Autre Monde Café

If you like over-​priced small plates, this is the place for you! Unfortunately, I do not. Therefore, I had to head up the street to get a butter burger. My date and I had the cod fritters, peppers, chorizo pasta and green vegetable ravioli. My date ate the fritters since I don’t like fish. The peppers were good but as a side dish — not. The pasta dishes needed the peppers! I like eating a full meal: salad, entrée, vegetable, potato. Nothing I ate was special, not even the chocolate hazelnut mousse (I love dessert). Luckily, we had a gift card!!!

Service was excellent! We had a few special requests that they easily accommodated. Highlights: Pork bellies were phenomenal, angnolotti was fabulous, whole fish was exceptional, pot de crème with chocolate and hazelnut was an incredible finish! Bravo! We loved the high table for a big party!

I’ve dined at Autre Monde many times, and it’s definitely at the top of my list of restaurants in the immediate west suburban area. Since it recently revised its menu, I’m writing an update. I like the new menu: there’s a greater emphasis on small plates, and there are many appealing choices.
VIBE: Pan-​Mediterranean bistro. Casual, reasonably comfortable. Can be noisy when it fills up.
SERVICE: Attentive and knowledgeable. Cooly cordial.
GOOD: We sampled six small plates and enjoyed them all. Two pinxtos were delectable: luscious pork belly and lamb meatball (albondigas). Among small plates, BBQ ribs were tasty, as were shrimp dolmades. Grilled fennel tasted fine, but was a bit stringy; no problems with the neevik, though: the spinach and chickpeas were cooked perfectly and the garlic was just right.
NOT SO GOOD: One thing hasn’t changed: the wine list is way too pricey for a bistro — like about $ 20/​bottle too high, on average. (Actually, I thing this may have gotten worse; I think they used to have a few bottles in the $ 40’s.) I only saw two bottles in the 40’s; the next lowest price was $ 59, and there are many reserves in the 100’s.) I’m not saying that the prices are inflated — I’m just saying that the wines are not well chosen to match the venue’s price profile. C’mon, people, this is a Mediterranean bistro — there ought to be many decent regional wines in the 30’s and 40’s…
Foodwise, the makeover is great! I’m sure I’ll be back. However, I will sometimes choose to dine elsewhere because of the high wine prices.

The food was delicious here, A little expensive but worth it. My wife enjoy the Blood Orange Margarita very much. The rest of the food we got was very delicious. The service was very excellent as well, the server explain to us all of the foods & help us with the food we didn’t know.

My husband and I had lived in the area for nearly 2 years before finally dining here. When I mentioned to some friends that we hadn’t been, they were shocked, knowing my husband and I to be the sort to dine out frequently. As a Christmas gift, they bought us a gift certificate for Autre Monde for a handsome sum and said, «Enjoy.» Did we ever!
Our first experience was out of this world. Every dish — lasagna, neevik (wilted spinach), duck sausage flatbread, grilled octopus — we ordered that evening was phenomenal and so full of flavor. That you can make a wilted spinach with some citrus, chick peas, and the lightest of seasonings taste so wonderful is not easy feat. As an Italian-​American, I almost never order pasta dishes I can make at home. Boy, was I glad my husband suggested we try the lasagna. The bechamel is a departure for this Southern Italian, but so exquisite. Not heavy, just the right amount of richness to contrast the meaty bolognese. Outside of Spain, I simply have not been to a place to prepare as wonderful a grilled octopus. Café Iberico is the only other place in town that I would even order it, and frankly, even theirs couldn’t touch the the grilled octopus coming out of the Autre Monde kitchen. The Croatian wine selection was impressive. While living abroad, I would spend much of August on the Dalmatian Coast. In doing, I fell in love with the grapes and minerals one would find in those wines. Not only is it rare to see Balkan wines in a menu, but it is exceedingly rare to see some of the super distinct blends. A welcome departure!
Since then, we have been several times with friends, family, and on date nights. We have never had a bad experience. Every time, we try different dishes, wines, cocktails, we go at a different time of day or evening. I’d been wondering where the ‘weak’ spot may be. My only answer would be late on a Saturday night. Why? Because some of the tastiest, most popular dishes may have run out. But even then, this seems to be rare. They know what sells and do their best to have enough for the evening. Not easy, knowing much of what they are preparing is coming from very local, quite small purveyors. So, if you were wondering why they aren’t serving baskets full of Sysco bread, it is because if there is a bread on the menu, you can assume they are making it. And to be honest, it is nice to see a menu that isn’t divided by salads, soups, appetizers. You need to go to a totally different venue for that sort of thing. It just isn’t what they ‘do’ here. And thank goodness for that. The area is richer for the unique and fresh approach they are taking here.
Now, as to the service — it is fabulous! These servers aren’t bored teenagers collecting paychecks. You have professionals who know and love food waiting on you. They are incredibly knowledgeable and are happy to explain without any condescension and plenty of patience what may be confusing or unclear. Specifically, the Croatian and other Mediterranean dishes that may be hard to pronounce or translate. You have a bartender who is the best I have ever seen in this setting. The Blood Orange gimlet is a top seller here. Not just because she mixes it well, but because she mixes them with such consistency. Nothing is worse than getting an inconsistent pour when it comes to cocktails that deal in such specifics. And the wine list is so impressive. I wondered if I may need to ask the sommelier for a recommendation, but clearly there is a great deal of education going on between him and the servers. Ours have been spot ON with their recommendations.
My only regret is that we hadn’t been here sooner. Oh, our poor bellies have been robbed of so many opportunities to be treated to Autre Monde. Needless to say, I cannot speak highly enough for this exquisite restaurant. Berwyn, the Roosevelt corridor, all their Oak Park neighbours, are all just so lucky to have them.

