Restaurants in Naperville

Alfie's Inn takes its name from the 1966 film in which Michael Caine plays a carefree playboy. In contrast to this flippant character, the chefs at Alfie’s Inn work with military precision, particularly when it comes to their signature burger. After whipping up a top-secret in-house seasoning, they grind burger meat and treat it for precisely one minute and 10 seconds—any longer and patties become mushy; any shorter and they toughen. Fried and mounded with grilled onions or blue-cheese crumbles, the end result is an epic burger that has earned praise on WGN’s Chicago’s Best.

Though known for its burger, the eatery also boasts impressively sized portions of baby back ribs, new york strip steaks, and surf ‘n’ turf dishes. Diners feast on meals amid the restaurant’s medieval decor, complete with suits of armor and a roaring indoor fireplace. Kids also walk away bearing trinkets including balloons, lollipops, and a little Magna Carta that emancipates them from their parents.

Alice herself stands sentry over the stove in her eponymous deli, prepping and serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a neighborhood setting. Artisan meats and cheeses stack up to vertigo-inducing heights within the carbohydrate confines of melts, wraps, and hoagies, before they are crowned with zesty condiments and a layer of lettuce and tomato. A selection of sausages, classic American breakfasts, and soups simmered from house-made broths round out the full-service deli, restaurant, and catering menu. The casual interior accommodates about 50 guests or two articulated mastodon skeletons.

Curry Leaf Fine Indian Cuisine welcomes diners to enjoy authentic Indian dishes that burst with flavor due to their premium spices, herbs, and other fresh ingredients. Visitors can fill up at the daily lunch buffet after a long morning of filling up a neighbor’s pool with concrete mix and wind down in the traditional dining area. The restaurant also includes a banquet hall that can seat up to 100 people, a perfect setting for memorable occasions such as graduations and birthdays.

Asian Pearl's chefs practice their craft with multitasking; in order to execute the bistro's extensive menu, they must be familiar with the tenets of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine. Rice noodles and fragrant curries occupy the Thai sphere of the kitchen, while woks toss Chinese favorites including sesame chicken and five-spice duck. Japanese influence appears both in tempura plates and in signature maki rolls, such as the Sky roll that tops shrimp tempura with masago, kanikama, and crunch. Asian Pearl also blends flavors in seafood or grill dishes, such as Tiger's Tears—marinated beef draped in a sauce they claim is "spicy enough to make a tiger cry," something that was said of Judy Garland.

A gentle bath of neon blue light descends over diners inside Asian Pearl's modernist dining room, punctuated by white tablecloths and mural silhouettes of golden trees. Neatly folded napkin peaks greet patrons as they sit down at the sushi bar, forming a crimson vanguard between the wood-and-silver chairs and the chefs' busy hands behind the glass. Around the perimeter of the dining room, thin hanging lamps cast a contrasting red and white light from behind scrawls of Chinese characters.

Brightly painted walls, vivid paintings of Mexican life, and flavorful margaritas lend Las Palmas' numerous locations a relaxed, distinctly "fiesta" vibe. As guests slowly unwind with friends, family, or Twister champions over ice-cold Mexican beers and cocktails, the chefs prepare fajitas, enchiladas, and tacos alongside plates of charbroiled meats and seafood. They also whip up vegetarian-friendly options, such as the signature guacamole and enchiladas banana, which they stuff with fried bananas and smother in mole sauce and melted cheese.

At Vietnam Bistro, chefs draw from French and Vietnamese cooking techniques to assemble fresh, nutritious appetizers and entrees. For the restaurant's signature Pho Pasteur dish, homemade beef stock simmers upon stovetops for hours before gracing bowls of basil leaf, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and the customer's choice of meat. The restaurant's commitment to freshness extends to its drink selection, where juices and purees eschew artificial flavors and fruit-scented crayons in favor of fresh produce.