Ravinia Brewing Company

Came here with my family recently for some food and drinks. I love the small cozy feel of the inside of RBC in the colder months. My parents already had food at the table they were slowly munching on when we arrived. My brother and his girlfriend, started to eat that too. I am vegan so I waited to order my own food, which I got hummus and falafel as a snack. Everyone ordered drinks, from beer to mixed drinks and all enjoyed them. Definitely recommend, especially because it is owned by a family in the neighborhood.

I can't speak to the food but we stopped in for drinks and the cocktails were pretty bad and poorly made and presented. That said, it's a brewery so their specialty is beer, not cocktails.

I've recently started coming here a bit more - and each time I go it feels more like home. In total I've been 4 times, but the staff all know me by name and I get real Cheers vibes when I walk in now. Last night I got a chance to meet one of the owners, Jeff, and he bought me a round and posed for a picture when I said "I'm gonna put this on Yelp!" He's the guy on the far right. My favorite beers so far are Starseeker, Foodtruck, and Goza (spl?) Great neighborhood bar to come watch a game or bring a date for a low pressure good time.

I've been to Ravinia Brewing a few times and the beer is always great, but they recently expanded their menu and I had no choice but to write a new review after I tried their Ramen Burrito...this thing is insane! Their somewhat spicy Pork Ramen, in a burrito, fried like a chimichanga, with a ramen broth dipping sauce. Words cannot do justice to how good this is, or what it is, you just have to try it to believe it. It is amazing!!! Do yourself a favor and just try it.

Limited menu but the tacos were solid. Interior has a really cool ceiling. Service was friendly and attentive. I wod return if I was in the area.

Came in for a late bite with mom and needed something quick. Isaiah was wonderful to seat us right away and take our order. He seemed to be working alone and managed to handle everything by himself. Isiah needs a raiseeeee!! Thank you for the experience!

The food is usually quite good but beware, when you order the 'Ramen' it's actually spaghetti which was disappointing. The beer is cold and the tortillas are made on site. I recommend the Bierria Tacos. The service is always good and the Ravinia location is cozy.

Super friendly service, good music, great beer and food. I had the Nelson's Dragon and a carne asada burrito. Will be back again soon!!

We were pleasantly surprised by this place!! A little bit of a dive bar feel with outstanding food. We came for a late lunch on a Sunday and it was pretty quiet. Bartender was quick, and every beer we tried was great. We actually bought a six pack of the Steep Ravine for ten bucks to take home. I got the carnitas tacos and it was PLENTY of food. The shells were thick, warm, and unique. I'd never had such soft and thick corn shells before. The tacos were very authentic. My boyfriend got the burrito and it was also delicious. It was exactly what we were looking for and we got great service for a very reasonable price!

Great outdoor place / only has tacos and beers however there is a place next door that is their sister location so you can get a burger while having drinks outside. Me and 4 guys did a scooter ride and stopped her for lunch, it's a trendy spot and 15 minutes after we got there the place was packed. My firmed had their tacos while the rest of us had some beers. I am told they make their own tortillas. My review is for the drinks since I did not eat! I look forward to coming back next scooter ride with the guys and try some tacos myself

The beer's good and the food's bad. I like the light Food Truck lager. But I've never had a decent meal, the food is just mediocre. The fresh chips and guac are fine, that's hard to mess up. But the burrito? Ugh. They changed the recipe fortunately; it used to be a slurry of practically pureed ingredients. Now the different components are identifiable, but the carne asada burrito was 90% lettuce with a light sprinkling of meat (see the photo). Come on, guys, you can do better!

Went for lunch had the burrito bowl. It was very good as where the sauce is to accompany it. My friend had a burrito and thought it was quite good. We enjoyed two Pilsner draft beers. Excellent. The service was friendly and helpful. Other reviews here have said that this place reminds them of Cheers! I'm going to go back in the evening when they have a crowd and see if it is. The food is good place is very casual. They also have outdoor seating.

Fabulous! Great beer, lovely staff and such a beautiful town. We sat on the patio, weather was perfect, beer was great and the tacos and nachos were top notch. We hope to be back in the area again soon and will definitely stop in again.

Food is cool pub.. Drinks are unique craft beer types and awesome. Great, atmosphere and location. Nice sidewalk eating in the summer. Good takeout service. I love it.

The food and the beer were both great! The ramen burrito was unique and delicious! We will definitely be returning.

Favorite spot in Ravinia for great food, beer and people watching. Love sitting outside and enjoying the (summer) weather.

