Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!

★★★★☆ 4.3 (4969) • $$

"Had a chance to try this awesome place, and I'm so so happy we did! If you are looking for a fun tapas place with lots of variety and beautiful vibes, this is the place for you. Service here is nice and your taste buds will be happy leaving this joint! Once we were seated, we ended up ordering:* patatas bravas - crispy potatoes so well seasoned with the yummiest sauce. I could not stop eating this!!* date wrapped in chorizo - this was surprisingly delicious and a yummy bite. An explosion of flavor that you should try!* goat cheese in tomato sauce with garlic bread - this was crispy and crunchy - and was super flavorful with the goat cheese dip. The tomato sauce mixed with the cheese is really yummy * piri piri chicken thighs - these were super yummy and crispy. The saucey coating was delicious and tangy *garlic shrimp - this was my least favorite but this was shrimp in an olive oil sauce. The shrimp was a little chewy but not bad*mushrooms - this was absolutely delicious and a must order. Definitely try this!!Overall amazing experience and definitely worth giving this spot a shot!"

Recess

★★★★☆ 3.7 (400) • $$

"Can't believe the last time I reviewed this place was 2021! Recess is the perfect spot for bottomless brunch or dinner & drinks with friends. In the summertime, the outdoor space is HUGE and truly such a cool spot. This is the ultimate outdoor restaurant in Chicago in my opinion. The food is always good, the drinks are great, and the service is 5/5.My favorite things here are their crispy buffalo chicken rolls - they are PHENOMENAL. I get them basically every time here. Their chicken & waffle fries are to-die-for as well. Their menu has definitely improved over the years and now they have a more plentiful and various menu. Also this is my favorite place to get bottomless brunch is here at Recess. The servers make sure your glass is never empty and truly they're just the best tasting mimosas around. Pricing is affordable, too.Will always highly recommend Recess!"

AceBounce

★★★★☆ 4.2 (307) • $$

"Saturday brunch at AceBounce is the place to be! Lemme telllll you - I cane here and definitely had a ball. Brunch here is not your standard boring get drunk off bottomless and go home. Nope! Here, you can get drunk, while eating all you can eat, playing ping pong and singing karaoke. Now you don't have to do it all at once (but if you do, that's your business. Mmmkay!) Food: I would rate the food a 8/10 but what can you expect when they're dishing out massive amounts of food to feed adults while they're drinking? It's such a large variety of food so if you don't care for something, trust there is something else that will satisfy your stomach needs. They also serve Bellinis, mimosas and bloody Mary's unlimited and refill your cup for you. There's even a cute Bloody Mary station to build your own! Service/ staff: top tier. I pray Christee reads this because sis did get thaaaang to make sure my girls and I were out of our seats. AceBounce wants you to be active and engage and meet new people. Like don't come to look cute (but again if you do that's your business). I would say come to have fun and show someone a good time! There's no doubt about it that I'll be returning with a larger group of people. $60/pp is well worth it."

River Roast

★★★★☆ 4 (1285) • $$

"Updating my review because I GOT MARRIED AT RIVER ROAST! I want to shout out the amazing event team and event space, that only made my love for the restaurant stronger. 7 years ago when I moved to Chicago, I was nowhere close to getting married, but I saw River Roast's event space from a boat tour and said "now THAT would be a dream wedding venue." I'm still blown away that I actually made this dream come true! We booked River Roast in Dec 2022 for our April 2024 wedding after touring about 20 venues. We chose based on River Roast's location, amazing food, close to all-inclusive packaging, and dynamic pricing for the off-season. And OBVIOUSLY for the gorgeous patio space!! We had a great initial tour with a staff member who is no longer there, and our account was transferred to Jessica after we booked who was then our main contact. Jessica was so great!! She checked in often in the downtime before we really needed to start planning, and then was totally on top of things as we got closer. She knew all the details that other couples cared about or forgot and always made sure nothing was overlooked. When some floor plan things needed changing after our rehearsal, she got everything fixed right away so it was ready to go when we arrived on the wedding day. Jessica also went above and beyond, letting us store some things at her desk to minimize stress on the wedding day. The food on our wedding day was PERFECT and even better than our tasting. We had a guest with extremely severe allergies, and Jessica personally worked with him to make sure he could eat. And it wasn't just a bland plate - they brought him every side dish and even late night snacks tailored to his needs. We loved the menu options, and how we could have unique options like tuna tartar on wonton chips, but could still offer a classic steak and potatoes for the grandparents with less adventurous tastes. Several guests said the chicken was the best wedding chicken they've ever had. We could not have asked for a better venue. We were lucky to have a perfect April weather day and the patio was gorgeous. We had lots of out of town guests who loved being downtown on the river. Our photos are amazing. The River Roast team and event space truly made our dream wedding come true, and I'll be talking about it forever."

Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen

★★★★☆ 4.4 (331)

"Great experience here! Made a reservation online. They offered a ton of traditional Ukrainian dishes, some with a modern twist. We ordered an assortment and shared them.Potato Pancakes 5/5 - super crisp and delicious sauceBorscht- 5/5 not my fav soup but my Ukrainian husband said it was on point Fried dough (idr the name) 5/5 flaky and delicious filling, good sauceChicken Kiev - 4/5 very tasty, just smaller portion than anticipated Mixed party platter - 3/5 some better than others but all very unique! None bad and a cool concept, just enjoy the original better.Service was great. Lots of alcohol options and good vibes/decor inside."

Barstool

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (59)

"Went here to watch the March Madness championship with some friends from out of town. It's a great environment to watch sports with lots of TVs. It wasn't as busy as I thought it would be for a championship game, probably because they're not open Mondays, but made an exception for the game. Since my friend's were visiting from DC, I made sure we ordered the Italian Beef Egg Rolls, to give them a little taste of Chicago. They were delicious and I would come back just for those! It's definitely a cool experience being here for a huge game. Our service was a little slow but we still had a good time and enjoyed our night!"

Burton Place

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (155) • $

"This is the best establishment in old town. The bouncers are 10/10 the nicest most polite gentleman I have ever encountered in the entire state of Illinois. A staple for anyone who loves Chicago- please visit this incredibly fun and amazing dive bar. I always have the best night of my life here...mostly because they close at 4am lol."

Tapas Valencia

★★★★☆ 4 (754) • $$

"Came here for a Sunday solo brunch. I sat at the bar and the service was great. I was surprised how empty the bar was during brunch time. I ordered the Huevos Estilo Valencia that was tasty. The reason for 4 stars is that the mimosas were super heavy on the orange juice and not worth the price. I would return for dinner sometime."

Four Moon Tavern

★★★★☆ 4.3 (318)

"Great neighborhood bar. Pretty decent bar food. Would definitely go back next time I'm in the area."

The Exchange

★★★★☆ 3.9 (114) • $$

"My boyfriend and I stopped by The Exchange before going to the Chicago Institute of Art. To drink (not pictured), we got a glass of wine. We struck up conversation with ur AWESOME bartender who made us lemon drop shots and welcomed us to Chicago with a warm shot of malort (IYKYK). Our bartender, whose name is escaping me, was kind enough to give us recommendations on where to grab dinner and go out on a Thursday night lol.For appetizers, we split the Buffalo cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. The cauliflower was tasty and paired well with the dip. The Brussels sprouts ware a hefty portion so be prepared!I hope we make our way back to Chicago soon!"

City Winery - Riverwalk

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (523) • $$

"Not sure about the food but drinking by the river on a nice day is gonna get you 4 stars as long as something weird doesn't happen. Nothing weird happened. We had drinks and watched the boats go by (and the fun happy hour people watching too)."

Versailles

★★★☆☆ 3.3 (36)

"This place is SUPER Russian. I've actually only been here for big dinner parties and occasions, so I can only judge on that. If you're not coming from a Russian background, you may want to skip this place. The dinner party food is pretty good. Awesome spreads. The blini with chicken, the stuffed chicken and all the filet mignon/steak dishes are awesome. There's always enough drink to go around. I've never had a negative experience with a waiter, but it could be because I speak Russian (though if you're part of a dinner party, they will take care of everyone equally.) The live entertainment ranges from pretty good to a little cringey. The crowd in the evening is definitely loud and rowdy, and usually pretty drunk but they're fun."

