Best Lunch Restaurants in Crystal Lake

Our group of 8 chose an off time to dine and had the dining room to ourselves. Our server, Danielle, was patient, helpful and efficient. We had a variety of entrees; all excellent. Portions were large. Wine was good; not great.

The pizzas were absolutely delicious. We loved the pesto prosciutto goat cheese specialty pizza. Artichoke dip appetizer with red peppers was not a traditional artichoke dip recipe--overloaded with red peppers would not try that again. We definitely will return. Great vibe and lively.

The Chicken Bacon Jam pizza was good, not great. The Burrata (sp?) cheese was dolloped on and covered the chicken and jam, obliterating the flavors of those two. I love their pizza crust. Service was a little slow, but VV seems to be chronically understaffed. However, the staff is long term, so we have gotten to know them and enjoy their service. I am a Wine Club member, so the meal is usually quite reasonable.

The food was exquisitely prepared and beautifully presented. Our server was attentive without being overwhelming, which contributed to a delightful evening.

We had Christmas lunch here, so it was pretty quiet and the staff weren’t so busy. With that in mind, service was friendly, prompt and attentive. The food was excellent: pot stickers for starters, then mutton stir fry, beef fried rice and Singapore noodles. Mutton is unusual in Chicagoland but it was surprisingly good. PL8 is now in our top 2 Chinese restaurants in the NW burns.