The Little Gem Cafe

This truly is a little gem of a restaurant in downtown Oak Park. I had a very good experience here. The ambiance is great and service was prompt and friendly. The drink list is extensive and I was pleased they had such a robust cocktail list, although their «Raspberry Martini» is identical to a French martini and the «Grapefruit Sparkler» tasted just like a mimosa. Both were still very good, though.
My friend and I shared the black mission figs and brussels sprouts small plates. Both were heavenly and the best part of the meal. The figs small plate is VERY small (I almost ordered more because they were so good and honestly I expected more than one small piece each), but the brussels sprouts portion size was decent. We also had the mussels appetizer (MASSIVE portion size) which was good, but not as good as the small plates.
For an entrée, we split the chicken lollipops, which are actually three drumsticks served over delicious spätzle. The spätzle was amazing. The chicken was very good but a tad bland. I probably wouldn’t get it again. It was my friend’s birthday and our server brought out a delicious chocolate mousse dessert that had this amazing raspberry sauce at the bottom of the dish. It was outstanding! So, so good. Pricing was very fair and I thought we got a good value for the money.
I definitely recommend Little Gem and home to go back again soon.

Probably one of the best places I have been to in Oak Park, the food was outstanding and the service could not have been any better, Natalia is probably the best servers I have EVER had. Every thing on our table was outstanding, highly recommended!

I truly love this place… the food is phenomenol. Ive always surprised with a new inventive take on a classic dish… i had these russian dumpings thst were OUTSTANDING a few months back… a great beef stroganoff… great soup… i think it was turnip or potato soup… but this place is also very warm n intimaye n our server Kyle was so accomodating and attentive. Great restaurant.

The Croque Madame my mother and I both ordered was burnt, the sauce on top was conjealed, AND the white in the sunny side up egg was raw. I had always wanted to try this sandwich and I had heard so many great things about Little Gem from so many people, that this trip was very disappointing. Plus, I had chosen the restaurant for our lunch BECAUSE I heard good things. What made it even worse was that the check came and we were charged for the sandwiches instead of the replacement dishes we had ordered. The waiter told us the chef and him were the only two people there, and that the chef was who told him to do that. I just feel the issue could’ve been handled better if they had wanted us to ever come back.

Great cocktails, my wife had the little Gem which was a nice looking cocktail. I had one of the best old fashioned cocktail in a long time. Portions were a tad small for the price but it was a nice atmosphere and the they were tasty

I’ve eaten here three times now, all a pleasure. The first time was not too long after they opened, for Mother’s Day brunch. It was good, standard fare.
The second and third time were twice within the last month or so for dinner. Both times the food and service were excellent. The chef is more talented than I had anticipated. The food is classic but executed perfectly. Their Caesar salad is something special, in fact best I’ve ever had (I believe the romaine is actually grilled). We went for dinner the day after Thanksgiving, and I wanted something light so I ordered the vegetable risotto, and it was beyond delicious. I actually had ordered it before, and it had come with chickpeas that had been prepared in a heavenly way to make them light and crispy and made the dish. A chef who can hit a simple vegetarian dish out of the ballpark wins my vote!
It matters too, that the service is friendly and warm and is a true neighborhood business. One night we brought my mom, who was babysitting, French onion soup in one of their lovely bowls, and we were trusted to bring it back later (we did!). The chef just didn’t feel it would work in a «to go» container. Loved this!
Oak Park truly has a «gem» here. I hope they are here to stay!

We wanted to try something different without going to the loop and we truly found a gem. From the lady that took down our reservation to everyone that served us it was amazing! Oh and the food: let me tell you, you are not going to find what they have on their menu in any other menu. If you don’t try it, you are missing out. Will definitely come back :)

We were really looking forward to a weeknight dinner at Little Gem and we were not disappointed! Lovely, cozy place with good service and unique, delicious food. It was hard to select our entrees! For a nice, unique meal out in the Oak Park area, definitely recommend this spot!

Very lovely place service was really good
Food portions are perfect
Just very lovely place !

We wanted to love it… but we didn’t. The space is lovely. Small by-​the-​glass wine list. Had fish, over cooked. Portions very small. Overpriced for quantity and quality of the meal. Won’t be back.

Little Gem was great! Very cute & cozy atmosphere. The staff, especially our server Kyle, were all excellent. We had the salmon & the duck, both were delicious. Looking forward to coming back again soon

Went here for date night with my husband on Saturday. Kyle was our waiter — friendly, knowledgable, and efficient. We had a wonderful evening and a wonderful meal! The hits were the brie toast (forget the French name), red deviled eggs. The chicken special was nothing to write home about, compared to the appetizers. Great wine list. Romantic ambiance.

