A Guide To Chicago’s “Super Cute Reasonably Priced Restaurants To Catch Up With A Few Friends”

The Infatuation is built on the idea of “Perfect For” categories, catering to assorted restaurant needs. Dinner With The Parents? Date Night? Impressing Out-Of-Towners? We got it.

But occasionally, we field requests that don’t quite fit into any of The Infatuation’s predetermined categories. And there is one such genre of restaurant that comes up over and over again—at parties, on social media, in the yoga classes we don’t actually attend. It’s what we have come to call the “Super Cute Reasonably Priced Restaurant To Catch Up With A Few Friends.”

After considerable research (i.e. hearing this request repeatedly), we’ve broken down the core attributes of the Super Cute Reasonably Priced Restaurant To Catch Up With A Few Friends (SCRPRTCUWFF). In general, SCRPRTCUWFFs are:

• Kind of quiet.

• But not super boring.

• Relatively small in size, or at least not huge.

• With plates around $20.

• Generally not located in neighborhoods with party trolleys rolling by.

You have our list—now go ahead and plan that Tuesday night dinner.

THE SPOTS

La Nonna

Thanks to its fairly hidden location (surrounded by homes and across from a school), open tables are almost always guaranteed at this BYOB Argentine-Italian spot in Avondale. While your friends chat about their stints as an aerialist or professional plant nanny, you can all share an excellent prosciutto and caramelized tomato pizza or cheesy chicken milanesa with your favorite bottle of wine. La Nonna's not-too-big, not-too-small, wooden dining room complete with artwork from Argentine cartoons and Homegoods-esque signs is open all day. So it’s also great for meeting up with a third-tier friend and you want to keep the hang short by just grabbing coffee and a couple empanadas.

Ssyal Korean Restaurant and Ginseng House

Ssyal might be one of the most relaxing SCRPRTCUWFF, and that’s probably because a single spoonful of their famous samgyetang is as soothing as a whole spa day. The signature Korean ginseng chicken soup is light and comes with a whole tender cornish hen stuffed with rice and sweet jujubes. While the comforting soup is a must-order, Ssyal has other tasty dishes on their menu, too. Like sweet galbi and spicy dakdori tang, a sinus-clearing spicy chicken stew with potatoes and carrots. Considering this place is pretty quiet, it’s best if you’re hanging out with friends whose natural speaking voices sound like they were born to do ASMR.

Mable's Table is permanently closed

Mable's Table

The “Mable” in question here is the chef’s mom, and considering the food is inspired by her, it seems that she was one hell of a cook. You can't go wrong with the three different delicious mac and cheese dishes, jumbo meatballs in red sauce, 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 that’ll hook you up with free bread to soak up any leftover tomato sauce, makes it the perfect example of a SCRPRTCUWFF.

Cellar Door Provisions

Cellar Door’s minimalist look and warm lighting makes it a great spot for a relaxed dinner to offset any drama that you and your friends need to dump. Whether that includes stories about Martha from accounting stealing the LaCroix from the fridge or how someone keeps knocking over their garden gnomes, you all can decompress with some glasses of natural wine and tasty small plates. Cellar Door’s tight menu changes almost daily based on whatever seasonal ingredients are hanging out in their kitchen, but you can expect dishes like lamb tartare with pickled cherries on crusty sourdough or plump scallops with savory mussel broth. And if you see pasta, get it—it’s always excellent.

Bayan Ko Diner

Like its sister restaurant Bayan Ko , Bayan Ko Diner in Ravenswood serves great Filipino and Cuban food—just with a whole lot more eggs. Which makes it the ideal breakfast chit-chat spot when the only time everyone can meet up is 10am on a Sunday. The menu has tasty traditional dishes, like longanisa garlic rice plates and flaky empanadas, plus twists on American breakfast classics, like a sisig hash with juicy chunks of pork. The space is casual, full of paintings of the Philippines and Cuba, and has lots of room for walk-ins in the middle of the week, but book a reservation if you’re trying to beat the brunch-hungry hordes on weekends.

Doma Cafe

While River North can have its fair share of party trolleys, ​​this more subdued Croatian cafe is luckily in a less chaotic part of the neighborhood. And Doma’s soothing Scandinavian furniture store aesthetic is perfect for a chill breakfast when you want to reminisce about your college shenanigans while taking bites of soft, poppy seed-filled trnovečki makači. If you want something savory, Doma’s sandwich game is also top-notch. They have one of the best breakfast sandwiches in the city, or if you opt for a lunch meet-up, get their smoky ćevapi snuggled into fluffy flatbread and topped with clotted cream and roasted pepper spread.

Kaun Khmai

Pair good conversation with delicious Cambodian food at this Rogers Park spot. It’s more casual than its sister restaurant, Khmai Cambodian , with a less formal space with TVs and a menu that focuses on street food and smaller bites. But it’s clear this restaurant family has strong genes—Kaun Khmai’s dishes are equally delicious. It can get buzzy with servers in colorful Khmer outfits going around slicing into banana leaf bundles tableside, revealing savory Cambodian sausage fried rice, while chatty tables share tamarind wings and crispy catfish with chili sauce, but it’s never too loud that you need to start using your outside voice.

Dove's Luncheonette

When it comes to Dove’s in Wicker Park, the “FF” part of SCRPRTCUWFF is particularly important—most of the first-come, first-served seating at this Mexican and Southern diner is counter space. So unless you want to play a game of side-by-side telephone, or you somehow snag the only table in the triangular space, showing up with three people at most is ideal. That way you can still catch up while eating fried chicken smothered in chorizo gravy or slices of massive vegetarian tlayudas. Though Dove’s is typically a breakfast and lunch spot, they also have a Dove’s After Dark dinner service on Monday, Friday, and Saturday, which has a rotating menu of dishes like steak fajitas or shrimp with chipotle-mezcal salsa.

Jibek Jolu

Though their perpetually shut blinds don’t scream “Welcome to Jibek Jolu,” there are plenty of reasons why you’ll want to stay awhile at this Lincoln Square restaurant. For starters, the Kyrgyz food is delicious and affordable, and this place is BYOB. And when it comes to catching up with friends, the squarish yurt-like interior (complete with a fake smoke hole), is cozy and quiet enough that you can chat without shouting. The servings are large and meant for sharing, so showing up with friends is the best way to enjoy garlicky pelmeni, smoky kuurdak, or hand-pulled noodles cooked with a spicy soy sauce.

Amaru

This small Latin American restaurant in Wicker Park has a fun atmosphere and great food with complex flavors. For example, you’ll find chicken skewers served in a spicy huancaina or charred octopus with a tangy poblano sauce. Almost everything on the menu is between $7-$20, and perfect for sharing. Come here to catch up with your friends about their recent vacations—which might have something to do with the fact that they’re choosing to split a $7 order of fried plantains for dinner.

Middle Brow Bungalow

Middle Brow in Logan Square is a brewpub that’s decorated like a DIY wedding (with tea lights, reclaimed wooden picnic tables, and decorative plants in birdcages), and basically feels like a Pinterest board that came to life. It also happens to be perfect for small groups of friends. Get anything that involves the housemade bread (like the toasts and spreads), plus the pepperoni pizza, and order plenty of their light and hoppy beers.