The Noodle Café

Wilmette, United States

4

Open now

26 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 847-251-2228
Website:
thenoodlecafe.com
Address:
708 12th St, Wilmette, IL, 60091
b/t Central Ave & Washington Ct
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
300 ftCentral & Wilmette
320 ftWilmette Metra Station
500 ftGreen Bay & Central
Categories:
QR code
Download QR Image Download vCard

Map

Streetview

Activate map

Bussiness info

Delivery
No
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Dinner
Bike Parking
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
No
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Open now
Local time (Wilmette) 20:49 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Tuesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Wednesday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Thursday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday 4:30 pm – 8:30 pm

Description

Specialties

The Noodle Café specializes in fresh, made-​from-​scratch pastas and sauces and fresh seafood. Come taste what you’ve been missing.

Customers can mix and match their pasta and sauce and even have a half order with their seafood, steak, chicken, or vegetable entrée. You will find a great mix of creative specials and comfort food on our menu. For example, we feature a new lasagna each week but you can also find some taste bud tantalizing specials! Vegetable Risotto and other favorites such as our Peppercorn Filet Medallions or Barbecue Pork Tenderloin round out our regular menu. Don’t forget to try our signature Tomato Basil Soup and garlic bread! Our customer just rave about it.

We also specialize in friendly service. Remaining a small «mom and pop» restaurant, we pride ourselves in value for your money and taking great care of our customers. Our team is looking forward to improving your dining expectations!

History

Established in 1991.

In 1991, Rob’s friend Pat O’Neil (of O’Neil’s in Winnetka), sold Rob and Ann Dancing Noodle Café. Rob and Ann changed the name to The Noodle Café and began to make the place their own. During that time, there was graduate school for Rob (MBA from Kellogg) while Ann managed the floor.

Becoming a mainstay on Wilmette’s «main street», the little business blossomed. Rob and Ann’s cultivation of long term staff is paramount to the café’s success.

Meet the Business Owner

Rob and Ann G.

Business Owner

Rob and Ann’s love story and the eventual adventure of how they started in the restaurant business, centers on the North Shore. Two crazy kids, one born and raised in Wilmette (Rob) and the other in Barrington (Ann), met at the University of Iowa. Rob was all about the numbers (undergrad degree in Actuarial Science) and Ann was all about the heart (undergrad degree in Communications and Theatre Arts).

The Noodle Café also recommends

Homer’s Ice Cream

121

reviews

Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt

Rob and Ann G. says,

«The Noodle uses Homer’s ice cream for our desserts. Our customers just love them! The cappuccino chip is a staff and customer fav!»

Depot Nuevo

90

reviews

Mexican

Rob and Ann G. says,

«If you like The Noodle and enjoy your cuisine with Latin flair, we recommend our sister restaurant Depot Nuevo, also owned by Rob & Ann Garrison.»

Related places

You might also consider:
1
mi
Burhop’s Fisheries
1515 Sheridan Rd Ste 33
1.7
mi
Hunan Star
3339 Golf Rd
2.2
mi
EJ’s Place
10027 Skokie Blvd
2.3
mi
McCormick & Schmick’s
4999 Old Orchard Center
2.4
mi
Roka Akor - Old Orchard
4999 Old Orchard Ctr
2.5
mi
Pete Miller’s Seafood & Prime Steak
1557 Sherman Ave

Nearby

Near this location:
30
ft
Madame Baba’s
1154 Central Ave
50
ft
Rock House
1150 Central Ave
90
ft
The Noodle - Small Plates & Market
1156 Central Ave
90
ft
Schultz & Odhner’s, Inc
1152 Central Ave
120
ft
Chantilly Lace Lingerie
1144 Central Ave
140
ft
Precise Vision Optical
1146 Central Ave

