Five & Dime, Lulu's, Taco Diablo, and Blue Horse Tavern have become my go-to spots for everything…read morefrom casual dinners to hosting out-of-town guests. The food is consistently delicious, and there's always something that hits the spot no matter what I'm craving. A few standouts I keep coming back to: Bang Bang Shrimp Ribs Salmon with Delallo pepper drops French Dip Enchiladas Verdes Whether I dine in or order on Uber Eats, it always arrives fresh and well-made (rare these days!). And in good weather, nothing beats Five & Dime's rooftop -- easily one of the best places in Evanston to enjoy a relaxed, fun meal outdoors. Friendly service, great variety, and reliably fantastic food!

I was here last week for a special event (this time one I didn't organize and just got to attend as…read morea guest), and it was great as always. The food is delicious (the event I was at had a taco bar, chips and guac, and a few desserts), the drink list is amazing (including a few great mocktails), and the space works really well for either private parties or just hanging out with friends. Five and Dime never disappoints. And for those who do have to plan events for stuff, F&D is great. I had happy hours here for new students in 2018, 2019, and 2022 (post-pandemic), and it was a smooth and enjoyable process each time.

Our daughter got us a gift certificate for dinner here. Sorry it took that to get us to try this…read moreabsolutely great restaurant. We celebrated the end of Dry January here. So started off with th Prosecco and the pink City (?) a great refreshing cocktail. We started with the crab cake and the pork belly. Both were fabulous. The latter had some greens and what seemed like a truffle sauce that i used the bread to get every bit of. We had the Chilean sea bass and the duck breast for entrees. They were superb. The sea bass was huge, and the breast served on a bed of charred veggies and shallots. Unbelievable. We finished with the lemon mousse Napoleon. Just wonderful. The service was perfect. water filled, more wine .very attentive. We'll definitely be back. One of the best dining in Evanston.

Great food, Happy hour was from 4-6 M-Thu, only at small bar. Bartender was very accommodating and…read morenice. Food was excellent and perfectly prepared. Would love to come back.

Loved Loved how different this place is! We just moved to Evanston, and wanted to try new local…read morerestaurants. After long day of unpacking, we walked into this place! There were so many people inside we asked to see if we can sit outside in the patio with really cute fire pit area. We tried oysters, baguette, salad, cocktails everything was delicious! Incredibly friendly staff from busser and our server Joe was Amazing! Definitely will return and ask for him! Definitely will recommend and return soon!

This was a lovely meal. Service was excellent and the wine selection was very good (obviously…read moreheavily French). We ordered the cheese plate, which was just okay. The bread was served in a large hunk - it was odd and somewhat difficult to share. The apple jam also did not pair terribly well. The salami was not the best quality. For our main we ordered the cassoulet. This was excellent. This came with chicken instead of the traditional duck, but was still very flavorful. Dessert was a somewhat forgettable ice cream puff. I wouldn't order this again. The ice cream was grainy and the puff pastry was very dry. All in all a good date night spot. Ambience is very intimate and we could hear each other talk - sometimes hard to come by. Food isn't the highest quality, but the entree was great and the wine paired well.

Came for lunch to the new location. The service was excellent. Got served right away. We both…read moreordered salads. I had the RS (regular size) It was plenty of food. I asked for chicken and got a lot of fresh chicken breast. The dressing was one of the better ones, I've had. Also ordered the side of onion strings. For a buck there was a lot and crispy . The temp was not hot but still tasty. I would definitely com back . The menu is large.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....6 in one hand half a dozen in the other. I went in for drinks BEFORE the burned…read morefood incident and it was ok. The martini hit, but the service felt rushed.

We checked out this place with a few people on the Saturday evening after Christmas and were still…read moreamazed how empty the place was. Did everyone truly leave town? It's located right down the street from Northwestern University's football stadium (whatever the heck they're naming it). This is a nice hidden gem in Evanston. Not located downtown, it may have a chance to stick around a while. As Jane V. noted in her review, you are greeted by a delicious smoky smell when you enter the restaurant. It was an inviting smell (at least for me), others in our group thought we were walking into a barbecue joint and were less than thrilled, but the menu put them at ease as it has a lot of options. There were five of us and one couple decided to share a couple appetizers as their entrees. They ordered the Cauliflower Buffalo Bites, and the Macho Nacho. They were huge portions easily enough for us all to share. However, my wife and I don't see eye-to-eye with our eating habits (she is mostly vegetarian and I'm a card-carrying carnivore), so she was not about to share the smoky wings and cheesy tots with me. I opted for the Chicken Vesuvio entree, and she and our other friend both ordered the Inside-Out Grilled Cheese. I would say most the sandwiches looked good (no portobello for me, thanks). I would say though, the desserts are pretty generic, so we opted out, but their is a door inside the restaurant to the donut shop next door (which was closed), but I wanted to try that place, so I'll have to make another trek out there for them and review them later. I'm amazed that the donut shop, DB3 Donuts, does not appear on their menu at all, despite having a connecting door from one establishment to the other, but alas, I've heard their apple crisp and brownie are good, but neither were too appealing that night. All meals were delicious and I definitely need to go back and try other dishes. And may DB3, if they are open. Give this place some love as it is a nice gem in Evanston.

