D & J Bistro

Lake Zurich, United States

4

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 847-438-8001
Website:
www.dj-bistro.com
Address:
466 S Rand Rd, Lake Zurich, IL, 60047
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
2.9 miBarrington
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Private Lot
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
No
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Romantic
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Full Bar
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Lake Zurich) 17:54 Thursday, 5 June 2025

Business hours

Monday –
Tuesday 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
5:30 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 2:00 pm
5:30 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday 5:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Description

Specialties

French Owned Bistro since 1987

Tradionnal French cuisine as well as Asian fusion and American classic.

Private Room available for customized special Events.

Full Bar with focused Wine selection available also be the glass, friendly bartenders, and light faire Bar Menu.

Few favorites: Escargots, Steak Frites, MiniChateaubriand, Lapin, Seafood Risotto, Lamb Shank Ratatouille and montly featured «Classic True Bistro Dish» among like «Bouillabaisse» Cassoulet de Carcassonne” «Couscous du Mahgreb» and more…

Our Desserts are all made in house with the freshest best seasonnal ingredients.

Our Special always featrured Seasonnal Items like Smelt from Michigan,

Fiddlehead Ferns sauteed in Garlic, Local true Wild Mushroom, Alaskan Copper River Soceye Salmon, Fresh Oysters on half shell shucked to order…

Hope this has awaken an appetit… and we are looking forward to see you soon at D&J Bistro

History

Established in 1987.

Opened in Oct 1987 .

After working for years in formal French restaurants,

Dominique & Jacqueline thought it was time to «democratize» the French restaurant scene in the area.

Hence the first registered «Bistro» in the Chicago land.

Chef Masato started with us and is still with us; he became the 3rd owner (with D&J) after investing as the bistro grew.

Dominique and Masato opened «Retro Bistro» in Mt

Prospect in 1992 and eventually sold it to Lorraine (D&J’s daughter) and Chris her husband in 2004. Even though

D&J’s cuisine has evolved beyond your typical French

Bistro, it remains a true bistro in concept and spirit:

Fun atmosphere, Casual and friendly approach, and a

definite Value, both in food and wine.

Stephane became general manager in 1999.

Meet the Manager

Stephane G.

Manager

Born and raised in Western Region of France,

Graduated from «Les Sorbets» hotel/​restaurant school in Noirmoutier

Went to Paris to continue and improve knoledge in the Business.

Worked his way up in the industry from a small Café to 1st classe restaurant on the Champs Elisees «Lamazere» & «Le Doyen»,

in 1988 decided that London was calling and worked at «Hilton Kensington, then back in Paris for a position as assistant at PAris Sofitel Sevres.

In 1992, I decided to pack and come in the state where I was lucky to be employed at Allouette & Amourette, Then by Dominique in 1994 for whom I worked at Retro and D&J… I am now his left as much as his right hand. In charge of this wonderfull workplace, looking after our regulars as well as new comers, and planning private parties.

I am looking forward to see you at D&J Bistro soon…

mention this article, you never know!

A Bientot… Merci

Stephane

Nearby

Browse nearby places:
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ft
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450 S Rand Rd
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492 S Rand Rd
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484 S Rand Rd
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ft
GoldMax
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Shaggy Paws
446 S Rand Rd

