Restaurant Review - La Jolla Groves

Tonight some friends and I checked out La Jolla Groves over in Riverwoods, and it was an excellent experience! We started with a cheese plate, then opted to skip the soup/salad course so that we'd have room for dessert. For the entrees, between the three of us we ordered chicken crepes, mushroom ravioli, and beef medallions. All were very tasty. The beef (my order) was very tender and tasty. I sampled the crepes, which were lovely, and tasted the ravioli. I loved the sauce on the ravioli.

My personal measuring stick for eating establishments is how they treat their cooked vegetables. La Jolla did a beautiful job with mine! There were slim baby carrots, asparagus, and teeny tiny potatoes. They were cooked, but not overcooked or mushy. Yea!

We tried two different desserts -- Orange Crème brûlée and an individual-sized Lemon bundt cake. Both were lovely. The lemon cake had a nifty melted sugar dome covering it. I might have to try making those some time. It looks like it was melted sugar draped and swirled in thin ribbons over an upside-down bowl. We also brought some lemon rolls home, but haven't tried them yet.

They do take reservations, and our table was ready when we arrived. I called at 5:15 tonight for a 6:45 reservation. Parking was the only issue because they've turned the Riverwoods shopping/eating area into a pedestrian mall with parking around the outside. La Jolla is directly west of Tucanos, but I ended up parking out by Macaroni Grill. So, make a reservation and plan to arrive 10-15 minutes early to the parking lot so that you have time to circle around a bit until you find a spot.