Gingko Cafe

The Ginko Café is actually a tiny restaurant inside the Morton Arboretum’s Visitor Center building (just off the main parking lot). You cannot get access to the restaurant without paying the entrance fee to the arboretum.
The restaurant is self-​serve cafeteria style, with a tiny coffee shop outside of it. There are different stations (salad bar, hot sandwiches, snacks and drinks, and cold sandwiches/​boxed lunches), and you just choose whatever you like for your tray. The prices are a bit higher, but you can expect that at concession areas for parks anywhere. I think that the prices are actually pretty fantastic for what you get. A burger and fries is $ 8.25, for example, but you get a huge burger and a big serving of fries, and they are more of a restaurant quality than a greasy fast food, like concessions at the games or fairs might be. They also have many other options such as quiche, fish tacos, flatbread pizzas (yum!), pulled pork, and many salads. They are quite food-​allergy and veggie friendly. They also offer an assortment of drinks, including bottled beer (I saw Two Brothers specifically).
The seating area is totally worth any extra money that you paid for your food. All of the walls are windows, and you look out upon the Meadow Lake, one of the most scenic and picturesque spots in the entire Arboretum.
This area is also available for rental for special events, and the Arb hosts many of their own special events here too. They offer a breakfast with Santa and with the Easter Bunny, which are great for the kids. All of this information is available on their website. This tiny restaurant is a wonderful stop if you’ve worked up an appetite hiking at the Arb!

For a restaurant inside a garden/​attraction/​place you go to see things, not eat, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. I can’t speak to the grilled options, but the sandwiches are quite yummy! Two sandwiches with two sides (a side is included with each sandwich) were able to feed a family of four. Of course, none of us were ravenous, but it was just enough to give us some energy, without any of the lethargy, to hike around.
The dining area is most excellent! Beautiful views of the lake.

The food that comes out of here is pretty decent but the service is truly 1 star only. The service specifically being that they do not know how to multi– task. I know its not McD’s but seriously people… a grill can cook more than 1 burger at a time!!! The line is out the door, soup, pasta etc is getting cold while waiting 30 minutes to get to me. AND I was 3^rd in line. No not 15^th in line but 3^rd! Incompetency will be the demise of the café.
Of course Arboretum is fantastic but the message here is bring your own food! Why wait an hour for café food?

Stopped here for a hot chocolate that was good. Then went out to check out the light display. It is a nice-​looking restaurant and very nice to have the backdrop of the Arboretum. Nice place to grab a bite or to warm up with some hot chocolate.

GREAT view of the lake in the arboretum, simply stunning all year round!
Now on to the food, their BBQ pulled pork sandwich was very nice — also requires the shortest wait time besides the pre-​made sandwich and corn dogs. Turkey burger and cheese burger are OK, sweet potato fries on the greasy side. I’ve had the salad once and like it. It can get slow and crowded during lunch rush on the weekends.

Came here to celebrate a friend’s wedding and was super impressed! They had the ceremony on the grounds, which was done very well! My only complaint would be that there was no sound system, so watching the ceremony was a little like watching a show on mute. However, not really sure if that would be the couple’s choice or lack of ability for the venue. The ceremony was in the middle of a field: p
The cocktail hour was held outside the Gingko café… the appetizers were delish and unique considering it was a catered menu! Come to the main course, the braised short ribs were awesome! They were fork tender with a red wine demi. The service was great with enough waitstaff to keep everyone’s waters and wines full. Overall, I’d definitely recommend this location to any friend looking for a unique wedding venue!

Let’s begin with the good — the view. Eating with a view of the lake is quite nice. Almost as good is the friendly staff.
The dining room itself has a lot of tables and can get quite crowded. This is the type of cafeteria where you take your trays with you when you leave and drop them off at the window for the scullery. No one clean the tables; at least no one that we could see. Our table «only» had a few crumbs, but sloppy eaters do exist and I really do not want to bus any tables. Enough of the dining room.
To order food, you have to wend your way through crowds to get to the sandwich station or a grilling station or pizza/​specialties section. Lines tended to form haphazardly and this can cause confusion and possible disagreements about who’s next for service.
But, let’s say you get in the «right» line. There are no menus at any of the stations and the small printed menu near the entrance doesn’t accurately reflect what is being served. Both my wife and I ordered from the sandwich line. It was loud and noisy and difficult to communicate with the sandwich maker. I asked for beef on wheat and American cheese. There were more meats (e.g., salami) available than what the menu showed. I noticed this only after I ordered. Fortunately, it was beef that I wanted otherwise I would have made the person remake the sandwich. I questioned whether I was getting wheat bread or something else that resembled wheat. The person said it was wheat. The menu only lists a 9-​grain bread. I don’t know what I got. Fries are are not, listed anywhere on the sandwich menu. That is part of the grill station. Fortunately, I did not have to go to the grill station for fries; the sandwich maker got them for me. My wife ordered the same but with slightly different extras. The sandwiches themselves were fair. The amount of meat was good, but the bread was dry and I had a hard time keeping it from crumbling.
The drink station was good, This one actually includes wine. I didn’t see any beer, which I may have gotten had I seen someone who could tell me where to look. The biggest problem with the drink station is that there is NO PLACE to set the tray down. Holding a heavy tray with one hand while picking out a drink is a real pain the the wrist.
The prices are a bit high, but that seems typical with this kind of attraction (the arboretum).
All in all, after hours tromping on the grounds, this is a decent, yet disorganized place to get something to eat. Timing is everything. Had the crowds been any larger, the restaurant would have been more like a zoo on a busy Sunday afternoon.

