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The Infatuation
The Best Restaurants In Bucktown
By John Ringor, Adrian KaneNick Allen,
5 days ago
Bucktown gets its name from the many goats that Polish settlers in the area raised back in the 19th century. Nowadays, the neighborhood is less popular with the hooved community and has evolved into an eating and drinking hotspot. Cash-only restaurants with burgers that cost less than $10, secret patios for a nice pasta dinner, taquerias that occasionally do multi-course tasting menus—these are the best places to eat in Bucktown.
Every taco at this counter-service taqueria is impressive, and our “favorite” is whichever one we’re in the middle of eating. All of them are made with handmade corn tortillas and packed with fantastic fillings like zesty morcilla topped with brown butter salsa macha, juicy duck carnitas, and tender al pastor. There are no tables inside, but Taqueria Chingón’s busy covered sidewalk patio feels like a neighbor's backyard party. And for a fun alternative to some of the city’s stuffier tasting menus, check out their occasional “tacomakase,” a multi-course meal with special tacos and dishes like hamachi tostadas and truffle churros.
Eat Fine Design’s menu is huge, but what’s most striking about this spot are the excellent Thai dishes you can’t find anywhere else. The durian massaman curry with a vanilla-y sweetness is a knockout, while their pad kee mao swaps the typical flat rice noodles for firm, crispy instant cup noodles—cup included for extra charm. The more common dishes are equally tasty, like Hat Yai fried chicken so crispy, you might need earplugs. Prime dinner time is often busy with couples from the area or friends sharing their favorite wine (it’s BYOB), but it’s easy to grab a spot a little later—Eat Fine Design is open until 2am.
When you imagine a quaint French restaurant, you probably think of something that looks like Le Bouchon. It’s a small bistro with always-packed tables and a fittingly tiny bar that’s just big enough to have a solo dinner or lunch. Classics like french onion soup and escargot are always great, and rotating seasonal dishes like selle de lapin or oxtail bourguignon give you plenty of reasons to visit regularly. And while you might not overhear whole conversations in French, there’s enough artwork with words like "à toute heure" to convince you that the Seine is actually flowing through Bucktown.
This Costa Rican spot has a large space with large open windows on warm days, and very friendly service. In other words, it’s the kind of neighborhood place that makes you feel welcome the moment you walk in. The menu is long, with lots of sandwiches, massive $12 burritos, and a delicious oatmeal shake they’ve been serving since opening in 1990. And the tasty Costa Rican dishes, like the casado (your choice of meat or fish with cabbage, black beans, rice, and plantains), make us feel closer to the equator, even after sometimes walking here through snow.
My Pi Pizza may not have indoor seating, but its Chicago-style deep dish will make you risk getting tomato sauce all over your dashboard. The sauce is sweet, zesty, and not too soupy, with juicy chunks of San Marzanos. The chewy crust has a yeasty flavor and a crispy edge, and the cheese-to-sauce-to-toppings ratio is perfect. If you can’t wait to eat at home but don’t want your car to look like a murder scene, there’s a makeshift picnic area in the parking lot.
The StopAlong is perfect for grabbing some pizza or a burger and getting a healthy dose of nostalgia. This place is decorated with colorful paintings of superheroes eating fast food, a full line-up of He-Man action figures, and even a couple of arcade games. But while the retro atmosphere is fun, and the pizza is pretty good (our favorite is the All The Right Moves with hot honey, spicy tomato sauce, and pepperoni), their Stop-In burger is the main draw. The well-seasoned patties are nicely charred and topped with American cheese, tangy special sauce, and caramelized onions.
Red Hot Ranch is one of the best places for a cheap lunch or your last stop after a night out. The counter-service Bucktown location is small and has a couple of picnic tables underneath some train tracks that feel very “Chicago”—assuming your baseline definition is “constantly being serenaded by the Blue Line.” Their burger is smashed thin with crispy edges, and is one of the best in its price range (a double cheeseburger and fries is less than $8). The menu also includes a Depression Dog, as well as milkshakes and fried shrimp by the pound. Just know, it's cash only.
This corner restaurant is a great lunch or casual dinner spot for tasty chorizo and goat cheese empanadas, Cubanos, and ropa vieja platters loaded with rice, beans, and plantains. The interior decked out in murals and old framed photos is small, but their dual patios always have plenty of room—there’s a sunny front area and a busy covered space in the back for anyone who wants to check out their occasional live DJ sets. It’s also BYOB with a small corkage fee if you want a six-pack or wine and rum to pair with their refreshing mojito and sangria mixes.
