Convito Cafe & Market

Incredible!! We usually just pick up the tarragon chicken but came in to try dinner today. Must try the PAPPARDELLE BOLOGNESE - egg ribbon pasta, hearty beef & pork ragu with bechamel drizzle. I’ll be back soon!

We were really disappointed this last time to Convito. We were in for Sunday brunch and the food was as always good. However, there were a few things that destroyed the outing for us. First, several flies were buzzing around indoors. I fully understand that with our rain the little guys get in the restaurant, but there were about 10. When we brought it to our waiters attention, before we could even ask to be reseated, he said "the doors been open" as he turned and walked away. I eventually asked another staff member if this level of flies was normal for the frankly unaffected manner our waiter dismissed the issue. He assured us that no, this was not normal and he did offer an apology for the disruption. Our waiter spoke with us once to take orders and then when delivering food. Those were the only times he stopped at our table. We had to ask another staff member to please bring our check as our waiter had not come back to check on us and we were fairly done between waving flies away and having our drinks run dry. I hate to think one of our go to restaurants is becoming this. We even decided to forgo their great desserts to go elsewhere because of this.

Always a delight to eat at this Franco-Italo bistro in the beautiful Plaza del Lago. Atmosphere is cozy and welcoming, Victor is an attentive and conscientious waiter. Cocktails and portions are generous and fairly priced. The market has fresh salads and pastas as well as a nice selection of wine for purchase. A true north shore gem.

Excellent food and service. Great selection of dishes. Including vegan dishes. Yum.

Everything here is dusty from the decor that's jammed into every space including behind the front door to the patrons. You walk in the door and you are greeted by a soup bar that says "do not touch." The food tasted fine but the menu was nonsensical and the prices were a bit weird. $14 Caesar salad? Are you making that a table side? No. Iceberg lettuce? Yes. Warning! Their gluten-free menu isn't gluten-free; It's gluten reduced at best. They will disclose cross contamination if you ask but they will not if you don't. They do not have dedicated friars so at least two of the items on the gluten-free menu aren't even gluten-free. To the staff: If you know there is cross contamination, why would you put it on the menu that says gluten-free? Just because someone doesn't go into anaphylactic shock in your restaurant doesn't mean they aren't going to be sick, possibly for days later on.

We widowed this Italian restaurant for the first but not the last time. It was a wonderful experience as for service and taste of food. It has a style of one of the Italian boutique restaurants that you can meet on the streets of old Europe. We ordered spaghetti and calamari appetizer and it was delicious. Really enjoyed the experience

We had a party for 25 and everything was excellent. The service was on point and all of our guests commented that the food was also excellent. The menu had a nice assortment for guests to choose from. Great communication from the staff. A lovely, family business.

11/21 - Wonderful store and Italian goodies. Colette and Adrian were warm and friendly! 11/23 - Another visit today to pick up some food items. William was very helpful at the counter and answered a lot of my questions. Brenda was also great taking my order on the phone.

Always a great place to dine. Another yummy lunch thank you. I had the salad, greens were fresh and good. My daughter ordered the Quattro fromagie pasta which was quite frankly luscious. Home made pasta here- always good to order pasta dishes here. My dad had the white bean soup, which is homemade and delicious. We had coffee and dessert at the end...my Creme brûlée had specks of vanilla bean...cappuccino was great. We are regulars here when we are in town. It never disappoints. Elegant surroundings and good food.

Convito Cafe is a cute little spot I finally had the chance to visit in Wilmette. When you walk in to the left is the restuarant area and if you go right they have a market. I went for their restaurant which closes at 8pm during the week. Their menu focuses on two cuisines: French and Italian. As we were seated our server brought us bread and oil. The bread was delicious. I love a good starter bread. We ordered Steak Frites and the Griilled Bistro.Bistro. Everything came out correctly. I enjoyed the pommes frites. They were cooked to perfection. The steak was seasoned well also. The burger could have skipped it. It we just okay. It was a nice setting plenty of parking.

