Inovasi — Restaurant in Lake Bluff

I feel the same way as Dale. They seemed friendly enough at first, but quickly went downhill from there. We had 7:00 reservations, and I spoke with the Maitre De by phone 3 times, but when we arrived, the Hostess could not find them. The Maitre De said not to worry and brought us to a cramped, corner table... still all good. Water was warm, no ice, was refilled about once and hour. The waitress asked if I would like another beer, she asked me this same question twice, but it never showed up and she apparently forgot. After my wife, friends and family complaining about the appetizers (to be fair the grilled cheese was decent, but for $13.00 or $14.00 it had better have been...) The food was virtually inedible. My wife had the Chicken, it was not even real chicken, somehow they must process it like a can of spam would be considered Pork. She offered me a taste as my Meal was horrible and I was starving and I literally had to spit it out it was so bad. Probably could have filled up on Bread, but they charge $5.00 for bread!!! Shocked they didn't charge for the water. I mean really? Who charges for Bread?

Perhaps I could have been a little more tolerant, but we were waiting for 1hr and 45 minutes for it to come. So they were out of hall passes by that time. I was fuming. My daughter and her friend ordered the $38.00 Sirloin. Really? Not a filet, not a strip, a rubbery tiny piece of sirloin for $38.00 each? Wow! Tasted game-like as if it were kidney or Venison, not steak. No flavoring, no sauce, just a few small medallions of what did not look or taste like Beef. A combination of excruciatingly slow, inattentive service, poor product and stratospheric prices. Again, to mirror Dale, I dont know how this place is even in business. Has to be the WORST dining experience I have ever had in my life. The one thing that was decent, very good even was the $14.00 Manhattan I ordered. It came in a fancy cordial-like wine glass, but when you took out the ice cube which was as big as the glass, it revealed about a third of an ounce of liquor. So the one thing they do right flavor wise, was so tiny and expensive, I had to take issue with that as well. The entire premise is fraught with greed and lack of service. How they can relieve you of as much of your hard earned dollars as is physically possible while returning the absolute minimum to you in return. You feel like you are there only to advance their wealth with utterly no concern to a quality experience. Savvy diners beware, chumps and unsophisticated suckers welcome. Will go out of my way to warn future diners....

Very disappointing birthday party celebration for our friend. Which is very unfortunate because we have celebrated many of my friends birthdays there and always left very happy. Our waiter, was arrogant, not patient and argumentative. We were a party of six. We ordered drinks and appetizers. The mushroom egg roll was yummy the spicy wings were pleasantly crisp. We also enjoyed the cheese plate except for the bread which was too dense and didn't have much flavor. We decided to go next door and have tacos for our entrees. Our waiter was no where to be found so we asked the bus boy give my credit card to our waiter. The waiter came with out the check instead inquired to why we weren't ordering. We asked if we could order tacos he said No. He brought us our check, which he included his tip and also charged us $56.00 for the tequila drinks we ordered to be made with Patron tequila. He said he didn't have any and then said my friend pointed to Don Julio which was on the drink menu list. My friend asked if it was similar to Partron and he said Yes. We said Don Julio is a sipping tequila you don't mix it with Grapefruit juice. He continued to say that what she ordered. We asked to speak to the manager she was unsympathetic, didn't say how can we make this situation better for everyone. Instead said she would not give us the waiters name because we should not be singling him out. My friends and I will not be celebrating any more birthdays at Inovasi!!! We went across the street to Mavery's Pub and had the...

I was a little hesitant going to Inovasi because of my experiences with other restaurants in Lake Bluff. Most that I’ve tried are okay, but nothing that stands out nor makes me want to go back and try what else is on the menu.

I had a little hope though. I’ve been to the owner’s other restaurants (The Other Door and Bonk. which are more casual) and I’ve been a repeat customer there because of the food. Inovasi is no different.

Everything I tried at Inovasi was good from starters, drinks, entrees, to dessert. They offer a big variety of foods that draw from different cultures, which I can’t decide is a good or bad thing…kinda seems like they’re trying to appeal to every audience, but hey, if it tastes good then more power to them.

For my entree, I got the duck confit lasagna and even writing this review a few days later I can’t stop thinking about it. The duck was cooked well—crispy edges, but fork tender in the middle and seasoned incredibly. The ricotta and whiskey-orange sauce paired with it was just enough to compliment the duck but not overbearing; letting the duck be the star of the dish.

For dessert, I got the yuzu meyer lemon meringue with miso caramel. I felt the miso caramel was a little too salty for my liking and others at the table agreed, but everything else about it was great.

It’s not a casual place so the prices are high as expected, but I think the price is worth it for special occasions. Give it a shot if you’re in the area. They have great food and...