A guide to the restaurants of the South Loop Chicago. This neighborhood is directly south of the Loop, Chicago’s busy downtown area, is home to Museum Campus, Soldier Field, and McCormick Place.
Due to this neighborhood’s proximity to Soldier Field, many of the restaurants in the South Loop are casual gastropubs where people can get a bite before a game or concert.
Last updated: March 2022
Restaurants in the South Loop:
We have indicated which restaurants serve breakfast/brunch and/or lunch in addition to dinner.
Apolonia
Global, Mediterranean
A airy sunlit restaurant that serves beautifully uncomplicated yet sophisticated meals like housemade pasta with roasted eggplant and sausage, grilled branzino with marinated olives, and chicken “saltimbocca” with fontina polenta.
Grant Park Bistro
American, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch
Located just across from the south end of Grant Park, this bistro serves casual American fare like burgers, sandwiches, steak, and pork chops. The restaurant is open all day and serves three meals a day every day. The breakfast menu is inspired by the Midwest.
Half Sour
American, Kid-friendly, Lunch
A casual restaurant serving bagels, soups, salads, sandwiches, and a few entrees. Lunch and dinner is served daily, brunch is also served on weekends. Check Half Sour’s instagram to see specials that include creative dishes like macaroni and cheese sandwiches.
First Draft
Gastropub, Lunch
A gastropub with lots of tvs and 64 beers on tap. Food is served from 11 am until 11 pm. The menu has sharable snacks like pizza bread, pretzel bites, chicken wings, and cheese curds, plus sandwiches and burgers. Brunch is served on weekends and bottomless mimosas are $25 (2-hour limit).
Thai Spoon and Sushi
Thai, Sushi, Japanese, Asian, Lunch
Thai Spoon and Sushi serves a large menu that includes both Thai and Japanese food. Thai dishes include curries, fried rice, and noodle dishes like pad Thai and pad see ew. Sushi, maki, nigiri, and sashimi are all on the Japanese menu. A variety of vegetarian sushi is offered.
Shang Noodle & Asian Small Plates
Chinese, Japanese, Asian, Breakfast, Lunch
Located within the Hilton Homewood Suites, Shang Noodle serves three meals a day and is known for their noodles which are freshly prepared in house. The menu has a mix of dim sum, noodle soups, maki, nigiri, and sashimi plus Peking duck.
The Chicago Firehouse
American
This firehouse turned restaurant suffered a devastating fire in 2014, was fully restored, and reopened in 2017. The restaurant has the look of a steakhouse and serves prime steaks plus fish and bar favorites like burgers, meatloaf, and short ribs. A spacious patio offers outdoor dining. There are also several spaces for private dining and events. This is one of the more formal restaurants in the South Loop.
Sumi Sushi
Japanese, Sushi, Asian, Lunch
This restaurant specializes in fresh sushi but also serves ramen, udon, and hibachi dishes.
Taco Maya
Mexican, Lunch, Vegetarian, Kid-friendly
A restaurants serving tacos, burritos, enchiladas, fajitas, tortas, and margaritas in a casual environment. The menu includes a good number of vegetarian options.
Aurelio’s Pizza
Pizza, Italian, Lunch, Kid-friendly
Aurelio’s has several Illinois locations and has been serving pizza and other Italian classics since 1959. Both thin crust and stuffed pizzas are available with the option to order from the menu or create your own.
Eleven City Diner
American, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch, Kid-friendly
Breakfast is served all day at this diner, and the menu has all the classic egg dishes and omelettes, plus pancakes, waffles, and French toast. Eleven City Diner also serves sandwiches piled high with deli meat.
Flo & Santos
Italian, Polish, Lunch, Kid-friendly
Flo & Santos serves a mix of classic Italian and Polish cuisine and American pub food. This spot is known for being the place to get pizza and pierogi. A large patio is open during the warm months.
Tapas Valencia
Spanish
Tapas Valencia serves tapas, paella, and sangria. The menu emphasizes seafood and paella is available with scallops, shrimp, or lobster.