I'm so glad that we finally decided to try Ravinia Brewing. We try to avoid downtown areas on the weekends, just because we don't like to battle people for parking. We were really surprised that this was a little away from proper downtown so there were plenty of places to park! The inside seems small, but there's a ton of seating inside. When it's nicer out, they have front and back patio options. We ended up sitting at a booth that easily could have fit a few more people. They do serve food here, but we were just looking to make our way through the beer list. The beer covers all the basic bases for beer, plus a few fun ones that seem to be seasonal. I really enjoyed every single beer I tried so much that we ended up taking some home with us.

Great outdoor seating with a wide selection of beer. Really fun to sit outside on a nice day and they have fire pits. Burrito bites, chips and guac, tacos were all delicious. You can also get ice cream just next door but they will put it in same bill which makes it very convenient. Street parking is easy.

Solid drinks and solid food. Got the chips/guac, quesabirria, 3 tacos and Dulce de leche french toast (brunch). The quesabirria was stuffed with Barbacoa. Consume tastes good too. The French toast is shareable. Definitely big enough for 2 kids. Good service.

Liked this place for the food, but other things kept the rating down. I would summarize Ravinia Brewing as 4 star food and 2 star presentation/trappings. This little brew house is located in downtown Highland Park ... and it is a small downtown (if that is where we were). It was a nice little off-the-beaten-trail kind of area with a dozen or so establishments stuck in a residential area and near the train station. The place offered a number of craft beers - routinely good stuff - I had the Food Truck Pilsner (4 star very nice and light). We also had two orders of the chips, salsa & guac (5 stars and the hit of the night ... fresh salsa and guac and nicely salted corn chips). For dinner this restaurant serves mostly Mexican food, and the offerings were very nice. One in our party had the cheese quesadillas (2 star fine but not much cheese inside); another had the barbacoa beef burrito (4 star very good, nicely seasoned beef, and a well stuffed burrito); and the last in our party had the taco plate (3 star tasty selections and three to a plate). All the food was piping hot and freshly prepared. So what didn't we like. The table had no water glasses, no napkins, no condiments, no menus (only the QR code), nuttin'. I am sure we could have asked for everything, but the first blush is that this is really a bare bones operation. The food comes with no silverware at all - neither plastic nor metal. All the meals came in those little cardboard containers that you'd find on a County Fair midway serving up corndogs - the container quickly gets moist and falls apart. No silverware and flimsy containers just make the restaurant look cheap ... and they don't do the food justice. Still and all, 4 star food.

Ravinia Brewing Company has been our saving grace during the pandemic. They have gone above and beyond to stay safe while adapting to the challenges that this year has thrown at all of us. At the beginning of the summer they were able to set up in the street and kept this going throughout the summer and early fall. The street is open again, but they still have seating to the side of the street, on their sidewalk and under an open tent. They have added outdoor fireplaces to help keep the chill away. One of the most exciting part of RBC is the variety of beers that they bring in from their city location. There is always something different. I loved their Oktoberfest this past fall and their winter brews are just a lovely. They have a limited menu of tacos, burritos, quesadillas & salads, but everything is fresh and tasty. Mexican is perfect beer food in my opinion. We are blessed to have this local establishment in our area and will do our best to help support them through the ups and downs of Covid.

Fantastic! Came to the area for a Ravinia show, parked the car, walked here for a quick bite, and then headed into the show. It was the perfect timing to get a spot in the coveted parking lot AND get some delicious tacos. The staff couldn't have been nicer. So friendly and accommodating. We called ahead of time to ensure there would be space and were able to get a table outside! I tried the chicken tinga tacos, signature margarita, and chips and guacamole. Wverytjing was wonderful. If you get the food dairy free, which I did on a whim, they'll add extra goodies like pickled onions to jazz it up. This is a great spot and I highly recommend!

First time here was great. Really good beers and service. The food we ordered was awesome; I'd definitely recommend the nachos!

Warm and friendly staff. I really enjoyed the IPA's and sours that I picked up. This place is in a nice part of town. It's got a ton of charm. I'll be back for sure!

In fairness, it was a little strange being here early for lunch...we were the only ones in there so it was quiet and I dare say dismal. We got a flight of beer, a Mexican chopped salad, and delightful conversation with the barkeep. The flight of beer was good. The salad- off putting served in plastic and I thought the regular size was kind of small, makes me wonder just how small the side salad version is. I'm a fan that it was entirely vegetarian with an option to add meat. I look forward to returning in the evening to either their street side patio or beer garden in the back.

