The 10 best restaurants in Lakeview

This list ranks the 10 best restaurants in Lakeview for residents picking a weeknight dinner and for visitors eating before a Cubs game or a show. Lakeview here means the full Lake View community area covered on the Lakeview and Wrigleyville page: Diversey Parkway north to Irving Park Road, and the lakefront west to the Ravenswood Metra tracks. That takes in Wrigleyville, Boystown (Northalsted), Lakeview East and the Southport Corridor. Roscoe Village, Lincoln Park and Uptown fall outside the line.

The picks favor independent Lakeview restaurants with years on the block, spread across Broadway, Clark, Halsted, Southport, Belmont, Sheffield and Lincoln. Prices run from arepas and buttermilk pancakes to a $40 filet mignon plate and a $41.95 short rib. Three of the ten are BYOB, one takes no cards and one takes no cash.

How we chose

The order follows rules a reader can check. Current Michelin recognition comes first, then other named and dated awards such as the Jean Banchet Awards and the Chicago Reader’s Best of Chicago, and a tie goes to the restaurant with the longer run. Below the award holders, years in business set the order, and the two group-owned restaurants sit after the independents. Each restaurant was confirmed open in October 2026, and most also appear in independent local coverage, from ABC7 and the Chicago Sun-Times to The Infatuation’s August 2026 Lakeview guide. Bars and taverns are left to separate lists.

Hours and prices below come from each business and change without notice. Call ahead if you are making a special trip.

Chilam Balam

Mexican small plates have filled the below-street-level room at Chilam Balam since late 2009, when ABC7 found the Broadway restaurant packed within weeks of opening. Guacamole is $15.50, chile en nogada is $29.95 and the beef short rib is $41.95, with sweet empanadas at $12.95 for dessert. A 2025 Michelin Bib Gourmand and nearly 17 years at one address put Chilam Balam first. Cards are not accepted, so bring cash or Venmo, plus beer, wine or tequila; the BYOB policy bars other spirits.

Hours: Tue-Thu 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; closed Sunday and Monday.

Address: 3023 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• The 2025 Michelin Guide placed the restaurant on Chicago’s Bib Gourmand list, according to a December 2025 Stacker roundup.
• ABC7 reported in December 2009 that the opening chef, Chuy Valencia, had trained under Rick Bayless and that the room seated fewer than 50.
• BYOB is capped at one 750 ml bottle or one pack of beer for every two guests.
• A limited number of reservations are released each day by email request.

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Sochi Saigonese Kitchen

Sochi, the first word of Sochi Saigonese Kitchen, blends the names of owners Son Do and Chinh Pham, high school sweethearts from Saigon who first sold a banana-leaf rice cake under that name. On Belmont the kitchen sends out the Original Egg Roll at $18, Saigon pho with brisket and flank steak at $26, and shaking beef, filet mignon over beef marrow fried rice, at $40. Sochi shares the No. 1 pick’s 2025 Bib Gourmand, and a shorter run on Belmont settles the tie at second. The menu marks the pho as limited quantity, so earlier tables have better odds of getting a bowl.

Hours: Wed-Thu 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Sunday through Tuesday.

Address: 1358 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• The 2022 Jean Banchet Awards named the restaurant Best Heritage Restaurant, according to the restaurant’s site.
• Stacker’s December 2025 roundup of the 2025 Michelin Guide lists the restaurant among Chicago’s Bib Gourmand picks.
• Lemongrass pork spareribs are sold by the rib at $8 each.
• The seared duck salad, with banana blossom, ginger fish sauce dressing and crab chips, is $29.

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The Chicago Diner

Meat-free since 1983, The Chicago Diner was opened on Halsted Street by Mickey Hornick and Jo Kaucher, and the Boystown room still serves dishes from those first menus. The Radical Reuben swaps house-made seitan for corned beef, and brunch runs daily until 3 p.m. Michelin recommended the diner in 2011, 2012 and 2013, and the Chicago Reader’s Best Vegetarian honors span 2009 to 2022; without a current Michelin nod, those awards rank the diner third. Weekday visitors after 6 p.m. can use the free parking area on the north side of the building. More meat-free picks are in the vegetarian and vegan dining guide.

Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat-Sun 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Address: 3411 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Vegetarian Times named the Radical Reuben best in the Midwest in 2008.
• Parties larger than five pay an automatic 20% gratuity.
• An online waitlist on the diner’s website lets guests hold a spot before arriving.

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Golden Apple Grille and Breakfast House

Open around the clock on Lincoln Avenue, Golden Apple Grille and Breakfast House dates to 1970, according to the restaurant’s site, which says Greek immigrants bought the diner from a franchise chain during the 1970s. Greek plates share the long menu with pancakes, so char-broiled Greek chicken with rice pilaf and gyros sit next to short stacks and pigs in a blanket. The Infatuation reviewed Golden Apple in March 2026 and singled out the crispy waffles. With no awards on record, 56 years in business lead the remaining picks and put the diner fourth. Pickup orders go through (773) 528-1413.

Hours: Open 24 hours daily.

Address: 2971 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Greek American owners with Chicago restaurant experience bought the diner in the late 1990s, according to the restaurant’s site.
• Public radio’s This American Life followed one full day inside the diner, from 5 a.m. to 5 a.m., for an episode called 24 Hours at the Golden Apple.
• The Infatuation includes the diner in a guide to Chicago’s greatest diners, ordered from oldest to newest.
• Wine, beer, mimosas and Bloody Marys are served with the food.