I ended up here for dinner after exploring the area. Service was good and prompt. The focaccia was delicious. I had the Cesar salad and the the pasta with broccolini and sausage. It was perfectly cooked and had a light cream sauce. The Cesar had an olive tapenade which honestly, for me didn't add to the dish. It wasn't my favorite. The Parmesan crisps were fabulous though. The pasta was delicious. Light, creamy and the broccolini was cooked just enough to be edible, perfect. It will reheat beautifully. Finally, the tiramisu, which was interesting. Not in a bad way. It was unique, delicious, but if you are looking for a traditional one, this might not be it. The cream was very thick, not airy and light. The coffee flavor was so light it was almost not there. Again, not bad, just different. Give it a shot. The cafe needs a facelift but the market was cute and they had a decent wine selection!

Great location. Nice ambiance. Good customer service and quality food. Had one of the best salmon salads that I've ever had. Love the market part of the restaurant that sells all types of fresh food items that you can purchase to go.

We (four of us) recently had dinner at Convito. This remains one of our favorite restaurants in the Northshore area. The food and service are consistently good and the ambience is lovely. The majority of clients ate outdoors which left a very quiet indoor dinnertime for us.

Better food than I rembered. Good menu. The pasta with peas and mushrooms in wonderful.

So I've been coming here for quite some time now and it's pretty consistently good. Tonight was no different and the food was deeelish. The outdoor patio was open too and we enjoyed the gorge weather and then the temp turned a a bit chilly as the sun went down...more drinks to warm us up please! I had the Aperol spritz so I can pretend I'm in Italy LOL. So we had onion soup which was topped with fried onion strings; the broth had a bit of garlic and perhaps some tomato paste to sweeten it a bit. It's not the classic French onion soup but it really has a nice depth of flavor and overall it was quite delicious. I had the beet salad which had the red and golden beets with arugula and goat cheese--so yummy if u like beets. Entree we had the chicken paillard topped with arugula and the chicken was crispy juicy and flavorful. I ordered the Orchiette with sausage and broccoli rabe and it too was delicious!

Food, ambiance and location with a great opportunity to dine outside Convito has stayed the course and has come out victorious from all the tribulations that Covid dealt. This Northshore restaurant offers something for everyone.

After a lovely visit to the Chicago Botanic Gardens in Glencoe we start heading back to Chicago and we end up driving through the city of Wilmette. Of course it's lunch time, so my wife pulls into a shopping center. Low and behold there is this little Market / Cafe called Convito Cafe. We get an outdoor table, scan their menu and roll up our sleeves and wait for our lunch. My wife and I shared a really terrific salmon club sandwich with bacon, lettece, tomato and a special secret sauce. We split a small Caesar salad whichwasexcellent. A couple of iced coffee's and we we set. Our L.A. guests had the same as us and they loved it. You can see that this market / restaurant is run with care and attention. We all loved it and we're very happy to have found Convito Cafe.

I cannot believe the terrible food here. -not authentic Italian and they really scrimp on ingredients!!!! They deliberately 'trick' the buyer in their deli. They don't put prices on their food. You always have to ASK!! Their lasagna has no meat!! They sprinkle about a 1/2 tsp. of meat on top to make you think there is meat but, there is none. Their meatloaf falls apart... can't even slice!! ... all crumbled bread. The restaurant employees don't understand an order! Maybe it will close as the plaza changes.

The food was authentic Italian without the heavy sauces that some places use. The fish was perfectly cooked with a light lemon caper glaze. The cheese ravioli was as delicate too. Love their patio also!

We got a selection of catered items from their market for pickup today. We got a nice selection of half sandwiches: the Caprese, Caprese plus, Italian, tuna, tarragon. A platter of crackers, ham and salami tray, roasted eggplant, bow tie and veggie salad, Caprese and a julienned zucchini salad. The tuna salad, Caprese and the Italian were good. My favorite salads and side dishes were the eggplant and the zucchini salad, both were so flavorful and yummy. I had several helpings of the favs.

This is such a hidden gem in Plaza del Lago. Great food, nice service, cosy ambiance. The onion soup, mussels, sandwiches and quiche tasted home made and were absolutely scrumptious and so delicious. The potato chips were home made. Everything was perfect. We loved it. Must return.

