Abreo

are second time here... wonderful service wonderful food we will be back. I loved the goat cheese rolls I had the beef rib at ravioli.. marvelous.... we will bring friends back next time

This is easily the best restaurant in Rockford and one of the best I've been to in quite some time, period. Their cocktails are wonderful, service is on-point, and the ambiance is very intimate (perfect for date night or special occasions). Cheese curds are incredible, tuna crudo is very good, the "fancy potato" was outstanding, and dessert couldn't have been better (the molten chocolate cake is decadent, and their floating meringue blew our minds). Dining here was an unexpected delight; I would highly recommend Abreo to practically anyone. 5's all around.

First time visiting and first impressions were perfect. Everything we ordered tasted incredible with high attention to detail on presentation. You have to love a menu where you're sad you can't order it all. Great service and the cocktails didn't disappoint either. They love what they do. Keep up the great work

Very enjoyable - beautiful design, friendly service, tasty food. The kitchen is stretching to make interesting dishes and we enjoyed most of them. Duck nachos weren’t really nachos, as the chips were soft from being piled high with toppings, but flavor was great. We ordered all small dishes, with the Asian Noodles the consensus favorite. Leave room for dessert! Recommended.

Abreo has wonderful artisan cuisine downtown Rockford with friendly staff who are happy to explain their dishes with locally sourced ingredients. The best way to experience is to order a bunch of plates to share. The winter menu had some wonderful choices to satisfy everyone and the drinks were creative with great flavor profiles.

So lucky to have had the honor of Abreo as our wedding dinner! All we wanted was great food, better drinks, and cozy atmosphere! We got even more than that… candlelit in the wine cellar was breathtaking and even more perfect than anything I could have an imagined. Karen and Paul made it so easy to coordinate vendors and accommodations. Abreo is the heart of downtown Rockford, and forever in ours for the literal best evening.

What a nice surprise I had when coming here for dinner. Not a Rockford native and decided to check this place out. Late dinner on a Saturday night. Sat at the bar and had a delicious meal. Everything was fresh from the seared tuna, the trout and the special which was braised ribs ravioli. Ordered the chocolate cake which took 20 minutes because they made that to order as well. Service was superb.

We went for our anniversary dinner. Drinks were fantastic and sadly the best part of our meal. Cheese curds were good, but over-salted. The crudo was very good, best dish we had. Our mains were lackluster - the hot chicken was not spicy and peculiar in taste when eaten with corn bread and collard greens. The pork chop was really a pork schnitzel with the amount of breading on it. The burrata on the pork chop was a unique palate, but tasted fine with the accompanying sauce. Though we did not expect to receive anything for our anniversary meal, we were not given any acknowledgment for celebration. We have been to Abreo twice before and loved it, but today’s experience really left more to be desired. Likely we will not return.

The butternut squash tortellini was so good. I was between that, the lobster ravioli (special) and a truffle pasta. I have never liked butternut squash, but the rest of the dish sounded so good I couldn't pass it up and went with it. Absolutely no regrets, truly one of the better meals I've ever had. I should have waited 24 hours to write this review because I am still freaking out about how much I enjoyed it. My husband got the steak Romesco and said it was some of his favorite steak he's ever had. And he's a steak snob. Cheese curds solid as always. Shishito peppers great. Service was nice and timely. Restaurant itself is super cute Oh and the bread and butter rivals Francesco's bread starter for best in Rockford

The food at Abreo is always delicious. We went for the Rockford restaurant week menu. We did the throwback 3 courses for $50 a person. The menu was perfect for a nice date night for my wife and I. The server was great. She was welcoming and very nice. She made sure we had everything we needed from new silverware to making sure our drinks were filled. She made our dining experience very memorable. The ambiance is usually more upscale and romantic but some people do come in dressed somewhat casual. Overall, Abreo is always a favorite on my list for Rockford cuisine. Every time I come here I have a great experience. They are an iconic place in the Rockford food scene. This place has great food, service, and an amazing atmosphere which is always bringing me back for more.

The food, service, and ambiance were great! The drinks were really good as well. Would love to return sometime!

What a lovely dining experience! Looking for an exceptional dining experience - and we found it!! What gorgeous food, incredible service and beautiful cocktails. The incredible sauces on each plate were out of this world!

