My first experience about a year ago was not good-slow service and mediocre food. Thus, I gave it another shot last week. We went on a Wednesday, and there was live music! Really a great touch and would make me consider another Wednesday visit just for that. The fried clams were beautifully plated and delicious! We enjoyed every last bite! My whitefish was delicious and complemented nicely with perfectly executed spinach and mashed potatoes. These two items would generate at least a four star review. However...... My husband's coq au vin was very dry. The sauce was lovely and filled with mushrooms. Our service was great and attentive. The bartender also came by to go over some wine choices, which was very helpful. So why three stars.....The uneven food. Coq au vin was the special of the day and should be a showcase item. My husband and I will not order it if we return. Another odd thing....On our fist visit, our server said it was only his second day on the job and was sorry for any missteps. On this visit, I called for our reservation and had a question. The hostess said she was new and did not know the answer to my question. I am fine with someone saying that they are new and still learning the ropes, but it seems odd that on both visits, there is new staff who have difficulties with questions. We will be back, as I know three times will be a CHARM! read more

I love oysters. I mean I really really LOVE oysters. And watch out when I'm here for brunch, because I will pounce on those oysters the moment they pop out from the kitchen and refill the brunch platter. Oh yeah. I came here for brunch a couple of weeks ago. This was my first time here, but wow, I can't imagine any other meal topping the brunch items. Everything was excellent. First, we grazed from the cold items table while sipping our champagne. Not only is there fruit and salad to choose from, but there is mussels, shrimp, OYSTERS, smoked salmon w/ capers, quiche, and dessert! You could seriously stuff yourself from this table alone...and boy did I!!! Next we ordered our main hot dish. I had the omelet filled with spinach and goat cheese with a side of potatoes. Everyone at our table was oohing and ahhing over their dishes so I'm sure just about anything off of this menu will do your body good. Not only is the food good, but the atmosphere is just perfect. The restaurant space is cute and relaxing with Jazz musicians playing in the background. Ahhhh. read more

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Hemingway's Bistro is absolutely charming. I love that I stopped by here! I give places five stars when they do an especially great job with service, have a unique and classy atmosphere, and do great job with food. The service is outstanding. Absolutely. I had been on a long run that morning and I really wanted something salty, and they made me their kick ass french onion soup even though it wasn't on the brunch menu! Wow did that really kit the spot. The main server was genuine and super friendly. They also had a helper server that refilled the coffee and helped cleared plates. He was so polite, and seemed happy to help. The brunch buffet looked FANTASTIC, but I wasn't hungry enough to get it. They had a home made quiche, oysters, muscles, shrimp, salmon and capers, muffins, giant fruit bowl... I'm hungry just thinking about it. But, I got the poached eggs (which were poached perfectly).I got toast with it, and instead of potatoes, I got fruit. It was really filling and healthy too! My friend got the french omelet with sausage and American cheese, which looked great too. Our breakfast dishes were only $8-$12, but if you want the buffet, it's $32. The place itself is so charming, I can't think of a better definition of the word. I love the yellow paint, the cozy size, the awesome Jazz band, the vintage feel, the art on the walls. It's right past a neat park in Oak Park too, and it has a beautiful neighborhood setting. Highly recommend to try Hemingway's Bistro for brunch! Probably the best I've been to in the area thus far. read more

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I loved this place until today. I took my french toast to go and it has fungus on it. I am extremely disgusted as I ate some of it. If this establishment is trying to save money, that's not the way to do it. Toast was burned more than usual probably to hide that nasty green thing on it. I am very dissapointed as I loved this place. Look at the photo :/ read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - In the corner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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This place is the epitome of meh. The food meh. The service is meh. And if someone asked me if I would go back, my answer would be meh. There are just too many choices in Oak Park for anything to be just meh. read more

Friendly staff, sophisticated food, pretty atmosphere. We started with salad that had lobster, proceeded with beef Wellington and salmon dinners. We had chocolate mousse for dessert - a large, delicious serving. Nice dining for special occasions when you don't want a lot of background noise. read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Beef Wellington, duchess potatoes, seasoned green beans for me, friend had salmon with generous serving of mashed potatoes. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

My husband and I came here to celebrate his birthday on a Tuesday evening. It wasn't crowded at all - we made a reservation, but that wasn't necessary. It's a cute little bistro inside - it has character and class. Our waitress and the hostess are very nice. There isnt too much options on the dinner menu, but it is pretty expensive. My husband started with a glass of their red wine. For appetizer we ordered the smoked salmon..it came with potato pancake and some kind of raddish cream? It was very very good. My favorite dish of the night! Very tasty! For entree, I ordered the seafood strudel. It came in an interesting shape, like a volcano! It was tasty as well..the cream sauce on the bottom added extra flavors to the dish. The seafood strudel consists of salmon, scallop, lobster, shrimp, and bits of celery. I really enjoyed it - it was a big portion so I could only finish half of it. My husband ordered their New York strip which he liked..came with a side of potatoes, creamed spinach, and some kind of tomato. He enjoyed it too.. We were too full for dessert. Overall, nice place, good food but expensive, good service, and parking isn't hard. read more