Holy Moley, did we find great food in Evanston!…read more We celebrated Saint Patrick's Day at Ten Mile House restaurant in Evanston @tenmilehouse When we walked in the door, they had a delicious smoky smell that was driving me crazy. So much so that I ordered the smoked Sampler plate, and was I glad I did. I started off with their Top O' The Morning special Saint Patrick's cocktail (Titos, Curacao, and orange juice shaken and poured over ice). I really loved this drink. My hubby had a Margarita that was just delightful. Our appetizers were: Angry Shrimp (really delicious) shrimp with a spicy tomato garlic sauce. Served over polenta cake. Ahi Tuna Wanton (mango jicama salsa, avocado, and teriyaki sauce) This should be their signature appetizer).The presentation is impeccable. It appealed to our eyes before the 1st bite. And,the first bite, as well as the rest, was wonderful. We would gladly return here just for this. Our entrees were: Grilled Salmon with corn risotto, grilled asparagus, smoked tomato aioli. The salmon was well cooked to medium, not too dry, and not too rare. The plate was well balanced and everything was very tasty. Smoked Sampler My favorite! Rib tips, brisket, pulled pork, Texas toast, cole slaw. For dessert: Chocolate Brownie Apple Crisp Both were so good that we did not want to share! The next time you are in the Evanston area, you really must stop in for their delicious food!

Service was nice and attentive, it was easy to get a table for brunch on a Sunday morning, and they…read morewere more than willing to let me do all the tater tots on the side. My partner had the chicken and waffles and she loved them. I ended up with a delicious, protein-rich egg dish, with delicious guac, where I could just pick at the potatoes on the side to avoid being too carbed out. It was perfect for me. I liked the informal ambiance and there were cute families with kids. Parking in this part of downtown Evanston is relatively easy. I love the fact that they're offering gluten free options, and someone in my party had severe celiac and were able to enjoy a great meal and not get sick. Huge plus. My only one teensy little thing is -- although they have a separate fryer (which is great) -- the gluten free options felt a little limited. I wish that the bacon was not prepared in a way where they were exposed to gluten prior to being fried.

Ordered a chicken salad. Came with no chicken. Not sure how you mess that one up. The salad was…read moregood but come on. I just got back from the gym and need some damn protein

My wife and two of her friends went here to celebrate her birthday. The reservation even said this…read morewas a birthday celebration. At no time did anyone acknowledge someone was celebrating a birthday. My wife ordered the Salmon dish which comes with a bacon based sauce. She doesn't eat bacon and asked if they could use a different sauce. She was told No. So she had it plain, she said it was well cooked. The broccoli and potatoes on the other hand were overly salted, the potatoes were undercooked and cold, the broccoli was also cold. Normally my wife would have sent the food back, however, since she was with friends she didn't do so because she didn't want to ruin the mood of their celebration. Surprisingly, unlike most restaurants, the Evanston Corner Bistro doesn't celebrate birthdays, they don't even have a candle to put on a dessert. My wife decided she was going to celebrate with dessert anyway, so she ordered the NY Cheesecake with Strawberry sauce. It came out with something more like Strawberry Jam. My wife liked the idea of having the jam better than sauce. The problem was it turned out to be RASPBERRY jam NOT strawberry. Luckily my wife isn't ALLERGIC to Raspberries. She said the cheesecake was delicious. She did say it seemed to take forever for dessert to come out from the kitchen. Then there was a service charge added to the bill, but NO WHERE in the restaurant or on the menu is this mentioned. My wife also commented that there was only ONE server, and as more people arrived the service became slower. It seemed that the one server was just overwhelmed and didn't smile. In summary, and IMHO this isn't a restaurant for celebrating birthdays! Based on this experience my wife said she wouldn't go back unless she was going with a group of people who decided to go there. My wife said it's a shame Evanston Corner Bistro was one of her favorite places.

I'm a big fan of Grant Park Bistro and River North Bistro, so I was excited to try their sister…read morerestaurant in my neighborhood. The space is beautiful and definitely has the same polished aesthetic, but unfortunately the food didn't live up to the look. They offered a bottomless option, though I was told they were down to one bottle because of St. Patrick's Day and a wedding. That wasn't a huge deal to me, especially since the restaurant wasn't very busy and the overall vibe still felt promising. The real issue was the food. I ordered the wild mushroom scramble, which I've had and enjoyed at other locations, but this one came out visibly burnt. The eggs had those brown, overcooked bits throughout and tasted bitter, which is not exactly the brunch mood I was going for. The chicken sausage didn't help much either. To their credit, they did recook the meal to make it right, and I appreciated that. The staff was pleasant and handled it well. Still, it was disappointing to have burnt eggs come out in the first place, especially when the restaurant wasn't busy. Eggs should not be the plot twist. I really wanted this location to become a neighborhood favorite, but based on this visit, I'm not sure I'd come back.

Stopped by for a quick brunch. Food comes out nice and quick. Cozy and homey vibes. The server was…read morefriendly. Street parking enforcement is crazy btw. They hand out ticket right after the time expires like they were waiting by my car.

This is a cute little mom-and-pop restaurant. The service was great and the waiter was helpful in…read morehelping us order as it was our first time there. We opted on the mimosa bottle, it comes with one mixer. A kid's menu is available we tried the corn beef hash, and the pork rinds hash, we both decided that they were not equally balanced as they were too much pork in each dish. The chilaquiles plate was good and flavorful. if you're looking for something, sweet, we would highly recommend the blueberry French toast. overall, the restaurant was very brightly lit and clean.