Absolutely incredible! The quesabirria tacos were SUCH a surprise to see on the menu and be this good. Service was exceptional and the mango passion fruit seltzer tasted like Summer. For a pit stop on our way home North, this was a perfect find!!! Tom was our server, and we LOVED him!!!

I LOVE RAVINIA BREWING. We were at the botanic garden one evening and needed some place to go to eat (with kids) and ravinia was right there. Their beer is awesome, the servers have always been pleasant and it's really nice sitting outside and drinking on their patio. It's great that they let you order both from their menu and BWBs (same owner). I def recommend the smash burger- it's honestly the best burger on the north shore.

I tried one of Ravinia Brewing beers in downtown Chicago a few months ago, so we I went to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and realized Ravinia was down the street I had to stop by. My husband had shared a flight, I got chicken tacos, and he got a chicken burrito. Everything was delicious. They have a number of Belgian style beers which are my favorite. I would highly recommend trying the saison and the Belgian strong. They are both so great that I had to get a six pack to go. Ravinia Brewing is such a friendly environment. The service was great. The owner stopped by our table and brought us a new beer to try based off of what we were already drinking. I will for sure come back to Ravinia Brewing the next time I am in the area.

It makes me sad how many of my reviews start with regret over not trying a place sooner. To be fair, we did attempt Ravinia Brewing Company last summer but it was packed and there was nary an empty seat to be found. We decided to go back this week and committed to the attempt. On a Wednesday evening, we had no problem finding an empty table. The menu is fairly limited - tacos and burritos. We each ordered three tacos. I opted for all carnitas; my husband got three different kinds. And that tells you everything you've ever needed to know about who we are as people. The carnitas tacos were incredible - the carnitas were crispy and flavorful. The pico had a slight spice to it without being overwhelming, and the other toppings did a nice job cooling the spice for my amateur-hour palette. My husband had a flight of beer (do you see a theme here?) that looked interesting and he enjoyed. I had a margarita, which was good but nothing extraordinary. I'll probably have a beer next time. They have a brunch menu that looks interesting - we'll definitely be back, likely to try that out. My one concern is that I saw the cook playing on his phone between preparing orders. Sir, I don't know where your phone has been but I sincerely doubt it's been sanitized. Please keep it away from my delicious carnitas. Thank you.

The site of the late Madame Zuzu was transformed beautifully and it is now a hopping place (get it, hops, as in beer:) where people gather to have awesome food and unique beer. The highlight of the menu is tacos and boy, oh, boy, they are great tacos. There are several choices for meat, one veggie, and most of the time there is a special. Two of the specials we tried were fish and steak and they were amazing, so I do recommend going for the dish of the day. You can mix and match your flavors, which is what I do:) Since they have the word brewing in the name, you have to try the beer. You will thank me. Full disclosure - I don't drink beer. Except, when I am at the brewery. You know, when in Rome.. The flavors they manage to create in their brews are really special. Recently I tried one with cold brew coffee in it and I loved it. The service is super friendly and the staff is genuinely interested in your satisfaction. We especially like Savina who is always smiling. The owner is a constant presence at the restaurant, greeting people and making sure everybody is happy. You can see the passion for this place in his eyes and it makes you feel good about being there. They serve a Sunday Brunch that I have not tried yet but saw the menu and it looks great. Now the one hiccup: The only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is the fact that they use paper dishes and plastic ware. I am very understanding of the reasons they do it and it adds to the casual atmosphere, but you know, the environment. Some people may mind this more than others.

Great spot to stop by on a weekend bike ride. Love their Medusa hazy IPA and the fish tacos were fantastic. I highly recommend sitting outside

Come here if you are in the mood for street tacos and a beer. Hubby and I came on a Friday night. I think we expected more options for food, but once we figured it out, that was cool. The tacos are very good... but the wait staff couldn't describe what was in the special taco. The owner came by, so I asked him. He said pineapple. I made a face... ha said you have to try it. So he came out with a small sample. It was great! Hubby got three of those. I sampled three other ones for my meal. I think Hubby got the better deal. The special was much better than the other ones on the menu. The owner told us they are opening a more full service place down the block later in the year. I will try that place. Like I said... 3 stars is a-ok. Not bad. It seems like a great place to hang in the warmer weather out back on the patio with a beer and a fresh made taco.

