I was visiting my in-laws who live in the area. My SIL and BIL are big fans of the Lucky Platter so and we decided to grab some lunch here for carry out and our meals were all very good, I think I just chose wrong based on my hunger level. Everyone in my group went with the gouda burger and fries, which was quite an ample portion. I saw the mushroom quesadilla in the starters section and decided to try that. Now, I knew it was an appetizer but based on the price point (almost $15) I did think it would be a on the bigger side. Enough for lunch at least. Narrator: it was not. It was so teeny tiny! I wish I had taken a picture of it but I think the side of black beans was bigger. The good news is is that it was DELICIOUS but the bad news is I wanted more and I couldn't have it. Heads up, if you're ordering it as an appetizer it'll probably be fine but I would not recommend it for more than 2 people. We also got the pudding (both chocolate and butterscotch) and those were excellent. I really enjoyed the bites I took of my husband's burger and sweet potato fries, too. So I'd definitely order from here again. I would just be sure to stick with an entree sized meal in the future. read more

Superb restaurant Great food Friendly staff Many bettering choices Great neighborhood read more

I've always loved this little diner in Evanston. It's filled with fun, quirky artwork. Service is always fast and friendly and there are great choices on the menu. During my most recent visit, I had the adult grilled cheese with a side of sweet potato fries. Everything was very good. The price is right as well: for four people for lunch, the bill was under $80. You really cannot beat that. I wish they took reservations, but it's worth the wait even if it's busy. read more

This is a gem from my childhood. I now live out of town, but took husband here for the first time today for lunch. The menu is slightly different that 20 years ago . My favorite, the tuna melt on cornbread, is still on the menu! I do miss their pimento Mac and cheese, I ordered the Mac and cheese as a side and found out it's different than it used to be! read more

The Lucky Platter - Menu - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I had to have the clam chowder. It was quite good. I would definitely have it again. I had the fried chicken and it was moist and crispy the mashed potatoes and coleslaw were also good. read more

The Lucky Platter - Bowl of Clam Chowda' - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Met a friend for lunch here a few weeks ago--had the tomato soup and adult grilled cheese--perfect winter fare! Service was friendly and atmosphere was lively! read more

First time ordering from The Lucky Platter for carryout since we wanted to try something new...ordered the Green Goddess salad with added avocado, Fried Green Tomato appetizer and Green Goddess chicken sandwich. Food was ready quickly and all correct; service was friendly when I went in to pick up my food. However, for the prices charged, the portions were small compared to other area restaurants. For our fried green tomato appetizer, we were given three fried green tomato slices, so my husband and I shared 1.5 tomato slices each. My salad was very tasty and I did enjoy the flavor combinations, but again, I ended up hungry after finishing it. My husband felt the same after finishing his sandwich and small side of fries. I am glad we ended up trying it, but I think it's a one and done for us unfortunately. read more

The mashed potatoes were really good. The veggie burger was a big miss for me due to the sriracha sauced slaw, with which I am unfamiliar... overpoweringly spicy for my taste. Someone at my table traded meals and all was good. The THC beverage (!) made my visit a hit. The restaurant is unique, funky, creative with good food. An Evanston institution. read more

The lucky platter is the best breakfast place in town. The staff here is wonderful, amazing and kind. The food is so delicious and satisfying. The atmosphere here is amazing. It's one of my favorite places in the world. read more

The Lucky Platter - delicious fluffy chocolate chip pancake - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Stopped by for lunch with a colleague on Friday and had a fantastic experience. Once we walked in, we were immediately greeted and seated. The restaurant was crowded, and everyone seemed excited about so many different items on the menu. I decided to try to "adulting" four cheese grilled cheese with tomato soup. It was the perfect combination on a snowy winter day. The creamy cheeses and tomato soup was like a lunch pizza without the pizza part! The soup was a bit cold but the flavors were so incredible! Once we received the check, we have to go over to the shop to pay. The staff were friendly and very knowledgeable about the menu. The only hiccup is parking. The street parking is a bit of a hassle esp when it's cold, but the food and experience is totally worth it! :) read more

The Lucky Platter - Adult grilled cheese - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

