South Gate Cafe - Lake Forest, IL

This is certainly one of our favorite places to stop by for lunch in Lake Forest. Great soup and sandwiches and you can dine outside on the patio. Lunch aside, their dinners are fantastic also.


Tonight I was by myself and I had a spicy squid appetizer and the wild game plate, which consisted of: Duck, Boar and Kangaroo. It was fantastic! The squid was tender and the game had so much flavor I would have liked seconds. I ate out on their patio and the service was excellent.


I just happened to be in the area the next night and thought I would try the restaurant again. This night I ate in the bar and once again I was very happy with the food. On the other hand, the service was terrible. I received my salad before my appetizer which came out just before my main course. The waitress was rarely seen and obviously had little training. I'd recommend you stay out of the bar area and stick with the main dinning room or patio where they keep the good wait staff.

Even with this bad service, I highly recommend South Gate Cafe; this was the only time I have been disappointed.

http://www.southgatecafe.com/