As a rare night out, we wanted a moderate priced dinner before our concert at Ravinia. We left wishing we'd waited for chips and pricey small wine cups at the venue. This restaurant is dark (which is ok), but EVERYTHING is sticky. Felt like a basement pub in a college town. The service was VERY slow (10 min for a menu), the drinks were twice a reasonable price and not much to brag about (pre-made margaritas). The tacos were good and the hamburger ok. Fries were perhaps from yesterday? Sticky table, sticky front on the bench, dirty bathroom. ew. we didn't try the beer.

They have brought back the small town neighborhood gathering place AND made it kid friendly!!! I walked in and was stunned by the neighborhood charm. There were several booths filled with families and the nicest manager/owner greeting everyone and wandering through hoping everyone was happy. Yes they have Beer. Yes they have Tacos! Both items were excellent. I love a place that makes their own chips. The guacamole was very tasty. The servings were smallish, but who needs to go home feeling stuffed!!! Their portions were just right. I will definitely be back. Let's hope others piggy back on their new concept of a brewery!!!!

Great low key spot to grab a drink and some delicious Mexican fare. The quesabirria was great, and the chips and guac were a solid snack. Some of the best guac I've found in the North Shore area so far.

Amazing service. First time out and it did not disappoint. Brett and Tom were super nice. Ended up spending a few hours there just enjoying sports and good conversation. Will definitely be going back there soon. Oh yeah the beer and food was top notch.

I've been to the brewery a few times and overall not very impressed. Their beers aren't great and the service is pretty poor. The last time I went we ordered we were seated at an outdoor table. The hostess never wiped it down after she picked up the drinks left from the previous patrons. We eventually ordered two beers once we were able to get a server and it literally took 25 minutes to get them. We can very close to walking out. To top it off one of the beers wasn't what we ordered but the waitress had disappeared again and didn't have time to deal with it. I also have to say it seems like they are hiring all young girls who are dressing like it's a hooters. It's odd they don't have some sort of standards. Not fitting of the area at all.

Wow. This place is terrible, especially if trying to do a Ravinia event...we were seated at one table, then had to move. Finally seated, didn't get waited on for over 30 minutes- had to get up TWICE to get someone to take our friggin' order for drinks. At 1.5 we were missing the Ravinia Concert, and asked to get our stuff packed up to go. BYE...

A bit tucked away in the downtown area (I think that's where I am...). This is a small and intimate brewery where everyone seems to know everyone else. Decided to roam around close-ish to home. And I want to try breweries outside of Chicago. I wish I was hungry because their tacos look delicious! While their beer list is small, they have something for almost everyone. I settled on a lively Belgian style white ale. They also have a full bar.

Great beers and very friendly staff. The food is good and they have plenty of outside seating in the summer

I really wanted to like this place! But I was disappointed and don't plan to return. And I'm not usually one to write a negative review! The service was extremely slow and our waitress was not attentive at all. Never came back to refill waters or even let us order another round of drinks if we wanted. The outdoor set up was crammed. We couldn't move our chairs back because we were between a fence and curb. The table was on an incline so things were sliding & it was wobbly. When I went into the bathroom there weren't paper towels. We had tacos and burritos. All the food was bland. Nothing special. All in all, won't return and wouldn't recommend to a friend.

Stopped by Ravinia for a quick bite and beer and was beyond pleasantly surprised. Tom offered a personal welcome and gave some great recommendations, including the Oktoberfest beer and Tacos. While I thought it may have been a strange combination, it turned out to be way more than expected. The homemade corn tortillas held the mound of barbacoa and toppings perfectly, and their red and green salsas added perfect acidity and freshness to make it pop. If you are looking for a great way to enjoy your lunch, this place hits the mark.

The beers are good and sitting outside (front or back) on a warm day makes a great experience.

Check this taco place off my list. A great reco from one of my daughters aides at school. A small place in downtown Ravinia that offers craft brew and of all things Tacos. The inside of the bar is a little tight. And they were super busy on Friday night. Every table, bar stool and back patio was filled. Friday night is live music night. We started with guacamole & chips which are homemade. Very good! I had for the first time the Four Shore Witbier which I liked a lot. And of course all of us had the tacos of beef, chicken & pork for dinner. Perfect size of three for $11. Just a heads up they do offer a veggie taco as well, including dessert. A great local craft brew place in downtown Ravinia area. Street parking, or park in the lot two doors down. A great place with plenty of craft beers to pick from, and tacos to boot! . Check this place out.

