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J. Alexander's Restaurant

3.5 (415 reviews)
Open • 11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Order J. Alexander's Restaurant Takeout or Delivery

J. Alexander's Restaurant Photos

J. ALEXANDER'S RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Loud
Good for kids
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - J. Alexander's Restaurant

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Carrot cake was fantastic
Pat C.

I brought my brother to this J Alexander's on a Tuesday night. The place was packed! We barely found a parking space in the huge parking lot. My brother is a vegan and I wanted him to try the veggie burger. Surprisingly, we were seated right away in a nice corner booth. Olivia was our server and it was only her second day at J Alex. She did a wonderful job considering the huge dinner rush. My brother ordered the veggie burger without cheese or mayo. The glaze on top of the burger looked amazing and the lettuce and tomato on the top bun were incredibly fresh. The lettuce was so crisp. He loved the whole meal! It was one of the best burgers ever. My Ahi Tuna Salad was a 10 out of 10. The tuna was perfectly seared and the salad was so fresh. It was delicious! My side of broccoli was amazing as well. We ordered the Four Vines Zinfandel. It was very fruit forward. We liked it. We also had the amazing carrot cake. It was warm with a nice melted frosting. Our night at J Alexander's was excellent. The place is cozy, the food delicious and the service top notch.

Jim K.

After many visits, we wound up with a poor server ce from heather. She did not have a table that we requested, there was an open table that she said had to be utilized at 5, it was currently 3:20 pm. She had an attitude from the very beginning of our visit, and our reservation was for 6 people. We had to wait till at least to people left their table. Not impressed by her attitude or behavior.

Bronzino special
Nancy K.

Love this place. When you ask for extra blue cheese olives, they really deliver!!! Food and service are consistently excellent and the fish is outstanding. This is my boyfriend's favorite cheeseburger place ever.

Nick M.

What a wonderful start to the weekend by going to J's. We started off by sharing the redwood salad and it was excellent - the chicken in it was really good- you could order this as your meal and be satisfied. We also went with the crispy shrimp appetizer and this is filling as well so to the sauce - but it's so tasty I definitely say to try it out. For entree I had the French dip and it was cooked to perfection and the horseradish sauce is a must get with this - so good! We also had the full slab of ribs and these were cooked to perfection BUT we weren't a fan of the bbq sauce - it was too sweet. The fries here are really good and I would skip the coleslaw. Enjoy this one - it's worth a bite!

Baked goat cheese.
Nick R.

Solid experience here. A modern, stylish and sophisticated full service restaurant. Great ambiance delicious food and professional friendly service. Came here after Christmas shopping and ordered the baked goat cheese and the Hong Kong shrimp for appetizers. Both were absolutely delicious. Had the Hyde park chicken sandwich and that was very good as well. My friend had the chicken Milanese which I tried and it was delicious. I will be getting that next time. Only thing I didn't like was that they didn't have a single Christmas or holiday decoration up. We were looking for a vibe after Christmas shopping and they fell short on that. No effort to partake. Aside from that a lovely experience. Will be back.

Pictured here is a delicious Espresso-Tini
Bob C.

Wow Wow Wow What a great experience. Had dinner here with family and friends and I have to tell you the food , drink, atmosphere, service and price were fantastic A HUGE thanks to Shauna our server who was probably one of the best I've ever met. And I grew up in a family who worked in the restaurant business. Everyone working at this restaurant was smiling and upbeat. In this day and age that's not something you see often anymore. Kudos to manager Jamie for having her team looking and working so great Again , thanks to our amazing server Shauna you're incredible See you again real soon Bob Chicago

Appetizer
Shari C.

Nice ambience. Server was attentive. The grilled artichoke was delicious although not too meaty. I had a salmon burger and shoestring fries (which everyone gobbled up the fries!) . The salmon burger was large and tasty. My husband's ahi tuna salad was fair. Warm carrot cake was yummy.

Prime Rib 16 oz Special

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3 years ago

Had not been in awhile. Food and service were excellent. Had the 12oz. prime rib and it was delicious

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John R.

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3 years ago

Excellent service and great food!!! And the Long Island was how it was posed to be!!!

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John R.

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4 years ago

Fancy, dark, good for talking. Good food and service. Have been there many times over the years. Never disappointed.

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11 years ago

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5 years ago

All three members of our group enjoy salads at lunch today. While the service was just average, the food was very good.

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4 years ago

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Page 4 of 11

Ask the Community - J. Alexander's Restaurant

Any meal recommendations for someone who can't consume dairy?

Any vegan options?

Yes--def check out the salads.

