Pavilion Restaurant, Northbrook

Hubby and I were supposed to drive into the city tonight for dinner but canceled because of the snow. He was at Max & Benny's for lunch today and noticed a new restaurant in the old Trader Joe's space in that mall, so, we thought why not give it a try. What a pleasant surprise. We had an outstanding dinner. The restaurant has only been there a few weeks and is part restaurant and mostly banquet hall. Our waitress told us that portions are large and she wasn't kidding. In lieu of bread, they serve a small starter of green olives, crackers and the best feta cheese I have ever tasted. Salads are in the $10 range and are huge so best to share with 2 or 3 people. I had the Pavilion garden salad which had extremely fresh vegetables including watermelon radish which I had never seen before and English cheddar cheese. Hubby had the tuna tartare trio. He loves tuna tartare and said this was one of the best he has ever eaten. I had the sesame encrusted Ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes. The tuna was excellent sushi quality and cooked perfectly. Besides the potatoes, there was braised red cabbage on the plate. A delicious dish. Hubby had the filet with cauliflower and roasted potatoes in a port wine sauce. He really enjoyed the steak and said the quality was as good as the finest steak house. He didn't realize until we had left that the steak was missing the Gorgonzola crust as described on the menu. However, he obviously didn't miss it We were too filled up to even contemplate dessert but did enjoy an excellent cup of coffee. There was only 1 other couple while we were there but a party of 15 came in as we were leaving. The room decor is more banquet hall than fine dining restaurant but the chefs really know what they are doing. They have a web site but I noticed that the menu is a little different than what is listed on the site.

Pavilion
577 Waukegan Rd
Northbrook, IL 60074
847-715-9440
http://www.pavilionchicago.com

Hi,

Thanks for commenting on this place. I had seen it before Christmas, where I was struck by the Russian name on the facade 'Petergof' -- which is a transliteration of name of Czar Peter the Great's palace outside of St. Petersburg: Peterhof.* I just called the Pavillion, who advised Petergof is the banquet hall attached to The Pavillion. She emphasized The Pavillion has an American menu with a chef formerly from Charlie Trotter with hours until 2 AM. She affirmed my query that the owners are Russian, which I felt was the case from the name.

I also learned Peterhof will occasionally offer dinner packages and a show. When I inquired about price, she advised it depended on the show. I will guestimate they may be like White Nights with a fixed price Russian meal and entertainment. Someone had advised Petergof was a private club, which they said is not true. They may have a private event for a client, which may have been a source of confusion.

*My apartment in Moscow had a close circuit television system. They had homemade programs in English, which were unintentionally funny. There was one episode repeated too often where the host was deliriously happy with Gary Belafonte's music. Mind you, not Harry Belafonte, but Gary. He was indeed speaking of Harry Belafonte. In Russian, there is no exact letter for 'H.' They often substitute 'G' for our 'H', thus Gary Belafonte and the notorious WWII German leader Adolph Gitler.

Thanks again for reporting, I was curious about this place.

Regards,

Went to check out Pavilion tonight for dinner and came away with mixed -- but overall positive -- feelings about it. The space is clean and comfortable, if somewhat sterile. Our server, Steve -- who was born in Moscow -- was friendly and extremely knowledgeable. We were given 2 menus, the "Dinner" menu and the "Eastern European Signature Dishes" menu, the one from which -- with the exception of 1 dish -- we ordered exclusively . . .


Bread
Decent rolls, served with unsalted butter.



Draniki
Very light and crisp potato pancakes. As good as they were -- and they were darned good -- the mushroom sauce on the left was unbelievably delectable. After we finished the draniki, we kept the sauce, so we could finish it.



Syrniki
Described on the menu as "Traditional Russian style farmer's cheese pancakes with stewed berries." These were very tasty -- mildly cheesy and not overly sweet and with a wonderful, lightly dense texture. The stewed berries tasted more like jelly and the chocolate accent in the sauce on the plate didn't seem very 'traditional," either but that didn't stop us from snarfing them down in short order.



Syrniki
Interior view



Borsch
I always thought it was borscht, with a "t" but this is how it was written on the menu -- not sure if that's a typo or a meaningful distinction. In any case, this was somewhat tasty (after giving it a good stir) but the problematic pool of fat floating on top of the bowl is pretty clear to see, even in these pics. I've never seen borscht (or borsch) like this and doubt it's really supposed to be served like this.



Burger
This was the special -- 1 pound of Angus beef, with bacon, cheese, a fried egg and spicy mayonnaise. It had a very odd flavor, which 3/4 of us didn't particulary care for. I'm not saying it was off, just not nearly as distinctively beef-flavored as one might expect and as such, not nearly as delicious as it appears in the picture. The waffle fries, however, were perfect -- really crispy and hot.



