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    Spirit Elephant

    4.5 (365 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 4:30 PM - 10:00 PM
    Updated over 3 months ago

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    Recommended Reviews - Spirit Elephant

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    Chorizo burrito & Potatoes
    Marcus D.

    Love this place. Their menu changes and doesn't disappoint. There were three or four options I got stuck one. Went with the chorizo breakfast burrito and it was excellent. It had a vegetarian chorizo, egg and avocado with pico de gallo. The diced potatoes had a great outer crunch, perfect. Service as always was attentive and helpful. Highly recommended.

    Cali bites
    Theresa C.

    This was my first time dining at a vegan restaurant. The esthetics of the cauliflower was to be desired . No color but the flavor was nice . The feta cheese is vegan so didn't taste like it at all and the salad was over dressed . The poke nachos were tasty . The creme brûlée is made with coconut gelato which was different but still had the crunchy top . The drinks here were my favorite. The blackberry mojito was refreshing and delicious and the brown sugar coffee was divine with cinnamon on top . Service was slow in the beginning but picked up nicely once she knew she had us for a table . The restaurant itself has a lot of plants and is bright and welcoming.

    Outdoor patio
    Katie M.

    I'm not sure that I've ever had a bad experience at Spirit Elephant. The handcrafted cocktails and mocktails are always refreshing and flavorful and the presentation of the drinks, as well as the food is always photo-worthy. I always look forward to the seasonal rotation of menu items, as I know the ingredients will be fresh and in season, and I love looking forward to new dishes. I absolutely adore Spirit Elephant and have loved making this my go-to spot in Winnetka. I have had Meet Up events, girls brunches and date nights here, and always enjoy the experience. I've honestly been here more times than I can count. My omnivore friends are always pleasantly surprised once they've been officially introduced to the magic of Spirit Elephant. I've loved watching all of the small changes over the years, and have appreciated that the quality of the food and handcrafted cocktails has never changed. I have raved of the patio in the past, but they've since done two major upgrades, and I love spending weekend afternoons with a group of friends during the warmer months on their patio even more. The staff is phenomenal, and I appreciate that I always know my server will have an excellent recommendation whenever I stop in (I mean, you truly cannot go wrong with anything that you order).

    Bar area
    Frances B.

    Always a treat! Finally made it to happy hour just tinder the wire. We tried the bao buns and poke nachos - both were amazing. The tofu in the bao buns was so crispy and delicious that my carnivore friend said tasted just like pork belly. Having never had pork belly, I was happy that to me it tasted like tofu since I love tofu. The poke nachos were a bit spicy for me but flavorful and delicious. Again, my friend thought it really tasted like tuna. My friend wanted to split the steak which I thought wasn't their strongest dish because it tasted more processed and not like lovely tofu nor like meat. But for those who enjoy vegan steaks, it was quite flavorful and moist. The potatoes were so fluffy and crispy. But not my fav of their dishes. As always the manager, Jordan, comes by and makes us feel like VIPs, laughing and treating us like old friends. And the whole team works together smoothly. Being surrounded by plants with perfect warm lighting makes the ambiance just as wonderful as the food itself.

    Ice tea
    Pat C.

    My brother has been a strict vegan for a decade. He owns a vegan pizza company and he brought me to his favorite vegan restaurant - - Spirit Elephant for a weekday lunch. The experience was excellent. The food is gourmet and totally delicious. Jose was our server. He was a very upbeat and positive waiter. I had the Massaman Curry. It was loaded with fresh, crunchy vegetables and the curry sauce was smooth and slightly sweet. A large portion, I brought half of it home. My brother ordered the Forbidden Summer entree. He ate every bite! The dining room is clean and orderly with lots of plants. They also have a nice outdoor dining area where they have live music on Thursday evenings. I wondered about the name of the restaurant. It says this on their website: "Why is elephant in our name? Elephants are compassionate, intelligent, and powerful, and they use that power for the benefit of others in their herd communities. That ethos and spirit represent our passion and purpose beautifully." This is a great place. Come visit!

