Inovasi is a good restaurant in lake bluff. They change their menu often and it has good atmosphere. The food is ok but the atmosphere is great. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a good night out. read more

Excellent food Vegan options Great indoor and Al fresco dining experience We love it and always return! read more

This is now my husband and I's favorite place to eat. The food is so fresh and different plus there's lots of gluten-free menu items available that are absolutely delicious. We've always had great service and the restaurant is beautiful. Great desserts too. read more

Terrific service as always, great food every time. Their home made pasta is the best! One of our favorite places to dine out.

Inovasi has been one of our special occasion places for years, and we've had some great meals and great service there. So, on our anniversary two weeks ago (during plague time), we decided to do a curbside pickup of their special dinner for four(this is, more accurately, a full dinner for two and two kid's entrees. In this case "kids entree" means "lunch next day for the adults-in-seclusion." At a hundred bucks plus tax and tip (be generous, please!) it was a delicious bargain. The food, whether you eat there (some time in the not too distant future, I hope) or pick up, is excellent and innovative. Health precautions are fully in place, and YOU DESERVE A TREAT. Support this local business and be good to yourself. read more

New menu for fall. Our excellent server Lucia described dishes beautifully and we order the crazy cod and shrimp and grits. It was delicious! Loved eating outside. read more

Delicious food, great service. Love the patio with the beautiful lights. Awesome experience.

Inovasi never disappoints. Had a wonderful evening with friends. Food, atmosphere and service (thank you Lucia) was excellent.

From entering to our exit, this is one of our most enjoyable dining experiences! From the wait staff, and everyone in between, outstanding! Chef and Staff, they care about food prep, plating and serving. I didn't ask but I am sure wait staff taste every dish the chef prepares so they know how to describe it. Will be coming back, kind of regularly. read more

My friend and I had a delicious dinner at Inovasi tonight. The service was exceptional and all the suggestions Mario made were perfect. Thank you for a wonderful dinner out! Mario was the best waiter!! read more

Some of the best food I've ever had. Got the beets and tomato salad, Chitarra Bene pasta and the jurielewicz duck confit lasagna. We split all dishes. Absolutely amazing. A wonderful wine and drink selection with a good seating atmosphere. My only complaint for the place bringing me down a star was that we had a new employee, he himself had a great attitude and tried to make the customers happy. It was only his second day working there so it was clear he didn't know a lot on the specifics of wine pairings with their menu and some other things we could just simply learn on our own, which is ok but when he asked his more experienced coworkers our questions they seemed extremely annoyed by him. They just gave a dirty look and would walk away right in front of us. Other than that, superb dining experience. read more

Very disagreeable employees. Especially the manager. Food very pricey. Drinks good. I wouldn't go back.

Lake Bluff is filled with small businesses and nothing short of great food. However, Inovasi for sure takes the award for best customer service and menu options. Whether you're feeling like eating a fresh sushi roll or maybe dining on some homemade pasta, Inovasi has you covered. Their dessert is filled with rich flavors that make your pants fight a little tighter after every bite. To keep it short and sweet, Inovasi is very much worth it. read more

Inovasi - New American Near Me - Lake Bluff, Illinois

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Just finished an amazing dinner - I loved the cod! Our server was Lucia and she was fabulous.

Generally speaking this is a top notch restaurant. Went with several friends again on 5/20/23. Several entrees were ordered and all were given thumbs up. I had a chowder soup appetizer that was as good if not better than anything you could get in Boston where I used to live. However my entree of braised meat and gnocchi was underwhelming. Gnocchi are small and dried out. Braised meat was tender but doesn't pair well with the gnocchi. This dish needs to be "refreshed". read more

Dined here last Saturday night and was impressed! My wife and I had a date night and was looking for a place in the suburbs. We had this place on our radar for a while but never pulled the trigger until now. Ended up ordering the chicken liver pate, fried oysters, pork belly, pierogi, and the burger. We shared all of the courses. Everything was a hit but the pierogi which was more in the ok category. Service was attentive and knowledgeable about the dishes. Pacing of the courses was good and the courses were split up in a logical fashion. Overall really happy with our decision and will be back! read more

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Fantastic meal that was delicious- they take reservations for outdoors which is key for our family with a toddler as she is not fully vaccinated yet. The bread, the bruschetta and their version of a Negroni were the standouts. Will be back. read more

Given the restaurant's name, they should be judged on how innovative they are. First time in, I'd say they innovate impressively. Local ingredients populate their interesting menu. Portions can be small or large. The smaller ones allow for more exploring. Had the crispy tempura cod--it's as advertised and very good! Before that, the server explained that my partner's steak would take some time, suggesting an appetizer. I went with the liver pate which was perfect--served with pumpkin seeds, a simple creative idea that worked wonderfully. The craft cocktails are notable and interesting. Our server was semi-innovative. Nic. He fit the bill of a traditionally great, attentive server. And he was very Innovasi--attentive, attention to detail and our needs while avoiding the server helicopter hover approach. I'm not a fan of the décor. Grays and sparse. A small note, not anything major. I might think about innovation for the décor in another direction, but I'm sure others would say they love it. There's another attached restaurant. The Other Door (Taqueria). One successful adventure suggests another. read more