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Tango Sur

Argentine steaks come off the grill at Tango Sur on the Wrigleyville end of Southport Avenue. Start with empanadas or provoleta, grilled provolone with olive oil and roasted pepper, then move to El Filet with red onion wine sauce and spinach mashed potatoes. The Infatuation put most steaks under $30 in a 2022 review, and the restaurant is still on The Infatuation’s August 2026 Lakeview guide. NBC Chicago was recommending Tango Sur in 2008, and that documented run places the steakhouse fifth. The restaurant is BYOB, so pack a bottle of red.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 3763 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60613

Why they made the list

• NBC Chicago picked the restaurant as a BYOB of the Week in December 2008.
• The Para Dos platter for two adds flap meat to the short ribs, sausage, sweetbreads and blood sausage of the single-serving Para Uno.
• Empanada fillings include chicken, beef, ham and cheese, and spinach and cheese.
• A 12-ounce pork chop comes with shiitake mushrooms, marsala wine sauce and potatoes.

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The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen

In March 2017 the Chicago Sun-Times reported that The Gundis Kurdish Kitchen on Clark Street was the city’s first Kurdish restaurant. Mehmet Duzgun and Mehmet Yavuz, the co-owners at opening, both come from Nusaybin, near Turkey’s border with Syria, and gundis is Kurdish for villagers. Order the sampler of hummus, baba ganoush and ezme with house-baked bread, then Adana kebab or the Mardin eggplant stew. More than nine years on Clark rank The Gundis sixth. Weekend doors open at 9 a.m. for a Kurdish breakfast platter, and the last table is seated 45 minutes before closing.

Hours: Wed-Fri 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Monday and Tuesday.

Address: 2909-11 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Executive chef Juan Gonzalez, Yavuz’s father-in-law, had nearly 30 years in kitchens in Southern California and Mexico when the Sun-Times profiled the restaurant in 2017.
• Mehmet Yavuz, one of the founders, works as sous chef, according to the restaurant’s site.
• Card payments carry a 3% surcharge.
• OpenTable puts a typical check at $31 to $50 per person.

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Bolivar & Lincoln

Three Venezuelan brothers opened Bolivar & Lincoln on Sheffield Avenue in 2019, and arepas make up most of the menu. The Pabellón stacks shredded beef, black beans, plantains and white cheese; the Blondie pairs shredded chicken with Gouda; the Cowboy carries NY strip, tomato and avocado. Cachapas, sweet corn pancakes stuffed with Venezuelan cheese, come with beef, chicken or pork. Seven years on Sheffield rank the cafe seventh. Ask for extra napkins, as The Infatuation advises, because the stuffed arepas get messy.

Hours: Check current hours before you go.

Address: 3349 N Sheffield Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• The Infatuation lists the cafe as BYOB.
• NBC Chicago featured the restaurant in a September 2023 story on arepas, according to the restaurant’s site.
• The Parrilla plate combines grilled NY strip, marinated chicken and Polish sausage with salad and fries.
• Seating is limited in the small room, per The Infatuation’s 2022 review.

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Kubo

Martinis and Filipino cooking share the bill at Kubo on Belmont Avenue, run by business partners Christine and Cemal. Christine opened her first restaurant, in North Park, in March 2013, and Cemal is a mixologist who started out at a hotel in Turkey. Pork ribs adobo and lechon kawali are $26 each, as is the kansi soup, beef shank in a tamarind broth, while lumpia cost $11. Kubo’s documented run starts with The Infatuation’s April 2022 review, the shortest record among the independents here, so the restaurant ranks eighth. Bring a card; Kubo takes no cash.

Hours: Mon 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; closed Tuesday; Wed-Thu 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.; Sat noon to 9:30 p.m.; Sun noon to 9 p.m.

Address: 1232 W Belmont Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• A kamayan feast served family style costs $59 a person and needs at least four guests and two days’ notice.
• The name comes from bahay kubo, the traditional Filipino nipa hut built from nipa leaves and split bamboo.
• The Infatuation counted 20 martinis on the bar list in 2022.
• The restaurant was still on The Infatuation’s Lakeview guide when the guide was updated on August 11, 2026.

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Mia Francesca

Scott Harris is owner and co-founder of the restaurant group that began with Mia Francesca on Clark Street in 1992, and the group’s site now lists 14 restaurants from Lake Forest to Palos Park. The dinner menu includes pollo arrosto alla Romana and Nonna’s meatballs, with tiramisu to finish. Thirty-four years on Clark would put the restaurant near the top on longevity, but group ownership moves Mia Francesca to ninth, behind the independents. Families have an easy option: spaghetti and meatball is $9.95 on the children’s menu.

Hours: Mon-Thu 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Fri-Sat 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Sun 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Address: 3311 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• Children’s entrées such as roasted salmon or grilled chicken breast cost $10.95 with a side.
• Tables can be reserved through an online form on the restaurant’s location page.
• The location page posts a happy hour menu along with the dinner, dessert and drinks menus.

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Itoko

Chef Gene Kato opened Itoko on Southport Avenue on March 1, 2023, and the name, Japanese for cousin, nods to his Fulton Market restaurants. Sushi and temaki hand rolls on crisp seaweed share the menu with robata skewers such as negima chicken thigh and beef tsukune sliders, and a three-course Southport set is $35 at dinner. Group ownership and the newest opening date on this list place Itoko 10th under the ranking rules, behind every independent. Happy hour starts at 4:30 p.m. and is dine-in only.

Hours: Dinner Sun-Wed 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thu-Sat 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Lunch Fri 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Brunch Sat-Sun 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Address: 3325 N Southport Ave, Chicago, IL 60657

Why they made the list

• The 2023 opening menu included a chirashi don with Kaluga caviar plus foie gras and pork gyoza, Chicago Food Magazine reported.
• Weekend brunch has a two-course Southport set for $25.
• Reservations are available online or by phone at (773) 819-7672.
• Kato is also executive chef of a Fulton Market Japanese restaurant, according to the restaurant’s site.

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