Very inviting space, nice decor, comfortable booths, bad service
Drank: Lemon drop martini - not the best I've had, lemony, and very liquory, but tasty
Food: Greek salad with ranch dressing - yummy. The pita chips that came with were great too
The service: horrible! The waitress kept forgetting to bring us more water, she didn't understand what we were saying to her when ordering, and when she brought us the bill, she never came back to pick up our credit cards, we had to go find her.
The music was all over the place, it went from 90s, to early 2000s, to current, and kept skipping around. Weird DJ.
Overall a good place to relax at during the week with the girls, sip a cocktail and munch on yummy food.
good luck going there if you're white/American (non-European looking). i got an amazon deal for this place (for martinis and appetizers) so i thought i would go on saturday night (03-10). the waitress literally threw the menu on my table. didn't even say "hi" , didn't even bring water (like she did to every other table), she took every single person's order (people that came in way after me) and never came to my table. i went to the bar and asked to speak to the manager. the manager said that she's sorry, they are short-staffed. BS. this doesn't explain the thrown menu and why the waitress went to every single table except for mine. the manager said the drinks would be on her. i said thanks, but no thanks and left. how rude is this place??? i emailed amazon and got my money back.
Review Source:unless you are part of the crowd here you will be ignored and treated as something less than a paying customer. Â
on a different review site someone was talking about a rude dude bartender, well that has not changed....
to be fair it is kind of nice inside and the premise of the place is good; its a shame that the business model is poorly executed. Â crappy sound system no subs, poor customer service, and delivered with attitude.
I first encountered Illusion Cafe years ago when a friend invited me to DJ there. Â Had a blast and fell in love with the venue instantly. Â I have a love affair for European style cafes, and Illusion hit it right on the money. Â Years later and I still love hitting the cafe whenever I am in the area.
The interior is intimate, and I love that the owners work hard to keep the noise levels down so people can drink and converse. Â Yes they get DJs in there, but the music is more for background and ambiance. Â Much of the clientele is Russian/Eastern Bloc, but I'll say for the fellas they get a lot of eye candy in the place.
The drinks (alcohol and non-alcohol) are ideal for me. Â If I order a cocktail I can see they don't skimp on the alcohol, and when I'm in the mood for coffee they have plenty of selection, including perfectly-made Greek frappes.
The food is ideal for a cafe. Â Paninis, appetizers, salads, and yummy homemade desserts. Â I've never had a complaint about Illusion Cafe. Â I know they occasionally show UFC events on a projector screen. Â I'm hoping they'll carry the Euro Cup next year.
For a welcome break from Starbucks, definitely check out Illusion Cafe. Â It's like taking that Euro vacation you went on all over again.
Ah, decent place. A bit pricy, and exceedingly Russian populated (not Euro, it's very specific about that). This used to be a staple of mine growing up. If we didn't go to an ihop or equivalent, we'd dress up and go here if we had no plans.
To clarify: it's one of those places that serves Paninis and alcohol, stays open pretty decently late (like 1 or 3am), and has loads of people from 17-25ish going randomly. Â This "type" of place fits about 10 or 15 places in the suburbs. It sums up as: people who are underage and can get drinks, or people who want to drink listening to euro music The music is pretty loud, so it can be hard to hear over someone. Also, it gets a bit crowded and busy, for a pretty small place, and notoriously blocks cellphone reception inside.
I would say it's a worthwhile stop if you want decent panini's at 10 or 11 at night, but I can't say the the price is justified by the quality or quantity.
So it';s kinda like a cafe with techno that serves alcohol, basically. Since it's in Des Plaines it is a common hang out for people in the surrounding burbs.
edit: sanitizing review for clarity.
The place is very Euro.. lots of my peers hanging out and sipping on good strong drinks.
I always go there on Wednesdays; during the summer it's our girls night out, with $5 martinis that are delicious and potent ;). During warm nights, they open up all the windows and the summer breeze reminds you of Europe and sitting outside at one of many pubs.
Service is OK. When they are slow, the staff might seem too attentive, when it's busy, you might have to wait 15-20 min for a drink. So, some advice for when it's busy: order your next drink when you're half-way through your current one.
The food items they have on the menu are pretty tasty, and I think they might serve it until very late at night (if not the whole night).
If you're ever out in the NW suburbs on a Wednesday night, you should definitely stop by and have a drink (they do have about 20-25 different martinis on the menu; plus other "regular" cocktails).
Quench that taste for Euro peeps here. Â All kinds of Euro people found. Â I hear the food is forget able. Â Guys, alot of the typical tight Armani Exchange shirts, I counted 5 in the bar last night. Â Women, most were lovely, very dark haired & very blonde. Â Our waitress was sexy, Aleksandra, I think was her name. Â They come around to check on you too often though. Â Nice enough, just, coming around every five minutes is too much. Â Drinks are poured quite strong. Â Wednesday night was $5 martini's. Â I was surprised how strong they were, its not often you find a suburban bar that serves a stiff drink on special. Â Call for daily specials. Â Many import beers found and the tallest beer is served in a 23oz.
The bar is found in a strip mall near a liquor store which has an ATM.
I never noticed before, alike most Euro bars look for that black tinted glass out front. Â During the warm season all the windows in front are pulled to the sides and the inside is turned into a beer garden. Â Music is Euro & progressive. Â Illusion's is drastic and fun on this side of boring Mt Prospect.
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