I can honestly say I've never been to a restaurant that charges their customers for bread. LOL!!! Hamburgers start as sixteen dollars. They are good, but they are hamburgers. The charcuterie board was slim pickins and came with TOAST! We sat around talking about 20-30 minutes after finishing our coffee and dessert, and our waiter came over and booted us out. Told us our time was up, and that we had had enough time. Also never had THAT happen before at any other restaurant. And yes, we did leave a very good tip. People say they like the atmosphere outside, but the night we were there, cars were pulling in and out and the smell of exhaust did not compliment the meal. read more

We needed a place to celebrate Valentine's Day and Inovasi easily fit our criteria of having a reservation available, being local, and coming highly recommended from colleagues and friends. We opted for the tasting menu, of course. The menu changes regularly so my telling you what we ate won't be helpful. I will tell you our server, Leo, was fantastic at explaining our options and was easy to work with regarding a food allergy. We loved the three small plates we chose -- grilled shrimp, a pesto and ham flatbread, and the cheese course. The ones chosen for us weren't as solid -- housemade sausage and a salted cod and potato brandade -- but they weren't offensive by any means. Our large plates were the Straight from the Sea, a spontaneously prepared rare seafood catch (on this night it was sepia), and a peppercorn steak and potato. The steak was, by far, the best thing we ate during our dinner. Served with a modern revision of scalloped potatoes, it was prepared perfectly. The sepia, which was described as being much like calamari, was prepared well... We just didn't love it. And now I have to get nit picky. This will likely seem petty because the issue wasn't with our server directly, but ended up impacting us -- One of the servers was waiting on her partner, their child, and a friend. This sounds innocuous, but she (and other staff) were spending ridiculous amounts of time at the table talking about wine, workouts, etc. Not only was this distracting for others in the dining room (they weren't quiet at all), but it meant other serving staff was compensating for her personal time and detracting from their own tables. I understand working a holiday and the inconvenience, but this went to levels that were unreasonable. What I would imagine to be one of the top three busiest nights of the year for a restaurant is not the night to entertain your family at a table, particularly when it detracts from service of other customers. Play with your kid at home. We'll be back for sure, and we'll definitely be requesting Leo as our server again. read more

We were excited to try Inovasi last night after attending my daughter's white-coat ceremony at nearby Rosalind Franklin medical school. We really liked the atmosphere and we were seated right away(we did have a reservation) The atmosphere was very nice and cozy and I felt like I was in someone's nice house. We really liked our waiter initially. He was super friendly and told us about the wine specials. (They are selling wine bottles from their cellar at half price to make room for the new wines) After ordering, we waited a pretty long time to receive our appetizers and the waiter never really came to check in on us. We eventually got a rainbow roll and salmon and salmon roll, but we never got the soy sauce until after we were done eating it. Our waiter was apologetic that the sushi took so long and he did give us a free order of bread and butter that was delicious. It was a nice whole grain crusty bread and the butter was soft and easy to spread. We then got our dinners and my husband ordered the corn soup and Sea Bass which he liked a lot. My mother in law and I shared the medium plates of duck and 48 hour brisket. I especially liked the duck and it was plated nicely. They did charge $3 to share the two plates between us, but did advise us beforehand and gave us the choice. Sharing the two plates provided us with plenty of food. My daughter and her boyfriend each got a Poke bowl which they both enjoyed. It took an extended period of time again to get the waiter to come back for our dessert order. Dessert was a vanilla combination dessert with a spongey little cake and another little cake with custard, which was delicious. It was made on site just for that day so it wasn't on the menu. We also had the banana bread pudding which was really good. I thought the dessert portion sizes were on the smaller side. The waiter did inform us that all their desserts are made there and made with rice flour, allowing them all to be gluten free. (There were many gluten free options on this menu). Overall, we really liked the food and the restaurant atmosphere. We were frustrated with the delayed service and having no soy sauce for the sushi. I would definitely come back here again as the food was great, but the attentiveness of the wait staff was aggravating. read more

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Hands down one of the best tasting menus I've had. Would do this again. I might even call it my second favorite restaurant. Napa rose #1 and Commis #3 (because of Commis' price, they are very pricy) but this place is awesome!! Will do again and again and again when I'm in town, plus their menu changes daily!! Super cool! I was excited to see what was coming next! They don't tell you ahead of time. So much awesome food! Loved everything read more