Beef Stroganoff
Possibly the best dish of the meal. It was intensely flavorful and aromatic, and the beef -- filet mignon, according to the menu -- was very tender. I was expecting noodles but the menu offers a choice of mashed potatoes or buckwheat. The potatoes were very good, as was the buckwheat (not pictured), of which we were given a small side dish, upon request.



Pan Fried Liver
From the size of it, beef liver, I'm guessing. Very tasty and juicy with a nice crusty exterior.



Pan Fried Liver
This piece was cooked just how I like it. The other side was a bit more done.



Chicken Tabaka
According to the menu, this was actually cornish hen. It was tasty, juicy and definitely appeared to have been pressed (and was definitely spatchcocked). Even though you can really see the garlic on the bird, I didn't really taste it too much but that may have just been the case for the small section of it I tried.

All in all, it was a good meal and not unreasonably priced -- $120 with tax and tip. The only possible mis-step -- the burger -- raised an opportunity for the house to show their stuff and they did not disappoint. Not only did they offer to buy us dessert but also gave us several 10% off coupons for subsequent visits. Again, given that the one person who ordered it thought it was fine, that was a very nice and unnecessary gesture on their part. Pavilion is very near my house, so I can definitely see returning and trying to work my way through the entire 'Eastern European' menu, which offers quite a few promising-looking items that we weren't able to get to tonight, like pelmini and vareniki, which we were told are made in-house.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:
Pan Fried Liver

Liver is my favorite food porn. Awesome

Do you happen to know if they are open for lunch as well? I see the place all the time but just thought it was a banquet hall

davecamaro1994 wrote:Do you happen to know if they are open for lunch as well? I see the place all the time but just thought it was a banquet hall

According to the web site, they're open everyday at 11. Until I checked the web site, I also thought it was only a banquet hall.

I checked out the website. The menu on the site had none of the dishes Ronny posted pics of

davecamaro1994 wrote:I checked out the website. The menu on the site had none of the dishes Ronny posted pics of

When I called the restaurant a while back, I asked if they offered Russian food especially since it is Russian owned. I was advised they had an American menu and their chef once worked for Charlie Trotter. It made sense they would serve Russian food, so the second menu is a nice surprise.

The other half of the building with the establishment 'Petergof' is the banquet hall.

Regards,

Well, I checked em out today at lunch. I had the Borsch and the Draniki. I thought both were good enough to warrant a return trip. I had never had Borsh before and was wary since I think beets are the devil(sorry grandma) I found it to be good. I also had to have the Draniki since grandma also used to make these as a kid and I can't really find them around. It was very good especially with that mushroom sauce. Prices were a bit steep for lunch and the place was virtually empty but since that area of Northbrook/Deerfield is limited in the selection of good and ethnic food it should be around a while

ronnie_suburban wrote:I always thought it was borscht, with a "t" but this is how it was written on the menu -- not sure if that's a typo or a meaningful distinction. In any case, this was somewhat tasty (after giving it a good stir) but the problematic pool of fat floating on top of the bowl is pretty clear to see, even in these pics. I've never seen borscht (or borsch) like this and doubt it's really supposed to be served like this.

It's a transliterated word, so there is no one-for-one conversion of their letters to ours. As a result, there are differences in spelling. I've read that borsch is the preferred, but have seen an immense number of books and menus that list borscht. One person said borsh is Russian and borscht is Polish. I don't know that that is true, as I have at least one Russian cookbook that lists borscht (though two that have borsch). There are myriad regional versions of borsch, as well. But whatever the reason, borsch is a correct and widely used spelling of this particular genus of Russian soup.

But there's only one way to spell Borscht Belt.

I just saw this review and thought I needed to CORRECT a few simple things.

The place is NOT RUSSIAN owned. There are a few owners that are Russian,Italian,Polish and Jewish

The place is called The Pavilion Event Center
Pavilion is the restaurant
Event are held in the PAVILION (The state of the art facility attached to the restaurant)
*liquor license is under petergof (the name on the building refers to the small other side)

The venue is for private events and we cater to both European and American cuisine

An open house for Bar/Bat Mitzvahs was held this past Sunday with hundreds of American clientle coming through to book future Mitzvah events in the facility. (I use the word facility because it's one of the first of its kind in the US)
"A STATE OF THE ART BALLROOM" would be a better calling.
Complete with over 32 intelligent lighting fixtures, hydraulic staging, 12 foot dance balconies, concert sound
LED systems and multiple video screens


The reviews written were very nice, I do appreciate everything that was said.


Sincerely,
pavilionchicago

pavilionchicago wrote:"A STATE OF THE ART BALLROOM" would be a better calling.
Complete with over 32 intelligent lighting fixtures, hydraulic staging, 12 foot dance balconies, concert sound
LED systems and multiple video screens

That sounds like an interesting venue. How many people does it hold?