We’re so happy to have Autre Monde in the western burbs! Delicious seasonal dishes, crafty and friendly bartenders, warm and knowledgeable servers, great wine list, energetic yet intimate ambiance, perfect patio, what more could you ask for? My favorite dishes: grilled octopus, burrata, gnocchi… well, all of the pastas, and flatbreads! My husband loves their craft cocktails and every kind of meat dish they offer. There’s a reason they’ve received so many positive reviews from restaurant critics and guests.

Autre Monde, Wow! Top notch, from the time we walked in the door. We were a late for our reservation, but the owner met us with a smile and said they were holding our table. We both had the tasting menu. I have never had such a creative and delicious dinner. from the Mozzarella app to the Rabbit Dinner everything was the best of the best. Our servers talked us thru everything from drinks, to description of what we were eating. This is a place you do not want to miss.

Autre Monde Café offers the best of everything that I expect from a dining experience: hospitable and well trained staff, intriguing and well executed dishes and a killer cocktail and wine menu, all nestled in a quaint, comfortable neighborhood spot. I especially love the summer when the patio is open for al fresco dining. Favorites have included the pork belly pintxos, grilled octopus, Moroccan chicken wings and pot de crème. But honestly, everything is fantastic.

If you’re interested in great food come to Autre Monde. Wonderful selection of wines and the best whole fish I’ve ever had in a restaurant! Salmon melts in your mouth too. Great Mediterranean dishes with flavors that explode with your first bite! Everything they make is 5 star quality. Small plates are an excellent way to order a lot of different dishes. An award winning restaurant with great food and an inviting dining room. It doesn’t get any better than this. Right here in beautiful Berwyn!
Carol

This restaurant has a well thought out and decorative atmosphere. The bartenders and whole staff are WONDERFUL. Don’t miss out on this experience, totally love brunch too!

I think the food is too pricy here for being a café place. The food I ordered was substituted by something else it came charcoal burned. My son had been wanting to come here like for ever but it was a total disappointment for me. I think there was only one waitress for our side. No I will not return here.

We just left there and had dinner with another couple. Very disappointing. Everything was salty. Took us about 15 min before they took out drink order and then another 15 min to get them. We ordered about 8 small plates. None were outstanding and all were salty. Flatbreads were best. Not worth returning.

I was quite pleased with my experience at Autre Monde. As a Chicago newbie, I don’t venture too far from the city out of fear that the quality of food won’t be as good (again, I’m new here so maybe I’m just ignorant), but I have to say that everything we ordered was flavorful, well thought out and balanced. We ordered the hummus, wood grilled octopus, pork belly pintxos, fontina flatbread, neevik, a ravioli dish with goat cheese and truffle, and the steak special. My only complaint is that I wish the steak was a little more tender. It was cooked to a medium rare but a touch chewier than I’m used to. The other components of the steak dish, however, made up for the lack of tenderness. I also really enjoyed the blood orange gimlet and one of the bourbon cocktails that I can’t remember the name of.