I've died and gone to the highest fat butter heaven. Seriously though, the bread service rocks here! Atmosphere- this spot has a very eclectic vibe.... Think Downtown warehouse with devil themed bathrooms... and I dig it. Make sure to sit outside if the weather is good. It's absolutely gorgeous Service- top notch folks here! Great service Food- you can't go wrong. We had the goat cheese egg rolls which were soooo good as well as the fried mushrooms. All the pasta is amazing! Next time you hear that little devil on your shoulder to go out to dinner.... Take his advice

Wanted to update my review and affirm it is still 5 stars. We are now Abreo regulars and I have not had a single dish in years that I would not put a large stamp of approval on. The service is always top notch and I absolutely love that hot chicken. I feel like people reading this probably think I order nothing else and that is only somewhat true-- I get the chicken only like every other time! Chef Paul is a standout in Rockford!

Outstanding! What an absolutely incredible find in Rockford. Creative, delicious food, and great ambiance. Service was wonderful. A few more wine by the glass options would be welcome, but that won't stop me from going back.

Abreo is officially my new favorite place for drinks and small bites. Everything was absolutely amazing! I highly recommend sitting at the bar and enjoying a few appetizers, deviled eggs & spring rolls are delicious. The bartender Jake was awesome, he was serving a full bar, restaurant and large party downstairs all at once and didn't break a sweat. I'll be back soon.

YIN | YANG We were blown away by a perfectly balanced meal at this fine dining restaurant in Rockford. Prior to staying in the area, I researched the best places for a romantic dinner. After one look at the menu, I knew I'd found the perfect spot in Abreo, a small plates restaurant in the downtown district. There were a few other customers when my wife and I arrived on a Friday at 7pm. Though there's a lot next door, it's tiny, so street parking is your best bet. Once seated, I started with a Wiki-Wiki ($18) that was strong and boozy, with rum, mezcal, chartreuse, lime, orgeat and bitters. Nichole S didn't really care for the L.V. ($13), a cocktail made with vodka, passionfruit, aperol, lemon and basil, so I drank hers while she switched to the Wiki-Wiki. The cheese curds ($9) were amazing enough to eat on their own, but I would've liked to see a homemade aioli or buttermilk ranch to dip them in. The apple salad ($10) was a nice palate-cleanser with julienned apples, arugula, goat cheese, pine nuts, parmesan, and fried brussel sprouts. We almost passed on the Hamachi ponzu ($23) with daikon radish, grapefruit, basil, and jalapeno. I'm glad we didn't, because it balanced out the heaviness of the short rib tortelloni ($32). The tortelloni were a weekly special, so I'm light on details for that one. My favorite dish of the evening was the 'fancy AF potato' ($18), a wonderful reinterpretation of a classic. A crispy layered potato in shallot cream was topped with crème fraiche, rainbow trout roe and chives. The plating was magnificent, the taste divine--the "Moira Rose edition" of a baked potato. Bread = 5+ Circuses = 5 Abreo's desserts were otherworldly. The Mango Cloud ($11) is their signature item: a poached meringue on top a bed of mango-lime custard, with aerated coconut milk, coconut candy, lemongrass and mint. Visually stunning, light as a feather and absolutely delicious, this was one of the most impressive desserts we've had in years. If the mango cloud were a motorbike, then the molten chocolate lava cake ($12) was an 18-wheel semi. It was decadent, surrounded by a moat of salted caramel and a toasted marshmallow flourish. Awesome stuff, even if my wife found it a bit too rich. More for me, then! Our server Josh was great and the ambiance set the mood for a very intimate dinner. They automatically add 20% service charge, which was fine given the great service we had. Between the 5 savory dishes + 2 desserts + 3 drinks we shared, the tab came to roughly $200; not too bad. We've spent way more on way less. * TL;DR * Abreo's chef de cuisine put together a menu brimming with opposite-yet-interconnected textures, flavors, and temperatures. For every heavy item (fancy potato, short rib tortelloni), there was lighter fare (the delicate Hamachi crudo). The refreshing apple salad provided a counterpoint to the gooey cheese curds, just as the dream-like cloud of poached meringue helped offset the boldness of the molten chocolate cake. Paul Sletten and his team opened Abreo in 2005 and did a commendable job staying in business through the pandemic. If it weren't for them, Rockford would have effectively zero options for a "nice" dinner that isn't an Italian restaurant. Their overall 4.5* rating on Tripadvisor and Yelp is well-earned. I can't remember what I ate for lunch today, but years from now, I'll randomly think about the mango cloud and how f@&#^$ cool it was. When a dish lives rent-free in your head like that, you know you've found a winner. Abreo is truly exceptional. Onto my "Best of Illinois" list you go!

