Valley Lodge Tavern

We went in cold, not knowing a thing about this place.
On our way to meet friends in Wilmette, we are lunch here on a random Thursday.
I had conjured up images of an Alpine place with animal heads on the wall. Wrong again. The room is warmly decorated in brown and black tones, with the bar in the center for everyone to enjoy.
The cocktails, yes judges we cocktail at weekday lunches, were the first pleasant surprise. We has the rye whiskey based Scofflaw and the Herbal Garden which was a wonderfully fresh tasting Gin and Juice. Snoop Dog and recommend the Gin n Juice.
The burger was nicely done and the ahi tuna salad was good. The tuna comes in one big brick on top. Call me crazy, but I prefer more of a square chunk and less of a rectangle.
Service was good. If l lived in Wilmette, you might find me here. Great to see an independent restaurant instead of the same ol Olive Garden in the burbs

I have been to VL a hundred times and the staff and vibe is perfect for escaping a house full of kids. Not every dish is my taste but the quality is good and the bartender Jimmy is classic!

A friend and I had dinner here the other night and it was great! The restaurant’s ambience and service were lovely (we sat right in front of the fireplace) and our meals were delicious! I highly recommend the Tavern burger! The kitchen was happy to accommodate my friend’s request to have a grilled salmon wrap. Looking forward to returning for another dinner soon!

Always great service, food and wine! I haven’t been disappointed yet. Great selection of wines/​wines by the glass and whiskey’s!!!

The place feels a bit scuzzy and there is an off putting smell when you walk in, but the food is decent and the portions are huge. They also have a good draft beer selection.

I’ve been coming here pretty steadily over the last couples of months and feel that I need to update my previous review. I actually love this place! One of my favorite places to just get a drink with friends where the staff is always friendly and it’s just a fun neighborhood vibe for the family.
Before I spoke on how the burgers were «blah». I gave them another shot and they are just fine… I recommend the pretzel bun! I saw another man getting what looked like a spicy pasta and I wanted to give it a try. The Cajun Linguini is amazing (and surprising really good the next day).
Valley Lodge has really grown on me and is a great spot in downtown Wilmette.

Big fan. Great atmosphere, a wonderful addition to downtown Wilmette. Terrific staff and good food. Love the burger! Especially strong bar staff, managers always there and very interactive with guests. I go back as often as I can!

This is one of our favorite restaurants in Wilmette. Best burger in town! Order the Old Fashioned burger on a pretzel bun — delicious!
We’ve tried a lot of things on the menu and nothing has disappointed. Salads are delicious and huge. The grouper sandwich is very good. Try the chips on the side — they are homemade and fresh on Saturdays (when we have been on Sundays the chips seem to be leftover from the previous day… still good but not as fresh).
The pretzel bites appetizer is sinful, and amazing.
Service is friendly, usually fairly fast, and very kid-​friendly with booster seats, coloring pages/​crayons and special drinking cups for kids.

Put simply, the food options are limited (and expensive), my order was bland and tasteless, and the place adds little to the already soulless feel of Wilmette. However, the service was good, and the atmosphere is what you’d expect. If you want a place to hang out with some friends, this isn’t a bad option, unless you actually want to have intelligent conversation.

Very nice sitting outside for an excellent hamburger. Quick service. Tea refilled quickly. And enjoyable addition to downtown wilmette

Came back and had a much better experience! The server was friendly and didn’t rush us. We were able to eat outside and the ambience was nice. The drinks were solid. Mojito was perfect.
Lost one star as the grouper sandwich could have had a bigger piece of fish. That being said the teriyaki stir fry was enough for a second meal. Nicely done.
Looked at dessert and next time may get the carrot cake.
Relaxing meal. Yum
I will go back.

Won’t be back. Nothing changed since my last review. Still very slow service. Today the server explained to me that it was taking so long for my grilled cheese because they burned the first one. Finally got my sandwich, but the fries are dried out and burned! They could’ve made me some fresh fries when they were remaking my sandwich. I think the server should’ve caught it before bringing it to me.

