43 Best Restaurants in Lincoln Park and Wicker Park, with Bucktown and Logan Square, Chicago

The crowd at this casual spot serving fried chicken and fish is decidedly hipster, but even if that’s not your scene, the food and cocktails are worth making your way to to the location on the southern end of Logan Square. During the summer, the beer garden is packed with folks playing table tennis, chowing down on shareable snacks and sandwiches, and sipping boozy slushies and cheap beer. With additional locations in Lincoln Park and Andersonville, there's always a picnic table with your name on it.

An urban bodega merges with a Vietnamese noodle shop at this quirky corner store that’s won accolades for its fragrant chicken, beef, and vegan pho, based on a family recipe. In the grocery section, hard-to-find imported Thai chips and Japanese chocolates mingle with household essentials.

The antithesis of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, Piece’s thin-crust pies mimic those made famous in New Haven, Connecticut. They’re somewhat free-form in shape and come in plain (tomato sauce, Parmesan, and garlic), white (olive oil, garlic, and mozzarella), or traditional red, with lots of topping options. Salads balance out the menu, while the award-winning house-brewed beers pair perfectly with the food.

The weird rhythms of travel often leave hungry travelers stranded in the awkward zone between lunch and dinner. This corner spot, where the food skews American eclectic and produce forward, has the hack: all-day brunch. The vibes are mellow and the wine list so enticing you might want to stay on through dinner.

In your enthusiasm for exploring Avondale's bright young things, don't overlook this institution, which has been fortifying the neighborhood with heaping platters of traditional Polish fare since 1984. Starting off with pierogies (there are six varieties on offer) is a no-brainer. If you've brought a date, the special for two (which in truth could probably sate three or four) is a good way to sample the restaurant's greatest hits, like soul-warming stuffed cabbage and lacy potato pancakes.

Indian flavors drive the menu at this merry all-day spot on the northern fringes of Logan Square, but this isn’t your grandma’s tikka masala (even though that might be her calico upholstery in the quirky industrial-meets-cottagecore dining room). Instead, Zeeshan Shah and Yoshi Yamada take a witty approach to familiar dishes, sealing butter chicken into calzones and dressing French toast in halvah and gulab jamun syrup.

This cozy spot is influenced by the Alpine cuisine of France, Germany, Italy, and Austria, and takes an old-world approach to local ingredients, baking, butchering, curing, pickling, and smoking everything in-house. The same region informs the beverage program, translating to an interesting selection of wine, amari, and liqueurs.

Since making its Avondale debut in 2023, this spot—which began life as a West Loop food hall vendor—has won raves from high places (The New York Times, for one) for chef Margaret Pak's soulful take on the cuisine of her husband's native Kerala. The lightness of Pak's fare, punctuated by coconut, yucca, and bracing chutneys, might surprise diners accustomed to the hearty Mughlai curries of northern India. Whatever your order, get a side of appam, tender rice crepes perfect for sopping stray sauce. 

A selection of fresh handmade pasta produced with top-quality Italian flour anchors the menu at this counter service spot, where checkered linoleum flooring and a Vespa suspended from the ceiling give the snug, always-packed dining room a cheery retro vibe. Popular group classes let pasta novices try their hand at forming gnocchi and lumache. Friday through Sunday, doors open at 8 am for stiff espressos and Italian breakfast pastries like bomboloni.  

The bitterest Chicago gale is no match for the varenyky and other rib-sticking Ukrainian fare at this Chicago Avenue spot, named for the trident that features on the Ukrainian coat of arms. National pride comes through loud and clear here, from the traditional costumes and instruments on display to the menu prices, which sync up to notable years in Ukrainian history. A house specialty is over two dozen vodkas infused with everything from sour cherry to horseradish. 

For a taste of classic Chicago, stop into Twin Anchors, which has been dishing out baby-back ribs since 1932—the nautically themed brick tavern was a favorite of Frank Sinatra, who still croons regularly over the speakers. You’re partly visiting for the scene, as local and touring celebs often visit, but lovers of barrooms with personality don't mind the typically long waits during prime time. Vegetarians will find the pickings slim (though the freshly fried kettle chips with buttermilk dip may lessen the sting somewhat).

Although there are now satellite restaurants in the Chicago suburbs and across the country, the original Mon Ami Gabi has not lost its charm. This little piece of Paris re-creates a classic bistro with views of Lincoln Park that could pass—with the help of a couple of glasses of vin from the wine cart—for the Tuileries. Park-front windows let in ample natural light, warming the wood-trimmed interior. Best bites include several versions of steak frites, as well as bistro essentials such as steamed mussels and skate with crispy garlic chips. The menu features a rotating list of specials, such as cassoulet and pan-seared sea bass.

When Wicker Park's veggie-centric Earwax Café closed, vegans and vegetarians decamped to this new California transplant. Even devoted carnivores scarf down the café's satisfying vegan dishes featuring house-made tempeh, seiten, and other faux meats. Don't miss the decadent-tasting desserts, made without refined sugar. Additional locations in Lakeview and the Loop.