This was the worst restaurant experience I've ever had. I ordered duck nachos and the chicken. The nachos arrived around 5:45 pm, but then things went downhill. By 7 pm, I still hadn't received my chicken. To make matters worse, a server accidentally dropped a full plate that splattered all over my white shirt. At 7:30, I finally got the attention of my server, who claimed she didn't realize I ordered the chicken. I asked for the check, and she still charged me for the nachos. I understand accidents happen, but here's where they dropped the ball: My shirt was ruined, and they didn't offer to cover dry cleaning, a replacement, or even comp the $9 nachos. The chicken never arrived, yet no offer was made to expense the meal, pack it to go, or provide any compensation. Great food is important, but if the service doesn't match, it's not worth it. To top it off, no one was at the front to greet or seat me when I arrived. Extremely disappointing.

Went here for a birthday dinner and everything we had was so delicious! The steak and elotes dish really stood out to my date and I. It was the perfect balance of umami flavors. We still think about this dish every so often. Cocktails were also delicious!

I've been away from Rockford for a number of years. Previously they were a favorite and now that I'm back in Rockford I will be going there again.

Abreo is a real restaurant and did not disappoint! From our Hickory Stick and Nola cocktails, the just perfect fennel pollen salt crystal butter and great bread, we knew were in good hands. We had the seasonal ramp fritters, an apple salad, the egg rolls, a stunning halibut preparation with a ramp sauce, and the dry aged steak with bordelaise, and sauteed morels on the side. We moved to the garden for a crème brulee and a smoked port to finish. Only sad thing was they did not acknowledge our 25th anniversary though we indicated it on the reservation; almost knocked off a star for that.

Hot chicken was superb as was the fresh bread that accompanied the meal. I don't know what they added to the butter (salt, rosemary) but it was to die for!

I have wanted to eat at Abreo for a while so when I was taken there as a surprise for my birthday I was so excited! We went early to have a cocktail at the bar - amazing drinks and friendly bartender. We moved to our table and had a fabulous waitress - very helpful with the menu and recommendations. The food was nothing less than exquisite - we were lucky to meet the chef on our way out which was super cool. I love the intimate setting (small and not noisy) - I love that the menu changes - and I love that it's local. This is by far my new favorite restaurant and will definitely be back!

Delicious dinner at Abreo! Each dish was created with lots of attention to detail and care, and it showed. Great service and the atmosphere was cool and comparable to any Downtown Chicago restaurant. We made sure to save room for the molten chocolate cake and I am sooo glad we did- fabulous! Not too rich and so chocolatey and delicious. Highly recommend!

Amazing, unique food! Extremely accommodating and knowledgeable about food allergies too. Such a cool experience and the atmosphere was great for a night out!

Always guaranteed delicious food, perfect drink and outstanding service!! The warm chocolate cake is outstanding!

Everything here is great. I highly recommend doing one of their prix fixe dinners. The Elizabeth Spencer dinner last night was incredible. What an event.

AMAZING GROUP DINING! There is a private room downstairs perfect for a large group dining. Walls are rough stone (think castle) with candles throughout set on rock edges. It's really a magical atmosphere!!! FLANK STEAK - I enjoyed this! The steak was tender and served on top a bed of creamed corned. The creamed corn really made the dish and was a fantastic pairing with the steak!!!

We absolutely loved everything about Abreo. We live in Boston MA and I am from NYC so I know great food and this was great.

Finest Restaurant in Rockford! New York Steak, ginger-garlic noodles, cheese curds & shrimp Asiago!

Abreo is a true gem in Rockford. Wonderful atmosphere, excellent service, and fantastic food. The chef's creations are very surprising with unusual pairings of ingredients that absolutely delight the taste buds. And now that I corrected Abreo's location on Google Maps, it should make it easier for people to find it. Trust me, it is well worth it!!