Honest review: i feel that the food was underseasoned, some dishes were just to simple with only one note my favorite thing was chicken tagine the service was good but their were a couple of issues first we asked for extra pita because there wasnt enough and we were charged an additional 4 dollars like really? why didnt u tell us. Then they ran out of the smoked lamb shank so their was lamb chops instead their was a 4 dollar up charge why didnt u tell us like that was annoying there are better Mediterranean restaurants that are more affordable and taste better the reason i am only rating one sTar is cause the only standouts were the chicken tagine n the hummus was really good
Humus: the pita is delicious! Nice and fresh and warm! So much better then bread! No complaints about the pitta bread. The humus is really good theirs no overbaring raw garlic flavor that most humuses has thats really overpowering. Its nice and fresh theres pine nuts on it for an added crunch. Then theres this tomato thing on top that really makes it supper flavorful! I was really impressed not as good as libertads hummus but a close second/​ajvar its like pepper and onions blended its really good! Like i couldnt stop eating it, i wish there was capers or olives for some acidity but still idk which one i liked better their both good on their own but together they dont taste good (if u ask for extra pita they will charge u an additional 4 dollars)
fried oyster salad: i love oysters ik some people hate them because they look n smell gross but when prepared right and its fresh its the best. The actual oyster was lacking their was no seasoning on the breading it was crunchy but bland n the actual oyster was a lil fishy. The best part of this was the salad. The arugula wasnt to bitter which could sometimes be a problem. Then their is i think blood orange segments which added a nice acidic sweet note when u eat everything together it makes for tje perfect bite i would have liked more pickled onions for more acidity but its a good dish just fix the oyster
Pork belly pintxos-​this was my least favorite n i love pork belly. I feel it was very underseasoned like the pork belly needed salt n it is pork belly it shouldnt need that. The sauce was mostly just oil their was very lil chimichurri their needed to be more of that because it was very disappointed it was only one note pork belly n it was kinda flabby i would have preferred it more crispy i wouldnt order this again
Lamb chops: the actual lamb chops were kind of bland they needed to seasoned better n some of the pieces were way to burnt theres a difference between charred and burnt. the polenta texturally was okay i would have liked it more creamy like mashed potatoes. There was a nice cheese flavor but it was very subtle i would have liked more cheese in it. Then theirs like a barbecue lamb shoulder which was really flavorful i would have preferred this over the lamb chops if u eat everything together its a nice bite just this dish has some execution issues if their fixed could be a very successful dish
Chicken tagine: this was my favorite dish it was so flavorful order this! The chicken was so crispy like picture fried chicken then it is so tender not dry at all the flavor of the chicken had the perfect flavor of moroccan spices like it was so flavorful im dreaming about this dish. The cous cous was amaizing perfectly cooked and seasoned well i liked the addition of oil and peas for extra sweetness and flavor. The merguez sausage is one of the best sausages i ever had it was so flavorful and was really spicy theres only 2 pieces so put more pieces plz! Their are orange segments that adds a nice acidic sweet tone if u eat everything in one bite u will be amazed about how flavorful this dish is
Pot de crème: this is just a chocolate pudding if u did not know. It tastes exactly like nutella just a more smoother softer texture. I like the addition of nuts for texture but it needed more this dish needs crunch! Nothing is better then fresh wipcream! Good dish!

An old boss put this place on my radar and since I live in the area I decided to give it a try. I’ve been here 3 times with my GF and each time has been splendid. The servers are very friendly. The food is absolutely top notch (presentation + taste). I like the cozy atmosphere it has. The place looks like a diner that has been converted into an upscale restaurant. The vibe is perfect. Everything is meant to be shared and as such I always order multiple dishes. I’d highly recommend the Duck Sausage Pizza and Portuguese Fried Chicken. Can’t say enough good stuff about this place.

Came the other night for dinner. Service was Ok. Our food was super slow at getting to our table. We got there before both the tables surrounding us and yet the other tables received there food a lot faster. We ordered 4 dishes and it seemed like there was a half hour wait in between plates. I look to our left and the people have 4 dishes and keep getting more food and drinks in a faster pace. We honestly would have ordered more food but the flat beard pizza took 45 mins to arrive and after that we were over it. The staffed was nice enough and noticed they messed up after we showed our disconttent but I couldn’t help to think they needed more help. Or some kind of organization. At one point someone gave us a coat ticket that wasn’t ours… Perhaps they were short staffed that night? The plates are small, the only thing I disliked (other than the waiting) was the PATATAS BRAVAS. Very dry and not spicy at all. Not sure I’ll be going out of my way to go back. I didn’t hate it but I also didn’t love it. For the price point I did think it would have been a better experience.