20 reviews of D & J Bistro

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Lake Zurich, IL
Honestly, did not expect to find an amazing restaurant next to Pizza Pizza in a strip mall, but this place was fantastic. The escargot was delicious, good tuna and fish was very good. Service was excellent!!! Definitely will be a regular stop for us.
Place rating: 5
Urbana, IL
This little French bistro is one of the best restaurants I’ve been to in the area. The oysters on the ½ shell were some of the freshest I have ever had and were served with a red wine vinegar and shallot sauce. At our table, we ordered the Mussels (a very generous portion cooked in a white wine and garlic sauce and served with a side of fries), portobello and Brie sandwich, a vegetable platter with Brie, eggplant and vegetable wrap and mushrooms and the Niçoise salad. I tried everything and EVERYTHING was absolutely delectable. We also shared desserts, and the bread pudding was my favorite. It had a rich warm bourbon sauce that was to die for (if you like that bourbon flavor). Marisol was our waitress (she had waited on us before) and as always she was so delightful, friendly and accommodating with some of the minor substitutions we requested for the dish. They close at 2 for lunch and we got there just before they closed, but she welcomed us in and never made us feel rushed for the entire three course lunch and always had a smile on her face. Best waitress ever and we will always request her in the future. We wanted for nothing and service was prompt and efficient. I’d give more than 5 stars if possible, every experience here is a positive one and the food has been nothing but stellar. Yes, it’s a little more pricey than your local diner or chain restaurant, but you are paying for high quality whole foods prepared from scratch with love and care. Worth every cent.
Place rating: 2
Lake Zurich, IL
Went to D&J bistro two weeks ago, was really looking forward to dining here as
I have lived in the area for many years and heard good things about the restaurant.
Unfortunately I left unimpressed and hungry.
Not a large menu and all a la carte and quite expensive.
The wife and I both ordered the Caesar salad, awful !
The salad was unlike any other we had ever had, mixed greens with the worst
anchovy’s ever, as big as smelt and not fresh
Rabbit entrée was ok but small
I won’t be dining here again
Place rating: 4
Barrington, IL
Good food and accommodating staff. Has an old school feel. Feels a little Florida being in a strip mall, but it’s not like I’m here every week so i can roll with it…
Place rating: 5
Barrington, IL
I love sitting in the bar having a few drinks and some appetizers great steak tartare the staff is friendly. This is one of my favorite spots!
Place rating: 4
Lake Zurich, IL
We went back to D&J last night because I want to have my favorite Yule Log before Christmas. We all ordered Baked French Onion Soup, the soup was so tasty & cheese was chewy! Hanger Steak was cooked to perfection, Seafood Risotto (portion was smaller than before) was delicious as usual, and my Tuna Trio was good but not great! The Yule Log with chocolate mousse filling was yummy but they used to have chestnut filling, I like the chestnut filling even better! Hope they will go back to make the chestnut filling next year!
I left a review a few months ago with 3 stars only and said that the quality of the food was slipping, however, after last night’s dinner, I will definitely give them a 4 stars since overall food quality was great and service was good! Atmosphere & decoration was warm, cozy & festive… perfect for Christmas celebration!
Place rating: 4
Chicago, IL
Great stick-​to-​your ribs kind of meal. We came with a large party (17) and service was great. We shared a few appetizers to begin, including an excellent foie gras dish. That foie was melt-​in-​your-​mouth perfect! One of the better foie gras dishes I’ve had. Escargot was also delicious, a great version of a classic bistro dish. For my entrée, I had the lamb shank with ratatouille. The lamb shank was fall of the bone tender, but the ratatouille was the real standout in my opinion. I love eggplant and that alone was enough to win me over, but the flavor of the sauce was just delicious. Definitely something I wanted to eat on a cold fall day. Other popular entrees on the table were the skate wing, trout, and cassoule. The veal shank as yummy as well, but sides were bland compared to the meat. For dessert, I had the mocha crème brûlée, which was a rich finish to the meal. I’m not in the area so I probably won’t be back, but this is an excellent place to come on a cold evening to enjoy a nice meal.
Place rating: 3
Barrington, IL
We have been dining at D&J Bistro for almost 20 years. We have never not enjoyed our dinners and lunches. The menu is enticing with the right amount of daily specials. We look for a charming and fun ambience with delicious food and wines. We do not mind waiting for our table as the restaurant is quite busy. The active bar scene creates an enjoyable start to the experience. The problem was our waiter. Once seated, the waiter rattled off the specials so quickly without asking us if we ready to hear or offering us a drink. Once we were able to interrupt, our drink order taken but when served, the waiter misdirected the drinks and even spilled one. He knew he spilled, did not apologize or offer to clean or blot the table. We did not have time for a sip of our drinks and again, we were bombarded with his repetition of the specials. We said we would like to relax a bit and we would let him know when we were ready to order. Every few minutes, he would run by us and attempt to take our order.
The waiter is either untrained or incapable of interacting and serving properly. Please do not permit your staff to remove plates until all are finished. It is rude to all people at the table.
Attractive, charming environment, interesting, well-​prepared food and smooh, polished service are necessary ingredients for an enjoyable dining experience. In this case, the service was poor. We will return to D&J but not for awhile.
Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.
Place rating: 4
Lake Zurich, IL
Really enjoy D&J. Have been going here for over 20 years!
Gotta love the Steak Frites or Lamb Shank!
Wife loves the Scallops and Beet/​Goat Cheese Salad.
Wish the Specials Menu would change more frequently — we’d go more. The Prix Fixe menu could be a bit more diverse and change frequently as well. How about a wine flight to go with the Prix Fixe?
Speaking of wine — would love to see the wine list go a bit deeper. Kinda short. Does not matter too much as the corkage fee is only $ 15 — a bargain!