Great service from extremely polite Northshore teens. However the subroll for my Italian sub was stale. Awful.. Subway actually better

I had a very interesting experience here today that I thought the general public may find intriguing - I'm an Asian American woman in my late 30s that enjoys coming to this location on the weekends to grab their turkey Brie sandwich (quite delicious when not tainted with the sour ingredient of this experience). Today everything was normal, it was a beautiful day, and I had brought my husband who is also Asian American. After we grabbed our food we sat down in the patio area to enjoy the delightful melt of Brie on our tongue but were told that we "can't sit here because it's for our dine in customers." "Sure! No problem!" We said as we got up to move. "Interesting" I thought, "we've never had an issue sitting here before" and then as I glanced around my heart dropped. There were other take out customers sitting in the patio area, enjoying their food happily. :( Next, I gathered my strength and spoke to the waitress that had asked us to leave. She said she didn't realize and would speak to the other customers there. I searched for the understanding of equality in her eyes. I even told her I didn't want her to make the other couple leave as they seemed older (though they were in full athletic gear, and I could see the defined cyclist muscles in their forearms as they sat on the patio and brought their healthy salad to their mouth. #goals?) From afar, i watched as the waitress spoke with them. Did they get up to move? No. Did the waitress come and offer us our seats back? No. And as I braced myself to walk back to the car with my knee injury, to attempt to enjoy the rest of my day, did I feel alone without my voice heard? Yes. This was a very disappointing experience, and as I sit at an empty park bench 5 miles away with my convito bag, my brie sandwich untouched, I hope that sharing this story helps others be more mindful about their actions.

Food was over priced, not thoughtfully presented, and over-promised and under delivered. I ordered from the gluten free menu, the tuna salad, and the menu made it seem as though it would be a piece of tuna with the salad. Instead, it was a very small scoop of plain tasting, dull tuna with only green lettuce. Not even worth $5, and especially not worth $16. My friend even offered me some of her tomatoes, saying I needed "color" on my plate. I will never dine here again. I had tried it another time, was disappointed, and continue to be disappointed, and even starving when I left.

This place is a total find. We went for lunch on a weekday with family in from out of town, and everyone raved about the food. My quiche was a delight but I had to steal my mom's fries because those were the best shoestring fries ever-- the kind of shoestring fries that all shoestring fries should be! It's also a nice little wine shop as a bonus with a good price range. I will definitely be back!

All I can say is that I have never seen anything like I saw yesterday. I went into this place and there were two ladies behind the deli counter. I saw they had a curry chicken and asked the lady if I could try a little before I bought. She said no she couldn't do that. I asked if it was Covid related and she said no, it was that they don't allow samples. I asked how would I know if I like it without trying a little. She said the only way I could is if she sold me a sample. I said go for it. She actually charged me .35 cents for this sample. I was hungry so I bought another 1/2 pound. I will never go back here again. This woman was so rude and I was so taken back that my head was spinning. The place is very over priced and they treat their customers like crap. I would give it zero stars if I could. Again, the refusal to allow me to sample the item was not Covid related. Had it been, I would have understood it. Jewel is in the same mall and is always happy to let you try something from the deli before buying it. This place is penny wise and dollar foolish.

Great food, service & atmosphere! A relaxed environment with exemplary quality! I HIGHLY recommend!

Everthing was excellent. Had not been theirs in decades, but happy to share this afternoon 's lunch was excellent. Went their with a friend. We both ordered Frech onion soup and a tuna sandwich. He also ordered the meatballs. We both agreed the French onion soup was the best compared to many places. Serving size, temperature and taste all spot on. The sanwhiches were served on whole grain bread that was fresh and the tuna was not slathered in mayonnaise. All ingredients fresh and appropriate tasty proportion. I tasted a portion on my friend's meat ball order. It also was fresh and although not exactly Grandna's still an excellent idea for a quick to go sandwich for the week that I would consider ordering. Take a ride from the city and go there. Enjoy the food abd the sights.