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Hemingway's Bistro is a classy romantic restaurant in Oak Park. Great ambiance and excellent service. It oozes with elegance. I came here for the brunch buffet and for dinner. Dinner was nice, but I highly recommend the brunch buffet! read more

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We ordered take out this year to celebrate our 47th wedding anniversary. While we were disappointed not to be able to dine out, this experience was nothing short of fabulous. Our meal of rack of lamb, potatoes, cauliflower au gratin, salad and we ordered the mushroom bisque soup as well was outstanding, The wine and dessert were the finishing touches on a wonderful meal. The food was delicious, warm and well packaged and we appreciated the curb side service. Thank you for making this special occasion for us a memorable one. We hope to be able to come back and dine indoors soon. read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Great service and excellent food also they have a very nice atmosphere definitely recommended and I will be back for sure read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Brunch ! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

My favorite restaurant in Oak Park. It's upscale and a little pricey but the food and drinks are always great. Wait staff always good and the ambiance top notch. My wife and and I always go here when we want to treat ourselves. read more

Food is overpriced, but cocktails are exceptional and I loved the live jazz on Wednesday night. It was very odd that they could not serve a large part of their menu due to a supply issue. Disappointing options if you can't/don't eat seafood due to allergies. Don't order a salad, it's a total ripoff. I had the beet salad and it hardly qualified since it was 4 slices of beets with 3 grapefruit slices and a garnish of micro greens. Worth it for the cocktails. I'd go there to sit at the bar and listen to the jazz. Service was very good. read more

It appears this place is inconsistent in food quality and service. Unlike other reviews here, we had great service. Some food was great and some not so good at all. Lobster dinner was the biggest disappointment. Overcooked, waterlogged pasta with super bland lobster. No lemon was served with it, I guess I could've asked. The lobster dish desperately needed salt. Steak frites was good. Crab Cake was amazing. I don't think it's a four star restaurant, maybe for suburbs it is. read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Overcooked, waterlogged pasta. The whole dish super bland. It was screaming for salt and lemon. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Great cocktails, solid entrees. But I was super disappointed with the "warm goat cheese salad" I had last night - the crostini was burned, the greens appeared to come from a bag, and there was no dressing or seasoning of any kind. Just lettuce dumped on a plate with not great quality goat cheese on badly burned, bitter tiny toast slices. When I requested fresh (not burned) toast, it was still burned (blackened!) the second time. Which the server didn't notice. The third time it wasn't burned, but I was over it by that point. There's a lot of care put into the entree recipes/prep ...but this salad seemed sloppy and just bad. Next time I will head to a restaurant that shows some love for their veggies and salads. Hemingway's - I live around the corner, can you please work on this aspect of the menu?. read more

Frank was a such a pleasure! We visited this afternoon from New York and Frank was a such a pleasure. He really gave us a wonderful experience/service. We enjoyed 4 courses due to his expertise and passion for the Menu. This space is quite adorable -- lovely yellow walls and bright windows. Food was delicious! Wonderful wine selection (especially the Chablis, which is recommended by Frank). Lovely time we spent here! read more

We were there for the brunch and it was not available, we ordered off the menu. It took 10 minutes to get drinks and we were the only ones there. Food was good and the service a bit slow. read more

After waiting and wanting to go to this place, I was finally able to get here after months of wanting to try the food and the ambiance. The Ambiance was great for breakfast. There were a few couples in here for brunch. Some only drinking mimosa's and some eating.. Like ME !!! .. The staff was extremely nice so I tipped Extra because on V-Day you're supposed to show some love. Speaking of, it sucks when your sweethearts Bday is on V-Day.. What a Curse to women!! ... The food is where I subtrack 2 stars.. As we got our pancakes and potatoes/ omlets and such I had to just look like "Wow.. this is it ? " I was a bit disappointed but on one of those boring evenings with nothing to do, I'd love to check out their jazz night and sip on a few coctails to say the lease. read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

Excellent service and great food. Terrific ambience too. Will return if ever in that part of Chicago