I have been to Autre Monde on many occasions and this is a fine restaurant. Perhaps the finest restaurant in the ‘burbs of Chicago and indeed — if AM were in Chicago the quality and excellence would be right on par with the top establishments. This is a great staff led by the dynamic leadership teams in the front and back of the house. This is a concept that is always dreamed about when restaurant worker friends go out after a long shift and talk about how cool it would be if we had our own little gem of a restaurant. Well this is that type of dream come to fruition.
The greatness of Autre Monde lies in the unique relationships that entwine the concept, quality and consistency of service, beverages and culinary delights. Beth Partridge and Dan Pancake helm the kitchen and converge on creating the menus that are packed with exciting and healthy options. The Mediterranean sphere of influence is strong which drives the assortment of flavors from luscious spreads to sublime pastas. Meats, seafood and vegetables get their due. What seems like the never ending hint of the smoker out back produces exceptional delights and tantalizing wafts of ethereal goodness. This is a menu that is built on communal plates and a farm to table footprint that can be minimized to 30 feet as the Partridge/​Pancake team have a small little greenhouse out back that is sandwiched between the kitchen’s back wall and the al fresco service area (which is a hidden jem in its own right).
Christine and John Arranza form the dynamic duo that articulates great service and facets of creativity on the wine list, décor and overall presentation of the restaurant. The Arranza’s have deep roots into Berwyn and more than likely had a hand in surfacing the calculated risk of landing Autre Monde in the heart of Roosevelt Road to liaison the near west suburb to a major cosmopolitan culinary power house that is Chicago.
The Autre Monde pedigree has incredible depth which speaks to the success of the restaurant and its award winning reputation. I have eaten here on brunch days as well and it is tantalizing and most delicious. I can best describe the restaurant as a jolt of excitement and energy with modern and retro flavors coursing through the dining room and into the respective bathrooms and al fresco garden of delight. Its campy and elegant in a funky kind of sense but when you have a smokin cocktail in your hand and you and your group are walking through the small gangway that leads to the back — its a culinary adventure and sensory overload.
Autre Monde is a fun place with great food and excellent service. Take advantage of the bevy of culinary classes and wine dinners in addition to partnerships the cool couples forge with local businesses for special events (like the Fitzgerald blues and bar-​b-​Que monthly happening). Ohhh and while you are there make certain to check your lobsta!!!

The food is fabulous and so is that service. The only downside is it is rather cramped, the tables are too close together which makes it difficult to have a conversation. The prices are on the high side, so I can only go for special occasions

When I come across a place with a refreshing menu whose food is good and has pleasant attentive service, I’m prone to award five starts. Such is the case with Autre Monde. Went here with my brothers and sister-​in-​law for the brunch. As brunches go, I typically lean toward the buffet style brunches. Autre Monde’s brunch has a somewhat limited menu, but the food is good. I opted for the Spaghetti Carbonara and while it was a small portion, it was good and fairly filling.
We also had a couple of appetizers — the hummus is what stood out for me and I’m not really the hummus type. But it was very good. Also had an outstanding bloody Mary — spiced the way I like it. Everyone was satisfied with their food. This is a place I’ll return to for more!

BERWYN’S HIDDEN GEM :)
I celebrated my birthday earlier this month and was very pleased with EVERYTHING.
Our server was very informative, welcoming and attentive.
Our meal was amazing and everything that was served was truly a work of art from its flavor to its presentation.
My husband and I shared: Patatas Bravas, Pintxos (grilled marinated shrimp), Swordfish
I recommend: Chocolate Hazelnut Pot De Crème– save room for dessert!!! You won’t regret it.

Came in with big expectations but was very disappointed. Firstly I hate this trend of shareable plates. It’s such a pain to order because you never know if you are ordering enough or too little, Also rarely are the plates easily divisble so you end up fumbling around performing surgery on each dish. The chicken entrée looked promising but it was nearly all bone and not good value and the fish entrée was deboned at the table but every mouthful still contained rogue bones. Finally the wine list consisted of wines I’d never heard of and it was way overpriced for Berwyn. Overall, very underwhelmed and will not be back.

Delish and out of the ordinary. Mediterranean to the north with staples on each shore Absolutely do not start without blood orange gimlets. They are AMAZING and worth the trip, just by themselves!

Food was really good. I wish I could give it 3.5 stars. BRING YOUR OWN WINE AND PAY THE $ 25 CORKAGE FEE. We found wine list a bit overpriced. Chicken tagine was good but less interesting. Get the goat cheese tortellaci with black truffles if they have it. Burrata was super. Octopus was great. Duck sausage flatbread was loved by all. Service was great. Go early if you don’t love noise. Go after 7PM if you like «buzz». Nice clear Mediterranean flavors. Everything was delicious.

Went to this place for brunch with some friends. Went at 10am and we were pretty much the only ones here, which was a little odd. But, overall, drinks were good, food was good, service was good. We had a fun time & I’d go here again.

We were in the vicinity to see live music at a nearby venue, and given the positive reviews, decided to give this place a try. The food was very good, but this place is extremely overpriced for what you get. $ 14 for three ravioli, and $ 49 for a 16 oz. ribeye, the quality of which was just okay. When all was said and done, the food was not worth the price, and I would rather spend my money at the nearby Tapas restaurant or a quality steakhouse.