26 reviews of The Noodle Café

No registration required
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Yum yum yum yum yum!
Pleasant, if somewhat close and noisy interior and also a charmingly European style outdoor area with umbrella tables.
Food? Food, you ask? Ahhh. .. Delicious, freshly home made pastas and your choice of sauces at reasonable prices. Right sized portions of soup or salad included in the meal price, along with a few pieces of perfect homemade garlic bread. Tomato basil is always excellent, creamy and satisfying; seasonal gazpacho bursts with salsa-​y, vegetable-​y live food deliciousness. Freshly ground mozzarella cheese. Superlative Italian sausage. Meat, fish and shellfish dishes are fresh and always perfectly prepared.
Surprisingly large and well considered wine list. Cold Peroni beer in bottles, among other, more typical choices.
Have a look at their menus through their site. We’ve been happy with every meal we’ve eaten.
Polite, knowledgeable, cheerful, reasonably attentive staff.
They close fairly early in the usual suburban manner.
We are regulars.
Best,
Peter O. and S.
Place rating: 5
Bloomington, IN
Best tomato basil soup on this planet! It’s very fresh and is a lovely family owned restaurant. They make their own pasta on site and their seafood is also delicious. It’s family friendly but they don’t take reservations unless it’s over X amount of people. It’s my favorite go-​to place on the North Shore.
Place rating: 5
Wilmette, IL
Tiny and easier with outdoor seating BUT This is the best restaurant on the north shore of Chicago. Trust me (but go very early). Carry out is great too!
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
One of our family’s favorites for years! Perfect for birthdays and special occasions. I just took my mom here for Mother’s Day. The amount of food you get for the price is incredible, having soup or salad come with your pasta or entrée is a great idea. The garlic bread is to die for and I’ve never been able to make it remotely close at home. Maybe it’s just a lot of extra butter! :) During our most recent visit we both had Caesar salads and pasta with scallops, shrimp and mushrooms in a white wine sauce. Hopefully it will start to get warm soon so we can enjoy their outdoor seating!
Place rating: 5
Buffalo Grove, IL
Amazing food. From the garlic bread and soup to the main courses. Small restaurant, so call ahead. Worth the wait. Best during spring or summer since downtown Wilmette is nice to walk around.
Place rating: 4
Tullahoma, TN
I’ve never been disappointed with any selection ordered here, including desserts. Highly recommended. I’ve given this place one less star because of the noise level. It’s a very small place, perhaps holds 30, but just the sound of all that talking in such a small place truly detracts from the dining experience. Best to eat up, enjoy the food and exit. Or, take ear plugs. Suggestion to the owners: get rid of the market next door and make the restaurant bigger. Also, add sound proofing materials. Otherwise, great.
Place rating: 5
Philadelphia, PA
My favorite restaurant when visiting the folks! The garlic bread is amazing.
Place rating: 5
Skokie, IL
We just arrived from there and were delighted to have a great dinner with great service! I loved the scallop special and my husband loved his pasta. They didn’t disappoint us. The wine added delight to the taste. The garlic bread, salads, soup were delicious. We truly enjoyed our meal there. I think that the chocolate cake however was not great and in the future will skip on it, it was a bit stale.
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
We stopped here for dinner tonight. I was stoked over a seafood and pasta. Both Christopher and I were rather disappointed. The soups and garlic bread were very good, but neither of us enjoyed our entrees. Christopher had fettuccini with their special of the day sauce. made with peas and prosciutto. It was not a pleasant taste and neither of us could pick out even a hint of the flavor of prosciutto He ended up adding quite a bit of salt to it, which is something he never does. I had the seafood trio with a side of pasta with their shrimp, scallop and mushroom sauce. The pasta and sauce was warm, but the salmon was lukewarm and the shrimps and scallops were almost room temperature. I sent it back and they heated it up, but it was just kind of bland. I added lots of lemon to it. It didn’t help much.
Christopher had a beer. He finished it and was never asked if he wanted another one or something else. He drained his water glass and it sat empty for quite a while before being refilled. Not a big deal, but not good either. I doubt we will be back. From other reviews, it seems like ours was an isolated experience, but it turned both of us off.
