First Visit to Naperville ~ Help required !!!

My Husband and I are visiting Naperville in June for a week to look around and get acquainted with the area before we emigrate from England at the end of the year. This is our first planned visit to Naperville and I am hoping you could advise on the best restaurants to eat at and also of anywhere nearby worth a visit, to give us the true feel of Naperville. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

First Visit to Naperville ~ Help required !!!

Here%26#39;s a good place to begin - naperville.il.us/community_relations_visitin鈥?/a>

Nearby in Lisle - http://www.mortonarb.org/

You can do a dining search for Naperville and read restaurant reviews at - www.metromix.com

Nearby in Glen Ellyn, in case you want to expand your knowledge - http://www.cod.edu/

First Visit to Naperville ~ Help required !!!

Thank you so much for your help.

Restaurants:

Meson Sabika - Spanish

La Sorella Di Francesca - Italian

Lou Malnati%26#39;s Pizzeria - Chicago style deep dish pizza

Catch Thirty Five - Seafood

House of Emperor - Chinese

Places to visit:

Riverwalk - built by the volunteers of the city in 1981. Two stone quarries by the walk were converted to a paddle boat pond and a huge swimming pool with beach. Also the Millennium Carillon with 72 bells is by the Riverwalk.

Downtown - one of the first successful downtown revivals in USA after the shopping malls distracted the business from the small towns.

Naper Settlement - a 19th century museum village. I know it probably does not strike you folks from the old world, but Naperville is a very young city compared to yours.

Thank you for your help, I look forward to checking them out...

You%26#39;ve already gotten lots of good advice. There are many good and interesting restaurants in downtown Naperville. To add to the others mentioned:

Heaven on Seven - A Cajun (New Orleans-style) restaurant. More hot sauce bottles than you%26#39;ve even seen in your life. Try the gumbo! Moderately priced.

Mongolian BBQ - A unique experience. You select among a large selection of fresh, high-quality ingredients (seafood, beef, chicken, lamb, many veggies, sauces, herbs and spices) on a sort of buffet table, then give your bowl to one of several chefs who cook your meal as you watch on a huge foot-thick slab of steel. It%26#39;s a good show and the food is good, but then again, that%26#39;s partly up to you. Little recipe cards give guidance if you prefer.

I know that Brits tend to like Indian food and there are several in Naperville. My Indian friends never agree on which are good, but I really like Indian Harvest, which is located on Ogden Avenue, not far from Naperville North High School. All of the Indian restaurants offer inexpensive lunch buffets which typically include Tandoori Chicken and nan served at the table.

Not far from Naperville is the Morton Arboretum. It%26#39;s best described as a very large park, but it%26#39;s a collection of woody plants. Very pretty, although June can be an in-between time. Too late for Spring flowers, a little early for the Summer flowers, but enjoyable anyway.

Other nearby suburbs which are nice to visit are Geneva and St. Charles. Both are located on the Fox River and have attractive downtowns, interesting restaurants and shopping, and lovely neighborhoods.

Welcome to Chicagoland!

applestrudel,

How strange! While looking for restaurants and pubs near Bakewell for our upcoming trip to England, I noticed that you will be moving to Naperville. We live in Ohio, but we visit the Naperville area quite often because our daughter goes to university in Evanston, where there are also some fabulous restaurants. Chicago is a true mecca for people who enjoy good food of all sorts. I think that we are going to try Charlie%26#39;s in Baslow, as per your suggestion. Good luck with your move.

Thank you so much for all of your advice, I am certainly now looking forward to my trip.

sojoh - Enjoy your trip to Bakewell, Its so pretty you will just love it. What a small world it is!!!

I hope it%26#39;s not too late, I just came across this forum. I have a website that features the restaurants %26amp; nightclubs in downtown Naperville with a map and information on current events (Naper Days is coming up and Ribfest) and the Riverwalk as well. There%26#39;s nothing like downtown Naperville.

http://www.napernightlife.com

Jane

Thank you Jane, I will take a look now.

Well, if you choose to live in Naperville, you%26#39;ve chosen a winner. We have lived here for 19 years and have loved everything about this town, well, except maybe the rush hour traffic.

Everyone else has listed many of our fine restaurants, but for some sight seeing I would suggest walking the Riverwalk in downtown Naperville. There are outdoor concerts at the band shell. There is an outdoor museum called Naper Settlement. The shopping is fun in downtown also. Many of the local places have been replaced on national chains, but the atmosphere is lively.

I would suggest you investigate the Park District offerings because they are quite extensive. Our libraries are also nationally recognized. If you can get your hands on a Chicago magazine from March 2006 you%26#39;ll find out more about Naperville than many Napervillians know.