Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!

Description:

• One of the city's first tapas restaurants, Café Ba-Ba-Reeba! is still going strong, thanks to its location on bustling Halsted Street, near the Armitage Avenue shopping strip. The clientele tends to be young and comes to the restaurant in groups, so be prepared: Loud conversations and tipsy toasts over pitchers of sangria may surround you.

  Café Ba-Ba-Reeba! isn't breaking any new ground with its menu, but tapas lovers will see plenty of favorites, including garlic potato salad, roasted eggplant salad with goat cheese, beef and chicken empanadas, and roasted dates wrapped in bacon (which have been a popular menu item for years). The menu has also been updated with miniversions of more upscale fare, including a spicy devil's lobster tail dish, a cured pork lomo with frisee salad, and a flavorful plate of seared Spanish sausages. Some dishes are available in both tapas and full-portion size, and there's a range of paellas for those who don't want to go the tapas route. The vibrantly decorated cafe makes an excellent, efficient choice for pre- or post-theater dining if you're headed to Steppenwolf Theatre, a few blocks south, for a play.

• © Frommer's 2012

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010