Food is made fresh and from scratch. Simply delicious. The staff is friendly helpful and alway willing to just make your day better. You feel the love when you walk in. The deco and ambiance is delightful love the fun art work. And do not leave without getting a few "Flakey Pastries". Mind blowing delicious read more

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Ordering a big hearty fried chicken sandwich or wanting a filling healthy salad ? Whatever preference you may have for brunch/lunch even dinner, The Lucky Platter has the meal for you! Both dishes were delicious and mouth watering! Pictured here: Fried Chicken Sandwich & Green Goddess Salad! The service was so sweet and the ambiance is small inside but the outside patio is fun and you get to see the city while you're enjoying your meal, especially in time for patio season! read more

The Lucky Platter - Green goddess salad - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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Stopped here for lunch with friends. Friday around 12:30, they were semi busy. Beautiful day so we grabbed a table outside although inside offered a small shop, laid back vibe and interesting decor. Felt like Brunch given our entree choices. I had the Omelette #2-filled with artichokes, roasted veggies and avocado with Goat cheese taking it over the top. I went with the house-made Apricot Cheese Flakey and that was a good decision. Cobb Salad (with Grilled Salmon), Platter and BLT (special) were all enjoyed also. Service was friendly and attentive. Lives up to the "Eclectic and funky Diner made from scratch" billing. read more

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Mean front desk attendant. Disengaged waiter. Food totally meh. What else do you want to know.

My favorite local place. My wife and I go once every week or two to split a burger and their green goddess salad. Menu has some fun twists on diner classics. Staff is always kind and helpful. read more

Fantastic food value. Some great dishes. Very quirky, mellow vibe. We come here a lot. Never disappoints!

10/10. Absolute cinema. Everything delicious. Service amazing. The atmosphere was SO homey. The pot pie made me a gravy lover. If I lived here, I would come here EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. read more

Chicken piccata is delicious. Service great We went around 6:20 and there was plenty of of places to sit

I am writing this directly to the owner Derek G. Derek, I have been a customer of LP for years, but always for dinner. Today was the first time I was meeting a friend there for breakfast, so I was taken aback by your policy of not seating someone until the whole party is there, since that is not the policy at dinner. I can understand having a policy like that if the party is large, 4 or more, but we were only 2 people, so if I would have come in by myself, I would have been seated right away?! You would have had to seat me at a table for 2 regardless! To make matters worse, there were many empty tables in the restaurant, yet senior citizens (which I am one) were made to stand and wait instead of getting comfortable sitting at a table. I tried to get the hostess to make an exception, but she wouldn't have any of it. I asked for you since I have spoken to you before and have always had a nice conversation with you, but instead I got your manager, who said her name is Laura. She basically said that if I didn't like it, I can leave. She then asked me to leave. Great service to a longtime and loyal customer!! I refused to leave as my friend walked in and we were then seated by the hostess who seemed very young and clueless. I ordered the classic eggs benedict, which were delicious, and why I gave a 2-star rating instead of 1 star. Derek, please read through your Yelp reviews here and see other complaints about your seating policy and please consider changing it for parties of 2. Thank you. read more

Great breakfast here Abysmal dinner But great server Got the Pot Pie and Fries Love fries - but not when they are crispy and feel like twice fried Fries The Pot Pie had no Pot Disappointed it was just pie Moral of the story - just do breakfast read more

We haven't been to The Lucky Platter for 6 months or so but today's breakfast visit was a huge disappointment. I hate to give a negative review because restaurants are struggling but a $50 breakfast and tip for 2 should be good. First of all, our waiter acted like he was doing us a favor to serve us. He took and delivered our order and we never saw him again! When we wanted more coffee we had to get up and look for someone for a refill. We each ordered eggs which were fine. My husband had raisin toast which was good. I had whole wheat which was the heel/end of the bread. That's a first for me. This place has been around for a long time and has usually been pretty good. It'll be a long time or maybe never before we return for a visit. read more