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we had a fabulous dinner this evening! service was delightful, and the atmosphere was so elegant! the apple miles fuilles was just incredible! this will be a regular for us! read more

Just enjoyed a perfect evening and dinner on the patio! The GF CHOICES ARE AMAZING! Very hard to find. The wine paired perfectly with the gourmet cheese board. The service was excellent as well. The GF calamari was a 5 star hit with my friend! Well done and thank you. See you again soon PS your hand hewn bread is the best I have ever had .... in this country! read more

We come here pretty frequently. Inovasi is a Lake Bluff staple! This place pivoted during the Pandemic and offered great food for curbside and takeout. The community gathered together and supported their local businesses. The food here is always great and the quality of their ingredients is top notch. If you are in the area definitely check this place out. You can't go wrong hopping around other local places in downtown Lake Bluff. read more

Ironically I had never eaten here until recently. And I grew up in LB! Their wine list is fantastic and their dessert options are even better. For my entré I got the NY strip. It's the perfect portion if you get full quickly. Next time I go there, I'm giving the duck a try. :) Prices are very reasonable considering how tasty the food is. Music can be a little loud but at least it's not bad music. read more

Inovasi is a community staple! They have delicious food, a great corner store, and a great atmosphere. They also own The Otherdoor, and Bonk, which are also good places to check out. The food at Inovasi is really good quality, and is prepared in a lovely way. The servers are always pleasant, and it is very nice sitting out on the sidewalk in the charming town. Definitely try this place out! read more

The food here was so good I was honestly surprised. We ordered the Tomato Soup with the fresh bread and both were great. My entree was the ham and swiss sandwich which was amazing. All of the food was very flavorful but if I could change one thing it would be the atmosphere and the service. Our waiter and busboy were kind of out of it and a bit unhygienic. I didn't like how small the restaurant was and how you could hear everything from every table especially considering it wasn't crowded so people were talking quietly. The decor was also lacking. I think if they stepped up the decor game to match the quality of the food this place would be popping. Overall I will be returning but maybe for a takeout order instead of sit down. read more

Eaten here a handful of times even when they first opened. Big fan of Jon chef and owner for his mission and ability to think outside the box and use of local ingredients. There was a ramesco sauce a while back on the menu that I still think of to this day, calamari is also first class. If it wasn't for this the rating would be less. We were pleasantly greeted and sat outside on a nice summer night with cool breeze. Ordered martini and white wine spritzer. Spritzer came as just a white wine, no biggie sent it back stuff happens. Waitress gave a few recommendations for the sushi which is new and sounded great. Also ordered mushroom kale, peanuts, feta salad. Salad was gold great balance of spice, bitter greens, peanuts and feta. Wish there was more dressing. Sushi we ordered smoked salmon philly and shrimp/sea bass. They only brought one pair of chopsticks and no soy sauce. I asked for soy they brought one dish of soy sauce. Two of us were eating sushi so this was awkward. Salmon was cooked not raw or cold smoked. Didn't have enough smoke to it and the texture was off a bit for me. The rice is different I believe it's gluten free but for me the rice is pretty important for sushi this missed the boat for me. We finished I paid the waitress told her "were all set" as we were walking out she chased me down and asked "how I was going to pay?" I replied "for what?" She said "dinner." I replied "I already paid". She said "ok I'll figure it out". It was a little embarrassing for me. Dining details, and sushi were below par. Anyway I will give this place another shot just not the sushi. Missed on small details but I think this was just getting the staff on board. That said I'm long on side door the solid no bs Mexican restaurant attached to inovasi. Here is my only constructive criticism every time I've gone in there a long line, and something is left off my burrito that I requested. Myself like most millennials like convenience and not to talk to people. Have an online order/pay and pickup counter. While your quality is way better than chipotle the process lacks and I think this could be a way to easily increase sales. Hope this feedback helps. read more

We had the tasting menu for 2. Loved a lot of the food, plenty to take home, and the restaurant is beautiful inside. Our server, I wish I remembered his name, went above and beyond explaining the foods we received and the standards the restaurant has for sourcing their ingredients. Super nice and helpful. The poké bowl was REALLY good, as was the calamari, the brisket, and the burrata. A lot of other good dishes too. The only complaint I had would be that some patrons around were extremely loud, and some of the restrooms stalls weren't properly stocked. read more

This place is perfect for those who love a fresh meal with quality ingredients! John puts an enormous amount of thought and time into every single meal and it shows. My favorite for takeout is the Mahi Mahi (or sword fish if they're out) with the ginger sesame vinaigrette. I get the sauce on the side to put on the fish myself because it's hard to manage all the sauce when its thrown in the takeout box with all the vegetables together. The parsnips & broccolini are the perfect addition and a very good portion size! My mom got the butternut squash soup and said it was the best she'd ever had. read more

a fav in town!! food is consistently delicious and quality, coming in w a party of 2 we have always been able to be seated quickly. menu changes often too so you get to try something new when you come in :) strongly recommend for a nice dinner! read more