    Happy hour bao buns, mocktail, poke nachos, cauliflower wings
    Kate S.

    I finally came here, and idk why it took me so long to given that I am 99% vegan (and 100% vegetarian). Omg. I got one of my friends to come here for happy hour with me and it was amazing. The cauliflower wings (mango chili) and poke nachos were insane. She really liked the bao buns and her mocktail as well. I will 100% be back.

    Diablo
    Mai S.

    This is a vegan restaurant and we're not vegan. I point that out because where we're from, vegan is a bad word. We went during happy hour and sat at the bar. We had several cocktails and several small plates. Everyone liked everything (except me not caring for the sliders because I'm sometimes weirded out by meat substitute that is supposed to be very meat like - I don't hold that against them. Everyone else said it was good) Our favorite item was the crispy tofu bao. Sooooo good The staff was nice and their place was so cute. I highly recommend going there!

    Shradha A.

    I can't believe I waited so long to try out Spirit Elephant but now I'm addicted and can't stop dreaming of the gnocchi flavors on their new menu! The patio in the back is gorgeous and the setting transports you to Santa Monica. Given my food allergies, we received special attention from their AGM Jordan, who was patient and helpful even on a busy Saturday night. Our server was clearly newer because I could see how friendly and attentive the server assigned to the other half of the room was, always available and bustling around, whereas ours kept getting caught chatting away with another server inside - we just couldn't find her when we needed to add to our order or ask for a spoon - even though things were so busy that night that their leadership was all-hands-on-deck, bringing out dishes to the tables/ taking out trash, etc. I hope they're able to build a server staff as impressive and dedicated as their leadership. We ordered a couple of appetizers - the soy-free baba ghanouj on gluten-free flatbread and the chicken rolls (not GF, nor SF) as well as the ginger non-alcoholic drink - everything was fresh, flavorful, and delicious. We then had the gnocchi, which I've already mentioned was unique but in the best ways! It was GF and SF too! Can't wait to return and try more dishes on their menu. I wanted to order one of each!

    Love how they point out "we use familiar names for reference only"
    Tabitha W.

    Spirit Elephant has been on my list for a while, but it is a journey coming from Northwest Indiana. We finally decided to commit to a reservation during our anniversary month, and booked a dinner slot during the week. I would have preferred lunch, but they don't have the full menu available for the days they serve lunch, and I NEEDED to try that Cast-Iron Ribeye ($39). It was pretty incredible! My husband had the Lemon Chicken Piccata ($26), which he enjoyed but not as much as mine. We shared the Creme Brulee Cheesecake ($14), which was good but not a huge amount of food. The space is beautiful, and the service was good! It leans a little upscale but not in a pretentious way. I hope to make the journey back up north again someday.

    Karan V.

    I'm not a fan of vegan food where everything is so away and what not but the good thing about this place is they have a lot many options not just soy based products. Our service Erica suggested many good things and they were really good. My personal fave was cauliflower wings And fried chicken sandwich. Overall, this place is an upscale dining area where you feel welcomed with all the natural light, you can see. The location was very convenient as well close to a park so ample parking space around it

    Cauli Wings
    Amanda K.

    We've been to Spirit Elephant several times over the last years, however, this past experience was so bad and frankly weird it has made us not want to return. Both my husband and dad wanted to order the brunch Chicken and Waffles, but wanted to confirm portion size so asked our waitress if she could confirm with the kitchen how many pieces of chicken they would receive. She forgot the first time, so went back to the kitchen and asked and confirmed two pieces. When the food came out, there was only one piece. Keep in mind the dish is $$$ and the portions are small, so they wouldn't have ordered this dish if they knew they were getting one piece. The waitress didn't even notice, and when we mentioned that there was only one the waitress said she would talk to the manager. Almost 20 minutes later she still hadn't returned, and when she did she was all flustered and said the manager was supposed to talk to us. Another 10 minutes later (we all had finished eating) the manager comes over with two plates in his hands, sets the chicken down on another tables and says: "I brought the chicken but I guess it doesn't matter anymore, I'll comp one of the dishes", and he didn't give us the chicken, and then stomped back to the back and threw out the additional pieces. It was so weird. From how odd the waitress was (her manager seemed terrible so we'll just blame him), to not quickly resolving the issue until our meal had already been finished, to throwing out the extra chicken, it was just such a strange experience. We would not go back. If your kitchen tells you how much food you're going to get and then you deliver something different, that's a really bad experience... especially when the dishes are more expensive. Thankfully, they comp'd the dishes, otherwise this would've been one star. But really confused how this person is a manager with such poor communication and behavior.

