The Alcove- Evanston

The tented area was perfectly warm and the food and staff are fantastic.

Best restaurant on the Northshore. If crowded service tends to slow down. Menu selection is outstanding and different, most enjoyable

New Years Eve

The owner/Chef was kind to greet our table. Plates were a little small for the cost. I had an appetizer main course and still was hungry. I'm 6 foot 170 lbs

Great evening celebrating my wife’s birthday. Outside tent was warm and safe. Decorated nicely. Service and food outstanding. Our first time there. We’ll be back. Too many great items on the menu still to try.

An exceptional dinning experience.

Excellent food, good wine list. Sadly quiet due to Covid. Very good service.

I live less than 10 minutes away and have enjoyed many Evanston restaurants over the years (Found, Oceanique, Koi, Barcelona Tapas, Stained Glass (R.I.P)), but never heard of The Alcove. Nice outdoor patio and lovely interior. Cuisine is universally inventive and delicious, menu heavy on seafood options; good value for quality/quantity. Only disappointment is below average cocktail and wine selections, but corkage is only $15/bottle.

In times like these I don’t want to write a review unless it is favorable- but open table asked. So honestly I must say I was embarrassed by how badly my family was treated by one of the workers here. We were greeted by a rough tone as we approached the outdoor pergola , having never been to this restaurant before, it looked like an entrance. But we were scolded and told the proper entrance was “around there “ maybe a charming sign would be appropriate if workers are so exasperated The music coming from a small radio on a nearby table was like elevator pop jazz. My fish was raw. My sister’s food was too salty. The service was slow. We were asked if we had been helped yet, and the Server simply walked away after we said no. We really wanted to show our parents a nice place in Evanston. It was very sad.

The food was excellent, as was the service. The pork loin was amazing!

Eating outside at the alcove has been a true pleasure during the pandemic. The food is delicious and the outdoor seating makes us feel safe. The staff is very courteous.

Ventured out to enjoy an outside dining experience. Perfect night---great food, beer, and people watching. Enjoyable. Highly recommend and will definitely return.

Absolute perfection. Everything was delicious! Ordered the froie gras, duck, and salmon. So fresh and balanced. Staff were incredibly attentive. Will certainly go back many more times!

Alcove is always outstanding, the food is supreme, the atmosphere is great, the service is amazing. Never disappoints!

We love this place. The service is friendly and quietly attentive. The food is fabulous, and beautifully presented. The outdoor seating is perfect. Highly recommend!

WOW! This was an anniversary dinner and we couldn’t have chosen a better place! We were alone inside and felt completely safe and comfortable. The redone Chef’s Station lost none of its elegance and class. Our servers were wonderful and pacing perfect. Our apps were great: my wife’s scallops and my foie gras were excellent; my wife loved her salmon entree and my special lobster/shrimp parpadella were over the top. We finished off sharing a huge turtle sundae that was amazing. It was pricey but well worth the quality and experience. Wine selection were numerous and well priced. What a great night!

We went as it had a good rating on google. We were slightly disappointed. It stayed that it was contemporary American cuisine, but it was more French classic style. This in itself isn’t bad, but presentation lacked and so did taste. And it was overpriced for what you got.

Service was ok, but server didn’t even check the wine list before giving it to us and it was missing 1/2 the book. They didn’t once pour our wine for us. We ordered cocktails and the old fashioned was terrible; they added soda to it and there was no muddled sugar or simple syrup.

I would rate it a 3.5 myself. It wasn’t the worst meal I’ve had, but i won’t be going back. There are too many decent choices in the Chicagoland area.

Great food customer service & ambience !👍

Lovely outdoors on a summer night!

My wife and I had a delicious meal there. She had the steak which was cooked perfectly. I had the meatloaf which was as good as any that I have had. We were forced inside by weather and were pleasantly surprised that it has been totally redone and looks great.

We went here for a birthday celebration. The food surpassed all of our expectations. It was lovely sitting outside, and this place has shot to the top of our list for special events! I can’t wait to go back!

