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Lincoln Square
Lincoln Square & Ravenswood Chamber/Instagram

Where to Eat and Drink in Lincoln Square

Discover German, Thai, and Michelin-starred spots

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Lincoln Square
| Lincoln Square & Ravenswood Chamber/Instagram

Lincoln Square is perhaps most celebrated for its German roots, of which it has plenty of representation. The community holds one of Chicago’s oldest beer halls, a German cultural center, and beer-filled Maifest and Oktoberfest celebrations.

But the neighborhood also has grown into a hub for food and drinks from across the culinary world. Over the years, it’s also become an enclave for Chicago’s Thai community. From Michelin-starred restaurants to one of the best Filipino restaurants in the city, here are 15 places to eat and drink now in Lincoln Square.

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Jimmy's Pizza Cafe

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Customers won’t find deep dish at Jimmy's Pizza Cafe. Instead, the local favorite focuses on NYC-style pies sold whole or by the slice. Try one of Jimmy’s signature white pies, which arrives with a scoop of ricotta cheese on each slice.  

5 cheese Casolare burrata slice #chicagofood #chicagoeats #zagat #eeeeeats #chicagofoodauthority #chicagopizza...

Posted by Jimmys Pizza Cafe on Saturday, June 1, 2019

Elizabeth Restaurant

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The Michelin-starred foraging eatery from chef Iliana Regan has become known for organizing themed dinners in the style of Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and Twin Peaks. In 2017, the restaurant staged a $600 Alice in Wonderland meal that included road trips to a forest, a bonfire, and s’mores.

Iliana Regan is known for her playful plating.
Elizabeth Restaurant [Official Photo]

Rainbow Thai Cuisine

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Chef Wanpen Phosawang serves a menu of authentic Thai dishes in this intimate BYOB-friendly eatery. Waiters emerge from the kitchen clutching plates of pad see ew, fiery ground chicken with garlic, chili and basil, and sai krog e-san, which is a dish with homemade northeastern Thai-style sausage.

Rainbow Cuisine Shrimp Pad Thai! ...Noodles, peanuts, sweet and savory flavors, crisp, fresh veggies, succulent shrimp... come discover why this is such a popular favorite! {© JenMoranPhotography}

Posted by Rainbow Cuisine on Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Sixth

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The Sixth, from Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, is the kind of cocktail bar every neighborhood wished it possessed. Benjamin Schiller’s creative drinks mix in nostalgia (“The Spaceman Spliff” is from Calvin and Hobbes) with potency. The drinks tell a story, and it’s a great spot for date night or to catch-up with friends.

The bar at the Sixth
Marc Much/Eater Chicago

Goosefoot

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This unassuming Michelin-starred spot from husband-and-wife duo Chris and Nina Nugent serves a seasonal chef’s table tasting menu that’s among the best in the city. The eatery also has a BYOB policy wherein guests can either bring a bottle from home or pick up something from Goosefoot’s next-door wine shop.

Goosefoot’s dining room
Galdones Photography

Pannenkoeken Cafe/Famous Dutch Pancake Huis

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Dutch pancakes are the specialty of this Lincoln Square coffee and breakfast spot. The pancakes — officially called pannenkoeken — are flat, crispy, and arrive in both sweet and savory varieties. The pancakes arrive hot and crispy, ready to be doused in sugary schenkstroop syrup.

The cafe’s apple pannenkoeken
Pannenkoeken Cafe/Famous Dutch Pancake Huis [Official Photo]

Isla Pilipina Restaurant

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In addition to being one of the most underrated restaurants in Chicago, Isla Pilipina is also one of the best Filipino restaurants in the city. The eatery serves toothsome orders of adobo chicken, lumpia, and pancit, and allows diners to bring along their own booze.

Gene's Sausage Shop and Delicatessen

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Gene’s Sausage Shop is a castle of meat crowned by a festive rooftop bar. During the warmer months, the top-level beer garden comes alive with cans of European beers, mammoth pretzels, and smoked sausages that are cooked atop an open grill. With drink in hand, diners can also relax on picnic tables situated near flowers, grapes, tomatoes, and herbs. The original location lasted 36 years before closing in 2016.