Place rating: 5
Grayslake, IL
Fantastic pasta, excellent desserts and a great place to catch up with friends. Service was ouisanding. A wonderful find.
Place rating: 5
Wilmette, IL
When in Wilmette be sure to have a meal at or from The Noodle Café. A variety of fresh pasta and the creative tasty sauces in nice portions are delicious. The spinach pasta with either the fresh basil pesto or marinara sauce are wonderful meatless meals. Fish and meat eaters won’t be disappointed with the many available tasty choices. We have been going to this little gem of a restaurant for many years and it has never disappointed.
Place rating: 4
Wilmette, IL
The noodle is always a reliable choice! The gourmet salad is my go to meal, but u can’t miss with the soups or daily specials. It’s a small place which might be its only downfall, but they do carry out as well. Yum!
Place rating: 4
Evanston, IL
Craving fresh homemade pasta? This is the place to go! Located on 12th street, you’ll notice the red and white striped awning with outdoor seating. Plenty of free street parking.
We ordered the chicken romero with spinach fettuccine ($ 14) and the spicy italian sauce with garlic angel hair ($ 14). At first, I thought the prices were too high, but changed my mind immediately after seeing how large the portions are. You start off with a soup or salad, and we went with the chicken gumbo and the roasted pepper with spinach. The chicken gumbo was delicious and very filling, since it had rice in it as well. The roasted pepper was a little too cheesy for my liking, but others might enjoy it. You also get complimentary garlic brrad which was honestly the best garlic bread I have ever had. We polished off the bread so quickly that we were almost full before we even got out pasta! The pasta comes beautifully presented on huge colorful bowls, and as mentioned before, the portions are huge! We both barely made a dent in our pasta before we had to wave the flag and get it to go. They also brought us more garlic bread, which was nice.
You can watch them make the noodles, which is kind of fun. Keep in mind that each person has to order their own entreè or there is a sharing charge.
Definitely a place to check out if you are hungry!
Place rating: 5
Evanston, IL
Wonderful food! Fresh pasta, great seafood, yummy desserts! Friendly and attentive service, family friendly
Place rating: 2
Chicago, IL
Be prepared to bring all of your money if you’re going to their carryout store. I stopped in here after they opened to help out their new initiative and support Wilmette. The veggie lasagna is $ 75!!! Crazier. I paid it! I don’t know what I was thinking. The noodle itself is pretty good and has been in Wilmette forever, but the cost of the carryout items is insane. Plus, it wasn’t even that good, we ended up throwing most of it away.
Place rating: 5
Wilmette, IL
Best restaurant in Wilmette! Of course you may have to wait but they take reservations now! The salmon is always the best and with roasted veggies it was amazing as usual. Make sure to have some garlic bread! Had a glass of Pinot and it was a perfect meal.
Place rating: 1
Oak Park, IL
The food here is not even memorable. I had the white sauce lasagna and garlic bread, and the Side of roasted Brussel sprouts. I would not recommend at all.
Place rating: 5
Chicago, IL
Maybe the best restaurant on the North Shore. Seriously.
The homemade garlic bread is reason enough to go, but the homemade pasta is reason to stay. The soups are always incredible, never skip them, the only excuse to do so is to try one of their amazing salads (but seriously, try the soup), and never, ever turn down the pasta side dish; you pick the flavor of pasta, the cut, and the sauce, either as a side (try the salmon! Or the filet!) or as a main dish (you can even try two different sauces).
This place is quaint and cute, don’t let the fact that it’s sometimes crowded bother you, and in the summer, don’t miss the outdoor seating.
Place rating: 4
Winnetka, IL
Honestly, I order take out at least once a week if not twice from here and it’s always awesome. If I get the chance in the summer to sit outside and eat, it’s always a bonus. As everyone else stated previously, yes the tomato basil soup is ridiculously good, especially with the garlic bread all up in it. They have great specials but the BLTA and basil pesto steak sandwich are my standards. If I’m looking for something lighter, I’ll do the shrimp caesar salad or the basil pesto steak salad for lunch. Dinners are great too. My fiancé is gluten free and they have a bunch of options for her as well. Service is always great and attentive and they always get my order right when I call in. Keep up the good work!