La Storia Ristorante

★★★★★ 4.5 (449) • $$$

"Really great experience tonight at La Storia! We enjoyed the arancini and meatballs as an appetizer. The red snapper was delicious as a main, and many in my party also enjoyed the lasagna. We were seated out on the back terrace on what ended up being quite a rainy evening. The wait staff was highly accommodating despite being very busy. I recommend you check out this restaurant :)"

Royal Food Court

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (19)

"Chicken 65 was delicious love the vibe and the staff are super nice. Unfortunately I don't speak a native language and communicating was difficult. The butter chicken I ordered was not butter chicken;) I chalk this up to part of the experience, and I wouldn't change it, just wish I had got what I ordered (-1star) I'll go back for sure!"

Revolver

★★★★☆ 3.7 (40) • $$

"Been meaning to check out this speakeasy. We met the owner at the Duplex once and he told us about this new spot...then I forgot about it. First checked this out early April on a Sunday evening. We were able to catch Happy Hour. The place was not crowded but slowly did hit capacity. On this occasion I came with my Father-in-law and Husband. The boys enjoyed dark liquor drinks and I enjoyed bubbles. We didn't grabbed snacks as we had a late lunch but they looked interesting. We enjoyed our time spent here and appreciated that the DJ played old and new jams. It was time to go when Sexy Red came on. I blushed for my Father-in-law. Not so much because of the song but because people started gyrating on the floor, And it wasn't even 7 PM.On second occasion, left another Happy Hour in Wicker Park and wanted to have a night cap. A girlfriend and I decided to come to Revolver. To our surprise here was a meet up being held here and the place was packed. No wonder we couldn't find parking. We were still able to grab drinks and mingle for a bit. On this occasion my drink (He who remains) was not good and horribly expensive. My cocktail ended up being $23 bucks with service charge (tip)...hmm it wasn't worth it. I ended up having another cocktail the Handlebar (margaritas-ish) and that was tasty. Overall, I like this black owned spot. Everyone is chill and having a good time. Right next door to a cool record shop. I will be back but I am gonna need to catch that HH special before rolling over to the $23 drinks."

Old Pueblo Cantina

★★★★☆ 4.2 (237) • $$

"Came here after looking for Mexican food. It looked like a small place but it's bigger inside. Old Pueblo Cantina is a kind of hidden place on Webster. Gets less of a crowd because of it, for sure not because of the food of course. The prices are kind of high on some things, but the quality is excellent to be honest. Any good Mexican restaurant will give you free chips and salsa, and here this is the case. It was pretty fast getting these. The service would be pretty fast so there was no long waiting. It's about $12 for a margarita. There's the classic which was good enough, and even though it's a pretty small glass of this, it's strong though. As for the food, we got some of the vegetarian choices. There's a few. I got the Burrito. It's about $16 but it's big though. This came with chihuahua spices, crema which I left off, lettuce, pico, and vegetables. Add a protein for a couple bucks. I got it with sweet potatoes. The other protein choices are carne asada and meats such as that. Better than expected. It has a lot of drinks and food to choose from. There's meaty options and things that are good for vegetarians."

Greenwood American Kitchen & Bar

★★★★☆ 4.1 (198) • $$

"Not what it once was. The food was "good" but not memorable. My turkey burger was a hefty patty, medium well as ordered, but really under-seasoned, so not a big taste treat. It was ala carte, with only a small glass of fries. The burger was $17. I'll take The Claim Company's (Northbrook) turkey burger, very nicely seasoned with large mashed potatoes on the side: $13. That's a good combination.Greenwood's staff was lackluster, tripping over each other, unclear on how to affect service. We sat outside, and cold water bottles had to be continually requested rather than smartly replaced as needed. The restaurant still looks as nice as when it opened, but favorite dishes are gone, food quality isn't as favorable, and the service has gone elsewhere.We won't be back. (Sorry, the photo attached is from some time ago, an older positive review, and that dish, which I really loved, has been gone for some time now.)"