Always a lovely lunch. The atmosphere is relaxing and the staff is great. The food is well prepared and delicious. You

We recently found this place and dined late at night on two occasions where we were one of three couples, total. Our waiter was a wonderful, tall man who was a great server for all the right reasons. More, we got to sit right in front of the fireplace, which we were stoked to find is real. The food was good and the ambience perfect for what we've looked for recently. We dined last night for dinner and there were many more guests having a nice time. However, it was the end of our good roll. We went to the seating podium and were surprised when no one greeted us for several minutes. There were staff near doing tasks. Finally, a young woman greeted and sat us. There was a too-cold draft where we sat but we dealt with it because we had enjoyed our previous visits. But this was not to be. A bus waiter grabbed extra place settings unceremoniously and without speaking to or looking at us. His actions were as though we offended by being only two at a table for four. He returned with water, then with bread, which he placed on the table in the same angry-ish way he did when removing place settings. We said thank you and he barely responded. We then waited a good 10 minutes for anyone to acknowledge us. Finally, a very young, male waiter - who had passed our table several times without a glance or word - stopped to ask if we were ready to order. No real greeting. No smile, no nothing that one expects at a good (or any, really) restaurant. I was just too annoyed when he didn't know the menu items nor wines. We had to point out to him - twice - the wine we wanted. We had to do the same with the food choices. He looked neither nervous nor embarrassed. It didn't end there. He brought the wrong wine. It wasn't even one with a similar name. It was just wrong. He apologized, but as if he had just done something minor. But wait: it took him about 60 or more seconds to open the wine. We just continued our conversation so as not to stare at his seeming inexperience and training. Our food was presented well, but not as good. But we ate because it was good enough. When I mentioned the undercooked meat I had, the waiter mumbled something, but looked as though he either didn't know what to do or didn't plan to do anything about it. We didn't care so much, but were put off by his odd response. We mentioned the meat again when the same bus staff came for our plate. He looked angry, was quiet, then said something that sounded like "I can't doing anything about that." He SEEMED to suggest he would mention it to the chef. Nothing happened. As we left, not one of the several staff members said a word. Last visit until we find out first waiter again!

Enjoyed a lovely lunch here. Food was good and I want to give special recognition to my very fine waiter, Ruben. Also, kudos for the profiteroles. The space is nice, quaint, and clean. Roomy enough so that guests don't feel they are crowded. I was initially turned off at the sight of my bread plate, there were black age marks on it, it wasn't dirty, just age marks- time to get rid of it. I switched my plate out for one on a nearby table. It is not a particularly small menu, plenty of lunch options including soups, salads, sandwiches, pastas, and plates (non sandwich meals). Considering I don't eat meat or shellfish my options were considerably limited, though they accommodate for these limitations. My husband had a pasta that is normally served with prosciutto and they were able to take out the meat. I ordered the salmon which was a good, large, succulent piece of fish, flavored nicely, and served over lentils and vegetables and spinach. We started with an appetizer of asparagus that was good but there was nothing special about it. The texture and taste of the profiteroles was fantastic. I only spoke of the restaurant but it is worth noting that it is attached to an Italian market. The market looked to have candies and gift items, but most notably, a deli case with a sizable selection of sandwiches and salads to go. This is a nice place to eat and then stroll around the small outdoor mall.

Junk overpriced food in the café. Chorizo was floating in grease with barely any chorizo, mostly potatoes. Turkey sandwich came with burned potato chips. The skinny middle-aged lady (only for identification, in case the owners care) at the deli market was cold and unfriendly. Update: the restaurant responded the same day and apologized, and I have to admit that I was impressed by their quick reaction and reply. That means that they care, and I appreciate that. As for prices, I agree that the prices were clearly posted, and nobody forced me to buy; it was my choice, so, if the food is good, it may be worth it. I hope that they will post the food prices in the deli market too (meats, salads, etc.) and their attendant will be a little warmer. Thanks for kind response.

Convito Café is a quaint little restaurant and shop located in Wilmette. It is tucked away in a strip mall, but feels like you are in a more country atmosphere inside. There is both seating indoors and on the nice patio out front. Service was very good, especially the bus boys who keep every water glass filled! They also have a small shop with wines, pasta sauces and prepared dishes to go. They offer a wife variety of pastas and entrees. I opted for the burger ($16) which was a good size and pretty tasty. The large patty was cooked a perfect medium rare and was covered in carmelized onions and gruyere cheese. The bun was pillowy and had a great flavor. The fries were the standout - they were amazing! The pastas looked good also and were reasonably priced. The bread they serve before your meal is quite nice also - almost a focaccia. Check this place out if you are in the mood for a relaxing meal featuring fresh ingredients.

