Firefly Kitchen

Was looking forward to trying Firefly and couldn’t have been more disappointed. When I walked in to join a few girl friends for dinner the restaurant was filled with a very large party of moms and young toddlers. They were such a buzz kill running all over restaurant screaming. It was so distracting! The frustrating part was that they seemed to be associated with the owner/​wait staff. Bad business move! The food was mediocre and over priced. The service was sub par, borderline rude. Food is expensive and menu confusing. Way too many other great choices within 2 miles north and south. Really bummed. Go somewhere else, I am!

I was really excited to try Firefly. The décor is beautiful and the restaurant is comfortable. However, our experience there was underwhelming. We sat at an empty bar at 8 o’clock on a Saturday night. The restaurant was mostly empty too. We each chose one of the featured cocktails off of their bar menu. The drinks were fine but they were just that. We had a pork appetizer that was more fat that had to be cut off than meat. For the price we paid it was mostly animal fat that was inedible. The actual part that was pork was good, but more than half of the portion wasn’t anything you could eat. We decided not to stay for a meal after our preview.

Firefly offers a peerless urban dining experience on the North Shore. It’s my new favorite restaurant!
Most importantly, the food and drinks are amazing. I have been several times and discover something new on the menu every time. I particularly love the napoleon tartare — it is incredibly sophisticated and rich in flavors. The hibachi skewers are beautifully presented and really fun to share, too. For entrees, I really like the short ribs and the truffle risotto. The drinks are all great and the beer list seems to rotate frequently. Firefly’s bar program is unlike any other in the area in the best way.
I see people commenting about the noise, but did not have a problem. Similar noise level to other restaurants on Central street, but a classier feel overall. The décor is really beautiful and elegant, and the bar always seems jumping on the weekends.

Just unimpressive. The décor is appealing and menu looks great, although there are few menu options for dinner. We tried the chips and fries as an appetizer, they were fine. I enjoyed the large beer menu, we saw that there was a beer flight which I definitely would have tried if I noticed it earlier in the evening. Our waitress recommended the crab cake entrée, all I can saw is it had decent flavor and had plenty of crab in it. It was fine but could have been much bettmore. I hope they can improve the food to keep this place around for a while.

Food is awesome and the service was pleasant. Our waiter was very nice and attentive.

Had very high hopes for this place. Atmosphere was adorable but food was subpar. I ordered the chicken sandwich with fries and it was dry and flavorless. The fries I kid you not tasted like McDonald’s fries. The whole meal was over $ 17. Since the menu was small I thought all the items would have big flavor but I was wrong. My family that I dined with ordered the beef sandwich and the burger and feelings were mutual. I felt quite cheated for the dry sad sandwich I received. Service was also very slow. The restaurant was almost empty and it took forever for our food and then our bill. I will not be returning. It’s a pity because the restaurant is esthetically lovely.

Had a very nice dinner here. The skewer appetizer was very good and the meal was as well with nobody in the party of 4 disappointed. The steak and cheese sandwich was the biggest hit.
I look forward to a brunch visit next.

Crazy noisy. It is hard to hear across the table in this restaurant. Food was good. Eclectic menu with salads, burger and select entrees. Would recommend going on an off night to avoid a busy restaurant. Food could merit four stars but ambiance drags it down.

Excellent. My wife had the salmon which was terrific; very fresh. I had the flat iron steak which was equally as good. Very nice wine list and great beers. I’ve read some other reviews which stated that the restaurant was loud, but we’ve been there three times and haven’t noticed a noise problem. Street parking has been pretty easy. Make reservations, though.

Refreshing addition to Wilmette. An interesting menu and professional wait service. Had dinner there last night. Luis was our server. He was passionate about the food and could explain in great detail how each dish we asked about is prepared. He also gave good direction on the wine. Food all tasted great. Had the tomato appetizer, rolled chicken entrée, steak, and cheesecake for dessert.

This place is actually pretty good. The cocktails are pretty awesome. The food was fresh. Wait staff was amazing. Hoping for the same experience next time.

I’ve never been treated as rudely at a new restaurant than I was here. The restaurant manager could barely lift his head to say, «hello» and acted appalled that I would request a table without a reservation. It’s people like this that give the north suburbs a bad name — arrogant, dismissive and unfriendly. I will not be going back.

We went anticipating a wonderful experience in the pretty garden area. Unfortunately, the whole experience was pretty bad.
Service was slow and indifferent. When I explained to the waiter that I had certain food intolerances, he looked terrified. (These days, most restaurants go out of their way to be helpful and accommodating.)
There is a beet salad on the menu with cheese and some kind of lettuce. I told the waiter that
I get sick when I eat cheese and lettuce, and asked if I could just have beets with the dressing on the side. Parenthetically, I added that the only raw vegetable I could eat was cucumbers without the peel. If they happened to have cucumbers and could serve those with the salad, I said that would be great.
We waited a long time, even though the patio was far from full. Eventually the waiter came out and said my salad was late because the kitchen was finding it difficult to shave the cucumbers. So I said, «Forget the cucumbers, just serve the beets. I’ll be fine.»
We waited another long time. My husband went to the restroom I pulled out my Kindle to help me pass the time. Ah, well… the battery was gone.
Finally we got my salad — –without the dressing on the side. The beets were undercooked and tasteless. No one asked us if everything was OK.
We waited another very long time. It was warm. My empty water glass stayed empty for a very long time.
Finally, our entrees came. They were good, but portions were tiny.
We waited another long time for our check. When we finally got out of there, we were sad that a promising new restaurant had turned out to be a bust.