The Sedgwick Stop

★★★★☆ 3.7 (129)

"Great neighborhood bar, with welcoming staff and about 10 draft beers. Food menu is bar bites- the steak fries are salty/delicious, and the wings are messy but tasty! Year-round patio is also a huge plus!"

Formento's

★★★★☆ 4 (813) • $$$

"Excellent dinner at Formento's recently. My daughter and I arrived and sat at the bar for a bit while watching college baseball. Her friend arrived shortly after, and we were seated for dinner. Our server was very attentive and did a great job walking us thru the menu. Everything was delicious - two pasta dishes and a gnocchi dish!"

Budweiser Brickhouse Tavern

★★★★☆ 3.9 (256) • $$

"We decided to check out Budweiser Brickhouse Tavern because who doesn't love a bottomless brunch with bottomless mimosas?! We did not have a reservation, so we got there right when they opened. For that reason, we had to sit on the 1st floor. This meant we had to go to the 2nd floor to get all our food. No worries though - they have an elevator. If we go back, we will make sure to get a reservation because the rooftop is everything - way more of a vibe than the 1st floor.It is a pretty standard brunch, but they provide a lot of stations. We had everything from eggs and omelettes to chicken and waffles, to salads and dips, to desserts and a donut wall. Some of the donuts were even infused with your favorite beverage. The bartender kept the mimosas coming and even swapped out the standard orange juice for pineapple juice.Note: the mimosas package is per person, not per table. Also, parking can be tough during peak hours.#ImNotAFoodie#ImJustAGirlWhoLovesFood#YelpEliteSquad"

Antique Taco

★★★★☆ 4.1 (1388) • $

"Antique Taco is a walk up style taco joint located in Wicker Park. Because of its counter service style you're free to mix and match taco types to your hearts content. The menu has a variety of meat and non-meat bases, all of which were tasty.The space is brightly lit and features some locally crafted goods for purchase as well.This is the perfect place to drop in if you're looking for a quick bite that's a step above your standard fast food or fast casual joint."

Smyth

★★★★☆ 4.1 (306) • $$$$

"About a 2-2.5: We were curious to check out Smyth, as the cuisine is inspired from the farmlands of Smyth County in VA! They offer a Smyth and a Chef's Table tasting menu, in which you make advance reservations via tock.We went for the Smyth, and note that if you have any allergies or aversions, you can work with the restaurant for substitutions and/or accommodations.Our menu included:+Smoked Quail Egg+Lobster Coral Custard, Lobster Claw & Raspberry+Lobster & Seaweed Soup+Sweet Peas, Lemon Leaf & Garden Curry Oil+Avocado & Habanada Slushie+Dungeness Crab & Almond+Squash & Caviar+Alaskan King Salmon & White Asparagus+Lobster Tail & Tomatillo+Lone Mountain Beef; Truffle & Bone Marrow Doughnut+New Potato & Pecan+Strawberry * Nasturtium+Sunflower & Marigold Tartlet; Mussel Caramel+Kombucha Rootbeer FloatOverall, we felt that there wasn't much of a variety in the menu, considering the 3 stars - don't get me wrong, I do enjoy lobster, but I feel that there should have been a more variety of proteins that were used; the progression of the menu also felt similar in terms of flavors, and the dishes didn't seem too distinct from one another.The courses were aesthetically presented well.Service was fine. The hostess's demeanor should be re-evaluated.The interior of the place has more of a relaxed casual vibe, considering, with exposed frames and darker wood.Extremely limited street parking.+repeats in courses+okay service+extremely limited street parking"

Blue Door Kitchen & Garden

★★★★☆ 4 (745) • $$

"The front window is covered with Michelin awards and the interior is super cute, so I had high expectations walking in.Came here for a work lunch and ordered the $24 Chicken and Waffles, which is front and center on the menu. Service was attentive, friendly and perfect.Chicken and waffles came out and the fried chicken was good. Maybe could use more seasoning. The waffle was a little underwhelming -- I'm sure it was fluffy coming out, but a deflated experience while eating.Waffles. Maybe it's because the chicken was served on top of the waffle?On a positive note, it is a good amount of food. I only finished half!"

