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    Valley Lodge Tavern

    3.6 (214 reviews)
    Open 11:30 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated 3 months ago

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    Valley Lodge Tavern American Restaurant Photos

    VALLEY LODGE TAVERN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Happy hour specials
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Valley Lodge Tavern

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    Sam N.

    I had not been to this part of the world in a while having grown up in the Evanston area. A friend of mine she invited to meet some people in Kenilworth part of some meetup I never heard of because I've been living in Panama and Bogota for the last year. This is a pleasant neighborhood place...met an ex for a dinner. The salad was great though :) Service is prompt. Sometimes it can be quite lively here

    Bar - chicken Char Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich, French Onion

    Recently moved to Wilmette, just down the road from Valley Lodge Tavern and we have been too many times to count already! Excellent spot - every neighborhood needs a casual, delicious, and fun spot like this

    My sister and I had lunch together today. She had not eaten there, where I have had a few meals there over time. We appreciated being able to eat casually, without being pressured to move on. She had one of the burgers, and I had a pulled pork sandwich. The food was quite good. Our server, Dani G was attentive to our needs and helpful in describing the items on the menu.

    Outdoor Seating
    Laura K.

    Great service. Plentiful outdoor seating. Mediocre food. Starter bread and butter. Tasty and free! I feel like most restaurants have taken away free bread and butter these days, so it was a present surprise. For dinner, I had a chicken caesar wrap, and my friend had a "Taco Tuesday" mix of steak and tilapia tacos. The caesar wrap was fine, though the chicken quality got a bit questionable in some bites. Nothing to write home about. My friend reported that her steak taco was fine, but she barely touched the tilapia tacos, wishing they had some sort of sauce or veggie mix to give them more flavor. Servers were friendly, and service was fast on an early Tuesday evening. May be better for those who are drinking alcohol, with the food just being a nice addition instead of the focus.

    The 'no onion' Onion Soup.
    Jay K.

    I've been here a few times since they opened and always found it to be just okay. This visit was the worst so far. The Valley on Waukegan rd is so much better. I wasn't hungry for a bigger meal so I had the Onion soup and a side Ceasears salad. The onion soup had very little onions in it and no croutons. It was not good. Mostly broth with cheese melted on top. The salad was watery which diluted the dressing to a flavorless milky mess. At least they washed the lettuce but apparently forgot to dry it. Very weak effort in preparing two simple dishes. The burger my brother had, according to him, was just okay. Again the other location serves a very good burger. At least the bottles of beer were cold. Lots of outdoor tables setup on the sidewalk. Street parking only can be a problem as there are some restrictions for the storefronts.

    Scott M. C.

    We had a great experience dining here! Loved the food the service and the music, 70s classic rock!!

    The Sloppy Joe was very good.
    Fred M.

    On February 16, 2022 my wife and I stopped in for dinner before going to watch our beloved Purdue Boilermakers take-on the Northwestern Wildcats. FYI, the restaurant is a mere 1.2 miles from Welsh Ryan Arena. This is an attractive space - I would call it rustic-chic. We were here on a Wednesday night, and the place was roughly 80% full (a fair amount of Purdue and Wildcat fans were sprinkled throughout the place). On to the food: They brought us two types of complimentary warm bread. The white bread was tasty; the raisin walnut was sublime! I ordered a Sloppy Joe and thoroughly enjoyed it! My wife ordered a 1/2 portion of their chopped salad; it was very good and more than she could eat. Service was excellent and prices were reasonable. We both agreed we would definitely come back. If you are looking for a good place to eat before catching a Northwestern game I highly recommend Valley Lodge Tavern!

    North shore women in media
    Veronica R.

    Came here for a happy hour and was so happy to see my favorite rose whispering angel available as well as the popcorn shrimp and pretzel bites were sooo delicious. Will definitely be back for dinner soon!

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    25 days ago

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    7 days ago

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    6 months ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you so much Andrew!

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    1 year ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you very much!

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    1 year ago

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    Thank you!

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    2 years ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you Sam!

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    10 months ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you so much Sue, nice to meet you both! See you soon!

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    1 year ago

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    7 months ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you so much Casey!

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    10 months ago

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    10 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you Brian!

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    2 years ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you so much George!

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    9 months ago

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    Thank you Matthew!

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    2 years ago

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    Thank you so much Scott!

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    4 years ago

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    2 years ago

    A good solid neighborhood bar with TVs and good food. Perfect. Friendly and attentive

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    Chris S.

    Thank you Andrew!

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    3 years ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you so much Veronica!

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    1 year ago

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    Chris S.

    Thank you Kristen! Happy New Year!

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    Thank you so much Chris!

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    2 years ago

    Staff is very friendly. Food, drinks and music is great. I always stop in for lunch when I'm in the area.