Have to say I have been frequenting this place a lot now and I really love the food. Pricy but they did introduce an $8 lunch menu with about 6 items that seem to rotate. I have brought a few people here for business lunches and they are all impressed. Of course they go for the stogenoff, which is great. I have been working my way through the menu. The buckwheat there is a great option to the potatoe/rice usual sides

We just got back from our first visit to the Pavilion. I had the borsch and beef stroganoff (with buckwheat) both of which were excellent. Very tasty and the portions were generous. My wife had the kebob although there was no evidence of skewer holes. She felt it was kind of bland and needed some salt. No salt/pepper had been set on the table so had to ask our waiter to bring some (the chef would probably be insulted knowing that someone didn't think he seasoned the meat sufficiently).

Presentation is nice, with striking dinnerware, as can be seen in an earlier review.

Other reviews mentioned an Eastern European menu--we were not shown that menu. One reviewer mentioned "In lieu of bread, they serve a small starter of green olives, crackers and the best feta cheese I have ever tasted." Another mentioned the bread and dinner rolls. We were offered neither and my wife commented that they should have served bread or rolls while we were waiting for our entrees.

The Pavilion now has a second location -- in Buffalo Grove. Like the Northbrook location, this combines a restaurant with larger banqueting facility, though the banqueting facility in BG is called Versailles.

The menu seemed a bit more eclectic than what has been described for the Northbrook location, with appetizers including Thai spring rolls and foie gras. But there are still a good number of Russian dishes (and, in chatting with the manager after our meal, we learned that the place has Russian movie nights, so they are still catering to a largely Eastern European audience).

We had the dumpling combo platter, which brought us both potato pierogis and chicken pelmeni. Both were nice, but the chicken had the bigger flavor and was definitely our favorite. Interestingly, the dumplings came with both sour cream and white vinegar, and the vinegar was a wonderful addition, really adding a nice sharpness and more flavor to the dumplings.

For main, I had the beef Stroganoff and my friend had the chicken tabaka. Both were good, with the chicken impressively golden and crispy and the beef as tender as that described above, though the Stroganoff was a bit on the salty side. The eager young manager, who has only been there for a few weeks, said they'd work on the saltiness, and thanked me for mentioning it. (I like salt, so if I think it's salty, it's pretty salty.) We chatted a bit, and I learned that the manager is a Kendall culinary graduate.

Service was great -- though on a Wednesday night, they weren't exactly overwhelmed -- just a couple other people. But still, everyone was tremendously attentive and friendly, so it was a real pleasure. Never had to ask for anything -- it always just appeared as it was needed. Because the place was almost empty, I was relieved to hear that they frequently pack the place out for Russian parties, as I'd hate to see this be yet another failed restaurant in this strip mall. (Though the manager, Dan, pointed out that the big parties make it a good idea to call before coming, as they sometimes are so big they take over the whole facility, banquet hall, bar, and restaurant.)

This is in the same strip mall as India House, if that helps. Note that it's hard to see the sign if you're driving north through the parking lot -- but the restaurant is the nearest business to Lake-Cook Road. So if you see the Buffalo Grove Theater, which is next door, stop and park, because you've arrived.

Pavilion
100 McHenry Rd.
Buffalo Grove, IL

I went to the Pavilion with a friend last night - a Sat. night- for the first time. She had been there before. We arrived at about 6:45 and left around 8:45. The place never filled up and perhaps peaked at three-quarter full. I wonder why?

She suggested that we don't order too much because the portions are quite large. We ordered the dumpling combo appetizer and they were delicious. They came with sour cream and vinegar and our waitress suggested we dip the dumplings in the sour cream then the vinegar and eat them that way. Great suggestion. At that point we were glad we order only one entree to split.

We had the plank grilled salmon. She had a baked potato that was undercooked. We should have sent it back but she didn't comment until late in the meal. I had the grilled veggies. Nicely done

I enjoyed the sauce on the salmon and thought it might be a chutney because of the sweetness. I asked our waitress to check with the chef. She did and told me the sauce came out of a bottle with lots of Chinese writing on it. The only English she found was Sweet Chili Sauce. She probably shouldn't have told me since at $22 for the salmon entree, one would think the sauce could have been made from scratch.

For dessert we had the gelato - a bargain at only $3. My friend is a chocoholic so she ordered hers the chocolate version. I had a combo of chocolate and vanilla. Two nice scopes with a couple of blackberries and a mint garnish. Excellent product and value.

Our waitress was quite attentive and made suggestions when asked. When the bus boy refilled my water glass, he placed a folded napkin at the glass rim between the glass and me so the water wouldn't splash on me. That was a nice touch that I can't recall happening even at some very upscale restaurants

Another non-food highlight of the evening was the musicians who played jazz versions of some of the old standards from the '20s, '30s and '40s. The duo consisted of a keyboardist and a bassist and I think they only took one break during the two hours we were there. They did a fine job and added considerably to the evening.

My friend had a $15 off coupon and they gave us another set of coupons on our way out.

Overall a nice dining experience.

Regards,
Grandpa Bob