Get in your car (or on your bike, you sporty types). Drive to downtown Lake Forest. Park in the convenient lot across the street.
Enter the genteel South Gate Café. Admire the Ralph Lauren-inspired bar and dining room (this is Lake Forest). Acknowledge your fellow diners with a polite nod.
Now get down to business. Even if you are only here for a drink, you must order the Fried Housemade Pickles ($4). Not a pickle fan, you say? Trust me—you will be after an order of these babies, perfectly battered and fried, dipped in a yummy oregano aioli. Won’t touch fried food? There’s not much hope for you anyway. Moving on.
Chef Jeffrey Sills’ Peeky Toe Crab Cakes ($11) could have used a little more crab and a little less filler, but they were presented delightfully on a red pepper aioli with sliced avocado and diced tomato salsa on top. The seasonal soup offering, Gazpacho ($5), was pedestrian but unobjectionable.
The Bruschetta ($8) arrived with fresh mozzarella, garden-ripe tomatoes, La Quercia prosciutto, and some unbilled pesto. The only issue? It was advertised with goat cheese. Still very tasty, but the server should always give a heads up to any menu changes.
Another communication problem on the special salad, Frisee with Poached Egg and Lardons ($7), the classic bistro dish. It arrived as billed, except in lieu of the beautiful poached egg of our dreams, a pile of hard-boiled egg sat atop the frisee. We called the waitress over, who ran back to the kitchen to make things right. Once repaired, the salad had a lovely balance of textures and flavors.
We loved the Smoked Salmon Pizza ($13), topped with arugula, red onions and fresh lemon. The salmon is set atop a freshly baked pizza crust, and then topped with the salad. A touch of crème fraîche (a la Wolfgang Puck) would have elevated it further.
Steak Frites ($21) offered a grilled, beautifully seasoned flatiron steak (such a flavorful cut!) with crispy, earthy truffle fries and smoked black pepper. That meat alone was worth the drive.
While the Asparagus Risotto with Truffle Vinaigrette ($8) was a bit too al dente, the Grilled Lake Michigan Whitefish ($19), smothered with arugula, red potatoes, green beans, lemons and caper aioli was fantastic.
The wine list offered many reasonable choices, and the hot, fresh-baked bread is totally calorie worthy, especially smeared with butter. I’m just saying.
Desserts were a mixed bag. I was thrilled to have the option of a mini portion, because sometimes all you want is a taste. The mini Cherry Crisp ($3.75) was ooey, gooey goodness, but the Crème Brulée ($7.50) had an odd texture and was overly eggy.
The Mini Dessert Tasting ($8.95) provided still more choices: the Key Lime Pie was tart and creamy; the Chocolate Bourbon cake had a very sandy crumb and surprisingly little chocolate flavor; and the Profiterole was filled with homemade vanilla ice cream and topped with bittersweet fudge. Need more be said?
If you’re in the market for a private dining experience, check out the two rooms upstairs; if you’ve a taste for more straightforward bistro cuisine, aim for Bank Lane Bistro, the sister restaurant located on the opposite side of the building. Either way, you’ll leave content.
South Gate Café
Lake Forest