So, I wanted this to be great.
I really did.
The menu was more «French inspired» than actual French– which is cool with me, but the hubs thought is was false advertising. If you say you are French, you better provide solidly crafted food and have great sauces.
Anyway–
I ordered their version of steak frites. Raw. The center was raw. The server didn’t come back for awhile and I was hungry – so I ate the parts I could. I KNOW– SENDITBACK! That never works for me– everyone is pissed, including dinner companions, and the steak tastes blah.
So, when asked how it was, I was honest– it was raw in the middle and ate what I could.
The response? Oh, sorry.
I don’t know, but generally, if someone is dissatisfied with a situation, I try to rectify the situation. Even if there is no way to really do that– I try. Here– nothing. No offer of dessert, or coffee– anything.
So, I’m not going back. I get that sometimes a steak is not done right, mistakes are learning experiences, but it seems that caring for their clients just isn’t there.

Amazing sauces! Great service. Live music Tuesday and Wednesday. Pike special, muscles, calamari, crab dumplings all so so good! We wanted to lick our plates!!! If you are debating at all, just GO!

Little Gem Café in Oak Park is exactly that!
A French style bistro serving superb food, beautifully presented in an inviting, unpretentious ambience.
Tuesday Jazz and Wednesday Brazilian Guitar accompaniment is the icing on the cake.
If you haven’t yet discovered this hidden gem you are missing out on a wonderful experience.

Everything about this restaurant is perfect. The staff (especially our waiter Kyle) was so prompt and cheerful. They bent over backwards to make our dinner as enjoyable as possible. The food was exquisite. Well cooked well proportioned and better prices than any pretentious French restaurant downtown. I would recommend this as the perfect date night destination.

They gave away our table (for 6) and the service was great, but slow at one point (and forgot our soup) but other than that, DEFINITELY 5 star worthy experience. Oak Park has needed a place like this and it is very good. Pork chop special was succulent, wife’s flat iron steak was perfectly cooked, appetizers (calamari particularly) very good, and wine selections were good and reasonably priced for the most part.

This spot was recommended by a friend who dined here for lunch. We really did not know a lot about this spot, so we were open to whatever the experience would deliver! The space is adorable. The staff-​super friendly. The food… AMAZING! Our party of six shared the deviled eggs, calamari, and brie… FANTASTIC. My husband had the most delicious pork chop (moist and flavorful) with mushrooms and mashed potatoes. I had the flat iron steak, and it was cooked medium perfectly as ordered. It came with a trio of sauces (YUMMMM) and shoestring potatoes (did not like these — awkward to me). We shared some desserts, as well, and all were tasty.
I took off a star because there was some issue with our reservation. Not sure if they put it on the wrong day as they claimed or gave our table away. Half of a star off for that. Also, they forgot our soup course, and we were really looking forward to that. Half of a star off for that.
Will return!

Little Gem Café seems to be a worthy successor to the previous bistro, Marion St Grille, in this space. We were pleased with the tasty, well-​prepared food and the friendly, helpful service.
We liked a beet salad; the mix of beets, apples, candied nuts and smoked goat cheese was delicious and the ingredients fresh. My companion’s whitefish special was perfectly cooked, as were to accompanying lemony lentils. I had their take on steak frites, which featured a tender, tasty hanger steak (obviously sous vide) served with thin waffle fries and a trio of yummy sauces. The dessert menu was a bit thin, so we passed on that. There’s a compact, serviceable wine list.
There’s live jazz Tuesdays and Wednesdays. On our recent Wednesday visit, a guitarist/​vocalist performed with a flutist; the flute was too loud for the space and interfered with conversation. My guess is that the Wednesday jazz group listed on the website would be equally intrusive. Otherwise, it was a nice meal — I’m sure we’ll be back (though probably not on Tue or Wed).

Had lunch here on a Saturday and it was delicious! Nice to have a new restaurant in Oak Park. They add more brunch items to the menu on Sunday’s. It’s a French-​style upscale café, but they had a veggie option on the menu and one vegetarian special so not a ton of options but what I did have was fantastic. Melted provolone broccolini sandwich. Yum! Wife had pork special and they made a grilled cheese for our 5yo. She is picky, but loved it. Great wine selection, friendly service, pleasant décor. We’ll be back to try the dinner.
Came back for dinner and loved it!