Ada Street is in an industrial part of Bucktown, and the unmarked entrance is on what looks like a frontage road. If you’re not expecting this, you might think your maps app is having an off day. But the isolated atmosphere is perfect when you want a quiet meal without fear of CTA buses interrupting a riveting date night conversation or weekly work gossip session—even its patio is safe from city noise. Get the Thai beef tartare with some spicy zip from chilis or any of their pastas, like squash agnolotti or rich gnocchi bathed in truffle cream.
Pompette is an all-day cafe, and it’s one of those cute little restaurants with plants and hanging globe lights that’ll make you say, “What a cute little restaurant” when you walk in with some friends. The menu is mainly small plates from a team of chefs who worked at tasting menu spots like Alinea, Elske, and Moody Tongue. They have tasty things like crab croquettes sitting on saffron aioli or grilled shrimp with butternut squash for dinner, along with seasonal quiches and a veggie hash when you need to answer the call of midweek brunch.
The “Mable” in question here is the chef’s mom, and the food at this place seems like the kind of thing you wish your mom made when you were little. You can't go wrong with their three different delicious mac and cheese dishes, spaghetti with jumbo meatballs, and loaded cheesesteak. Or the specials, like a juicy cajun-seasoned ribeye or rich mushroom risotto. The interior, with its A-frame slatted wood roof, exposed brick, and twinkly lights, combined with the very welcoming staff makes it the perfect example of a super cute reasonably priced place to visit with a few friends.
Given its name and brightly colored space full of chicken-related decorations, The Art Of Chicken comes with a certain level of expectations of bird preparation. Luckily, this counter-service spot does indeed treat chicken like a refined art form. The simple menu has a few tasty sides like charred broccoli or elotes, but bird is front and center, in the form of flame-broiled whole pieces or a pulled chicken sandwich. Get your chicken marinated El Jefe or Crazy Chico-style—the first has a citrusy zing while the latter has a more peppery flavor. The sandwich is also delicious, with juicy meat complemented by a spicy chipotle mayo, plus spinach and crisp red onion for added freshness.
Allez Cafe's food menu is just a few pastries and one breakfast sandwich. But everything at this small cafe is excellent. The baked goods are well-made and interesting, from fluffy donuts filled with corn-flavored cream to an earl gray cruller with candied rose petals. And the breakfast sandwich is a must-order—a delicious combination of flavors from bacon, egg, gouda, and a hashbrown, plus ramp aioli and a sweet and spicy jalapeño jam. There aren't too many tables, but if there’s a spot open, grab it—this is a breakfast sandwich worth savoring.
This Mexican restaurant is from the chef behind Mis Moles, so it’s not surprising that the mole is fantastic, like the nutty green version made with pumpkin seeds, or the smoky and complex 29-ingredient black variety that’s paired with lamb chops. There are also some great non-mole dishes like tender cochinita pibil served with pillowy housemade tortillas and a delicious, blazingly spicy habanero sauce. Manchamanteles is also absolutely massive, with a colorful indoor space that’s decked out in papel picado, and a sprawling patio. So even if you’re tasked with finding a place for 12 people two hours before dinner, chances are you’ll easily fit here.
Club Lucky looks like a 1940s Italian supper club, so it’s bound to charm anyone who claims they’re an “old soul.” It turns out a lot of people feel that way—the huge main dining room with lots of tables and big leather booths is always crowded. The best way to enjoy this place is with a group, and prepare to sail away on a sea of martinis and red sauce. Order the fantastic handmade cavatelli in vodka sauce, and the lightly fried calamari as an appetizer. Most of the dishes here are meant to serve two, so we mean it when we say you should bring some friends.
Leavitt Street Inn & Tavern has an excellent local beer list, and three rentable rooms upstairs to make it a bonafide inn. But the biggest draw to this neighborhood spot next to the Kennedy Expressway is undoubtedly the delicious smashburger. The crispy patties are juicy, come with a healthy amount of tangy sauce and onions, and are served on a seared sesame bun with an abundant amount of seeds. It’s also the reason why many people come here, so plan on a long wait for a table and then another one for your meal, as Leavitt’s small but mighty kitchen churns out one of a million daily smashburgers.
This Chinese spot in is from the Giant team, and is just as much a very good Chinese restaurant as it is a bar. The food menu is long, and you’ll find tasty versions of everything from spicy mapo tofu to shrimp toast to sweet and sour chicken. They also have great Happy Hour deals like $11 dan dan noodles or $9 old fashioneds. Just know this place is busy so plan on waiting a while for a seat at the bar (which is first come, first served) and definitely make reservations if you want to eat at a table.
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