    J R.

    My girlfriend and I have been wanting to try this place for quite some time, but live south of Chicago. Today we had our chance. We ordered through DoorDash, and the order was accurate, and everything was delicious. Because of our location AND our shared anticipation, we decided to get three things off of the brunch menu: the Breakfast Burrito, Ranchero Skillet, and Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich. The Breakfast Burrito was rolled tightly, and you could see all of the different fresh ingredients before devouring. It was cut in half, making consumption and sharing convenient. We chose to have this made with Just Egg, but tofu is an option as well. The food had a little spice to it, which I loved, but my partner, who is more sensitive to spice, focused her attention on other items. Such as... her favorite, which was the Ranchero Skillet. This was made with scrambled tofu, chorizo, ranchero sauce, and an assortment of other toppings (e.g., peppers, onion, avocado, tortilla strips). Each spoonful consisted of an array of flavors comparable to a sophisticated burrito bowl(?). The Southern Fried Chicken Sandwich was a little sloppy but in the most endearing way. The chicken was tender and not at all chewy, unlike anything I had ever had previously, with delicious breading all around the outside. Presumably this is something they make in house. This came with coleslaw on the sandwich, and the pickles were so fresh they still looked like cucumbers (i.e., not like store bought pickles typically found in restaurants). We passed the sandwich this and forth until it was no gone. There are different sides to choose from, from which we chose fries and the crispy potatoes. Both were good and the crispy potatoes are a nice alternative to more basic forms of potatoes that are often served in restaurants with breakfast foods. We hope to visit in person in the near future and try more of the items from their menus. I'm sure it's all great.

    Kate C.

    We really liked our meal at Spirit Elephant! The cauliflower wings were delicious. I got the spicy curry tofu dish as my main meal and it was very good. The carrot cake dessert might have been my favorite. Our server was awesome and the outside space is really cool. The only dish that we weren't crazy about was the carrot appetizer. We would definitely come back!!

    Cauli-wings with garlic Parmesan and mango chilli sauce

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    Food is fine but nothing to write home over. I appreciate the vegan approach, though, and the atmosphere is modern and relaxing.

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    Love the food. Love the people. Love the ambience. Everything is delicious! a must try!

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    Spirit Elephant Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Spirit Elephant

    Looks like a great place. I see the menu mentions options with eggs, but also see the PSA saying that the restaurant uses no animal products of any type. Do you use "real" eggs, or is an egg-like alternative used in those items?…

    The egg product is "Just Egg" which is a mung bean based egg alternative. They also have scrambled tofu if you prefer!

    Do you offer any gluten free options? I am vegan and have celiac disease and would love to plan a date night if I know the food is safe for me.