The smokey old fashioned is amazing. The bar team knowledgable. The food flavorful. You can tell that they put thought and heart in to each recipe. The ambience made me homesick for Chicago (in a pleasant kind of way) and I will haunt this joint forever probably. If they posted a little jazz band in the corner one night a week I'd move in. Highly recommend.

Great food, locally sourced and seasonal. Top notch cocktails and attentive and knowledgeable staff. Always a go-to!

Great location in legendary Rockford. Has been a great meetup spot for many years. Great ambience. Lovely staff.

It was such a nice set of people and so delicious food that we enjoyed every second of it. They have a lovely dining room and great servers. Steak was cooked to perfection.

The last remaining true white-tablecloth dining experience in Rockford. Thank goodness it is consistently superb, in service, presentation, and quality. Dan curates a top-notch wine cellar, and his recommendations are always spot-on. Please support them whenever you are looking for fine dining, you will not be disappointed.

Amazing cocktails! Great food. Thoroughly enjoy the local ingredients. Will continue to visit.

We've been to Abreo a few times since moving to Rockford six months ago. It is hands down my favorite spot that we've been to. The servers are super attentive and the food is great--very similar to what you'd see on a menu in Chicago. Our favorite was the Ironic Shrimp, but all of it was good! The cocktails are really good, too. Their sister spot Social happened to be open the last night that we went -- the cocktails were amazing. I'd love it if it reopened for good!

Friends of our invited us here for lunch and we enjoyed it. Great food and we had an excellent waitress!

My husband and I went to Abreo for his birthday, and had a truly wonderful experience. Service was excellent. The food was superb. Inventive and inviting interpretations of classic cuisine. Every drink and dish we tried was beautifully conceived and executed. I love cooking and learning about food, and felt this experience was well worth it in terms of delighting us with plates I would not create in my own kitchen.

Amazing drinks, tapas, and dessert. Attentive waiter. Great ambience. Will definitely keep coming back and telling friends to try it (if that's what it takes to keep this business alive in Rockford's economy -- but i'm thinking they don't even need the help) !

Went to Abreo for drinks with my husband. We were enjoying ourselves. Ordered the Iconic Shrimp. After a long time I asked the bartender about our order and he was certain he ordered it. Nope, we cancelled it as we were beyond snacking. Asked for the bill and we're tagged a 20% surcharge. The bartender said they do that in Chicago and New York. Well Rockford is neither. Disappointed. He should have felt foolish putting that on our bill. I paid it, but it has definitely left me with a bad vibe.

My favorite restaurant in Rockford! There is always something new on the menu and the small plate is perfect for sampling many of the creative dishes. Paul Sletten is a genius with the mixing of flavors. It's also a good place for groups. We have had several business functions in the cellar with limestone walls and dimly lit with tea lights. The whole place has a cool vibe, including the amazing garden in back and the BATHROOMS! Moreover, you won't find a better wine list or martini offering. I love Abreo, though I still want to call it Brio.

We used Abreo for our wedding caterer at The Standard and we could not be more pleased with the entire process! The food at the tasting was phenomenal and was even better at the wedding. Our guests raved about it for weeks! Karen was so kind, easy, and accommodating- making the entire process so enjoyable. We do not live in the area, but we cannot wait to make a trip out just to eat at Abreo again. If you use them for catering, you will not be disappointed!!

Great place to eat in downtown Rockford. Nice atmosphere, great service and excellent food.

Dined there for Valentines day. Everything was a 10/10 except the service. The waitress was very nice but kept us waiting a lot. We had an 8 pm reservation, got sat about 8:25 not too bad for Valentines day. We had let our waitress know we wanted a drink after dinner, but she disappeared when we were finishing up our large plate and a different server brought us our dessert, and we waited an additional 25 minutes and she never appeared and we never got our drink. Finally at 10:45 we got up to leave, luckily the meal was prepaid, but we owed for one drink so the bartender took care of us, she then showed up. We will still go back, the food is the best in the area, but hoping for better service next time.

Great restaurant. Decorated beautifully. Michelle is an amazing cocktail artist. Highly recommend this place.

Ive been to Abreo many times for drinks, which were always top notch, but never had gotten their food until recently because before the plates were way to small. But now they offer dinner size portions and they are amazing! The food is excellent with great flavor! The drinks are awesome too! Mine and my husbands favorite is the Hickory Stick!