Place rating: 5
Anaheim, CA
I love this place! Best French Bistro in the suburbs. We have been going here for over 20 years. I always go for the classic bistro dishes and consistently have a hard time making a decision. On occasion I get the pasta J and believe it is my favorite pasta dish of all time!
Place rating: 5
Fox Lake, IL
Best meal I’ve had in a long time! Had the escargot for an appetizer, steak frites for an entrée, and home made sea salt caramel ice cream for dessert.
Everything was perfect — we had a reservation for 6 and arrived about 15 minutes early, but we were seated immediately. This seems like the perfect time on a Saturday; it was packed by 7 – 7:30.
Our server was attentive, and everything came out perfect.
I ordered my steak medium-​rare, which many times seems to be more medium or even medium-​well, but here it was perfect!
Don’t let its location in a strip mall fool you — this place is legit!
I was in Paris earlier this year, and this took me right back to that culinary experience.
Place rating: 1
Des Plaines, IL
WAS one of our favorite restaurants in the area. We just left without getting to order our dinner because something VERY strange happened.
We ordered two martinis and the waiter took back a martini someone else returned and served it to us.
The other couple who returned the drink watched her serve it to us and after witnessing it they left their food on the table and left.
We confronted the waitress at the bar about it and of course she denied it.
The food is very good and we love going here but we are now struggling to decide if we will ever go back.
Five star food, negative five stars for the bar waitress.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
First timer’s here and my husband and I loved it! The escargot was delicious, classic French bread was perfectly crusted. We also had the figs and bacon — unremarkable, they weren’t bad but wouldn’t get again. He still can’t stop talking about the hot fois gras, which was delicious and I also loved the cold fois gras. Service — c’était charmant. We’ll definitely be back.
Place rating: 4
Los Angeles, CA
Very good food, I had the goat cheese salad and was delighted with the sliced fruit that came with it. I also loved the salmon wrapped tuna tartare. My friend had eaten there once before and loved it but she had the steak last time and this time she had seared steak tartare, which confused us when we really started to think about it, because isn’t seared just cooked? And indeed it looked a lot like a poorly cooked hamburger, so she wasn’t as in love as she was with her first dish. However, they also have great service. Really great service, the opposite of French service but good French food. I would definitely go regularly if I lived here.
Place rating: 5
Midwood, Brooklyn, NY
What a great French bistro! We went there over the Labor Day weekend. The foie gras was cooked to perfection — crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside, plus the sauce was in perfect balance. Beef tartar was another delicious starter.
Main dishes were great and didn’t disappoint, especially the July duck and steak Diane. I also really liked the sweetbread dish but it’s not for everyone :)
Thank goodness there were four of us and I got to taste 4 different deserts. It would torturous to select just 1! Knowing what I know now, if I had to choose only one desert, it would be the soft almond meringue with hazelnut praline layer — to die for!
Place rating: 5
Algonquin, IL
Don’t let the strip mall location fool you!
This place is a diamond in the rough! I hadn’t been here before, and I was part of a large party. And, of course, I’m gluten free (*sigh* I try really hard not to be the difficult one, but here I am…). I mentioned to the server that I am gluten free, and he said that he would talk to the chef to ask which items were safe. To my surprise, most of the items selected on the fixed menu were gluten free already! He was very informative and went line by line down the menu, informing me of which items were safe and which were to be avoided. I was served a homemade sorbet for dessert, and the biggest surprise of all was that they brought out gluten free bread with my soup! People, I ate BREAD at a restaurant with SOUP — two things that rarely happen! The hostess (owner?) also assured me that they could accommodate any dietary restriction and was very helpful. I had a wonderful, stress-​free meal because of the fantastic staff. Thank you!
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
A couple of my relatives in the NW suburbs recommended this French «bistro.» We went with another couple and despite the service being really attentive and cordial, all four of us were underwhelmed by the food especially at the premium prices for a strip mall establishment.
The main complaints: the soft-​crab appetizer special tasted way too fishy so we had to sauce it up. The rib-​eyes were a little tough and chewy. The braised goat special was saved by a decent sauce but you take your chances, you know.
The bread and desserts were good enough to avoid the one star rating.
Place rating: 5
North Barrington, IL
This is consistently one of the best restaurants anywhere. Prices are fair, food is always delicious and they have a nice wine list. We go here several times a month. Whether it’s a special occasion or a Tuesday night it’s always fabulous. 5 star service, 5 star food. I cannot say enough good things about this place!
Place rating: 3
Deerfield, IL
Sooo, the Ruskies booked several tables at DJ Bistro for New Years Eve dinner and then dancing with DJ. I am going to look past all the NYE issues and just speak to the overall experience.
The food is old school, bistro French, and they do a good job. Steak, Veal Shank, Lamb, deconstructed Caesar salad, Fois Gras, Mussel Soup, and Dover Sole ALL GOOD! They do need some saucier support because the French sauces were weak. My beautifully cooked Dover Sole was served with an unseasoned bland white ver blanc.
DJ Bistro is in a strip mall in Lake Zurich, and if you are looking for French it is the best for 10 miles, and maybe one of the best restaurants in that far northwest burb area. It is not unreasonably priced for what is served, but expensive for area.
The food is old school /​uninspired, but it matches the clientele … Old school.
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
Oh my, what a yawner…
Kind of the same olé restaurant from 12 years ago. Needs a menu and store update. Everyone’s food IQ has been raised.
We need more than steak frites and canned snails in melted garlic butter trivets.