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    Thank you so much!!!

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    Thank you so much Olivia!

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    Ask the Community - Valley Lodge Tavern

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    This spot is such a classic! I have been coming here for many years and always love coming back…read more Just an FYI that it is cash only. They also have an ATM machine if you don't have cash. Generally this location is usually pretty busy almost every time I have been here. Not too loud, definitely a place where you chill and hang with your friends over some wonderful wings! The food comes out pretty fast though & it's a spot where you can order, eat, and leave in a reasonable time. The wings have gotten a little smaller over the years, but I still come back because it's just so good. My usual order are the spicy wings and waffle fries. Something about the waffle fries that make it so good. I always have to have it. The wings.....you can't stop after a few. It's also addicting and you have to eat another one. Writing this makes me want to go on another road trip to get wings and waffle fries now!

    (Kari's Rating 8/10) CASH ONLY!…read more Was in the mood for wings and a friend suggested this tiny one hit wonder wing shop and wow did it live to its name. We came all the way from River north and it absolutely exceeded all expectations. It is a cash only so make sure you bring cash! The place let us place our order and then we ran across the street to grab cash. There's not much seating in the front, but they have a larger seating area in the back. They don't necessarily have servers coming around, but if you don't clean up your garbage, someone will pick it up, but please also pick up your own garbage like a normal person. This has to wing ratio was on par. The wings refresh and since they were made to order, they were perfectly coated. Price was relatively fair. Unfortunately, the seats were not very comfortable, but the place was pretty packed when we went. Since it's right on Northwestern's campus, there were a ton of students. We got an order of the mild and the spicy wings, but I think we preferred the spicy. Overall, I probably would come back if I was in the area, but I don't know if I'd make a special trip up there.

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    We checked out this place with a few people on the Saturday evening after Christmas and were still…read moreamazed how empty the place was. Did everyone truly leave town? It's located right down the street from Northwestern University's football stadium (whatever the heck they're naming it). This is a nice hidden gem in Evanston. Not located downtown, it may have a chance to stick around a while. As Jane V. noted in her review, you are greeted by a delicious smoky smell when you enter the restaurant. It was an inviting smell (at least for me), others in our group thought we were walking into a barbecue joint and were less than thrilled, but the menu put them at ease as it has a lot of options. There were five of us and one couple decided to share a couple appetizers as their entrees. They ordered the Cauliflower Buffalo Bites, and the Macho Nacho. They were huge portions easily enough for us all to share. However, my wife and I don't see eye-to-eye with our eating habits (she is mostly vegetarian and I'm a card-carrying carnivore), so she was not about to share the smoky wings and cheesy tots with me. I opted for the Chicken Vesuvio entree, and she and our other friend both ordered the Inside-Out Grilled Cheese. I would say most the sandwiches looked good (no portobello for me, thanks). I would say though, the desserts are pretty generic, so we opted out, but their is a door inside the restaurant to the donut shop next door (which was closed), but I wanted to try that place, so I'll have to make another trek out there for them and review them later. I'm amazed that the donut shop, DB3 Donuts, does not appear on their menu at all, despite having a connecting door from one establishment to the other, but alas, I've heard their apple crisp and brownie are good, but neither were too appealing that night. All meals were delicious and I definitely need to go back and try other dishes. And may DB3, if they are open. Give this place some love as it is a nice gem in Evanston.

    Holy Moley, did we find great food in Evanston!…read more We celebrated Saint Patrick's Day at Ten Mile House restaurant in Evanston @tenmilehouse When we walked in the door, they had a delicious smoky smell that was driving me crazy. So much so that I ordered the smoked Sampler plate, and was I glad I did. I started off with their Top O' The Morning special Saint Patrick's cocktail (Titos, Curacao, and orange juice shaken and poured over ice). I really loved this drink. My hubby had a Margarita that was just delightful. Our appetizers were: Angry Shrimp (really delicious) shrimp with a spicy tomato garlic sauce. Served over polenta cake. Ahi Tuna Wanton (mango jicama salsa, avocado, and teriyaki sauce) This should be their signature appetizer).The presentation is impeccable. It appealed to our eyes before the 1st bite. And,the first bite, as well as the rest, was wonderful. We would gladly return here just for this. Our entrees were: Grilled Salmon with corn risotto, grilled asparagus, smoked tomato aioli. The salmon was well cooked to medium, not too dry, and not too rare. The plate was well balanced and everything was very tasty. Smoked Sampler My favorite! Rib tips, brisket, pulled pork, Texas toast, cole slaw. For dessert: Chocolate Brownie Apple Crisp Both were so good that we did not want to share! The next time you are in the Evanston area, you really must stop in for their delicious food!

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    Valley Lodge Tavern - tradamerican - Updated June 2026

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