Lowcountry
American, Cajun, Seafood
A seafood boil restaurant known for serving cajun seafood in bags with seasoning. It’s a messy meal, so dress accordingly. The seafood boil meals have shrimp, snow crab, vegetables, and cornbread. Some fried dishes like shrimp, chicken, and calamari are also available.
Umai
Japanese, Sushi, Lunch
This rustic welcoming Japanese restaurant has a huge menu of sushi, nigiri, sashimi, and cooked dishes like udon, ramen, and rice dishes.
Il Culaccino
Italian, Lunch
An Italian restaurant with a menu featuring over a dozen different pastas and classic entrees like chicken marsala, veal limone, and chicken Milanese. A variety of sandwiches are available at lunchtime.
Chicago Curry House
Indian, Nepalese
You can find Indian chicken tikka masala, chicken korma, lamb vindaloo, butter chicken and Nepalese momo, dal bhaat, and gundruk on the menu at Chicago Curry House.
Niu B
Asian, Japanese, Sushi
A restaurant serving contemporary Japanese and Pan-Asian cuisine. Niu B’s menu has a wonderful variety of sushi, maki, nigiri, and sashimi, and cooked noodle and rice dishes.
Art of Pizza
Pizza, Italian, Lunch
Art of Pizza’s deep dish was named the best in Chicago by The Chicago Tribune. The pizzeria offers both pizza by the slice and full pies. Thin crust, pan pizza, and stuffed pizzas are available, plus several salads, sandwiches, and classic Italian entrees. Art of Pizza’s original location is in Lakeview.
Siam Rice
Thai, Lunch
Siam Rice serves traditional Thai food including pad plik, nard na, pad see eew, pad Thai, and panang curry in a modern casual space.
Little Branch Cafe
American, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch
Located near Museum Campus and Soldier Field, Little Branch Cafe serves breakfast and lunch daily, they are not open for dinner. The menu has omelets, burgers salads, and paninis.
Sociale Chicago
American, Lunch
Sociale serves a variety of small plate starters like charred octopus, crispy polenta fries, and crab cakes plus sandwiches, flatbreads, and meat mains. The cuisine is American with Mediterranean influences.
The Spoke & Bird
American, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch
This cafe is open from 7 am until 7pm on weekdays and from 7 am until 5 pm on weekends. Breakfasts like overnight oats, biscuits & gravy, and French toast are served all day. The menu also has soups, salads, and sandwiches. Burger night is on Friday night.
Victory Tap
Italian
A casual restaurant serving Chicago style Italian cuisine including housemade pastas like spaghetti with meatballs, linguine with clam sauce, stuffed shells, and lasagna. Meat entrees include chicken Giambotta, chicken parmesan, and prime steak velasco.
Weather Mark Tavern
American, Gastropub, Kid-friendly
A nautical themed gastropub that is just a short walk from Soldier Field and McCormick Place. The menu has lots of sharable snacks like wings, cheese curds, dips, and pretzel bites plus salads, burgers, sandwiches, and thin crust pizzas.
Kai Sushi
Sushi, Japanese, Asian
The menu at this restaurant has a wide variety of sushi, sashimi, and maki plus udon soup and some appetizers.
Root’s Pizza
Pizza, Kid-friendly
Roots serves up Quad Cities style pizza, and this location as a beautiful rooftop with a glass ceiling. Roots often collaborates with other restaurants to bring things like Korean Fried Chicken Pizza and Butter Chicken Pizza to the menu. They have a long list of salad options too.
White Palace Grill
Diner, American, Breakfast/Brunch, Lunch
A diner open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year that was featured on Diners, Drive Ins & Dives. Comfort food is the theme of the menu with items like biscuits & gravy, chicken & waffles, burgers, meat loaf, and Philly cheese steaks on the menu. A large breakfast menu is served all day too.
Reggies
Bar
A bar known for live rock music that serves bar eats like wings, fried pickles, burgers, and sandwiches. Reggies’ calendar is packed with music and food events. They host all you can eat tailgate buffets before Bears and White Sox games and there is a bus to take you to the stadiums.
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