (apparent) vegetarian dishes (excluding salad.) These were stir fry, fettucini alfredo, and pasta with marinara. (Both the alfredo and marinara sauces may or may not be vegetarian, I didn’t ask what the base was. I’m operating under the assumption that they are.) I wasn’t thrilled about the limited options, but I decided on the stir fry since the waitress verified that it was vegetarian.
The presentation of my meal was wonderful, but the taste was mediocre at best. It was very salty. I did not enjoy it, nor did the others at my table. The others at my table enjoyed their orders of ribs. The pricing was about right for the meal.
This last bit is slightly petty of me, but the décor is very outdated. I felt like I walked into 1994. The color in was a very strange, overwhelming green. (Think silly putty)
Taking everything into account, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. We won’t be back.
This is not the place to take a vegetarian for a quiet meal.

This place is bizarre! The atmosphere made me want to leave right away. But the guy doing the live music was pretty good so we decided to stay.
Food was very mediocre.
I ordered a shrimp and pasta dish. While the shrimps were truly fresh and delicious they served it with over cooked pasta… yuk.
They claim to serve the freshest local produce, but my salad was mostly iceberg lettuce. Normally, I am accepting of iceberg salads, but what bothered me was I found 3 pieces of romain in it, like they are trying to pass it off as something more! Yet, the dressing was SO good. Service was good, but waitress brought our food out while we were still working on our salads.
It also says a lot about a restaurant when they put mozzarella cheese on French onion soup.
This place is not terrible, but I don’t think I will return.

This was just a very enjoyable experience. Frankly, I couldn’t decide between 4 and 5 stars – it was not perfect, but pretty close.
The décor is casual, simple, uncluttered. Service is excellent – understated, but always there, with the chef personally checking on your meal. Nice.
The food was outstanding. My wife is watching her diet, so she ordered grilled tilapia, with 2 sides of vegetables that they put together for her. She loved every bite – perfectly done.
On the other hand, I had saganoki as a start (recommend it-​excellent), and the fish fry. I search for good fish fry’s (love it), and this was as good as I have found… for $ 10! Only thing I did not care for (reason for 4 stars or 5?) was the slaw, which was very creamy. I prefer much less «sauce», but that is a personal preference and others may find this version to be perfect for them. The fish was well prepared, flaky, crispy, not heavy. Salads with dinner were simple and very fresh.
Very good value for the money. Extremely friendly and customer focused. You feel everyone there wants you to enjoy your time with them. Just a very, very good place for dinner.

This place is quite a find. We will definitely be back. When was the last time that the chef/​co-​owner came out of the kitchen to welcome you and make sure you knew he’ll do his best for your evening.
I wanted to try something different for dinner. Saturday night before my birthday, with both of my children at home called for something new.
I wanted a place where I could get fish and everyone else could get their preferred dish. Using Unilocal I searched in the area and found Adina’s.
Service was five stars. Everyone was very nice, attentive, not suffocating. You can tell they all genuinely care for servicing you. Even the bus boy. It was really refreshing.
The food was five star with one miss, which is why I made this four star.
My family started with filet shish kebab appetizers. I had the Saganaki. Everything was great. The kebabs came over some greens that were fantastic too. FRESH. Gordon Ramsey would have been proud. Not wilted. I mean truly fresh. It sounds like a little thing, but it actually set the stage for the rest of the meal.
My daughter then had French Onion Soup. My son had minestrone. My wife and I had house salads. Again FRESH and the greens weren’t just chopped lettuce.
My daughter’s French onion soup was served with a great presentation and it was just awesome.
For dinner, I had the Floridan White Fish on special. I preferred it with Asparagus instead of rice. It was done perfectly, with great favors. So many times when I substitute a side, the side ‘looks’ like a substitution. The presentation of this dish was five stars. I have to be honest, it was worth sharing how great this was.
My daughter had a pasta special. She said it was perfect. She normally says «it’s ok». This was ‘really good’ in her words. A compliment. :)
My son had the skirt steak. Huge portion and done perfectly.
My wife had the Prime Rib. It was tender, but a drop dry. She didn’t want to say anything. She ordered an end-​cut, medium. That might have been why it was a drop dry. It was tender. Next time I’d definitely order without asking for an end-​cut.
Deserts were perfect as well.
Ambiance is five stars. They have an outdoor patio and a clean, warm and welcoming restaurant indoor. It never got so loud that you couldn’t have a conversation.
I’d recommend the place for family, dates and a nice night out.
Prices are reasonable for the neighborhood.
The only non-​home-​run, were the wines. I enjoy big-​reds. The Meritage and Cabernet were ok, but nothing I’d reorder (I’m very picky about my wine). They are choosing wines that are extremely affordable, and most people wouldn’t question, but I wish they had a reserve list or allowed us to bring in our own bottle. Like I said, I am a picky wine snob.
Sum it up. Try this place. It is wonderful and my family and I will be back.
P. s. be sure to ask how they got their name Adina. It’s a great story.