Visiting from out of state. Local friend suggested we meet at The Lucky Platter. The restaurant and adjoining pantry were lighthearted and welcoming. Staff was courteous and knowledgeable. A diner atmosphere with a full bar, wine, beer and mocktails. The dirty martini and Shiraz were well made. We started with an app of fried pickles ($8.49). Piping hot, lightly battered fried dill pickle slices served with creamy ranch. Tasty and as unique as the diner. I waffled between their house specialty chicken pot pie ($17.99) and buttermilk fried chicken ($20.99), but I chose the Yankee pot roast ($22.99); tender braised rib meat, chopped bok choy and mashed potatoes ladled over with brown gravy. It did not disappoint. The chicken caprese sandwich ($15.49) was a hearty grilled chicken breast with Burrata cheese, pesto, arugula and sun dried tomatoes on a buttery toasted bun and served with a choice of one side. The side of steamed broccoli was a small shrub sized serving covered with grated Romano. Very good! The tandoori chicken salad ($11.49) featured greens, chicken pieces, feta, tomato apricot chutney, artichokes and garlic croutons. Fresh and filling. Our waiter forgot to deliver an ordered beer and their table water wasn't good quality. But we finished our meal with an outstanding slice of carrot cake. An interesting twist on an original; allspice in the batter delivered a moist cake not overpowered by carrot and iced with a light, almond flavored cream cheese. The only way to have carrot cake moving forward. We enjoyed our dinners and can see why this spot is popular among the locals. read more

The Lucky Platter - Caprese chicken sandwich - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

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I've been going here for at least 20 years. Today may have been my last trip. Prices have gone up horrendously--$18 for a salad. That salad arrived so small that I though the order was wrong and the server had given me the small version. Nope, that was the big one. Daughter also found a slimy lettuce in hers. Extra steak was $10, chicken about $5. Last time I ordered an omelet that I swear was made of one egg. Remember the free cornbread? No more. The sweet potato fries that used to be hand-cut real potatoes are now Sysco specials. Very poor quality at Lincoln Park prices. read more

Very casual and friendly restaurant. We had dinner here with friends for the first time recently. I would definitely recommend that you try the Pumpkin Soup, which I did not, but wish I had as everyone at the table had a cup and loved it. I had the chicken picatta and it was just the right size for an entree and left me room for dessert. My husband had the fried chicken dinner and said it was fabulous. I had a pasties di nata (Portugese custard dessert) and it was good, but I really wish I had ordered the chocolate cake because it looked amazing. Beverage offerings are limited, but what is offered was of decent quality at a fair price. Our meal without tax and tip came to about $45 per person. read more

Average service but extremely disappointing food. Ordered the lemon ricotta pancakes which came with 2 dry pancakes, with only a tiny bit of compote on top. Did not taste at all like lemon or ricotta, and they charge $1 for maple syrup?! What kind of restaurant does that? Friend got the fried green tomato Benedict , with unripe tomatoes and dry cornbread, tiny portion as well. read more

The Lucky Platter isn't your run-of-the-mill type of eatery.  Reason being that they make all their food from scratch! We've eaten here multiple times over the years, and while there's almost always something new on the menu, you're also going to find a number of tried-and-true favorites there as well :-) Last time I visited here I ordered the chicken pot pie with a side of mac and cheese.  The mac and cheese side was excellent, and the chicken pot pie was darn good as well; while the latter was more than a bit dry, it was so tasty that the flavors overcame the dryness is an almost spectacular way. It's difficult to imagine getting tired of the kind of home-cooked flavors that TLP specializes in - highly recommended! read more

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The first time I was here I had the tuna melt and it brought me back a second time. The tuna melt is delicious! I wish I had taken a picture of the first serving because it had a better presentation. Their fries are amazing too. I recommend the tuna melt - its on toasted cornbread!!!! This is a good place with friendly helpful staff. One of the busboy even went out to the curb to check the parking code for me too. Yes, this is a keeper! read more

The Lucky Platter - Tuna melt on corn bread. - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I do wish I could give this restaurant a five-star rating. The menu is interesting, the staff is friendly and they work hard. Food is generally tasty and of good quality. My only criticism would be to echo some of the other comments that remark on the portion sizes relative to the price point. This may depend on what you order, but I have been surprised on several occasions at the plate set before me. Today was the most recent example where a chicken salad sandwich special had the smallest amount of chicken salad on the smallest pieces of wheat bread with the smallest amount of sweet potato fries on the side. This was about $16 on the menu. As someone who dines out often at a variety of restaurants, this is just noteworthy to me, even in this new era of higher prices overall. This is truly all that causes me to avoid coming here, even though they are close and convenient. read more