I recently went here and I can say hands down it was one of the best meals I’ve had in awhile. A friend and I shared a few different small plates, and each one was even better than the next. You could taste the freshness and how much precision went into making each plate delicious. The signature cocktails were out of this world, I would have never imagined pairing some of the ingredients together but I trusted the servers selections. I would recommend this place to anyone!

I really do like this place and I am a big fan. The rest of the reviews here can attest to that. I just want to concentrate on the couple of items that Autre Monde really needs improvement on. These are things I noticed across a couple of visits:
1. Your wait staff knows nothing about the wines. «Oh, well they cost about the same» is not something they should ever say. If you’re sommelier goes out of his/​her way to bring in wines from Croatia or wherever, at least teach the rest of the staff to talk about them. I didn’t know anything about the wines and didn’t like the fact that we had to order blind. At least do your guests the favor and put tasting notes on the menu.
2. Please wash your seafood. I didn’t enjoy the sand that came with my squid and mussel dishes.
3. Sazeracs are stirred, not shaken. Your bar staff could use a better understanding of cocktail basics.
4. Course out customers’ meals accordingly. At one point we waited 15 minutes for a bottle of wine while our food came right away, and on the next order it was the other way around. The first time I ate here, the staff brought everything out at once. Knowing that, last time

In terms of the food quality, this could be the best restaurant in the vicinity of Oak Park, which is basically the recommendation we got on our way to a party in Oak Park. The dishes we shared varied from good to excellent but here is the first problem. This is one of those places doing the trendy shared food thing, so a couple is too small a group to get a good sampling, and six is too large a group for this tight little space. Like most of the diners here, we came as a foursome, the menu seems designed for this. However, not all the dishes are readily divisible by four (or two even), a fried chicken order was especially problematic. The one strategy that would really help this tapas-​like trend would be to apply a very sharp cleaver to divide every dish into defined quarters. Actually, this is the third problem, the first problem is that the space is tight, very loud, it’s just not comfortable. Go for the patio in back, it’s a little better than the front part.
This brings me to the second problem, (the third problem is the dividing and sharing every dish, though not all dishes are easily divisible), that’s the relationship between the price and the presentation. The somewhat more comfortable patio is furnished with cheap outdoor patio furniture. The kind that if your neighbors used on their sundeck, you’d grumble about «there goes the neighborhood» at your block-​watch meeting. It’s not so much that I was embarrassed sitting in it, it’s that I was worried it would break on me. The waitstaff dressed down, this seems to go with the tight space-​loud-​share dishes trend, but it was a few steps below casual. My college students dress better to fall asleep in class, my wife dresses more formally to watch television, I am more dressed up to take out the trash. Seriously one of the waiters looked like he was homeless. This is not an inexpensive restaurant, I found the back-​alley-​chic presentation off-​putting.
All in all, I don’t feel like this place is worth the money, the four of us ran up about a $ 400 tab. Of course you’ll do better if you’re not drinkers, but the service quality and atmosphere aren’t up to the price level. The food is very good, but doesn’t warrant the prices considering the three major weaknesses as I see them. On the other hand, I think this might be the best restaurant in the area near Oak Park, so we may return.

Love this place! The food is always on point.

I’ve been a few times since my last review. I finally tried the lasagna-​unbelievably good. The staff and owners are so friendly. The bartender came out to our table to ask us what flavors we like in a cocktail and made a custom drink for us.

Went here while staying at the Harvey House for a wedding nearby and was not disappointed. I ordered the duck flat bread, which was a tasty spin on sausage pizza, but nothing amazing. Next, I had a white bean tuna salad, which was light, flavorful, and fresh. I also enjoyed the Portuguese fried chicken, which came with a nice sweet sauce. We’re also ordered a side of spinach and chick peas, which was light and very lemony. Finished dinner off with an olive oil cake that was perfectly sweet and very tender. The waitress was good at recommending wine also. I would recommend this place highly.

The food is delicious
We had the gyro was so fresh and delicious
Had the mussels and the best ever
The sauce that comes with it is out of this world

Probably the best restaurant meal I’ve ever had. My group of 3 got the chef’s picks, and I would recommend that to anyone who goes. We had at least seven courses– I lost count!
There really was nothing I didn’t like. Seafood was excellent– we got shrimp and octopus. My favorite thing was probably the gnocchi.
Service was great– no complaints. It’s expensive, but well worth your money.

Autre Monde Café is such a gem! They offer a wonderful seasonal menu, and it’s always such a nice surprise. It’s the type of place where you want to have a cocktail, glass of wine, share some appetizers and entrees and cap it off with dessert and a cappuccino.
The food is always fresh, unique and keeps us coming back!