Came here a lot over the last two years and generally enjoyed the food. In the market, the staff is friendly but in the cafe, the service is often brusque, slow, inept or even downright rude. This year, we went in the winter. It was busy but not crazy. We were seated and then waited and waited and waited and waited.... Not one server, including the one who seated us, even came to bring water or take a drink order. My husband had to finally go up to the host/manager to ask if we even had a server. They sent over a girl who was extremely green... She didn't even know the specials, even though they were printed out and we showed them to her. She was awful but we persevered. The host was well aware of how much trouble we had just in ordering and then this server came back several times to confirm our orders... She just couldn't get it together. No one apologized or comped a single thing for all that hassle! But, we had had other experiences that we enjoyed before, so we decided to just let this go. Fast forward to last month. We were so happy to be able to sit outside with our dog, as we had the previous two summers since moving here... Just to cut to the chase: They SAY they're dig friendly, but they really, really aren't. They have a head waiter there who is incredibly rude and awful. In fact, he was the guy who abandoned us after seating us in the winter. This time, he didn't welcome us or say anything pleasant. Just ordered us to move our dog, who was sitting quietly next to our table. This happened twice more in a span of less than 10 minutes, with no one taking our order and I was sick of being treated like garbage by their entire staff, so we left and we haven't been back, nor will we ever go back. When I wrote the management, I got an offer for free desserts. I don't need dessert, I need to be treated with some modicum of respect. Convito doesn't get that, obviously. Not to worry, though, there are lots of much better restaurants around that appreciate my business, with or without a dog.

Lovely deli, market and restaurant. Everything looked so fresh and delicious I wanted to try it all! We grabbed a few sandwiches and some pasta salad and chips for a take away lunch. Sandwiches were good. Be prepared to wait a few minutes...not the best place if you are in a rush, they take their time making them with love. August is national sandwich and panini month so we scored 15% off our sandwiches.

I am keeping my New Years resolution-- never to be a victim or victimized again. I went here to get some ravioli at the market. There were 2 people in front of me - a lady and a gentleman. The lady at the cashier position seemed very pleasant and professional. She took care of the lady, then the gentleman who had reserved a loaf of bread. She brought it to him saying that not only was it fresh-- it was still warm. After she finished with him-- I stood to the front position. She then walked away and went to the back. I stood there and waited. After a while another lady came out-- took my money, and placed the dollar in change on the counter -- away from me-- not in my hand. Every Black person has had this happen to them-- at one time or another. Frankly-- this hardly EVER happens to me-- that is why it is so obvious when it does. This kind of hatred is destroying our country. Take your business elsewhere.

This restaurant is a quick walk from my parents house. It can have really good food and sometimes just ok, probably depending on the season and the kitchen staff that night. During the summer, there is usually plenty of outdoor seating. Since it is so close to the lake, there is usually a nice breeze, making even hot days worth having dinner outside. The service is usually pretty good. They have great desserts. If you just want a quick take out, they have plenty of pre-made cold pastas, cheese, wine, and salads. It's a great neighborhood restaurant.

Food and service is excellent, wine was poor. I had to return my glass of Pinot Noir because it tasted more like vinegar than wine. Sadly everyone in our party was disappointed with their wine. We're not wine snobs, but I know the difference between bad and good wine. Suggest you have a meal and go home and enjoy your favorite wine.

I ordered a picnic type dinner to take on a friend's boat and it was fantastic! The host and other guests on the boat said it was delicious. I highly recommend Convito and working with Colette was a delight. We had chichen tarragon chicken wraps, Violet's tuna salad wraps, homemade chips and oatmeal raisin cookies. It was all fantastic!

Cute and cozy place. Great food. We were seated very fast. Super nice staff, convenient location, would definitely recommend.