5 stars for the view of Meadow Lake. Great view from any table in the dining room thanks to wall-​to-​wall, floor-​to-​ceiling windows. Beautiful in any season, any weather.
4 stars for beverage selection. Soft drinks, juices, teas, wines, Starbucks coffee, still water, Perrier, and several styles of Two Brothers beers.
3 stars for food. I usually stick with the salad of baby greens, goat cheese, dried cranberries & nuts or the quiche with fruit cup. Decent food. Nothing outstanding. Cafeteria style. A bit overpriced.
2 stars for service. Employees are civil & will smile, but are not necessarily helpful or friendly.
2 stars for the always crumb-​covered and occasionally food-​encrusted tables & chairs. I have never seen employees attending to the tables.
Bonus points for outdoor seating, but the best view of the lake is actually from inside the dining room.

The Angus burger is excellent. All of the hot food is made to order, nothing under warming lamps. Great salads, pizza and sides. Beautiful view of the lake.

Been here a few times, most recently on Sunday morning. Though the restaurant was open, no staff were waiting behind the counter/​grill to actually cook. Items cooked on the grill are VERY slow to be made and the line moves slowly. Could use another toaster for the «toast your own toast» that comes with the breakfast dishes. Outside of the restaurant, the café/​coffee counter offers lighter fare and specialty coffee but again, the service is slow. Overall there were a lot of staff/​workers walking around but only one person actually helping the customer in each area making for a very long wait. Can’t beat the view in the restaurant.

Food quality is terable don’t eat here it isn’t safe

4 stars for the view and food. 3 stars on the service. Always our favorite place after the hours playing in the Children’s garden in Morton Arboretum. My daughter has to have her Gala apple from here even I have a whole case from Costco at home. I love the beautiful waterfront view which you could enjoy in any season.
Most of their food are decent and priced right. I really liked their salad.
Last week, I was kind of surprised to see the lamb stew on the menu and decided to go for that. The interesting part was that this stew was served in a big soup bow without any bread nor rice nor noodles. I asked if I could get a piece of bread to go with it. He said I need to ask the staff in sandwich section which had a long line. How could you serve the stew as an Entrée without any sides? It just didn’t make any sense to me. So I asked for a to-​go box to take home to eat with my pita bread which was really good.
Well, I still enjoyed my coffee while my daughter ate up her apple. I will stick with the salad next time.

I think the food is a bit overpriced and I was annoyed that the menu posted online did not match what they were actually serving the same day we visited, but the view from the dining room is awesome! The fish tacos weren’t great but I liked the Waldorf salad and would probably order it again sometime since we’re members and plan to visit the arboretum often.
Visited: October 24, 2011

We had a visit of the Morton Arboretum, and dropped in here for lunch. The dining room with the nice view is the same as that used for a wedding banquet we attended earlier in the year. We found the food quality to be quite good and reasonably priced — it is made or cooked to order, and served cafeteria style. There can be a bit of a wait for a weekend lunch, but it’s worth the wait. I had a ½ lb cheese sirloin burger served on pretzel roll (brioche and wheat bread also offered) with pasta salad ($ 7.99), and wife had their flat iron steak with onion rings and mixed veggies ($ 9.79). The meats were excellent, but the pasta salad I had was dried out and hard, and they gladly substituted fries or onion rings upon request. There are salad, sandwich, grill, and Italian stations. Nice place for a food stop while visiting the arboretum.

We really like the chilli. The blue cheese burger is pretty good. The pulled pork sandwich is also good when they have it. Some of the other stuff is just fair. The woman that makes the salads always seems to be in a bad mood. She gets real upset if you try to change anything. The pastas and pizzas don’t look very interesting either. The homemade potato chips are good if pricey.

This food is great! You do have to stand in line cafeteria-​style. But you can have a great view while you are dining.
I’ve had pizza (they have roasted veggie), a wrap, and a burger (they have one with walnuts and brie) here and you get more than your money’s worth! These average $ 5-​$ 6. All of it is tasty and served nice and hot since you order and then watch them make it. The lines can get long, so be prepared for that. Lots of people are milling around trying to figure out what to get and some idiots have their stroller. There isn’t enough room for those SUV size rigs. Small strollers are ok.
They do have kids meals which include cheese pizza, hot dogs, burgers and nuggets. These are $ 4-​$ 5. The kids cheese pizza is a whole plate. Great size for my boys! The homemade potato chips are REALLY yummy!
All in all, this is a great deal if you decide to dine at the Arboretum. Good prices, good food and a great view!