The food here is absolutely outstanding. Device was slow but we wanted to sit and chill so that did not bother us at all. We had wine, it was a lovely evening and we sat and enjoyed our night. Was wonderful and Id highly recommend it.

A very nice Anniversary dinner. Food was delicious and we sat outside. There was plenty of room to social distance.
The outdoor seating is right by the train and near a busy intersection but I love the urban vibe.

Food was wonderful and it's so good to see the meatloaf back on the menu.

Loved seeing the waiters again. Menu is pricey but worth the cost.

Dining outside at the Alcove was a lovely experience. The tables were spaced beautifully, and it felt safe and almost luxurious. (One has to just get used to the noise from the trains as an expected aspect of the ambiance.). Our food was delicious. My only criticism is that the service was extremely slow. We had been seated for a full hour before we were served appetizers. I have experienced this same problem before at the restaurant. It was so atrocious on one Valentine’s Day, that I swore I would never go back. And, sadly, although I asked to hear from the restaurant, they never contacted me.

Delicious, classically prepared menu! We will be back😃

Food was excellent from the appetizers to the branzino and grilled lamb loin. The dessert of butterscotch bread pudding with peaches was a great ending. Will definitely recommend to friends.

Service was fair. Food was delicious.

The patio is off the street, quiet, pleasant and shaded. The food is traditional American fare. We were in the mood for a good piece of beef and some veggies. Their tenderloin was terrific - perfectly cooked, tender and served with an onion tart and green beans and a bit of tasty sauce. We ordered sauteed spinach too - not exciting but fresh and healthy.
The sourdough bread surprised us - it is not our favorite bread but these were beautiful slices with a flakey crust. Had to stop ourselves from ordering more.
They offer several wines by the glass: red blend was terrific.
Desserts are yummy and varied - you cannot go wrong there. Coffee was perfect accompaniment.
Service is friendly and certainly not rushed.
We will go back for another celebration. Pricy but a treat for a special occasion.

Chef Romero's cooking is as fine as you can get in Chicagoland. First-quality ingredients and creative combinations of flavors. Every dish made me want to stand up and applaud. So many good choices on the menu that it's almost impossible to decide. And a good wine list to go along with it. Plus there is patio dining with lots of spacing between tables.

The Alcove looks pretty spiffy inside after some renovation. The food is still outstanding.

Wonderful food and pleasant servers, with a great outdoor patio!

ACtually it’s quiet most of the time while you are sitting outside in a delightful plaza. Only the occasional Metra train stopping at the train station above you interrupts the silence. Food was great: ceviche, foie gras, grilled octopus appetizers; soft shell crab entree; grand marnier soufflé! Good wine list too. We loved it!

The service. The food. The atmosphere was 5 star all the way. Highly recommended.

Outstanding restaurant.
Great food, great service, great ambience.
We have never been dissapointed there.
HIGHLY recommended.

The Alcove has an outdoor dining area that is beautifully socially distanced and on a beautiful night there was only one other table in use. The food was wonderful and beautifully presented. The appetizers and salads were as beautiful as they were delicious and were really large portions. The entrees were tasty and attractive too. We finished the meal with a yummy turtle sundae. I was expecting a much larger bill for this beautiful fine dining experience. 2 Glasses of wine, appetizer (Wonderful lamb meatballs), 2 Entrees (Meatloaf and Halibut.....Halibut was better) and dessert was $116 with tax, before tip.

Such a beautiful, peaceful place with excellent food and service. Don't really come for people watching, but it's truly a gem.

The food was exquisitely prepared, beautifully composed, very flavorful. No complaints about that -- but the portion sizes, are you kdding me? I am not looking for a "hearty meal", but really, also not to go home still hungry. The servers were frankly out of practice. I hope they warm up to their jobs as routine reasserts itself.

Unusual pairings of flavors was lovely and cooked just right!

We ate on the patio due to Covid restrictions. Attentive waiter and excellent food. The trains came through more often that I anticipated but was only momentarily disruptive. Overall a nice evening.