It was OK.
We made 8:45 reservations, arrived about an hour early and the host/​co-​owner maybe? was able to seat us after we ordered drinks at the bar. We appreciate the courtesy. It is true, the restaurant is loud. We asked for a table outside and there was one available — lucky us! It was quiet and lovely on the outdoor patio — sits back far from Green Bay. You do hear the train, but hey! feels like you’re in the city…
We ordered:
Lobster Spring Roll — A must!
Tartare — Pretty good!
Surf and Turf Special — the guys loved it!
Crab Cake Special — very pleased
Shrimp Risotto — delicious, a bit dry, but hefty pieces of shrimp.
Flourless — the best of the desserts we ordered.
S’mores Tart — skip it.
3 Layer Mouse — pretty good.
A ton of drinks — very plentiful.
The food deserves 5 stars, but our service is definitely 2 stars. The waitress, was «nice», but a little out of it. She repeated the specials twice to us. We didn’t ask the 2^nd time around. Our water glasses ran empty. She disappeared a lot — it wasn’t that busy… bus boys were great.
I like to try them again! The food was really good.

The place is attractive and the atmosphere is vibrant but the food is just the opposite. The menu tries to appeal to everyone and has no particular style. It’s like a place looking to be city cool but without the quality. Dishes were lacking in flavor. Drinks were just OK. Service is not very good but that could be because they just opened the doors 9 weeks ago. Prices are high and totally not justified. They present to food well but that’s about it.

This restaurant was fabulous. I recommend making a reservation if it’s a weekend. I came in with 4 ppl and no reservation at 6pm on a Saturday and we got seated at a table with stools which ended up being totally fine in the end.
They have excellent ginger beers which were served in these adorable copper mugs and the chicken sandwich was delicious! Big portions though so I’d split my meal next time or prepare for leftovers the next day.
Wait staff was lovely and attentive.
Also, cool side note: the bathroom sink is killer. You’re going to love it.
I will DEFINITELY be back.

Great addition to Wilmette. Really cool vibe, great menu and outstanding service. Gives us Burb people a taste of the city restaurant scene.

My wife and I had dinner there Thursday evening around 6:45 without a reservation and were lucky to grab the last table before a long wait. We were immediately seated. Impressive wine and beer list — I’m a big fan of Brooklyn Brewing Company, and enjoyed their saison. But, really liked Buckledown Brewery’s Knowitall wit beer even more! Never had a beer from the Lyons brewery and it was a pleasant surprise.
Food was really good. Disappointed lobster spring roll wasn’t available, but enjoyed the shrimp tempora. Wife said her risotto was tasty, and it was excellent. My chicken sandwich was very good as well.
Like the décor a lot. Nice small bar. Good lighting. Really nice silverware.
Major problem was noise level. Owners need to install acoustic buffering either on ceiling or walls to soften diners’ voices. We were seated next to party of six (we were lucky to sit seated, I know) but lack of acoustic paneling brought their voices to a deafening level. Thank God they were discussing rock festivals and the Grateful Dead concerts at Soldier Field — if they were talking about typical North Shore stuff like the status of their stock portfolio, it would have been tedious.
Staff is still work in training. Bus staff needs to remember to check on each table to fill water glasses, clear table, etc. Restaurant seems like it’s a family-​run endeavor, and it shows. However, staff made up for it due to their friendly attitude.
All in all, Firefly is a very good neighborhood restaurant on the Winnetka/​north Evanston border on Green Bay Road. I’d call ahead for reservations — don’t think it’ll be easy to drop by any time soon and snag a table, unless you want to eat at the bar, which would be a good opportunity to try their limited but inventive beer selection.

Probably wouldn’t go back again. It’s waaaaaay too noisy in there. The wine pours are very small. I ordered the lobster rolls and, while I was assured «everyone loves that item,» I could not eat it because it was so salty. The risotto was fantastic, but the serving size was also small and for an $ 18, I was hoping for more than a spoonful.
The décor is cute and if they get something to address the noise, over time, it may get better. We came home hungry. It was disappointing. Yes, the place has only been open for 11 days, but some of these issues are just plain simple and not a «new» restaurant problem.

I was excited that we had another fun restaurant opening up in my neck of the woods, so my husband and I tried it out last night. I had read that there would be a beer garden, so I looked forward to a cool beer list. They did have an interesting beer selection, but they’re just listed in a random order, rather than by type of beer, so it’s confusing to know what to select.
We had the vegetable terrine, beet salad, and risotto. Since we’re vegetarian, we just ordered the three veg things on the menu to see how they were! They food was great as were the drinks. There were typos all over the menu though. That left a questionable impression.
The most challenging thing about the experience was that the restaurant is LOUD. Very loud! It would have been worth their effort to put some dampening panels in the ceiling to absorb some of the noise. You’re basically sitting in a big room with wood floors and stark décor and it gets loud quickly! Also, the door to the kitchen lets out an awful squeaky creak every time a staff person goes through, which is about every 30 seconds. I hope they have someone spend 2 minutes with some WD-​40 to fix that!
Service was a little show, but I understand that the restaurant has been open less than a week so I think they’ll perfect the service in time. Our server was attentive and did a nice job.
All in all, I might try it again in 6 months or so when they’ve worked out the ‘new restaurant’ kinks, but with so much local competition in this category of restaurant, I feel I can get more food for my money elsewhere. FYI that all cocktails here are $ 12.50 each!