Best Fun Restaurants in Wilmette

Aboyer (previously Restaurant Michael) has been one of our favorite north shore spots to celebrate birthdays and anniversaries. My husband and I have been following Chef Michael all around the Chicago area for decades now, and although the amazing food has been the key reason, we have always been impressed by his professionally trained staff, who are friendly, knowledgeable and pay attention to details. On this visit, we were celebrating my birthday (2 months late) since we cancelled the first reservation when Covid hit us, and the aftereffects stayed around far too long. The evening here was well worth the wait! After stopping at the bar for a quick hello to Sergio and a Champagne (for me) and a Chardonnay we settled in to the cozy banquette for dinner. We ordered our standard starter, the delectable Gougères, a mainstay that we hope never goes away. I switched to a rich Aviary Napa Cabernet for the rest of the dinner. We were delighted to have Sergio Junior as our server! He obviously enjoys his job and is a real ambassador for the restaurant. We took his recommendations for our entrees, and both were fantastic! I never order pork, and rarely make it at home, except for a roast. The Peppercorn Crusted Berkshire Pork Rib Chop with Cognac Mushroom Sauce was by far the best pork I have ever had. Happy Birthday to me. My husband’s decadently delicious Aboyer Burger was an unexpected item for him to order here, except for how much he loved it. Thank you from both of us, SJ!!! Last night was well worth waiting for. ♥️♥️

Great food, excellent and attentive service. HIGHLY recommend to anyone in this area. We had folks meeting from the north suburbs and city, and it was great.

Our waitress was great. She took our drinks order and gave us time to look over the menu and talk. It was my family member’s birthday and we got something special from the kitchen. I had to get something changed and I found the person who helped me earlier to assist me. We loved the food and enjoyed celebrating there!

Took my friend here for her birthday. We had a very fun waiter and we ordered a ton of food.. all was delicious.. the beet salad, truffle fries!! Monkey bread, Mac and cheese and the fried fish sandwiches and then we topped it off with the the coconut cream pie- YUM We plan on going back .. it was helpful they are located at old orchard so you can walk off your meal

Great place. Just a bit loud. It will not keep me from going again. Really good food and drinks.