It's going to be a hot night. Can my husband wear nice shorts and polo shirt?

Yes!

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Ruth's Chris Steak House

Ruth's Chris Steak House

3.9(420 reviews)
4.7 mi
•$$$

We were happy to be back at Ruth Chris Steak House to celebrate Valentine's Day. It is always busy…read moreand packed here on this day. Our wait was not bad with a reservation, it was within 10 minutes, and a hostess politely led us to our nice and spacious booth, that had more privacy but still in the main dining area. Our server, Richard, was very professional, attentive, and friendly. His timing was perfect for a busy night like this one, his service was top-notch, making this dinner so relaxed and satisfactory. We ordered two glasses of Benton Lane red wine, Crab Cakes, French Onion Soup, House Salad, Creamed Spinach, 6 oz, Filet with Shrimp, and Lamb Chops. Their steak and lamb chops are among the best in the Chicago Burbs, perfectly charred and slightly crispy on the outside, while tender on the inside, and just juicy and flavorful! There were three double-cut scrumptious lamp chops in my entrée. I could only finish two and took one home, and generously gifted my husband with it. For soup, they only had French Onion Soup for this busy night, so I had to miss my favorite Lobster Bisque. The onion soup was the weakest among all our food in this meal, that's a bit overly salted, and the cheese was a bit thick and hard due to the soup being luke warm. As always, their crab cakes were good, with big lumps of crab meats and very flavorful. Bread was fresh off the oven and piping hot, it was heavenly with butter. Each of us had an individual Symphony Cheesecake served with berries, which was delicious. I also had a cappuccino which was pretty standard. At the end of the meal, each lady got a beautiful long stem rose from the server, that was a nice tradition of this restaurant. The restaurant is located inside the Renaissance Hotel in Northbrook. After the meal, we ventured into the hotel lobby which was packed with happy people, there was even a large happy black and white dog! We had a great time and will be back again! I highly recommend it!

Just celebrated a anniversary dinner here. Couldnt have been nicer. We had the porterhouse for two…read moreand it was perfect. Service was outstanding thanks to Rose. My only complaint would be the carrot cake wasnt my favorite but still good

Photos
Ruth's Chris Steak House
Ruth's Chris Steak House
Ruth's Chris Steak House

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Sophia Steak - Wilmette - Crispy Lobster & Shishitos

Sophia Steak - Wilmette

4.3(221 reviews)
10.2 mi
•$$$

Back again with a part of the same crowd from a graduation party 2.5 years ago...and with the same…read moreoutstanding result. Sophia is, as you'd imagine, a steak house. And a good one. Not cheap -- but really good. Terrific selection of apps and salads as well as some non-meat entrees...but steaks are the stars. We were pretty straight ahead -- the young men were both all in on ribeyes; my bride had the tuna, and I (surprisingly for me) went with the spicy chicken sandwich. All five stars. Broccoli, Brussels sprouts and potatoes gratin for sides. Plenty of food for four of us (considering two are 20 something men who still can pack in food...). Nice cocktails and wines by the glass; we went simple and traditional, but they have some interesting drinks on their menu, too. And the service. OMG the service. Professional, attentive, friendly... Jose, our server, greeted us as if we were old friends (we think he might have taken care of our group once before), and his attention (and that of his capable assistant) made an already outstanding even that much better. Can't say enough good things about Sophia (and about the Ballyhoo group's other restaurants). Not surprising, I imagine, that we ran into a bunch of friends there, too. One last thing -- have been there just for cocktails -- the bar is intimate and the service there, too, is outstanding. Top notch city quality food, drinks, and service on the North Shore. Every bit of five stars.

(4.15) ~ Very good overall food & service. Note: Plenty of street parking around the block -or-…read morethey also offer valet service. DRINKS: ** Water (tap) = (4.75) Great! Must be filtered;) ** Coffee = (4.15) Very fresh ** Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) = (4) very good FOOD: ** Double-Cut Bacon (see photo) = (4.25) Very good ** White Cheddar Gratin = (4.25) Very tasty ** Pork Chop Tomahawk = (4.25) Very good ** Bread & Whipped Butter = (4.15) Very good ** Crispy Lobster & Shishitos (see photo) = (4.15) Very tasty ** Atlantic Beach Pie (see photo) = (4.15) Very good version of a Key Lime Pie * Asparagus = (3.75) Good

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Sophia Steak - Wilmette - Dining area