Gene’s rooftop wine and beer garden
Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessen [Official Photo]

Cafe Selmarie

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Cafe Selmarie sits across the street from Lincoln Square’s fountain, making it a good spot for scenic outdoor dining and people watching. In addition to comforting dishes like smoked salmon flatbread, crepes, and sandwiches, the eatery also slings a wide array of tortes, cookies, and cakes.

Siam Country

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Siam Country’s menu is about as colorful and diverse as the fish that live in its large aquarium. The restaurant serves eight kinds of curry, Thai fried rice, and a multitude of noodle-based dishes. Siam Country also sells bubble tea in flavors such as mango, coconut, and papaya.

Baker Miller

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Since opening the Lincoln Square storefront in 2014, owners Dave and Megan Miller have transformed their company’s flagship eatery into one of the city’s top spots for pastries and pies, even earning a Beard nomination. The bakery’s menu also includes sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, avocado toast, and a variety of other breakfast foods.

Luella's Southern Kitchen

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As the name implies, Luella’s Southern Kitchen focuses on classic comfort food like shrimp and grits, chicken gumbo, oyster po’boys, and catfish. Additionally, the brunch menu here includes Nashville hot chicken and apple cider waffles dripping with maple syrup.

Fork devotes most of its dinner menu to snacks, small plates, and shareable entrees. Diners can trot the globe with cheese and meat sourced from France, Spain, and Italy, or stick to locally made cheddar or duck prosciutto. The restaurant also serves a long list of wine, beer, and cocktails.

We are open for brunch and dinner today! Doors open at 10am; come enjoy one of our brunch favorites like our avocado toast.

Posted by Fork on Monday, May 27, 2019

Unlike some of the neighborhood’s flashier spots, Gather is a place where locals can meet for family-style Sunday dinners, wine, and a warm atmosphere. The menu includes sizable burgers topped with white cheddar and house smoked bacon and sea scallops paired with heirloom tomato panzanella. True to its name, the restaurant reserves half of its dining room for walk-in gatherings.

@crainschicago named our patio one of “The city's best hidden patios”, stop by and see why for yourself! Doors open at 5p.

Posted by Gather Chicago on Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Bistro Campagne

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Bistro Campagne is Lincoln Square’s preeminent French eatery. True to form, the restaurant’s kitchen churns out bistro classics such as steak tartare, duck confit, onion soup, and escargots in garlic butter. The eatery also is among the Chicago restaurants recommended by the illustrious Michelin Guide.

Bistro Campagne on N. Lincoln Avenue
Marc Much/Eater Chicago

Jimmy's Pizza Cafe

Customers won’t find deep dish at Jimmy's Pizza Cafe. Instead, the local favorite focuses on NYC-style pies sold whole or by the slice. Try one of Jimmy’s signature white pies, which arrives with a scoop of ricotta cheese on each slice.  

5 cheese Casolare burrata slice #chicagofood #chicagoeats #zagat #eeeeeats #chicagofoodauthority #chicagopizza...

Posted by Jimmys Pizza Cafe on Saturday, June 1, 2019

Elizabeth Restaurant

The Michelin-starred foraging eatery from chef Iliana Regan has become known for organizing themed dinners in the style of Game of Thrones, Stranger Things, and Twin Peaks. In 2017, the restaurant staged a $600 Alice in Wonderland meal that included road trips to a forest, a bonfire, and s’mores.

Iliana Regan is known for her playful plating.
Elizabeth Restaurant [Official Photo]

Rainbow Thai Cuisine

Chef Wanpen Phosawang serves a menu of authentic Thai dishes in this intimate BYOB-friendly eatery. Waiters emerge from the kitchen clutching plates of pad see ew, fiery ground chicken with garlic, chili and basil, and sai krog e-san, which is a dish with homemade northeastern Thai-style sausage.

Rainbow Cuisine Shrimp Pad Thai! ...Noodles, peanuts, sweet and savory flavors, crisp, fresh veggies, succulent shrimp... come discover why this is such a popular favorite! {© JenMoranPhotography}

Posted by Rainbow Cuisine on Saturday, December 22, 2012

The Sixth

The Sixth, from Fifty/50 Restaurant Group, is the kind of cocktail bar every neighborhood wished it possessed. Benjamin Schiller’s creative drinks mix in nostalgia (“The Spaceman Spliff” is from Calvin and Hobbes) with potency. The drinks tell a story, and it’s a great spot for date night or to catch-up with friends.