Love this little joint. Fabulous tacos I don't have fabulous chips. Fresh made tortillas.. very much a. classic style taco. They're just simply fabulous!I would recommend eating here or ordering in which we do regularly!!

I have wanted to try this place for a while, but never found the time. Ravinia Brewing is everything that I want in a small local brew pub. They are located near the Ravinia Metro in the downtown district. I was able to grab a seat at the bar with one my friends, but it is quite a cozy place in winter. They have a beer garden that opens up as the weather gets warmer, but that feels like it is a quite a long time from now. They make their own beer and it is brewed at Fulton Market and delivered to them as they currently do not have enough space yet. I tried a variety of their beers including: Steep Ravine (IPA), Drunken Rooster (Cabernet Barrel Aged Saison), and the Baldwin Porter. All three were excellent and I would easily order all three again. Another thing that I love about Ravinia is that they also serve wine and mixed drinks. One of the downsides of a craft brewery is that a lot of times they only serve beer and unfortunately it is disappointing when one of your friends does not like beer, so it rules that place out. This is NOT the case here and that is AWESOME. My friend ordered some Moscow Mules and they were delicious. They also have a small open space kitchen for Mexican fare including: Quesadillas, Tacos, Burritos, and Chips Salsa/Guac. The tortillas are hand pressed and made to order for all of the food. The food was also excellent and paired well with the beer. I ordered a barbacoa taco and chips salsa and guac and they were very tasty. Overall, I think I found one of my new favorite spots to have a good craft beer, enjoy good company, and enjoy some hand crafted cuisine. Definitely check out Ravinia Brewing if you are in the area.

After reading the reviews I was excited to try the tacos but they were flour tortillas and I prefer corn so I opted for the quinoa salad and it was pretty damn good. And I am not a big fan of quinoa so I was pretty impressed. Beer was solid. I went with the Hazy IPA, no complaints but wasn't mind blowing, just good solid beer.

Best damn taco in an upper middle class milquetoast suburb ever. Three tacos. They are all you need. The beer is good too. The cooks are the real deal. The staff is swell.

We experienced a mixed bag at our visit to Ravinia Brewing Company- first of all the patio area was filled to capacity with young families and preschool children. It was difficult to walk through the heap of kids rolling around and playing on the astroturf surface. My feeling is that bars, tap rooms, etc are adult places for adults to unwind- but the under-30 families feel that they have some divine right to go anywhere with their wild preschoolers. But I digress... Once inside, we were seated and noticed that they were very short staffed. Average wait times for anything and everything was 30 or more mins. When served we had to ask for such basics as menus, utensils, napkins and water. The beers were good (if pricey) although the cocktails were on the small side. Fair selection of non-beer mixed drinks are available. They have food available although it is a limited menu and the night that we were there they ran out of guacamole- how does this happen in a kitchen that specializes in Tex-mex cuisine? Otherwise the food (when we finally got it) was tasty, although we had to ask for taco sauce with our meal. The only thing that we didn't have to ask for or wait an inordinate about of time for was our check- which came actually before we were ready for it- but at that time we felt it was time to move on. I feel that Ravinia Brewing Company has a lot of potential to be a standout among brewpubs in the north suburbs- if they simply got rid of the booths on the east wall, put in stand alone tables in their place and also had more wait staff it would be a VAST improvement.

Not really anything good about it. The staff seem totally new, like they've never worked in a restaurant before. The whole indoor space is filled with smoke, like they don't know how to use the hoods over the grill. The outdoor space is made of AstroTurf with weirdly lopsided and unstable cheap glasstop patio furniture. I had sat inside for about 10 minutes getting completely ignored by the wait staff, so I waived at a waiter and he gave me the '1 sec' hand sign. I loudly said I would be outside if he could get to me... I should have stayed put... I sat outside for another 10min before a waitress could get to me. I placed a beer order and asked for a menu. This is the last I saw of any wait staff.. About 15min later I stood up and walked out. On my way the waiter called to me and said, 'You coming back in?'. And the waitress dashed over to the bartop and grabbed a foamless beer and thrust it at me 'I was just getting you your beer!'. I said, 'No thank you, I'm leaving.' and I walked out. There were probably 15people indoors and another 15 or so (5kids) outdoors. A total of 4 wait staff running around. I will likely not come back. It's a shame, I do enjoy their beer but they just don't seem to know how to run a restaurant. TL;DR: Just buy the beer at Sunset Foods.