Name: Market House on the Square
Address: 655 Forest Ave, Lake Forest, IL, 60045
Price range: $$

Market House on the Square

Iconic/NotableMarket Square · Contemporary American Community-sourced, unverified

📍 655 Forest Ave, Lake Forest, IL 60045

Market House sits at the literal center of Lake Forest's Market Square — the country's first planned shopping district, built in 1916 — and the restaurant has leaned into that address rather than coasting on it.

A contemporary American kitchen at the center of Lake Forest's 1916 Market Square — crab cakes, mussels, and a local-beer-and-wine bar, plus two sibling concepts (The Taqueria, Market House Kitchen) under the same roof.

The kitchen runs a contemporary American menu built around fresh, local ingredients: a meatloaf and crab cakes sit on the same menu as mussels and an 'Original Salad,' with the chef putting a lighter, modern spin on dishes that could easily be served heavier and more generic. The bar matches the local-first approach, pouring craft beer from nearby Mundelein and Lake Bluff breweries alongside classic cocktails and a wine list deep enough to offer more than 20 selections by the quartino.

The restaurant proved its staying power by spinning off two additional concepts under the same roof — The Taqueria and Market House Kitchen (MHK) — both of which became real community hits in their own right rather than pandemic-era afterthoughts. No discount special turned up in research, and prices run approachable rather than special-occasion (most entrees land around $30 and under); the draw is simply dependable, farm-forward cooking at the middle of Lake Forest's historic town square.

Hours

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🥡 Takeout unconfirmed

Amenities & accessibility

❔Takeout: unverified

❔Wheelchair access: unverified

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Market House on the Square

Market House sits at the literal center of Lake Forest's Market Square — the country's first planned shopping district, built in 1916 — and the restaurant has leaned into that address rather than coasting on it.

Specials at Market House on the Square