Lake Forest Mobil Oasis

This is a common spot that I will stop at during road trips through Illinois. It’s a great spot to stretch out your legs, get some gas, and grab a quick bit to eat. All the restaurants are fast food (McDonald’s, Subway, Sabarro, Panda Express, Taco Bell, Starbucks), which they’re not my favorite restaurants but it’s good enough for a quick stop and bring some food for the car ride. I was surprised that they’re is a drive thru for McDonalds. I don’t know why you go through that if you’re stopping here to take a break from driving.

I have used the Il oasis over the Hwy for most of my life and oh my how has it changed because I have not been in one for ever, I think Howard Johnson restaurants were the flavor when I last used one.
I was on a trip to Il and I didn’t get a road Coffey so when I saw a Dunkin Donuts sign I stopped in, I like a DD Coffey a couple times a year and I thought it would fit well with my trip to Il.
This is well designed and not your fathers oasis anymore because it has appeal to all ages. There is a great variety of fast food restaurants that should satisfy most people, ATM, Best Buy vending machine, the mega candy coin station, massage chairs, VW bus claw machines, fuel station etc.
The casual food court seating area over looking the highway was neat to sit at and was kind of cool, it’s a glass bridge rest for the most part.
If you have traveled across the US you know this is an Il thing that is kind of cool for travelers that you don’t see anywhere else. This is definitely a traveler destination stop if only for the novelty but it works well for what it is.

Nice pit stop with decent options and large bathrooms. They’ve expanded since I last stopped.

I will say this plaza has it all when it comes to making a stop when you are traveling or just taking a drive and need to stop for a quick bite or just as simple as just some coffee, this plaza has a little bit of everything is a full food court with some convenience stands where you can buy a phone charger etc., here you can find from Taco Bell, Starbucks, Sbarro, Duncan Donuts, KFC, McDonald’s, Subway and more… You will be surprise how big this plaza is, plenty of tables for you to enjoy your food/​coffee and nice view to the highway. Restrooms are super clean, crew is always cleaning around here and place is general looks clean. Glass windows so you can look outside while eating depends where you sit. There is also a gas station next to it for your convenience so you can’t definitely beat this quick stop. I enjoy stopping here :)

Once again no paper at the pumps. No thank you or apologies for the inconvenience at the register. This maybe the laziest and rudest employees in northern Illinois.

Warning: THIS REVIEW IS FOR THE STARBUCKS AND SUBWAY AT THE OASIS!
Before I start my Starbucks and Subway reviews, this Oasis may look average, but the view of the highway is pretty nice. It’s good for stuff before heading to places like Wisconsin, Chicago, or Rockford. There’s your regular places like Sbarro and Starbucks. The food is pretty good. Check out my reviews.
The service. Meh. I’ve experienced better. I couldn’t understand one of the ladies at the Subway stand. The Starbucks employees were nice and friendly.
I was introduced to the frappachino by some of my friends. I got the Double Chocolaty Chip frappachino. The frappachino was really good! The flavor was great! It kind of tasted like an ice cream for adults!
The Subway experience was not as good. I couldn’t understand the lady who made my steak and cheese sandwich. The steak tasted like beef, and the cheese was ok. The steak also tasted a little dry. I wouldn’t be back to Subway again.
All in all, great views! Subway isn’t good, but Starbucks is great! I’ll probably be back.

I’m giving three stars for Aunt Annie’s pretzel shop. Otherwise this spot is a bit gurvy. The tables and seating areas are dirty (doesn’t matter if it’s 8 in the morning or 4 in the afternoon). The bathrooms are hit-​or-​miss, often a miss in terms of cleanliness, but it is a toll oasis so that’s good.

Hey, you have to get gas first before you go park to go into the Oasis to eat. Once you pass the gas station part, you cannot return to it. There is no way back. Fuel first or don’t fuel at all.

Man oh man this place gets packed! We almost couldn’t find a spot to park!
There is a great amount of eateries here for all flavor desires! My friend and I ate Philly’s from Kronos but they have a McDonalds, Sbarros, KFC, Taco Bell, Panda Express, subway, a middle eastern joint and a few snack places like Starbucks and Annie’s pretzels.
The bathrooms were a little trashed but that is due to the high volume of people coming and going.

Went here on our roadtrip to Milwaukee. We had a pretzel from Auntie Anne’s, peoplewatched, had super-​stale seedlings (without seeds lol, but we ended up getting 3 for 2 quarters, lucky us), did a scratch-​off lotto hoping that our seedling luck would spill over (lost, but got another free through a (legal) twist of fate, lost again). Fun times. Plus, clean bathrooms xD

Oh the Oasis…
A relief from the boredom of driving with a bonus. Good selection of fast food restaurant chains, coffee to stay awake, clean bathrooms, and it may provide a memorable stop off for family’s with kids where they can explore and look down at the traffic moving underneath the Oasis… what more can a traveler ask for (okay there’s no hotel)…
The Oasis gave me some time to write a Unilocal review while sitting it the parking lot!!! Didn’t need to exit the tollway!
Safe travels everyone!