This place was okay, but less than I’d hoped for.
The flatbreads are very good. We had a fontina and wild mushroom and it was top notch. The octopus: Expected better. It wasn’t bad, but of all the ways to potentially serve octopus, something akin to an Asian dish wasn’t what I expected. Pork belly. Very good, but had a fairly strong smokey flavor that seemed a bit too strong to me. Otherwise good.
We also ordered a whole trout. This was very, very good, It was deboned before cooking, so that was nice. Perhaps the best dish we ordered.
The real downer for us was the noise level. Saturday night at 7:00, perhaps I should expect that, but was a huge drag, and frankly we couldn’t wait to leave. We sat in the patio area, but the main restaurant noise level was no better.
They do have a decent wine list by the glass or bottle. Expect to pay $ 10-​$ 15 per glass. x4 for the bottle price. Other high end bottle offerings also available.
Frankly, if I want tapas, I’ll go to Emilios, but glad I checked the place out. I love the local sourcing concept. Bottom line, though, the 30 minute drive for what we received probably means we won’t be back. Perhaps off peak hours are quieter and more enjoyable.

After keeping tabs on menu changes for a few years, I finally found myself here for a lovely evening Thursday dinner date! We arrived close to 8 without a reservation and were seated immediately near the door.
Atmosphere: Even though there was a little tent outside the door in an effort to keep the cold out, I still got a big blast of cold air every time someone opened the door. The décor is very simple with a few eclectic movie posters adorning a wall and a tribute to classic movie stars on the wall of the women’s bathroom. Our table was a little bit small, which would have made it difficult to fit food had we ordered more. The atmosphere might have been considered more on the romantic side, but with an almost full house, acoustics were pretty loud. We were lucky the crowds thinned a lot about halfway through our meal, making conversation much easier. It should also be noted that it’s possible you may be seated at a communal table.
Service: Service was great! Our waiter was a little bit slow to get to us originally. By the time he appeared, we had already decided everything we wanted to order. Our waiter was really excellent, taking the care to explain the Mediterranean, French, and Spanish influences for many of the dishes. He even explained the meaning of Autre Monde («other world,» in French). He seemed genuinely passionate about the restaurant, which furthered our excitement for our meal. Major props also go out to the hostess, who we noticed opening the door for guests, helping guests with their coats, and stepping outside to the cold tent area to answer phones so as not to contribute further to the noise levels. When she finished her shift for the night, she said goodbye to us as she was leaving. We were very impressed! Our waiter also was sure to ask us how we liked our food after each of the three courses.
Food: Pita bread with white bean and pistachio hummus– The pita was exquisite and honestly the best I have ever tasted. They make it in house and it shows! It was hot, flaky, and just gently toasted, but not at all burned. Perfection. As we slathered our pita in hummus, we tried to decide which was better and couldn’t decide! Our only complaint was that there wasn’t enough pita for the hummus, so we ended up eating it by itself at the end. Highly recommend.
Grilled octopus– If you think you hate octopus, you’re wrong. Octo-​haters (like my boyfriend) can’t deny that they cook the octopus to perfection at Autre Monde. This isn’t your standard rubbery calamari octopus, but a grilled version that can easily be chewed or even cut with a knife. This was the best grilled octopus I’ve ever had, easily, and it was also my favorite menu item! Order this.
Three cheese gnocchi– I don’t eat meat, generally, but I was willing to take a bite of the gnocchi with the shredded meat on top. It was really, really excellent. Vegetarians, if you’re not picky, it’s pretty easy to eat around the meat on this dish because the gnocchi just has cheese inside. This was hands down my boyfriend’s favorite of our savory dishes. The gnocchi was clearly freshly made by hand and was outstanding.
Brussels sprouts– This was our least favorite dish of the night. The sprouts were pretty big and were a bit difficult to chew because they seemed a bit hard; I suspect they should have cooked a bit longer. The bits of pancetta were charred a bit more than we liked and there was not much. It still wasn’t a bad dish by any means, though, and fulfilled our appetite for veggies. Next time, we will try something else. Skip this.
Hazelnut chocolate pot de crème– What a DREAM. This is probably one of the best desserts we have ever tried. It’s basically a big cup filled with hazelnut chocolate (like nutella) that’s a cross between pudding and fudge with cream on top. I don’t like pudding or fudge, but this dessert knocked my socks off. Order this, no questions asked. No need to read any more.
Overall, we were really pleased with our meal. For two people, it cost a little over $ 60, which was pretty good. We felt like we for a good value. This is a place with outstanding food in Berwyn – of all places! I will definitely return in the future. I’m anxious to try the brown butter goat cheese ravioli, which wasn’t on the menu when we came!