Dining area

Sophia Steak - Wilmette
Sophia Steak - Wilmette

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Wildfire

Wildfire

3.6(713 reviews)
5.9 mi
•$$$

We have always had a great experience at this restaurant, and have a standing res every New Year's…read moreEve. I had a very Non-typical experience last night. Our server seemed to be rushing us once it was obvious we weren't dong salads or apps. He took our drink order, and returned a while later with our drinks. Not 40 seconds passed before he returned to take our orders. Realizing his faux pas, he left us to talk for a while before returning to take our orders. After a terrific dinner, we asked for the bill. As we were paying cash, we asked that the 3% surcharge be removed, we also had slightly less than $35 left and Lettuce Entertain You gift certificates as well as a $15 birthday discount. I included enough cash to give a 22% tip. We were at the restaurant for another 15 minutes or so as our family was finishing their drinks, and the waiter came up to me and whispered that I only gave him a 13% tip, and if he felt that the service that he delivered was inadequate,he understands, but ", if not, it should've been $20 more. I was shocked that he was so brazen, and asked him to bring back the Bill so I could show him what I did. He did so, and discovered that he credited $20 less cash than I actually gave him, and apologized for the error. What made this even more irritating was that we were seated, for a special occasion, at the staging section right in front of the kitchen. That enough alone was enough to keep parties rotating the tables quickly, we did not need to be pushed by our server. We really enjoy this restaurant, and this will not prevent us from returning, however, we will request that we never sit in the section again, and hopefully will not have this server again in the future.

It's like the stars say - it's OK. I think the style is a throwback to some older days. The entrees…read moreare presented un-ornate, often with the side dish plated separately. The food comes out hot and depending on your protein, nicely charred. It's often a big piece of protein, so it stands on its own, not a lot of extra personality in its presentation. Which is fine... but I dunno. Maybe this is not for me. I visited several times for dinner across five months. The prime rib was prepared a proper medium rare, but was pretty gristly. The pork chop was nice and tender, but did not have a lot of character amongst it. Like... the char was the biggest textural difference. The lamb chops were good, but difficult to negotiate around the bone. The service was excellent and attentive. No worries there! Overall, it's OK, but maybe I'm not the right audience for such a classic presentation.

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Wildfire - Lobby host

Lobby host

Wildfire - Bison meatballs

Bison meatballs

Wildfire - This is the main dining area, nice For special occasions!

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This is the main dining area, nice For special occasions!

The Foxtail on the Lake - Grilled octopus

The Foxtail on the Lake

4.3(568 reviews)
9.5 mi
•$$$

On a couple visits, I can tell you this place is ALWAYS busy - and with good reason. The building…read morewhich was previously a church is huge and has some very interesting touches, plus there is a lot of outdoor seating overlooking a lake and also O'Hare airport in the distance. Book ahead to be outside though, otherwise you won't get a table there. And know that despite a clientele often including many families it can be a bit loud when busy and tries to be on the hip side with the music getting pumped in from speakers throughout the dining room. Wine list and cocktails are about as good as you'll find by the glass, while food has been pretty good on visits for both brunch and dinner. You can trust the seafood here, and while the crab cake didn't blow me away it was good. This is one place that I trust the crudo and poke bowls which are excellent on the raw fish options, though I wouldn't personally recommend the filet poke bowl which was a salt/umami bomb and on a recent visit there were also some issues with my wife's pork chop which had good flavor but was overcooked (she was okay with that, but if you say it's recommended medium - which I prefer - please serve it closer to medium rather than well done). Desserts are generally good, and a lot of people appear to come here for special occasions - birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, etc. where they bring out a free dessert with a large sparkler thing which gets attention but honestly doesn't seem entirely safe to me. Yes, that means I'm getting old but I'm not wrong... Service is excellent, ambience is very nice, and for a high volume kitchen like this they do a pretty good job with excellent ingredients at their disposal. I'll round up from 4.5 stars, in this area it's about as good as you'll find and definitely worth a visit.

Went here for a birthday dinner and was pleasantly delighted with the food, interior, and service…read more I really enjoyed the Crispy Duck Risotto. It was delicious and had deep flavors coming from the cherry bordelaise. The Chicken Shawarma Rolls were also tasty with an explosion of flavor within each bite. We had to order an additional roll though as the original serving only had 3 rolls. Our server was kind and gave great recommendations. There was nothing that I didn't like, and it was very satisfying.

Photos
The Foxtail on the Lake - Inside view

Inside view

The Foxtail on the Lake - New York strip prepared perfectly

New York strip prepared perfectly

The Foxtail on the Lake - Mimosas! Orange, cranberry and pineapple

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Mimosas! Orange, cranberry and pineapple

J. Alexander's Restaurant - newamerican - Updated June 2026

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