Huh. Leaving Oak Park after 16 years, taxes and more taxes, and other stuff. Hemingway's was always a favorite. I lived and worked in Europe for years. n (2 separate events). Duck was great, the Lyonnaise salad very different, flat, just lettuce and the etc. Tonight, great waiter, Kate, helpful and nice, then the other waiter has a confrontational disposition (2 separate events). I called to ask about the $17 martini. I was told that the owners may not be able to call back. They were under staffed this evening. I like this place. Not happy with the outcome. read more

What a great little bistro-type restaurant in the bottom of what seems to be a nearly historic apartment building converted into a hotel! It was a slow weekday afternoon so the guy at the bar was running pretty much the whole dining room but he was really enthusiastic and knowledgeable about the food and when describing a daily special he called over to some ladies at another table and asked them how great it was. They agreed! The special was a fried softshell crab over green beans with citrus and a buerre blanc sauce and it was awesome. It was more heavily fried than we expected, but you won't hear any complaints from me. So wonderful and juicy on the inside and with the interesting sauce. The other daily special, Coq au Vin, at the table got no complaints either. Seems like a great place. read more

Was there last night with the Kaji's and there is a special from 2:00 until 6:00 for $1.50 oysters thinking they would probably from the West Coast, but they were Blue Points, truly delicious, after 3 dozen we decided to order dinner which contained 5 different appetizers one better then the next. The Sevice was superb read more

Brunch wa as excellent, as always. Great atmosphere. Live Jazz in the background. Tom? Best server ever!!

Ordered delivery from Hemmingway's last night for an outdoor dinner. Was so nice to talk to co-owners Lucy and Chris; Lucy when we ordered, and get this, Chris when he delivered our dinner!! The food was delicious and well packaged and prepared for delivery; hot and fresh. Really appreciate their support for Housing Forward. Hope they continue to be great neighbors. read more

My favorite place to celebrate! The service is impeccable and the Beef Wellington is fabulous! Chef Ali, you have outdone yourself once again. The atmosphere is very romantic. Thank you for making our Anniversary perfect. read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois

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My husband made a reservation for us at Hemingway's for Valentine's Day. The service was very good, and the ambiance is charming. However, a portion of the meal was quite disappointing. My husband ordered Steak Frites. The steak was just OK, but the frites were a disaster! They were almost white and very limp - he said they were inedible. I had Steak au Poive. The steak and the au gratin potatoes that came with it were very good. The spinach served along side the steak seemed to have been taken straight out of a box of frozen spinach, heated, and dumped on the plate. I think with a bit more care given to the complete dish, this restaurant would be a real hit! Hopefully the kitchen will take care to pay attention to the complete meal so their customers will look forward to a return visit. read more

CALL THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT Long time patron of this french bistro....however about 3 years ago food quality and experience sadly declined. Tried to give them another chance, by ordering a carryout, an upscale hamburger for lunch with frites...my husband emphasized medium. We live no more than 4 blocks away, but the burger, though packaged nicely, was dripping red blood and the frites were soggy. We tried reheating in the oven, but sadly, it was barely edible. We managed to cook the burger to a safe temperature, but the bottom of the bun was still soaked and the fries remained limp. Unfortunately, we will have to enjoy our french food after Covid elsewhere. read more

I have been wanting to dine here for quite some time and finally got the opportunity to! Let's just say that I was not missing out..... It was a super cute establishment with very friendly staff, hence the 3 stars. If I was strictly rating the food it would be a solid 1 star. The French onion soup was bland at best, no seasoning whatsoever and just sad. Which made me sad. But I still had beef Wellington coming so it HAD to improve right!?? Nope. It. Was. The. Worst. Meal I have ever had. The meat was tough and flavorless. It was covered in some sort of mushroom pate / purée concoction they swore had foie gras integrated into it, however I do not believe that to be true. The puff pastry was soggy somehow while the rest remained dry and lacking. I had to send it back..... I felt terrible about it but forcing down unpalatable food is not in my dna. On a plus side the soufflé was DELISH! read more

Great menu that definitely leans toward French cuisine. Attentive and knowledgeable staff has made some great recommendations for us. It leans a little bit expensive hence the 4 and not five stars. Being in Oak Park parking can be a bit challenging sometimes. I will try their brunch next. read more

I love the atmosphere of this place. Unfortunately, that was the only positive. I had to eat with my coat on, because the waiter re opened the window that I had previously asked him to close. My omelet had very little cheese, my hot chocolate was watery, and the little square potatoes looked like something you'd get out of a freezer bag at the jewel. The service was good, but overall a disappointing meal. read more

On an adult day of ditching work me and my wife visited this eatery, very nice place to visit, Its a small place (not in size) and off course a little located a half a mile or so east of downtown Oak Park, very tasty food read more