Flight Club - Chicago

★★★★☆ 4.3 (330) • $$

"Flight club is the go to place for me and my coworkers to hangout after work hours . This place is great for hosting corporate events. We usually play different dart games and end the night with some great cocktails and food from Flight club. I love the fact that they have so many different versions of darts, they keep you engaged throughout. The place is pretty popular and is almost always bustling with people. I love the yuzu guac and the black and white hummus. Their Iguna and Jaguar cocktails are my favorite. Overall, a great place to host big parties!"

Harry Caray's 7th Inning Stretch

★★★★☆ 3.5 (258) • $$

"Located on the 7th floor of the mall.Sports themed restaurant.Spacious place. Staff was nice.Steak was good. Solid food."

The Franklin Tap

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (238) • $$

"Franklin Tap is a classic Happy Hour destination in Chicago Loop. All Day specials daily. Solid selection of beer, wine, cider, & cocktails. Enjoyed local Virtue Cider Michigan Cherry Buffalo cauliflower was a huge portion and made it feel worth the $15. Attentive service, hopping but can still have a conversation without shouting to hear each other."

Swig

★★★★☆ 3.6 (187) • $$

"FoodMushroom and zucchini friedThis was good. The Mushrooms were big and lightly breaded which I like better. The zucchini was thin and heavily breaded but still edible. Mozzarella sticksThese we good. Everything came out very fast. It was fresh and crunchy with a side of marinara. DrinksWe got Tito's and soda. Just a heads up they do not lemon or limes in the drinks due to COVID they are trying to limit the amount of hands touching food items for drinks. Our drinks seemed to have more soda than the Tito's in my opinion. Set up I did appreciate how everyone was spaced out. We sat at the bar. They had hand sanitizer at the bar every 6 feet. The bartender wiped our area up right when we decided to sit."

Il Culaccino

★★★★☆ 4 (257) • $$

"Our group of five dined at Culaccino in late February. The location from our hotel was ideal. The interior is impressive! Love the color scheme and open design. A female hostess seated us promptly in a booth. Our waitress was much better up front with service and then fizzled. My visit was on a weekday an hour prior to close and it was pretty busy. Our female server was great when present. She smiled and was even bubbly. Mains hit the table different times around 25 minutes or so after. Appetizers were quicker. My gnocchi dish was awful and not finished. It likely had been sitting and reheated, It was dry and lacked flavor. Our waitress did not follow up until I gave up with a complaint on the dish. Drink refills were sporadic by a water boy. Others at the table had better luck with their dishes. Close out of the check by our server was slow. Prices seemed fair. I would not return, nor recommend. 2.5 rounding up."

312 Chicago

★★★★☆ 4.2 (24)

"312 Chicago is a nice spot to grab a cocktail and small bite before going to the theater next door. That is exactly what we did. After work, we headed over to this corner Loop restaurant to nosh a little before the show. Our martinis were perfection. The bartender was friendly and certainly talented. We decided to order French fries as a quick snack before heading out. They were served piping hot and hit the spot. 312 Chicago is a nice place for theater patrons, locals working in the neighborhood or visitors to the city staying in the Loop area."

Harry Caray's Tavern -Navy Pier

★★★☆☆ 3.2 (832) • $$

"Just ran in for some drinks. Bartender was nice. Lots of folks eating at the bar. Standard bar food fare."