So I am definitely a fan of this place. Came during lunch on a weekend where the place was remarkably quiet. Came with a really good friend and 4 kids.
Eclectic order to be honest with one kid having Calamari, one having chicken tenders, one having a burger and the 4^th with Mac N Cheese. I had the BBQ sliders and he had the burger. All in all, every single thing was a hit. My kids actually loved some of my BBQ pork!
This is our neighborhood restaurant and I want to make sure that everyone understands that the food is fresh with healthy portions and it was yummy. And best part is that the kids ate every morsel!
I am giving 5 stars because this is a real alternative for us who want a good spot in town.

Food and service acceptable. But to say the restaurant is conversation-​challenged is an understatement. Painfully loud.

Just wanted to compliment the staff after what must’ve been a record-​breaking night for them.
It was Memorial Day and the weather was beautiful, so we thought we’d hit downtown Wilmette for a bite. Many families had the same idea. Unfortunately (but understandably), ALL of the restaurants downtown were closed.
Except the Valley Lodge Tavern.
So they had a line out the door, every table full inside and despite being really well staffed, it was obvious they were overwhelmed by the crowds. Happily, they have pagers, so we put our name in, took a pager and strolled over to hang out by the village hall fountain while we waited.
Once inside and seated, I was struck by how much poise the staff had in what had to be stressful circumstances. There wasn’t an empty seat in the entire place and yet there were no terse, harried or tired-​looking waiters or waitresses. Yes, the food took a long time, but when it arrived, it was really good. (In the meantime, they had apologized– without us complaining– and graciously offered a free drink or dessert.)
Any restaurant should envy the staff this place has hired. They were unexpectedly buried in an avalanche of customers and NOT ONE of the six servers we interacted with had anything less than a smile on their face and a cheerful attitude.
If I had been an employee there tonight, I would’ve been losing my mind.
Give them a raise!
We’ll be back, hopefully when it’s less busy (no offense). Food was great. Can’t imagine how good the staff must be on a regular night. Not sure if it’s always so noisy– if so, some sound absorbing tile on the ceiling would go a long way.
The owner should make a list of who worked there on Memorial Day for dinner and do everything they can to retain those employees. Really impressive.

Walking in, you notice it’s a slightly elegant place, not what I was expecting. I came in just for a beer and ended up having two and a bowl of soup. While it is somewhat more fancy than your average bar and restaurant, it seems there’s something for everyone on the menu. The sandwiches and apps look appealing to those looking for a more casual evening, or just hanging out to watch sports near the bar. On the other hand, Valley Lodge had a decent array of entrees if you’re looking for a more intimate night out.
With beer options like Half Acre, Greenbush and 3 Floyd’s, I’m looking forward to coming back and trying more than the chicken tortilla soup.

Update — was contacted very quickly after posting the below review asking that we try them again. Mistakes happen — and as I said the place is usually packed so our experience likely was an outlier. The quick response speaks well of them. Will post another update after trying them again.
Original review: Place is usually packed — bar looks nice — food is nothing special. Had fish and chips that was maybe one step above fish sticks and tater tots. Service OK but again nothing great.

Decided to give their new Wilmette location a try after eating at their glenview locale last week.
Soup (french onion) was dynamite.
I was startled 2 skewer chicken kabob entrée was $ 19. But I have to say it was otherwise was a monster portion with probably well over 1lb on the plate. Seasoned to perfection and juicy. Wish it were flame grilled rather than flat grilled nonetheless still delicious and rice was to die for. Wife raved about freshness of chopped salad and how good blackened chicken was.
I think the place would benefit from a separate and smaller lunch menu with perhaps more value based choices. Otherwise, quality and freshness is evident here. Recommended.

Truly amazing food with wonderful service. Owners really seem to put much elbow grease into making sure customers come first.
I look forward to my next visit and the Philly cheesesteak rolls!!! A must have!!!

The French onion soup was a disappointment– hardly any broth/​soup with a giant piece of bread smothered with cheese. This could be improved.
The chopped salad half portion was still very generous and the lunch special BLAST sandwich was tasty– BLT with avocado and shrimp.
Service was very good but the food was average. The pretzel bites sounded good but we didn’t order them, maybe next time.