My wife and I have eaten here for lunch several times over the last ten years or so. The restaurant has a light Old World charm - particularly in the small dining area where the windows face the sidewalk and parking lot. We've previously found the food quite good, but our most recent experience three days ago was disappointing. We both found the tomato gazpacho to be bland. It was nothing more than diced tomatoes in an unseasoned tomato broth (perhaps just the liquid from the tomatoes themselves.) Frankly, we could have chilled some tomatoes at home, diced them, and served them. The result would have been the same. Interestingly, we had a few months ago ordered the tuna salad from the market to take home, and found the tuna salad to be dry and to also lack any seasoning whatsoever. In addition to the gazpacho, during our recent visit, my wife ordered the beets and arugula salad in which a couple of very thinly sliced beets and a few nuggets of goat cheese were overwhelmed by arugula. Separately, it was nice that our server, after miscommunicating with my wife about which salad she had ordered, voluntarily replaced it with the correct one. However, we believe that the food we ordered was very disappointing, and we will not be returning any time soon.

Walking in the door sign on front requires masks to enter Sign inside YOU MUST SHOW PROF ofVACCINATION to eat in the restaurant Our mouths hung open ! WT@!!! Asked if we needed help we told the hostess Nope!!! We are not showing you ANYTHING and it's ILLEGAL to ask!! We left this place and won't be back - cannot believe they have a vaccine passport policy

Hands down one of the best on the North Shore. Service is phenomenal food gets better and better every week. Not to be missed!!!

What lovely place for a al fresco lunch on a nice day! Plentiful patio seating, most of it nicely shaded make this a terrific (and popular) place to enjoy a nice day outside. We particularly likes the salmon flatbread, with its pungent base of boursin cheese. I also enjoyed the trio of cold salads, which featured a particularly tasty chicken salad the day we visited. The blood orange mimosas are a nice midday drink. I thought the ginger beer could have used a bit more kick; its heavy emphasis on citrus made it more like lemonade. Definitely a nice respite from downtown sidewalk dining!

Walked in at 7:05pm to buy some desserts....from the counter/case which was already wrapped up and shut down for the night in spite of posted hours that say they close at 7:30pm. Host/waiter allowed me to order desserts off of the take out menu but could not contain his annoyance with me. Also, while I was standing there, he turned away two groups of potential diners which I estimated could have been a significant bump in revenue based on their nearly empty dining area. Hard to watch a business like this being sabotaged while presumably the owners are not around.

This place is very nice and a peaceful atmosphere. The food is very delicious and flavored very well. Pastas, appetizers, burgers, and desserts are amazing! Can't want to return

This was my first time at Convito. It was a great dinner. Pasta was very good. And good deal too for meatball Monday ($23). Includes glass of wine/desert and a salad. Desert (chocolate soufflé) was so good and tied the whole meal together. Star off for the service. It was just ok. The server had an off day.

I've now discovered that the ideal evening here includes a plate of the Pasta'more, their delicious bread and olive oil, a table next to the fireplace, and a glass of wine. About as close to perfection as you can get in the Chicago 'burbs.

It was my first experience. Friendly staff, good service. Food was decent. We were here for dinner. I ordered the linguini, my husband the penne special, and my aunt the chicken. Wine selection was plenty and surprisingly large portions. I definitely wasn't ready for that! It's a quaint restaurant with a market inside. They do have a lovely patio area (I love patios in the summer as you can see from most of my reviews). Overall, I enjoyed my experience. I definitely want to come here for brunch to try the eggs benedict!! What was really nice was the manager coming around to see how our experience was. You can tell they really care about their restaurant and customers. So next time, brunch and possibly try their takeout menu as I heard that's good too!

I've been coming to Convito for decades. Always a nice experience. Tried the hamburger for the first time a few days ago, and while pricey, it was very good, - excellent in fact. Ordered it medium rare, and it came beautifully medium rare with the gruyere melted perfectly, and the fries were so good! The drinks are good, and be sure to try the Betise salad if you like a little side salad, while simple, it's quite good as is the white bean soup. Service has always been very good. Convito is within walking distance to Lake Michigan and I and friends have brought food from Convito to eat near the beach.

