Cafe Pyrenees - Libertyville

I nominate Cafe Pyrenees as a GNR. We have been going there since they were in Vernon Hills and have followed them to their new location (about 2 years I think) in north Libertyville.
Food is very good and reasonable although portions are not huge. Mari, owner with her chef husband, knows her customers and plans great special events. The wait staff is consistant and excellant. Some have been with the resturant for maybe 20 years.
Wednesday is wine special and crepe night. A glass of wine (2 red and 2 white choices) had been $1 but I hear has gone up to $3. Bottles @ $5 now $8. Take a case home at that price.
Thursday is beer night with drafts @ $1 - maybe also up now? Tapas night on Thursday.
Good deserts - all you would want in a French Bistro.

Cafe Pyrenees
1762 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Libertyville, IL
847-362-2233
Rt. 21 and Rt. 137 - Adler Square Plaza
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees

Are there links to past posts?

If not, the better thing to do here is to kick off a discussion with a post in Eating Out in Chicagoland.

Some guidelines for successful nominations

How do I add links?

JamieG wrote:How do I add links?

Has anyone posted on it on LTHForum before, Jamie? If not, it is unlikely to be deemed deserving of a GNR at this point in the nominations. See the link in Mike's post for the guidelines.

I'm new and only learning here so please don't hesitate to tell me if I am off track.
I knew there were references to Cafe Pyrenees and have found those and added them - may or may not have done it correctly.
These are references and not really discussions about Cafe Pyrenees. Are they good enough? I am more than happy to remove the recommendationa and put it on the Chicagoland forum but notice I am not allowed to delete it.
Advice needed.

I mention Cafe Pyrenees as a favorite of ours. We have been going there since they were in Vernon Hills and have followed them to their new location (about 2 years I think) in north Libertyville.
There seem to be many more discussions of resturants in the city and close suburbs. Here's one a bit further north.
Food is very good and reasonable although portions are not huge. Mari, owner with her chef husband, knows her customers and plans great special events. The wait staff is consistant and excellant. Some have been with the resturant for maybe 20 years.
Wednesday is wine special and crepe night. A glass of wine (2 red and 2 white choices) had been $1 but I hear has gone up to $3. Bottles @ $5 now $8. Take a case home at that price.
Thursday is beer night with drafts @ $1 - maybe also up now? Tapas night on Thursday.
Good deserts - all you would want in a reasonably priced French Bistro.

Cafe Pyrenees
1762 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Libertyville, IL
847-362-2233
Rt. 21 and Rt. 137 - Adler Square Plaza
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... e+pyrenees
_________________

Cafe Pyrenees has been a fave of ours since way back in the Vernon Hills days also-we are just sorry that they are farther away and we visit less now...
We have really enjoyed some of their very reasonably priced wine dinners where the courses are expertly paired with amply flowing wine from various vineyards -we always seem to be making new friends at these events, and eating great food, and drinking great wine..
strange coincidence

Every now and then they have retro events where they roll back their prices to the 1980's or whatever-

I second the recc

I've been to a few Tuesday night dinners, this is when they roll prices back to the original pricing from the 1990s. I enjoyed everything we've tried - mushroom terrine, goat cheese salad, pork, beef, lamb entrees, etc. I really liked the house dressing on the house salad that came with the entrees. I am not big on salad dressings (it's usually olive oil + vinegar for me), but I really liked their dressing.

As JamieG mentioned, the portions are not huge, but the food is good.

We also went once for the tapas. I thought everything was good, but what stood out for me was goat cheese with tomato coulis. A very good combination, nicely executed.

I really, really like their chocolate terrine - a dense, very chocolate-y dessert.

I also ate there a lot at the old location. The wine dinners were great, and great deals, and I probably went to at least 6 a year. Since their move, I have only been there 3 times. A big part is the significantly longer drive for me (important issue after the wine dinners), but also the atmosphere has changed a bit since they have a big bar now. For some reason, I cant get them to put me back on their mailing list, so I dont think about the wine dinners as much.

-Will

I'm posting to this old topic because it's the only topic on this restaurant. (Back in 2007 GNR nomination topics went to this forum, and weren't placed in the GNR forum until starting in 2010.)

We had dinner here on Thursday night and it was very good indeed. It's nice to see that there are still a few restaurants serving excellent French cuisine, as we have lost so many others over the years.

The cuisine at Café Pyrenees leans more towards classic French cuisine, rather than French bistro fare. But Chef Jean-Marc Loustaunau has incorporated global influences into his menu as well, and it's quite an appealing combination. He also offers wine dinners and some affordable promotions (Thursdays are crepe nights, three courses for $22, in addition to the regular menu).

Everything we had was very good. Standouts included the short rib ravioli (lots of meat in them!), and the sautéed Dover sole. The seafood in the bouillabaisse was excellent - fresh, moist, cooked properly, and a generous proportion, although the broth was thin and weak. All three of the desserts we got were outstanding - "le dome" (chestnut baviarian cream), the chocolate feuilletine, and the apple tart.

We enjoyed our dinner, and we look forward to returning again soon.

P.S. They have a website, at cafepyrenees.com.

Closing tomorrow, as noted here.