Place rating: 5
Wilmette, IL
Great food and excellent service at a good price point. Only problem when families come with noisy children can ruin the ambience.
Place rating: 3
Evanston, IL
Food: 3 stars
Ambiance: 3
Service: 3
This is a casual local place with outdoor seating. I wish I had something really interesting, but the food was merely okay. Don’t get me wrong, the food wasn’t bad, it was perfectly okay; just not memorable or compelling.
Place rating: 4
Tucson, AZ
Everyone in our large carry-​out group thinks this place has the wrong name, not reflecting the selection of fish and meat dishes that are better than their pasta items. Two in our group had the filet and loved it. The rest of us had different pasta and fish entrees and everything was enjoyed. It’s a funky and cramped location, so you may decide as we did to order take out over the phone and then pick it up. Another winner in the expanding, quality restaurant scene in Wilmette, except Noodle Café has been here for 22 years! Garlic bread was terrific. So were all the different soups.
Place rating: 5
Highland Park, IL
The restaurant is about a 20 drive from my house and I always fight my family about going. They love it so I always cave but once I get there I love it. Food is great, healthy and quick. The wine is moderately priced and the food is a bargain. I’ll probably argue again next time but it’s worth the drive.
Place rating: 1
Wilmette, IL
Let me borrow the sentence from Mr. Just Me E. ‘Was I eating at the same place as the folks who gave 4 and 5 stars?’ because it perfectly explained my feeling when I took the first bite of my pasta dish.
Noted the garlic bread is good, and it is sadly the only good thing I ate there. and it’s supposed to be a free side dish.
My boyfriend had it worse. His fettuchine with seafood tasted like a bad Chinese noodle. He barely touched the dish and we decided to comment on it to the waitress. She politely said ‘oh, you should have told us earlier so that we could have fixed it for you’ But what we thought was that we just did not know how to fix it. It’s just THAT bad. The pasta was soggy, the sauce was bland, the seafood was overcooked.
I have tasted the real handmade pasta. Both from Italy and from here, this is not what the handmade pasta should taste like. I would trade it for a box of Barilla any day. and this place is supposed to be a pasta restaurant?
Place rating: 2
St. Petersburg, FL
Was I eating at the same place as the folks who gave 4 and 5 stars?
Food was just ok, (tomato basil soup was very good) service was kind of indifferent and mostly absent, prices a little on the high side for what you get.
Yeah, it’s the North Shore, blah, blah, but even the leafy streets and rarified air couldn’t elevate this to anything other than 2 stars.
Place rating: 4
Highland Park, IL
Ten minutes to kitchen close, I stopped in here yesterday for a business meeting and left knowing I’d be back again. There was absolutely no rush for us to order, and the service was excellent though they were closing for lunch. Also, what an adorable spot!
Not super hungry I opted for the gourmet salad, and the person I was dining with ordered the veggie sandwich wrap. Knowing the kitchen was about to close, and having worked in the restaurant industry for several years, I opted for something light, quick and simple (in truth I really wanted some good old noodles).
My salad returned with giant beautiful sun-​dried tomatoes and a side of house dressing with a lemony, garlic zest, and perhaps some basil in it. It was really deliciously strong, so I only needed a small dollop for the entire salad. Overall, the salad was exactly what I expected (fresh and yummy), and if they have goat cheese, perhaps I would consider having then throw it on there. Feta would be fine too. Garlic bread available upon request.
Lucky to be able to try the veggie sandwich wrap, with just one bite you could taste the flavor of each individual vegetable, though they were all mixed together. Instead of a side dish, the sandwich came with oranges. Very interesting.
Another observation while dining was the fact that there was a wine tasting taking place a few tables down. Perhaps the owner was selecting wine for the restaurant. Cool and impressive.
Next time I come here I plan to be hungry so I can order noodles… since it’s first and foremost a noodle shop. Now the difficult part will be deciding what type of sauce I want!
Stay tuned for a noodle update!