The bar at the Sixth
Marc Much/Eater Chicago

Goosefoot

This unassuming Michelin-starred spot from husband-and-wife duo Chris and Nina Nugent serves a seasonal chef’s table tasting menu that’s among the best in the city. The eatery also has a BYOB policy wherein guests can either bring a bottle from home or pick up something from Goosefoot’s next-door wine shop.

Goosefoot’s dining room
Galdones Photography

Pannenkoeken Cafe/Famous Dutch Pancake Huis

Dutch pancakes are the specialty of this Lincoln Square coffee and breakfast spot. The pancakes — officially called pannenkoeken — are flat, crispy, and arrive in both sweet and savory varieties. The pancakes arrive hot and crispy, ready to be doused in sugary schenkstroop syrup.

The cafe’s apple pannenkoeken
Pannenkoeken Cafe/Famous Dutch Pancake Huis [Official Photo]

Isla Pilipina Restaurant

In addition to being one of the most underrated restaurants in Chicago, Isla Pilipina is also one of the best Filipino restaurants in the city. The eatery serves toothsome orders of adobo chicken, lumpia, and pancit, and allows diners to bring along their own booze.

Gene's Sausage Shop and Delicatessen

Gene’s Sausage Shop is a castle of meat crowned by a festive rooftop bar. During the warmer months, the top-level beer garden comes alive with cans of European beers, mammoth pretzels, and smoked sausages that are cooked atop an open grill. With drink in hand, diners can also relax on picnic tables situated near flowers, grapes, tomatoes, and herbs. The original location lasted 36 years before closing in 2016.

Gene’s rooftop wine and beer garden
Gene’s Sausage Shop and Delicatessen [Official Photo]

Cafe Selmarie

Cafe Selmarie sits across the street from Lincoln Square’s fountain, making it a good spot for scenic outdoor dining and people watching. In addition to comforting dishes like smoked salmon flatbread, crepes, and sandwiches, the eatery also slings a wide array of tortes, cookies, and cakes.

Siam Country

Siam Country’s menu is about as colorful and diverse as the fish that live in its large aquarium. The restaurant serves eight kinds of curry, Thai fried rice, and a multitude of noodle-based dishes. Siam Country also sells bubble tea in flavors such as mango, coconut, and papaya.

Baker Miller

Since opening the Lincoln Square storefront in 2014, owners Dave and Megan Miller have transformed their company’s flagship eatery into one of the city’s top spots for pastries and pies, even earning a Beard nomination. The bakery’s menu also includes sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, avocado toast, and a variety of other breakfast foods.

Luella's Southern Kitchen

As the name implies, Luella’s Southern Kitchen focuses on classic comfort food like shrimp and grits, chicken gumbo, oyster po’boys, and catfish. Additionally, the brunch menu here includes Nashville hot chicken and apple cider waffles dripping with maple syrup.

Fork

Fork devotes most of its dinner menu to snacks, small plates, and shareable entrees. Diners can trot the globe with cheese and meat sourced from France, Spain, and Italy, or stick to locally made cheddar or duck prosciutto. The restaurant also serves a long list of wine, beer, and cocktails.

We are open for brunch and dinner today! Doors open at 10am; come enjoy one of our brunch favorites like our avocado toast.

Posted by Fork on Monday, May 27, 2019

Gather

Unlike some of the neighborhood’s flashier spots, Gather is a place where locals can meet for family-style Sunday dinners, wine, and a warm atmosphere. The menu includes sizable burgers topped with white cheddar and house smoked bacon and sea scallops paired with heirloom tomato panzanella. True to its name, the restaurant reserves half of its dining room for walk-in gatherings.

@crainschicago named our patio one of “The city's best hidden patios”, stop by and see why for yourself! Doors open at 5p.

Posted by Gather Chicago on Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Bistro Campagne

Bistro Campagne is Lincoln Square’s preeminent French eatery. True to form, the restaurant’s kitchen churns out bistro classics such as steak tartare, duck confit, onion soup, and escargots in garlic butter. The eatery also is among the Chicago restaurants recommended by the illustrious Michelin Guide.

Bistro Campagne on N. Lincoln Avenue
Marc Much/Eater Chicago

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