Hemmingway's is a little tonier than your average "bistro" - it's more like a "restaurant". Nice place, good menu. Live jazz Wed evenings and Sun brunch. We had a nice time on a recent Wed evening. VIBE: A bit more elegant than the average bistro, but still comfortable. A good choice for a nice date. Leave the kids at home. If you like live jazz, show up on Wed night. If you prefer conversation (as do I), avoid Wed night - the music may override your table talk. SERVICE: Cordial hostess, pleasant server. Food arrived at a leisurely pace, which was perfectly fine for our leisurely date. If time is of the essence, negotiate with your server. VERY GOOD: Broad selection of traditional bistro favorites, done up a little better than most bistros. Goat cheese salad was my favorite, carefully put together with tasty melted goat cheese atop croutons, good greens, lovely vinaigrette. Rabbit ragu pappardelle was tasty, served in a mustard cream sauce (that could have used a bit more mustard kick and a bit less cream). NOT SO GOOD: Food is a bit pricey by about 5%. The wine list includes very few choices below $50, which doesn't fit my notion of a bistro - there should be a fair number of decent bottles in the 40's and upper 30's. Hemmingway's was a good find for me in Oak Park. I'll likely come back to check out further menu choices when I'm in the area and want something a bit special (but not on a Wed night). read more

Had dinner here with a group of friends last night. Food was incredible and the staff went above and beyond to make our visit spectacular. Thank you Aaron!! read more

Well-prepared food and efficient service. This is a good choice for a "special dinner" or brunch with friends.

I came to Hemingway's for a mid-week get together with a few of my cousins. One of them had suggested this spot and I had never been here before. It's on the perimeter of the heart of downtown Oak Park in the lobby of a boutique hotel. When you walk in, you're transported to an authentic Parisian bistro, very cozy and European. The menu has a nice variety of traditional french dishes. For starters we ordered the Mussels Mariniere - I didn't try them but everyone at the table raved. We also tried one of the salads, I forgot which one but it was tasty - we ordered two and that was enough for a table of five to get a nice sample. A few at our table ordered one of the lobster dishes, one is a regular on the menu, the second was a special dish on the menu for the evening. The others ordered Whitefish, lamb chops, etc. I tried to order the Hangar steak but it wasn't on the menu - the Steak Frittes was a sirloin cut in half so I went with the Beef Short Rib - which to me was uninspiring. For dessert we tried the Chocolate Mousse and Napoleon with Wild Berries. Our service was fairly attentive although he couldn't answer a few of the questions we had and brought over someone more experienced - it turns out he was new. At the end of the day, Hemingway's was a solid meal with decent service in a quaint little spot - it probably won't be my "go to" place for this type of cuisine but it's worth a try if you're in the neighborhood. read more

Great mea - nice quiet setting, great food, the Seafood Strudel was delicious. Ignore the posts about it not being kid-friendly (it's not, but that is a good thing - you can tell when you walk in the front door - turn around and take your kid to someplace that is) or that another patron used too much bad perfume (restaurant has no control over that). Go, have a good meal, and check in for 20% off Sunday to Thursday. read more

Very nice restaurant in an historic hotel just off the main drag in Oak Park. Scallops were superb. Short ribs, vey tender and tasty. Attentive staff. Repeat. read more

Great Saturday breakfasts stop! It's just 0.5 mile from the Wright Home & Tour, so it made a perfect spot for breakfast before the tour. They also take opentable reservations so you're sure to stay on time. The breakfast has several traditional options for reasonable prices. For example, I got one egg over easy, breakfast potatoes, and toast for $5. The atmosphere is definitely comparable to a French bistro with white tablecloths, though I did not feel out of place in jeans. Service was great too! read more

Loved it! Service was AWESOME the ambiance was cozy. Good food and drinks. Will go back.

My husband and I brunched here and had a wonderful experience. The building has an antique charm and the staff are attentive and incredibly friendly. Food was really good. Live jazz and good breakfast cocktails, can't beat it. We will be back. read more

This is our romantic date night restaurant, complete with live music. The fare here is varied and delicious. Roger has been our server on several occasions - he is terrific! We have enjoyed lamb, a variety of fish dishes, and exquisite desserts. We usually come here on Wednesday evenings because we're always able to get a table, and it's not too loud. I presently have a few diet restrictions for which I have never experienced a side-eye or disdain for my many questions regarding food. The historical aspect of this landmark restaurant is enjoyable, and adds to the ambience of your dining experience. Whenever I have friends come into town, I suggest this place as an intimate and re-connecting experience. Though this restaurant is family-friendly, this is not where I would bring children to eat. Our second grader would be unhappy, and the prices are such that I'd rather bring her elsewhere. Don't forget to check-in and take advantage of their check-in special on Yelp! read more

Hemmingway's Bistro - Corner Valentine coziness! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Oak Park, Illinois