Where To Eat On Valentine's Day In Wilmette Area: Readers Respond

WILMETTE, IL — Valentine's Day will be here before you know it, but that doesn't mean you have to venture beyond Wilmette to find a romantic spot to take your sweetie.

We recently asked Wilmette-Kenilworth Patch readers to weigh in on their favorite restaurants to take a date on Valentine's Day.

Here are some of their suggestions, menu recommendations and accounts of past experiences.

The Noodle Cafe, 708 12th St.

The local pasta shop has served the Wilmette community for more than three decades. Patch readers praised its blend of flavors and reasonable proportions. Recommended menu items include spinach pasta with marinara sauce, tomato basic soup and potato-crusted halibut.

One reader told Patch they "started enjoying dinners there when my sons were just babies[, and we're] still going there 22 years later."

Indoor dining is not available at the cafe during the month of February due to the coronavirus, according to its website. Nonetheless, readers described having many great pre-pandemic date experiences in the cafe's intimate dining room.

"It is cozy and romantic inside," one said. "It's not noisy and everyone is so nice."

Depot Nuevo, 1139 Wilmette Ave.

Recommended menu items at the gourmet Mexican eatery in Wilmette's village center, which is also the village's only brewery, include ceviche, steak enchiladas and fiesta salad.

One reader said it has been a go-to destination to mark special occasions over the years — and for "treating out of town family to a wonderful dinner experience."

Napolita, 1126 Central Ave.

The downtown Wilmette pizzeria and wine bar serves Neapolitan-style pizza cooked in a wood-burning oven to strict Vera Pizza Napoletana standards, according to its website. Readers recommeded the "very authentic" Margherita pizza.

"Came and sat at the bar with my husband on a hot summer night," one reader recalled, "and made friends with Kevin, the bartender/manager over some wine and later, pizza."

Got another suggestion for an ideal spot for a romantic date in Wilmette? Let us know in the replies below.