Red Tomatoes Indian Cuisine

★★★★☆ 4.4 (212) • $$

"I have been here several times before and the food is good. Large portions so the cost may seem a little sharp at first (and the menu needs to show prices!) - but when you see the size of the portions it actually turns out to be good value for money. I went in for lunch and ended up with at least 3 full meals out of it with the take home leftovers. However I did order quite a bit of food. I am not sure why an Indian joint is making pizza, except to expand its customer base, but apparently it is very good according to the reviews, so I may check it out some day.I will definitely keep coming back as they have found a loyal customer in me. I will say this: there are better Indian restaurants out there (Tava comes to mind) - however this is perfectly fine for a local curry house. Criticisms? - The music is WAY too loud if you dine in. And I have never been served a glass of water without ice. Either the ice machine was broken or the owner thinks it is 1946 again.The ambience as a result is a little lacking. But a very good location, with alot of decorating potential with very little effort or expense. A good menu and a decent cook or two. Just a suggestion or two... take the menu OFF the wall, for one. Serve ice in the water, and for god's sake turn that crappy loud music off and put in some decent, mellow traditional Indian music! Also the owner was sitting there with You Tube on blast!- ?? 3 fixes to make this place really classy. Food is still great!Still 4 stars from me. Could easily be 5."

Coco Pazzo

★★★★☆ 3.9 (505) • $$$

"I visited this restaurant with a large group after a meeting. They accommodated our group well the nice large table and they were able to accommodate separate checks, which was lovely. However, I have to say the food was definitely underwhelming. I got the soup of the day, which had lentils and "aromatic vegetables" along with some type of meat but the meat was cut so small I barely noticed them and there was nothing special about the vegetables the soup was warm and tasty but definitely underwhelming as one of the specials. The waiter recommended I get a side because the soup was small, but when the soup came out it was more than enough for a small meal and the truffle fries were also disappointing. When in town for a meeting and trying to visit all the great spots, I would pass on this location if I came back again.The ambiance was great and wasn't too loud, but food left a great deal to be desired."

Fulton Market Kitchen

★★★★☆ 3.8 (494) • $$

"My love and I have been to Fulton Market Kitchen for drinks previously, but we finally enjoyed their food during a Happy Hour visit recently. The establishment seems like a hip art gallery with colorfully decorated interiors.The Happy Hour runs from 4 to 6PM on weekdays, and when we came minutes after 4PM on a Thursday the place was empty. The current specials range from $4-11, so you can have a delicious meal with swanky beverages at a discounted rate from the limited HH menu. The Happy Hour menu pricing is slightly higher than what is listed on the website, but that's how it goes. Our drinks - FMK Old Fashioned and Trouble in Paradise (a "kick-ass margarita") - were gems at only $8 a glass. We shared the Cacio e Pepe ($10) and the Hella Burger ($11) and both were outstanding food selections. At first glance the pasta dish seemed simple, but the thick bucatini had such a robust cheesy taste. Likewise, the burger uses ground wagyu chuck and bacon for a savory "meaty" flavor.The service is spot on, and your check is presented to you in a cigar box. We will welcome another visit to FMK, definitely a star in the bustling Fulton Market area."

Inovasi

★★★★☆ 3.9 (339) • $$$

"A hidden gem in lake bluff. The risotto was out of this world you could taste how fresh it was and how much care they took into consideration when they crafted the menu. A menu item that shouldn't be down played is the cauliflower appetizer! I will say that the service wasn't like other places but, the fact that the food quality was so good offset the waiting time. I will also say that the ambiance is great if you were to some to the restaurant with a date!"

Kirkwood

★★★★☆ 3.8 (519) • $$

"Had a pretty okay time at this neighborhood bar on Sheffield, which feels like a college bar. It's a good place in particular for Indiana fans, and of course Bears fans. Kirkwood is bigger than it looks, with room for crowds on game days or whenever. A little expensive is the biggest complaint. The bar food is better than expected with both greasy and healthy options. Among the drinks were a few seasonal cocktails. It's about $12 or so. The best sounding one was the Boozy Apple Cider, which is good for any time. Get your choice of liquor in it. There's also lots of beer, from crafts to mass produced stuff. A nice selection on tap, and lots more in bottles and cans. The food was a pleasant surprise. Has some healthy and okay vegetarian choices. The Hummus And Guacamole was good for sharing. It's $13 but it comes with a lot. There's the usual pitas and tortillas but some pretty interesting vegetables. More than just broccoli and carrots. There was too much to eat it all here. Good place resembling a campus bar. It's likewise one of the more festive places for watching a game. The drinks and food are kind of expensive but at least for the food there's larger portions for some things."