Northshore Bistro remakes a favorite even better.
Northshore Bistro
Address: 250 Skokie Blvd, Northbrook, IL 60062
Phone: (847) 772-4388
Reservations: nsbistro.com
Visited: November 2025, 5:15 PM
Reviewers: Andrea, Rich, and niece
A Local Favorite Emerges Even Better
For many years, one of the most popular restaurants on the North Shore was "Next Door," literally located next door to its former partner restaurant. A couple of years ago, Next Door closed and reemerged under new ownership as Northshore Bistro. Unlike so many restaurant transfers, this one is subtly even better.
The Place
The new Bistro has a cozier feeling than its predecessor. It's the same room, but the lighting and decor seem more refined, and we like it. The décor is not overly elaborate—but the dark color walls and selective lighting provide a cozy, almost intimate atmosphere.
You enter through a small foyer with a few tables, then step into a single main room with picture windows overlooking the street. Normally, I find restaurants facing heavy traffic distracting, but for some reason, it's less bothersome in this setting.
We arrived around 5:15 PM to an almost empty room (as shown in the photo), but it filled over the next 45 minutes.
However, one thing hasn't changed—the table arrangement is still too crowded for our tastes. Despite the cozy feeling, there's little sense of privacy. Restaurants operate on economics, and in an ideal world, two less tables would provide a few extra inches of personal dining space.
The Bistro is located on Skokie Boulevard, south of Lake Cook Road, with plenty of parking in the back and on the side.
The Food. Something is a bit different but noticeably better.
We've visited the new Bistro several times now, and on this visit, we ordered familiar dishes to compare with the past. One of their claims to fame is the generous whole roasted chicken with fried leeks, which Andrea and I shared. ( with enough left to take home for another dinner).
Something is better about this chicken. In the past, I usually had some minor dislike about the chicken, though Andrea disagreed. We've now had chicken three times at the Bistro, and to me, the taste and texture are noticeably improved, and I like it!. We also ordered a side of roasted sweet potatoes.
Our niece had a generous serving of fettuccine Bolognese—properly cooked pasta with a tasteful sauce and avoiding the fatal flaw of being drowned in it.
To start, we had the popular Bistro salad. They also serve nice baskets of their own garlic bread—the messy but tasty type—and they're happy to bring a second basket. We've recently been to restaurants that charge for bread baskets, and none were as good as Bistro’s. The accountants have found a way to include the bread in the overall meal cost without a sticker shock of $10 for bread. You can also request the bread plain without garlic.
Note: One of Andrea's favorites is skirt steak, which we had a couple of months ago. It was one of the better preparations and quality we've experienced.
Nearly everything we've tried at the Bistro has been good, with generous servings and prices that don't require saving it for a special occasion. As mentioned, we always bring half a chicken home for dinner another night.
The Service is good, friendly and attentive. The room is small and filled with diners, so there's always someone circulating, checking on your meal, and available when you need something.
The Experience: We enjoy going to Northshore Bistro. It's close, the food is good, the ambience is pleasant, the noise level is moderate, it has its own parking, and we feel it's a great value. Give us a few more inches of space between tables, and we'd be completely happy.
When we arrived, only one other table had customers. By the time we left around 6:30 PM, only two tables remained open. Northshore Bistro is a popular early bird dinner destination.
Our meal—a whole roasted chicken, large salad, pasta, side of potatoes, one cocktail, and one glass of wine—came to $147 including tax and tip. The wine was competitively priced, but our niece's Aperol Spritz was $18, the most expensive we've encountered at any restaurant. Frankly, there won't be Bistro Spritz’s in our future.
The Verdict Rating
⭐ Food Quality: Excellent
💰 Value: Excellent (but not cheap)
🕐 Early Bird Experience: Very good
🔇 Atmosphere: Cozy and comfortable
👍 Would Return: Yes, it's become one of our regulars