My family was staying in Chicago for the weekend and we were looking for a nice Sunday brunch. We were surprised by Autre Monde’s superb reviews, so we decide to give it a shot.
Firstly, the place is VERY FAR from downtown Chicago, so keep in mind it’ll be no less than a 30 min drive (assuming no traffic) for anyone in Downtown, Loop, Hyde Park or Lincoln Park.
For a place 30 min away, I had BIG expectations. And, to be fair, the place is nice, the staff is super friendly and the food is good! But definitely not worth the drive if you live in the downtown area.

Man, I hate to be like this, but I was really expecting more from Autre Monde. I had heard good things about it, and also it has great reviews on Unilocal.I took a friend out for a special occasion dinner as a thank you for helping me out. We went on a Thursday around 7:30pm and the place was totally dead. There was literally one other table in the whole place. The décor was nice, modern and comfortable. We were seated promptly and menus brought out. Really a nice selection available — if you like seafood then they have a nice selection there too. Almost everything was house made or locally sourced.
My guest ordered the med mule, which was really off the mark. There was more ice than anything else, and it tasted only like orange juice. There was no spice to it whatsoever and it was so watered down from the ice that it was flat. When she mentioned something to the waitress about how it wasn’t measuring up, she offered to bring her some ginger ale «to top it off». My guest ordered the gnocchi with house-​made duck sausage, and I got a flatbread. It took a very long time for the food to come out, but we didn’t mind because the company was good. The gnocchi was good, but not great. The sausage was definitely the star of the dish. The flatbread was well cooked but was extremely salty. I was only able to eat a few pieces because it was really unbalanced.
I was really surprised, and slightly embarrassed, at the subpar experience we had here. It is totally possible that I just ordered the wrong things, but for the pricetag I felt like I had been taken for a bit of a ride.

I thought this would be the perfect place to come for my 30^th birthday dinner.
… and I was 3000% accurate.
My favorite city in the state: Berwyn
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My favorite day: My Birthday
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My favorite meal of the day: Any meal I don’t have to cook myself
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After going to my favorite place: The Zoo
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My new favorite restaurant: Autre Monde Café
Everything about this equation spelled success and once we arrived it only went up hill from there.
We came right at 5pm when they opened because now that I’m in my 30s I need to eat dinner before most people are out of work. I think that’s a good plan as I’m sure this place gets packed to the gills during prime-​er times. Even right at 5 there was a small line out the door waiting for the doors to open and to be sat.
Inside is clean and open with tinge of old school pop culture. The menu is set to Mediterranean tapas-​style plates, an immaculate cocktail & artisan spirits list, and an enviable wine list featuring a long list of reds and whites from the Balkans, South Africa, and more. If you’re a wine aficionado it’s worth the trip here alone– they’ve certainly done their homework.
I’d actually been keeping a close watch on Autre Monde since it’s opening days and while their menu changes seasonally to accommodate the freshest and finest quality ingredients, I knew exactly what I wanted/​needed/​simply had to have.
*DRINKS*
/​/​Med Mule + House-​Infused Tangerine Vodka, Ginger Beer, Fresh Lime, Fresno Chili Garnish
/​/​Classic Old Fashioned + Whiskey, Demerara Syrup, Anagostura Bitters, Orange Bitters, Citrus Zest, Bandied Cherries
/​/​Blood Orange Gimlet + Ford’s Gin, Jo Snow Hibiscus Orange Blossom Syrup, Blood Orange Purée, Fresh Lime
*BITES*
/​/​Piri Piri Mussels + the saffron, the couscous, everything. If I didn’t think the cast iron pan was piping hot, I’d have sipped the juices straight outta there.
/​/​Wood-​Grilled Octopus + Even my boo who normally dislikes octopus couldn’t help himself. The veggies, the sauce, the ‘pus. It was flavorful and refreshing and a must when you go.
/​/​Prawns + Soon to be added to the menu, thankfully. These babies were to die for. I ate the whole thing! I’m talking the eyes, the shell, the butt, I ate the whole prawn and had no regrets. One of the best dishes I’ve had in a long while.
/​/​Goat Cheese Tortellacci + GET THIS. It’s unreal. UNREAL. I don’t really even dig pasta, but this was in a whole different class. Just trust me on this one. I think it’s gotta be their house specialty because it doesn’t get much better than these bad boys.
/​/​Fontina & Wild Mushroom Flatbread + Light, crisp, buttery, and easy to devour on your own or share with your dining partner.
/​/​Chocolate Hazelnut Pot De Crème + Holy lord! It was outstanding. I *somehow* managed to go from beyond stuffed to fighting to get every last bite I could get out of that pot.
My guy and I rounded out our meal thrilled with everything and declaring this our new date night spot. We rarely agree on much, especially food and particularly going out to eat (which he hates), but he was quick to note that he could see himself eating like this everyday in a perfect world. Life’s short. Why not?