Dinner for five. We got reservations without any issues. We ordered the General Tso Chicken. Not too spicy with awesome sauce. Also ordered tempura duck eggs. It's 2 large eggs along with bacon. My daughter said it was kinda sweet and she enjoyed it. We also ordered the Cod, which was fried, juicy white meat seasoned really well. We ordered the calliflour and a beet salad and carrot/pea soup. The food is made from locally sourced ingredients. It tastes amazingly fresh and is just wonderful. I can't wait to come back. Oh, oh, oh, oh....we had the cheesecake for dessert. I wanted to lick the plate. read more

Inovasi - New American Near Me - Lake Bluff, Illinois

I stopped at this hidden gem for a beer in this little town called Lake Bluff.. Wow, food was so good.. I ordered the duck eggs, it was deep fried, with a slice of bacon and salad.. The new thing about it for me was it had maple syrup.. At first I was like "this is not going to taste well together.", well I was wrong.. It was awesome.. Great service and atmosphere, it was great weather out, so I sat outside.. I had serval craft beers.. and The waitress I had basically selected them for me.. Let's just say she knows her beers. The restaurant is a hidden gem and only locals from the town would even know about it.. A must try if your in the area.. read more

Inovasi - Duck eggs.. So good! - New American Near Me - Lake Bluff, Illinois

Dear John & Inovasi, Other Door and Bonk, We thank you for your interest in participating in our Kiwanis PRO/AM (professional and amateur) cook book! We have already received numerous recipes from local restaurants so don't miss out on the opportunity to get your restaurant highlighted to the community!!! Remember, we do not want your restaurant's secret recipes! We would prefer a recipe that perhaps your family enjoys or one that inspired you to be chef/own a restaurant. Help us help the local children as all proceed will be donated to youth community needs. Thank you! Dana Hansen, dhansen@lakebluffparkdistrict.org read more

Well worth a trip out to the northern suburbs, or if you are in the suburbs, a great place to spend an afternoon in the outdoor seating, or a fancy dinner in the evening. Innovative, sophisticated gourmet take on Modern American cuisine. Fresh, locally-sourced ingredients are of highest quality. A small, but exquisite menu; voyage of fabulous taste combinations, aromas and flavors. An intimate, sophisticated setting, yet relaxed and laid-back. A short walking distance from the Lake Bluff METRA station, so we didn't need to drive. The whole experience teleported us to the calm, secluded, idyllic life of this beautiful tiny village. A true gem! read more

Wow! Such a great find! Ana our server was AMAZING! She gave us great suggestions about what was good! LOVED the ceviche and the sashimi snapper! The Texas brisket was reminiscent of our days In Austin. Ana's expert guidance also led us to most delicious margaritas and Campfire bourbon. We'll be back. Kudos to Ana and the chefs! read more

Was in town for the block party and I saw Be Market getting a ton of business so I decided to go to Inovasi to get a drink - this is not unheard of as I've done this before on other occasions for outdoor events in town. I gave the bartender a friendly smile and about a minute later he snapped back and me and said "I'm not making drinks to go!" I don't mind if this is thrnrestaurant's policy but the way the bartender snapped and approached the situation was very rude and uncalled for and now I understand why the restaurant was completely empty. read more

The service was great, the manager was constantly making rounds and connecting with folks and my water was always full. If you come here make it for drinks and NOT food, because they offer very generous wine pours and the food is subpar at best. Read on for why... We came for dinner, started with avocado bruschetta (alright, a little twing in the avocado which was cool) and got the "out of the sea" special for the day which had some kind of rough chop olive tomato sauce, a generous serving of fish and Hen of the woods mushrooms. We were very excited, but this dish was a fail. Personally, I thought the sauce was disgusting, maybe attribute that to olives being an acquired taste, but it is a questionable choice for a menu special to use such a strong flavor for the base of a dish. The hen of the woods were also butchered, they were dried out and tinged from a non complimentary spice rub, and they were also cold. read more

Fine lunch place, and seems to be a popular place for people working on corporate campuses nearby. The decor is simple but elegant. Got taken here on a team lunch. Service was pretty prompt, which was to be expected given we were the only party here when we first arrived. We started with the burrata appetizer, which was really good, but more toast would have been appreciated. I got the salmon plate with cauliflower "risotto." Gotta say this dish was perfectly executed. The salmon was well cooked with a nice char on the skin. And the cauliflower was really tasty despite being , well, cauliflower. I did, however, find the portion of the salmon to be in the smaller side. And maybe I just got the short end of the stick; my colleagues who ordered the salmon salad seemed to have considerably bigger pieces. read more