Breakfast is great here. Lunch and dinner...not so much. The sandwiches are overpriced and undersized. The staff is wonderful, pleasant but the food has gone downhill since w first started eating there. read more

Delightful creative diner with personal service, homemade artsy fixtures, and some unique menu items. I had a scamble (any 3 items) and my lady had the "Omeleto Italiano" that contained a whole Italian sausage that tasted local along with spinach and other veggies. Different "breakfast potatoes" include a touch of carrots.m read more

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Not sure the draw as it doesn't lack for lunch business. Our visit found the front 'reception desk' manned by someone from the kitchen. We seated ourselves. During the lunch, whatever caused the mostly +25 year-old staff to appear, never became clear. There were 3 -4 male and 1 young 'college-age girl now on the floor. I think of this place as an aspiring new-age eatery. Once the staff appears, the service is acceptable. The food is passable. Nothing special. Curiously, one of the guys told me on questioning that tips are shared. Didn't surprise me given whatever vibe the place genuinely has, but no tip jar was readily seen in the adjacent sweet-shop/souvenir stand next door where you pay your tab. By habit and my nature, I tipped like I was in a better sit-down restaurant. I assume the fella at the cash register had an especially good night following my visit. read more

Had breakfast at Lucky platter the day after a holiday, so I'm going to give a little bit of leeway to say maybe that was a reason for a less than stellar meal. I ordered a Greek omelette and was immediately put off by the flavor of the egg wrapping the veggies and cheese, I tried three bites and the rest is in the garbage. The server said that they cooked it in corn oil. I suppose it's cheaper than olive oil, but it's also disgusting. The reason toast brioche and coffee were good. read more

This has been one of our favorites for a long time. The kids have always loved the "bad art" decor and the free cornbread is a hit as well. For the longest time, I would order the open-faced Mexican polenta but was happy to see that they've added a Beyond Beef-based Philly cheesesteak. My wife's favorite is the tuna melt, and we always ALWAYS get sweet potato fries. One other smaller element I appreciate is that their takeaway service is really thoughtful - recyclable aluminum containers when possible, no plastic or styrofoam - even if it is a bit more of an expense for them. That matters. read more

Decided to give this restaurant a try today for my aunt's birthday as we live close by and we were both heavily disappointed in not only the food but the service. We both ordered a scramble and when the server came out, he only came out with one plate. It took about 8 minutes and still no plate had come out and we had to ask personally what had happened to my meal. We were told that it was a "system error" but the server was easily able to go to the back and pick up the plate in a matter or seconds which makes it feel not so much as an error. Once I received my scramble, both meals at this point were cold and the food was average and disappointing. Also, every other table had received their meals together which was disappointing that we didn't receive the same service. I then realized that there was no bacon in my scramble and I had to request it. After our meal, we went to check out to discover that our server had added the bacon that was supposed to come with my meal onto the bill without discussion. We do however appreciate the owner for correcting this on our bill. We are sad that this experience and will not be back. read more

Best breakfast in Evanston hands down! Adorable decor in a truly original setting. In a world of chain restaurants, Lucky Platter stands out! read more

Service is very quick. Good is delicious. Eggs were perfectly cooked. Ambience is very nice as well. read more

The Lucky Platter - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

The food is good and the service gets the job done. But the waiters are grim faced and unfriendly. Very strange.

Service is great. Fun to people watch at the windows. Food is yummy. Our neighborhood go to.

I came here for brunch on a Saturday morning. Their menu is quite big, ranging from pancakes to Benedict to omelette to sandwiches to burgers to pizza, and it took me a while to make a decision. I went with the Reuben sandwich and sweet potato fries. The sandwich was good, but I thought it was a little dry. The sweet potato fries were delicious, and I really enjoyed the service, which was attentive and fast. read more

The Lucky Platter - Reuben with Sweet Potato Fries - New American Near Me - Evanston, Illinois

I used to love this restaurant. It certainly has cute decor! And the eclectic menu of salads, sweet potato fries, and fish sandwiches, among others, had something for everyone. But lately (June 2024) the food has taken a turn for the worse. It is also overpriced. I'll be skipping The Lucky Platter in the future. read more