On I-​94 between Wisconsin and Chicago, this is your best bet for gasoline and rest rooms. In the Chicago North Suburbs and the north end of Chicago, not all exits have gasoline stations, and few of those have public restrooms, none has good gas prices. The Oasis gas station is prevented by law from gouging, but if you can plan it properly, get your gasoline in Wisconsin or Indiana to save quite a bit of money. The Oasis gas station restrooms are sometimes clean, more often out of order. The restrooms in the food mall area are more often clean, but this is a very high traffic tollway oasis, and a wide range of people, with a wide range of hygiene pass through here. There aren’t really any acceptable food choices here, unhealthy fast food, staffed by obviously unhappy low morale workers, I’ve seen some go into and come out of the washrooms with their food service disposable gloves still on. If you’re not passing through in the middle of the night, there’s more interesting food choices off of Dempster, if it is in the middle of the night, get off at Touhy and just a little bit East you’ll find New York Bagle and Bialy in Niles open all night. Be careful, the night workers aren’t Jewish and will try to put mayo on your pastrami, but the food’s still excellent, and mostly kosher. In the other direction there are 24 hour truck stop diners in South East Wisconsin (not exactly healthy food, but cleaner than here).

I’m glad the Oasis exist-​they should really have more of these for safety and convenience-​the one on I-​90 at O’Hare sets a presedent.
The area of Lake Forest has a reputation for being a high end North suburb. So when I come to use their facilities, I’m always baffled by how dirty it is.
For starters, let’s talk about the ladies’ room: it’s sticky, water splashed all around the sink counter-​no dry space for your belongings, no hooks or toilet paper, unflushed toilets and unuseable toilet seats.
I’ve never had to open every stall door from the first available and make my way back until I find one suitable to use.
Too often, I won’t find one without pee on the seat, on the floor, useaable hooks to hold my coat and/​or purse or both (because they’re missing). By the time I find an acceptable stall, it turned out to be the one at the end aka wheelchair accessible.
This is how I define the last stall to be the least aggravating: I had to grab toilet paper from a vacant stall. The tray that’s suppose to hold my purse was slanted so my purse fell on the sticky floor a couple times before I started cursing it out. Even though the toilet seat was dry, I still wiped it down, made a paper crown and hovered over the seat.
I don’t tinkle and make a mess but if I ever, I assure you, I have the common decency to clean up for the next user.

Great rest stop location. Always clean; good selection of restaurants and coffee.

Falafel sandwiches are good and under $ 5. This is what makes this place better than the rest. Sure there is WIfi, and sure the bathrooms are nice for a rest stop, and yes they have fast food and starbucks, but with the kebab and mediterrenian place they now have this is a great place for lunch or dinner too. Way to go LFMO!

Clean and beautiful. Nice place to eat and relax after long drive.

Lake Forest Oasis is a great asset to the Illinois roadway system. I find the oasis is a great place to stop to stretch the legs or/​and take a restroom break. The oasis is about 45 minutes outside of the city.
The oasis is very well planned out. There are restrooms on each side building with plenty of express/​fast food restaurants (with some healthy choices) for a quick bite to eat. There are plenty of tables and seats for the diners. It is really cool to sit at the counter overlooking I-​94 Highway. You will additional kiosks for tourist information or to buy lottery tickets or sun glasses.
Overall, this oasis is very clean. Kudos to the maintenance staff.
Whether you are leaving or entering Illinois, stop and rest for a few.

Standard stop over point on the way down to Chicago for work.
I use this place mostly for the restrooms. I do like the Starbucks in here too.
I wish this place had some healthier places to eat. It seems like all super greasy and fatty food.

I grew up near the Ohio Turnpike, where each side of the toll road has its own travel plaza. Each travel plaza only had four or five food options, and it always seemed like the best food options were on the plaza on the opposite, inaccessible side.
Not so with the travel plazas along the Florida Turnpike, on which I’ve spent more time as an adult (ATL to MIA, 11 hours one-​way), and not so along 94, I learned this weekend! The joint travel plazas in Florida aren’t much better than the ones in Ohio, as they still only have five or six places for food and usually only three of them are national franchises. And they always seem to be under construction. And really crowded. It’s a mess. So imagine my surprise when I see that the Lake Forest Oasis has – gasp! – Taco Bell, KFC, McDonald’s, Panda Express, Sbarro, Subway, Starbucks, and a gyro place, among others. SO MUCH DELICIOUSNESS to choose from in such a well-​maintained space!
The best part of this plaza, however, is being able to snag a high counter table against the glass walls of the bridge over the highway. I eat fast food rarely enough that noshing on Taco Bell while watching the cars zoom by underneath with my boyf (a McDonald’s man) was a real treat. If you’ve got to stop along your journey, I recommend highly doing so here.

Lake Forest Oasis is a decent stopping point either on your way to or from Chicago. It’s far enough removed from the city that you won’t hit too much traffic (unless it’s a beautiful summer day) and there’s a one stop shop/​mall inside should you need a fast food or coffee fix. I generally only stop here for gas (if I forgot to fill up in Milwaukee) on my way south so I can’t speak to the restaurants or other shops.
Clean restrooms, usually plenty of parking, decent gas prices. A-​OK for a rest stop in my book.