Berwyn. The land of Gina’s Italian Ice, Buona Beef, Fitzgerald’s, & the unforgettable… Son of Svengoolie. Berwyn. Not the land of beautiful, elegant, organic, farmer market loving restaurants… and that is what you find at Autre Monde Café. The term «un Autre Monde» means, «another world», who knew how true that statement would be.
My husband and I made the trek to Berwyn Sunday evening for an early dinner. It was my husband’s birthday as well… and he’s always up for something new.
We drove past it, slowly, amidst all of the beautiful street construction and noticed they were busy. Crap, we didn’t have a reso and hopefully they would be able to take us. (If not dinner would be at Buona Beef, LOL) Eventually we found parking… opened the door… and found ourselves in heaven.
The dining room is quite small, but it has some beautiful banquette seating… awesome little tables for two… and a few communal dining tables. Some great music was being pumped through the speakers… great lighting… and nestled in the back is the great little bar… soon there will be a outdoor patio area (plus their greenhouse!).
We were sat immediately to this great little alcove… let the evening begin!
Checking out the menus we were intrigued by just about everything on the menu… bad, very bad! Their menu consists of small tapas style plates cold and hot, house made flatbreads, pasta as well as larger style «entrees» and don’t forget evening specials.
Our server stopped by and was very informative about the food menu as well as the beverage menu. We had to have a few minutes. To many hard decisions had to be made… we had to get serious here. She came back with a bottle of water for the table… Lake Michigan’s best of course!
We started the off with a couple of their seasonal «hand crafted» cocktails… I had the Baies Rose, I «heart» sparklings; Santome Prosecco, Jo Snow Rhubarb & a Pink Peppercorn Syrup. It was perfect. My husband, a fan of really good Gin, ordered the Blood Orange Gimlet. This lovely cocktail contained Farmer’s Botanical Organic Gin, Blood Orange purée and Jo Snow’s Hibiscus Basil Orange Blossom Syrup. OMG. I got «a» sip… these could go down too easy. What a great way to start…
We chose food wise to start off with one of the smaller cold plates as well as one of the smaller hot plates…
Cold plate: Pork Rillette with Pickled Cherries, Whole Grain Mustard and toasted Brioche. This was absolutely fabulous. The Rillette itself was housed it a small «Ball» jar. When our server brought the plate to the table she opened the jar ever so slightly… what presentation. The pork with it’s lovely fat gellee was SO GOOD… especially with the cherries and mustard. The only thing that was amiss was it needed a tad bit of salt… like some smoked sea salt. That would put the whole dish over the top.
Hot plate: Eggplant Frites, with a Caper-​Arugula Sauce. Geez louise… I like eggplant, but I fell in love with it this night. Strips of eggplant were rolled in a light batter which included fresh ground pepper… and something else, but we couldn’t figure it out… and served in a great paper cone and was served with this great bright green sauce. It looked so fresh. The dipping sauce was great on it’s own… bitter from the arugula and slightly salty from the caper… we couldn’t get enough.
We thought it couldn’t get any better but we were so wrong. next, we ordered a bottle of wine to go with our entrees. Working in a wine store I thought at least I would recognize a few few bottles of wine… I recognized one. But here is the great thing about that… In the world of wine, you never learn enough. There is always something new… or new to you. A I got a wine menu listing full of it. The wine list is of a good size and just about half are on sale for by the glass, which is always nice. The wines are fairly priced as well… absolutely no need to worry about breaking the bank on wine alone here. We tried a bottle of wine that popped out at me, it was a Syrah from Athens. Yes, I did just say a bottle of Syrah from Athens… Greece. Usually when I think of Greek wines I think of going to Greektown and going through a few bottles of their house wine… the pink stuff. You know you have had it… don’t deny it. This wine though was the complete opposite of that interesting «house wine», it had body and was full of great rich fruit… and a great spice/​white pepper zing to it. Good choice, especially for what we had decided for our entrees… We went with the specials…
He had: The Lamb Meatballs with a Harissa sauce. Topped with shaved English Cucumbers and fresh Mint. OMG. (That’s all I need to say)
I had: Skatewing with a Parsley butter with leeks and sliced and roasted Fingerling Potatoes. The skatewing just melted in your mouth… and notin your hands! Just beautiful… both choices hands down.
So. I have offically run out of room! Thank you, Unilocal