    Hi Candice. We get asked this a lot. We have many menu items with no added gluten--and so they are ideal for people with gluten intolerance. We also have procedures in place when people tell us they have a gluten allergy. However, because there… 

    View All 4 Questions

    501 Local - Roasted Red Pepper Gnocchi

    501 Local

    4.3(165 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    It was our first time at 501 Local today -- we took my mother-in-law there to celebrate her…read morebirthday. I made a special request during the reservation, which usually gets overlooked, so I was genuinely pleasantly surprised when they made it happen. My mother-in-law absolutely didn't expect it, and it made her feel really special. Patch greeted us warmly (I hope I got the name right!) and took great care of us throughout the evening, making sure we had everything we needed. He even personally acknowledged my mother-in-law's birthday, which was such a thoughtful touch. She was so happily surprised! The Hugo Spritz cocktails were refreshing and delicious. I ordered the scallops both as an appetizer and as my main course, and I truly enjoyed them. The strawberry chocolate cake we shared was absolutely delicious -- it practically melted in my mouth! I will definitely come back just to have it again Next time, I also want to try the burgers. The place itself is very welcoming and has this really nice coastal summer vibe. You can truly relax there, and the patio looks amazing.

    We were out and about and stopped in for a quick lunch on the outside patio at 501…read more Our waitress was Brooke and she was both very pleasant and attentive. We split the Angus burger and the Ceasar side salad. The burger came with an ample amount of nicely seasoned fries so it was a near perfect lunch split for two. The patio is noteworthy - it's lovely and has plenty of greenery and space. All in all a great lunch option in downtown Winnetka.

    Photos
    501 Local - Dining Room

    Dining Room

    501 Local - Avocado Toast (Sat-Sun)

    Avocado Toast (Sat-Sun)

    501 Local - Private Event

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    Private Event

    Great Coast Commons - Shrimp vegetable salad

    Great Coast Commons

    4.7(83 reviews)
    2.5 mi

    Specifically made a reservation, and upon arrival our table was not ready for 10 mins. Not sure why…read morethis happened. Forced to wait in bar area which was high traffic and we were shuffled around. Not fond of our server's humor/attitude - felt a little uncomfortable. My medium rare steak was rare and I asked for it to be cooked me more. He kept asking are u sure in a condescending way, to which I replied yes, this is raw according to the high end steak houses I've been to. Yummy food though. Sucks hospitality is lacking here. Prob won't be back. Heard the bartenders are lovely people though.

    4 stars overall, but the food/drink is probably 3.5 - beautifully presented but composition is…read moreinconsistent . Nice ambiance that's casual enough to feel comfortable bringing my kids, but upscale enough for the evening to feel like a nice night out. Loved the appies - we got the cauliflower hummus and deviled eggs - highly recommend both. As for entrees, chicken sandwich was perfectly fried crispy with not too much breading, on a biscuit. Fries were just ok. They were unfortunately out of the schnitzel I wanted to try so I had the halibut special instead. The fish was perfectly cooked, but the composition of the fish was rather confusing - the lobster bisque-like sauce was fantastic on its own, but overpowered the delicate halibut. The crispy yuca strips went perfectly with the fish, but the dish was finished off with lots of shishito peppers - again, way too overpowering. I would have preferred a much subtler vegetable. Kids Mac and cheese was fantastic, with a hint of what I think was thyme. The drink list was heavily spirit -forward. I ended up getting a sangria which was good, but my husband thought the old fashioned was terrible. The balance of spirit vs bitters was completely off, plus it was served over tiny ice instead of a large cube. To top it all off, the cherry was muddled.

    Photos
    Great Coast Commons - Inside

    Inside

    Great Coast Commons
    Great Coast Commons

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    Guildhall - Swordfish

    Guildhall

    3.7(345 reviews)
    1.4 mi
    $$$

    Came by for happy hour one afternoon and enjoyed a few items. Started off with a butterfly tea…read moremocktail, it was okay a bit on the sour side but still a fun drink. We got the burger and truffle fries to share, along with / rolls and the karrage chicken. The burger was good with the caramelized onions but nothing significant to write home about. My favorite items though were the truffle fries, and the hot honey karaage we asked for the honey on the side so that we're able to share with our little but it was super crispy, and the chicken bites were juicy and delicious it didn't even need the honey. I truthfully don't love pickles but the pickles were delicious and I ate them all! The sushi rolls were both really fresh and had great flavor. Overall a good experience I'd like to come back during regular hours to try their regular menu. We were a bit disappointed that the only available menu was the happy hour one which was pretty limited.

