2024 N. Halsted St.
Chicago, IL 60614
(773) 935-5000
Chicago Bar Project “Bite”
With its swanky Lincoln Park location, spacious outdoor patio and Lettuce Entertain You ownership, many love Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! for its Spanish tapas and paella, which they have served since opening in 1986 making it the oldes tapas restaurant in Chicago. Others claim that the joint is overrated and complain of weak and sometimes rude service. I’ve had a good time on my visits but basically order the same thing as I do at Cafe Ibirico and, while most dishes stand up well by comparison, some are simply better at Iberico. However, only Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! features $1 Pintxos (Basque for small slices of bread upon which a mixture of ingredients are placed and held there with a stick) and $3 tapas in the bar area from 4-6pm Monday through Sunday and 10pm-midnight on weekend nights, the latter of which is when you’ll start eating if you don’t make a dinner reservation. I haven’t yet had the paella from Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! but many like it as much or more than that which is found at nearby Emilio’s. For more information, check out the Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! website. ¡Salud!
