Restaurants in/around Lake Villa, IL

May 17, 2012 9:43 AM

Posting for my girlfriend: I am looking for restaurant recommendations for a date somewhere in or around Lake Villa, IL (roughly 10 miles west of Gurnee.) I am willing to drive up to 30 minutes. I am looking for good food, strongly prefer an independent restaurant to a chain and absolutely no sports bars. Unique/hole in the wall is okay, as long as the food is good and we can talk. Both people on this date are female, but I'm not holding my breath for lesbian bars/restaurants in that area.
posted by JJtheJetPlane to food & drink (6 answers total)

How fancy do you want to go?

Le Vichyssois is considered to be one of the best French restaurants in the Chicagoland area and only 12 miles away.
posted by JoeZydeco at 10:05 AM on May 17, 2012

I cannot, cannot, cannot recommend Froggy's highly enough.
posted by timsteil at 10:16 AM on May 17, 2012

The only places I'm familiar with in Lake Villa have too much of a chain/sports bar feel or aren't really good for (casual) dates. If you drive 20 minutes southeast you can get to downtown Libertyville which has some nice places. The one I would personally recommend is Firkin, it definitely has a bar feel but more of a classy/cozy one and they don't have TVs. The food is very good and if you're into beer at all they have a great selection, especially for Belgian imports.
posted by burnmp3s at 10:18 AM on May 17, 2012

What incredible timing! We're headed out tonight to try Ad-Lib Geocafe which has gotten awesome reviews. Firkin is one of our favorite places but even on weeknights it's not necessarily conversation-friendly. Other lovely places in the area are: Himalayan (Indian/Nepali food on the Gurnee-Waukegan border), Tavern in the Town and Tavern Lounge (which shares a kitchen with Firkin in downtown Libertyville), The Vine (a Grayslake wine bar with excellent food), David's Bistro (in Antioch), and Twin Oaks Country Inn (in Wilmot, WI). These are all great date places!
posted by DrGail at 1:13 PM on May 17, 2012 [1 favorite]

She has chosen to try out The Vine. We'll let you know how it went after the date. Thanks all.
posted by JJtheJetPlane at 8:01 AM on May 23, 2012

My girlfriend reports that The Vine was wonderful and delicious. Thank you all for the great recommendations.
posted by JJtheJetPlane at 8:00 PM on May 29, 2012