Tapas in Chicago - lots of fun
 

Tapas
[TAH-pahs]
Popular throughout Spain in bars and restaurants, tapas are appetizers that usually accompany sherry or other aperitifs or cocktails. They can also form an entire meal and can range from simple items such as olives or cubes of ham and cheese to more elaborate preparations like cold omelets, snails in a spicy sauce, stuffed peppers and miniature sandwiches.

Most tapas served now is more involved, think mini servings almost. There are both hot & cold tapas, make sure to try both.

There are some menus for tapas listed on all the websites below to give you an idea of what to expect.

Tapas is lots of fun as you get to try a great variety of dishes, deciding as a group what to get next, and served with the sangria is ooooooohhhhhh so good.

A few tapas restaurants in Chicago I’ve been to are:

Emilio’s Tapas - has various locations, I have only dined at the Ohio street location and thought is was very good, as was the sangria. http://www.emiliostapas.com/

Café Ba-Ba-Reeba 2024 N. Halsted Street - http://www.leye.com/restaurants/rest_home.jsp?id=5


Café-Ba-Ba-Reeba was good, Emilio’s was very good, and my favorite would be Café Iberico at 739 N. LaSalle. http://www.cafe-iberico.com/

indo79 reviewed Café Iberico: http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...ML/000100.html

Anyone been to others in Chicago?

From Zagat online:

Artista Ba-Ba-Reeba!: Picasso Tapas and Wine Dinner: Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! hosts a six-course tapas wine dinner paired with a slide-show presentation of Picasso's work narrated by curator Claire Kunny of the Art Institute of Chicago (May 20, 7 PM; $40 inclusive; reservations are required; tickets are available at www.cafebabareeba.com or at the door).

Thanks for the heads-up...what do you like most about Cafe Iberico? I haven't been to any of these places but I love tapas/Spanish wine and would like to try one of these places on my next trip to Chi.

Cafe Iberico has the best croquetas. It is a very reasonably priced restaurant.

Less splash, more substance. Not to take anything away from Emilio's, I feel that Cafe Iberico is more rustic/real.

Thanks Willie...I'll try Iberico on my next trip.

I've been to Café Iberico a couple of times. Tapas are pretty good there. The place can be very noisy and packed in the evenings though... Not suitable for an intimate occasion, but great fun in a group (getting drunk...)

There's a really good tapas restaurant in Evanston as well, right on Chicago Ave. The place is called Tapas Barcelona.

My fav is Cafe Iberico, though. Weekend evenings do get really busy by 6pm. In case you're wondering, they do not take reservations for weekend evening.

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Jimmy

Saw this tapas restaurant advertised:

1492 Tapas Bar
42 East Superior
312.867.1492

“four floors of Spanish hospitality in the Gold Coast”

Live Flamenco Music and Dance Performaces on the weekends.

sounds expensive...flamenco music is a nice touch though. going to check it out?

I walked past this place when I was on my way to Iberico and touring Superior Place last weekend. Didn't stop to see the menu but the place was in one of those vintage 2-3 story homes and look pretty deserted.

I noticed their frequent advertisements in the Tribune though.

Arco de cuchilleros around Wrigleyville serves good tapas. However, my favorite is still Cafe Iberico. It truly feels like Spain inside...

Another http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...m/thumbsup.gif for Cafe Iberico.

Having lived in Spain for many years, Cafe Iberico is by far the most authentic in the city. As for the noise, that makes it all the more authentic for me. They also have a deli that you can take out some of the great food including sausages and cheeses to be enjoyed later at home.

Arco de Cuchilleros should be avoided, in my opinion. