Symphony's Cafe
Menu
This is a great restaurant for good food and quiet conversation. The menu is nicely varied and the dishes are well-prepared. We'll be back!
The food was delicious and the server Bridget was personable and attentive to our table. Our party of four ordered pork chops, beef medallions, salmon zechi (nightly special) and meatloaf (also a nightly special) Prices were moderate and we received very nice portions. We were very satisfied and plan to return in the future.
This was the perfect breakfast place for meeting a friend we haven’t seen in 25 years! We loved the food, service, and company! We will go back again soon!
The waitress seemed to have a bad attitude initially. I brought my wife there for Valentine's day. We could've done without the attitude. According to the waitress, the kitchen was extremely busy and by the looks of the food presentation, it must've been. The food looked like it was thrown on the plate. 9 years we've been coming here for Valentine's day. This was the worst.
It was Valentine’s Day. Delicious food! Wonderfully cute place. I want to come back for breakfast too!
Wonderful location for Valentines Day. Sat at a table in a bay window of cafe lights.
food was salty Waitress seemed very curt Value because of coupon Business seemed slow for Sat. nite
Food as well.prepared and served as any restaurant I've been to.anywhere. Not sure why it isn't mobbed, but selfishly hope the noisy hip crowd never finds it.
This is a great place! The food is delicious. The quantity is huge, so I always bring home part of my meal for another one at home. The service is good. I appreciate the quiet atmosphere at lunchtime.
A minor nitpicking item is that the frames around pictures are very dusty, and could benefit from a quick cleaning.
Everything was fine, with one big exception. I'm allergic to gluten, so requested gluten free toast on my turkey Rueben sandwich. My partner also ordered a turkey Rueben sandwich on regular toast. My sandwich was half the size of his. I asked the server why, and she said that gluten free toast is smaller - - which is a bogus excuse, because I regularly purchase gluten free sandwich bread at the store that is the same size as regular sandwich bread. Adding insult to injury, I was charged extra for the gluten free bread. So, a half-sized sandwich at extra cost. The server acknowledged that others have complained about this practice, but the owner won't do anything about it. Maybe this review will get them to change.
I’ve been eating at Symphony’s for over 10 years, and it’s always fantastic food. Our waitress tonight was a little unusual, but it was still a very enjoyable evening. Gem of a place!!
We had the fried calamari which was excellent. The salads were ok. The shrimp and sausage on penne with tomato cream sauce was divine. The stuffed chicken (stuffed with spinach, feta and peppers) served with garlic mashed potatoes was also excellent.
This was our third time at Symphony's Cafe. We chose this restaurant because it's close to the Welsh-Ryan Arena and have been happy with our meals before. Everyone enjoyed their orders: Pumpkin Ravioli, Veggie Aglio Olio Pasta, Beef Stroganoff special, Grilled Chicken Sandwich and Fries, Spaghetti and Meatballs and Chicken Florentine. Some of the menu items were a little pricier on the dinner menu compared to the lunch menu (we arrived at 6pm) but are still relatively reasonable.
This was our second time at Symphony. I thought the cream of chicken rice was out of this world the first time I was here and couldn't wait to have it again. The recipe was a little different this time as they added chunks of potatoes which gave it a strange texture. Our server was very slow this time. But our meals were good so we will definitely be back.
Probably the deal in the northshore for great quality food, portions and price. My wife and I split on the salmon dinners. They graciously split everything in half on each plate for us and still the portions were substantial.
This place also has a very low noise level making conversation easy. We had a group of nine and everyone had a good meal.
We came here at the suggestion of friends. The restaurant smelt funny, the wait staff was nonexistent, the food was just mediocre and not inexpensive. I will never go back here again.
Great neighborhood place.
The waitress got my order wrong, thus, while everyone in our party was enjoying their meal, I was waiting for mine to be prepared! When I saw that most of my friends were half way through their dinner and I, a slow eater, still hadn't gotten my meal, I got up and canceled my order. As the waitress was clearing the table, she dropped a knife in my lap!!!!!!! They comped my meal, which I appreciated, but charged me the $2.50 for my ice tea! When I got home, very hungry, I ate alittle of the meal and it was excellent but the evening was ruined by this unprofessional waitress!!!!! (Getting the order wrong and dropping a knife in my lap!)
Worst service I’ve ever had.
Love this place. Best rack of lamb ever! We’ll be back.
I had the most wonderful egg white omelette with goat cheese, tomatoes and onions.
Delicious!
Would love to go back frequently but the parking meters on Central are problematic. Many do not work. Couldn't get mine to accept my credit card. Didn't get all the time for the quarters I inserted. Same thing happened to the lady behind me.
We've eaten here several times, and always been pleased. The portions are huge, so I typically take home leftovers for another tasty meal! We enjoy their comfortable booths, prompt service, and quiet atmosphere (we go for breakfast or lunch).
We are repeat customers and enjoyed another delicious dinner. Our waitress was very nice but seemed a bit distracted when it came to giving us the bill. I had to request the bill and then she forgot to apply the discount coupon we had shown to her when initially ordering. She corrected it right away so no complaints about that.
Always eat at Symphony's before a Northwestern Football game.
Good food and service is a little slow because it is full up. Nice friendly staff.
Always make a reservation and keep it on your phone.
Symphony's Cafe was better than we thought it would be. Warm bread basket was a nice touch. Enjoyed the "pasta fagioli" soup, even though it wasn't the traditional pasta fagioli, and both of our dinners were tasty (turkey burger/fries and salmon piccata special). We will return in the future.
I have loved Symphony’s for decades and it still delivers good food, creatively and well prepared. Thank you
It was very busy and noisy when we arrived at 1:00. The crowd thinned out later and that was better. Food was plentiful, and basic. The service was attentive. We had been looking for a nice, quiet place to have a business lunch, and this was recommended. Would have preferred something more up scale but there didn't seem to be much around that area open for lunch.
Wonderful food! Great setting! Thank you!
I like the restaurant very much. It would be great for me if there were more gluten free, dairy free items on menu. But, overall, i think the food is excellent and service is great
Normally service is quick an efficient but today being Father’s Day, it was a bit slow at brunch time. They could have used an extra waitress. They could use a wider assortment of bagels as the only choice is plain.
We were some of the fortunate ones who had made reservations on Father's Day. The unfortunate ones were left to wait at least 30 minutes. The place is not humongous. Word must be getting around that this is one of the cuter places in Evanston for brunch and there's plenty of free parking within a block on a Sunday morning.
We really enjoy this restaurant. It has comfortable booths, a broad menu, well-prepared food, good service.
Service a bit off today... new server. Never came back to table to check on us. Had to seek her out twice. Food took longer to arrive and it wasn’t that busy.
Excellent omelette and fresh fruit. Pleasantly quiet for a Saturday morning. Would definitely return.
Place to go for brunch in all of Chicago area
I have nothing good to say about this restaurant. We were there yesterday. I ordered eggs with well done bacon. It came totally medium at best. They took it back and brought it well done but it was very oily and didn't taste good and I love bacon. My companion kept asking for more water which they never brought. I think the food is not good and they have service problems.
Been here numerous times but this time service was very poor. Every time we needed something we had to go hunting for them. Seemed under staffed but the one who seemed to be in charge said they were properly staffed. I doubt it.
Very pleased with the food and service was great. Would definitely be going again.
My birthday and Easter celebration was great. So enjoyed the breakfast!
Very good neighborhood restaurant. Friendly with good food.
FAQs
Symphony's Cafe offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (847) 475-1200.
Symphony's Cafe is rated 4.5 stars by 493 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting reservations at the moment.