    I went to Guildhall for brunch on a Sunday. We ordered the cinnamon roll, shakshuka with a side of…read moresausage, and the omelette. Everything tasted fresh and delicious! The cinnamon roll was surprisingly moist (we were skeptical due to its appearance) and sweet! The restaurant is bright and the service was very friendly. There was a nice mix of customers and there was even a party going on while we were there. I don't remember when I was last in Glencoe. It's charming! I'd love to come back for dinner or happy hour.

    Photos
    Guildhall - Small private room

    Small private room

    Guildhall - Swordfish

    Swordfish

    Guildhall

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    Valley Lodge Tavern

    Valley Lodge Tavern

    3.6(214 reviews)
    3.4 mi
    $$

    Great restaurant in the heart of downtown Wilmette. They have a wide selection of items on the menu…read morealong with local brews and drinks. During dinner, they will also bring fresh warm bread over to the table. The staff is very friendly and the ambiance is definitely casual tavern style. You can catch all the local sports game there and in the warmer months they setup the outdoor patio.

    Got lunch at this longtime Wilmette favorite. It certainly is among the most notable of the…read moredowntown hangouts. Valley Lodge Tavern has a classy but casual atmosphere good for groups and parties. A lot of the expected menu items. There's burgers and meaty things but also some lighter options. Big inside with a bar in the middle and tables all around. It's got plenty of room for large groups. There's also a pretty big patio. Gets crowded. Thankfully we were able to get seats at the bar and it was pretty fast to be honest. It's about $15 for a cocktail. Too expensive but good though. I got the Valley Lodge Signature, which is their main one of course. This is made with Chambord and Ketel One Citroen, along with cranberry, lime, and sour mix. It's about $17 for a burger. These are also too expensive but at least these come with a side. Each of us got the Classic Burger with a Beyond Burger patty. These have the basic toppings like lettuce, onions, and tomatoes. Has a lot of classic items but it's pretty expensive. It's located on Central Avenue among other restaurants and the theater. There's mostly meaty items but has some things for vegetarians.

    Photos
    Valley Lodge Tavern
    Valley Lodge Tavern - Shrimp

    Shrimp

    Valley Lodge Tavern - The restaurant front

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    The restaurant front

    Guanajuato - 3 Enchiladas San Miguel

    Guanajuato

    3.4(188 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    $$

    I wanted to try a new Mexican place as opposed to some of the usual places I've tried and stuck…read morewith very often. This place delivered in flavor and would definitely try again. I started with the guacamole, which I got spicy, and the shrimp soup. The guacamole had good balance and texture, but I didn't get a lot of spice from the flavor that I requested. The shrimp soup had a nice, spicy broth with well cooked shrimp. However, I would have liked the shrimp to be more abundant and chopped up. Also would've liked to see some more substance in the soup such as avocado or maybe some corn. The entrees is where it really stood out. The steak burrito was flavorful and the steak was tender and the ratio of steak, cheese, beans, and other fixings were perfectly executed. The enchiladas were delicious as well with the mole sauce having an exceptional flavor and spice. Beans and rice that came with the enchiladas and burritos were both good and cooked well. The tres leches cake was outstanding! The balance of sweetness and the tart berries layered in the cake gave great texture as most tres leches cakes can sometimes be one dimensional. The cake is a MUST if you come here. Delicious Mexican food here, a nice change for me to try, and I will be back.

    This place was good, but lacking a little flavor. It was also pricier than it should be for the…read moreportion and taste you get. Our server was nice, and the chips were all right, but I don't think I'll come back here again. Parking is either street parking or behind the building in a garage.

    Photos
    Guanajuato - Live music

    Live music

    Guanajuato - Sizzling Fajitas

    Sizzling Fajitas

    Guanajuato - Blackberry Rosemary Margarita

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    Blackberry Rosemary Margarita

    Spirit Elephant - vegan - Updated July 2026

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