My friends and I would always come to Convito during lunch as it was so conveniently close by. Situated in Plaza del Lago, they've been around since the early '80s and offers brunch/lunch/dinner in their cafe as well as a little Italian mini market within with pastsa, sauces, wine, cheeses, and prepared food-to-go. I've had their Tarragon Chicken Salad sandwich (with lemon aioli, Romaine lettuce, and provolone cheese, all on a French roll; served with chips; very tarragon-heavy!); Bistro Ham & Cheese (with North Country smokehouse ham and butterkase cheese on a toasted brioche; served with a petite salad; a very simple sammy); the Convito French Dip (with roast beef, provolone cheese, caramelized onions, and roasted red peppers on a French roll; served with a side of roasted rosemary potato wedges; a fresh sandwich, the au jus sauce was a little on the bland side); and, some of their specials like the eggplant parmigiana (which was more of a deconstructed vegetarian option with tomato sauce and slightly fried eggplant slices). Request to sit by the enclosed 'patio' by the window, as it's bright and cheery; service is a hit-or-miss, and the place gets super packed during the lunch rush. An okay option for lunch in the Wilmette/Winnetka area! +Italian cafe and mini market +brunch, lunch, and dinner options +located in Plaza del Lago +plenty of parking in the plaza lot

Met a friend here for brunch on a Sunday early afternoon. The restaurant is located in Plaza Del Lago with a beautiful but obscured view of the lake. The indoor dining room is small but quaint, the service is decent. I got excited when I saw that there were Beignets on the menu but it was such a disappointment. They were according to my friend, "glorified munchkins" and that's absolutely accurate. We both had different versions of Eggs Benedict. One was classic and the other was without english muffins but over potatoes. Regardless of the difference, they were both mediocre at best. It's a bad sign when you can't taste the hollandaise sauce. The meal was saved by the carrot cake, which was delicious but at this point, I had already vowed never to return. What really made my conviction concrete was when I sauntered into the market portion and saw that they had divided an approximately $8 bag of Brach's peppermint candy into six $3.50 bags and were selling them! Gasp! Obviously, the owners are playing the patrons for a fool and I will not be played a fool! Bottom line, I don't recommend it but if you lack taste buds and choices, why the heck not!

Had Mother's Day brunch there today! The food and service was fantastic! I highly recommend this restaurant. The market has great food to take home and the cafe is always great!

Meh....it was just ok. For our party of three we ordered the following: American Scrambler Grilled Hamburger with Pomme Frites Eggs Benedict The American Scrambler was pretty good, however the toast that came with it was dry, and we had to ask for butter, which was hard and we were not served with jam for the toast either. The overall taste of the plate was good. Grilled Hamburger, chosen by myself was good well, but the onions were overpowering, and the burger itself fell apart. Overall good, but nothing to write home about. Eggs Benedict was very good and the potatoes were awesome! This dish did meet expectations. The service by our waitress Isabella, was good. She did check up on us regularly, personality wise it seems that she just went through the motions. I found when I asked for additional ketchup for my burger, she seemed perplexed, due to ketchup being on the plate already for the frites, like she did not want to cough up another ketchup. Overall, this was good, by no means great. Would we make a special trip out here from the city, no. Cute atmosphere!

Perhaps the best chicken apple sausage hash I've had! The service, ambiance, and food was all excellent. You wouldn't think much of this strip mall eatery, but you'd be remiss to pass it up. The presentation of the food is artful, and tasty as it is lovely to look at. My poached eggs were perfectly done, the hollendaise sauce wasn't too rich, the hash was seasoned just right, and they were generous with the sausage! Winner!

Took my parents here for a nice lunch and that was a huge mistake. The busboy brought us a stack of plates, and the bottom plate had someone else's leftover butter and parmesan. Not just dried scrapings left behind after a wash, but an actual pat of smeared butter and greasy used parmesan. The restaurant manager apologized, and the plates were replaced. Then the food came. Halfway through my arugula flatbread, I bit into something hard. Yep, that's right, a hard piece of plastic. Looks like it broke off from some kitchen tool. Beyond these service malfunctions, the calamari was tiny and the flatbread was salty and flavorless. The restaurant manager did comp us for two appetizers, and took an additional 10% off the remainder of the bill, but that simply isn't enough to ensure a repeat visit. Such a disappointing experience.

Ordered the Tarragon chicken salad sandwich. Very underwhelming. Sandwich was small and bland. It also came with a side salad which was just a small pile of shredded iceberg lettuce with some balsamic vinaigrette splashed on. A let down for a $15 meal.