Excellent food and waitstaff. My wife had the Fish fry which was flaky and the fried potato chips are perfectly done. Also had the chicken vesuvio which was very good. Drinks are strong which I like. The owner even hand made the bread pudding, you never see that. All in all, great food, great drinks and great service.

I PITY THE FOOL… Who does not try this hidden gem. My usual spot of Dover Straits is still old but awesome, however I had to try this based on recommendations from Unilocal and two people I work with who said you have to go here. So we did. IT WAS AWESOME DUDE! Quiet. Had some wine with two appetizers of Shrimp Dejonghe and Saganaki. Both were killer. the Saganaki was perfect and NOT very salty at all like most other restaurants. The Dejonghe was perfect. it was not that bathed in butter type dish, but instead a very light sauce with awesome real garlic. I used it to dip my bread in and Oh My! I even dipped the Saganaki in it and OMG! I was an awesome Dejongheanaki! It should be served with the Saganaki to dip in. It is that good. My birthday girl ordered Grecian Skirt Steak and I had the the chef make me my own type of dish by substituting Greek Boca Vesevo using my favorite fish Salmon and he designed on his own an immediate dish of Salmon Vesevo. Holy Buckets Batman my girl even fell in love with it more then the steak. The chef I believe was Adrian or Dina who own the place and they had no idea how it would come out. It should be a menu item also. For dessert we had a chocolate brownie sundae in an ice cream glass with an unbelievable moist brownie at the bottom then covered with chocolate, then vanilla ice cream, then more chocolate… Oh lordy if I got to go make it now. This could be a last supper. Service is Italian style. slow, but extremely polite and friendly. On top of all that the real killer is that this $ 100 dinner at most restaurants was freeking more then 35% cheaper! The whole shabang? Don’t tell me your ready…$ 62.00 and change! I truly PITY THE FOOL! O outdoor seating is usually where the smokers are.

We wanted to try something new (for us) this evening and Taylor’s review tempted us to try Adina’s too. We’re so glad we did. The décor is clean and inviting, bright enough but still cozy. We were greeted by the owner who was very personable and our waitress was very good as well. We tried the chef’s special pasta, the cod, and the salmon special. All three were excellent; very fresh, perfectly seasoned, properly sized, and made from the finest ingredients. The food is impeccable. Our bill came to ~$ 17 per person including drinks and taxes which is an exceptionally good value for food of this quality. If I was forced at gunpoint to offer a criticism I would mention that Adina’s does not have the high-​end beer selection to match their food. Heini, Leini, and Stella are tops on their list. I would love to enjoy a La Fin Du Monde with my next chef’s special shrimp :-) Adina’s is now on our short list of North Shore favorites.

I couldn’t believe that no one had Unilocaled Adina’s yet… when I tried to check in, there was not even a listing. This is super surprising considering it has been open for about 20 years (it used to be owned by the dad and called Angelo’s).
This restaurant is about 2 minutes from my friend’s house and we kept driving past it agreeing that we should check it out. Well last Saturday, we went on a double date with Laura N. and her husband here before going to see a band at Viper Alley. We chose Adina’s because we were looking for a place that we could all agree on and Adina’s seemed to have a very eclectic menu and offered a variety of entrees at reasonable prices.
The inside of Adina’s is super cute and cozy! They even had live music in the bar area. The dining area is fairly small and intimate. I love small family owned places like Adina’s… I would much rather dine here than some chain!
The food was all fantastic. They give you soup or salad with your entrée and we split a saganoki appetizer. My boyfriend and I could not decide on just one entrée so we agreed on two of the specials and split them. We had the Salmon de johnge and the chef’s special pasta which was a creamy Cajun sauce with shrimp… so yummy and super filling.
We left with full bellies that night! We will definitely return for a date night in the near future!