This was one of those comforting meals that makes both your soul happy and awakens your senses. Our waiter Dan was very pleasant. When asked for recos, he hesitated initially, but did say that on his first visit here, he had the butterfish, and it won him over so much that he applied to work there the next day. The butterfish was indeed a highlight. The coconut curry sauce that's poured over the small plate at the table really makes the dish come alive. Your taste buds won't know what hit 'em. It's a party for your palate! My fav plate we ordered was the mushroom bread pudding. It had the texture of my fav kind of cookies: slightly crispy on the outside, and softer and mushier on the inside. Topping it with a fried egg = genius! Both the duck and roasted veggie flatbread were also comforting dishes, and we ended the meal with the blueberry white chocolate bread pudding, which Dan said was really the best dessert of the bunch. Found this gem via a quick search of dinner by Rockford's MetroCentre. Yelp FTW again.

These chefs at Abreo are amazing! I have been here a couple times and the environment is way beyond my expectations, especially the service & the food. This is a great place to hang out with friends for small bites & drinks, or take out your significant other out on a date night. The staff know their menu and how each food item is prepared. Everything I've had thus far has been delicious. Like I seriously scrape the plate I am a bit embarassed! Our most recent experience was for my birthday at the end of January. The duck nachos were amazing and the steak elotes! The bartender even offered me a complimentary cup of Moscato wine on him :) Their service is attentive, food is delicious, atmosphere is for all occasions, and an overall great experience. What more can you ask for? You must try!

Not only is the flavor of the food excellent, but each dish is so unique and the combination is high end. Would gladly drive 1.5 hours to come here again.

Another excellent meal from the amazing chef and wait staff at Abreo. Brought my grandparents to a nice dinner just cause, and they delivered. The cheese plate was well crafted with local cheeses, and the ribeye elotes and pork belly & sweet corn were to die for. The amazing things the chef can do with a simple ingredient like corn is remarkable, and I would kill for the recipe for that pickled corn. Thanks again Abreo for a wonderful night.

One of my favorite place in town. Cozy and trendy in very European style. Good wine selection and very tasty tapas ( small portion ). Blackened scallops and Korean beef is a must!

This Is by far the best restaurant that I have been to in my life and trust me I've been to a lot of them in Chicago and the surrounding areas.W We Had an amazing time and the food was phenomenal as always. We try to frequent here twice a year.

Wow! What a fabulous meal we had tonight! We were driving through Rockford on our way from Milwaukee to Davenport, and I looked at some reviews and picked this restaurant! My husband is a vegetarian who eats fish, and he ordered three courses. The seared tuna, the ravioli and the trout. Amazing. All three. The flavored were incredible. His favorite was the ravioli. I had the tasting menu. The chef planned an amazing meal tonight! It started with a delicious salad with breaded and fried Brie. Next I had shrimp with cauliflower rice and bacon. It was amazing. Finally, I had a waygu beef cooked with a coffee rub with parsnips and carrots. The beef was a little fatty, but once I cut it off, it was yummy. For dessert we had the apple pie that had dates in it and was covered in a vanilla cream. Yum! It was out of this world! I only gave it 4 stars because our service wasn't fabulous. It was good, but the server for the next table was a little more attentive and engaged with his tables. He even came over and hung out with us a bit, too! Even though I'm not sure if we will ever be back to Rockford, I would totally come back here. The dishes were all exquisitely planful and bursting with flavor.

We have been on a long journey with Abreo over the years, they have hosted multiple events for us, we have eaten in restaurant many times and now we were going to be using them to cater our wedding in April 2020. Then COVID19 hit and our whole plan was in jeopardy, however Abreo made the situation such a breeze by immediately offering to refund our deposit even though it meant quite a loss for them. When our plans changed yet again they were still happy and willing to last minute cater the small wedding we did have. The food was just as we hoped for and then some, they went above and beyond and put us at ease during a time that was otherwise very stressful. A huge thanks to Karen, Paul, Shane, Sandy and the whole rest of the Abreo team!

I would like to give my 5 stars to the amazing chef and staff here. Food and service was superb. It was beyond my expectations. Great for hanging out with friends.