Family restaurant Retro Bistro comes to Crystal Lake

CRYSTAL LAKE – Continuing the family legacy, owners Lorraine and Chris Barth have brought their second Retro Bistro location to Crystal Lake.

Inspired by the influence of their parents, Retro Bistro has delivered French bistro cuisine since its first location opened 26 years ago in Mount Prospect. Chris said his mother instilled in him a passion for cooking. This, combined with the guidance of Dominique Legeai, precipitated the opening of the first Retro Bistro.

While Chris Barth and Legeai opened the Mount Prospect location together in 1990, three years later Chris married Lorraine, Legeai’s daughter. Today, the couple co-own both the Crystal Lake and the Mount Prospect locations, and Chris offered much praise for his wife’s contribution.

“Without having my wife here at Crystal Lake or at Mount Prospect, there is no restaurant,” Chris Barth said.

The Crystal Lake eatery, 83 N. Williams St., opened June 15 and offers the same menu items as the first location. The cuisine is made fresh and in-house, with the only exception being the ketchup, Chris Barth said.

Retro Bistro provides a synthesis of French and local flavors with produce from local farmers markets incorporated into dishes.

“You can have a blend of that French bistro culture and then add in some of that local flare,” Chris Barth said.

As guests dine on items such as escargot and steak frites, surrounding them are hand-painted works of art, each featuring a disguised food item. These foods, as well as members of Barth family, can be spotted during a visit to Retro Bistro.

In addition to Lorraine and Chris, their son, CJ, has joined the team and serves as the general manager of the Crystal Lake location.

“The next generation is starting here,” Chris said. “My mentor, my partner, now my father-in-law passed on a little torch to us back in 1990 with Retro Bistro, and now I see my son, he’s learning.”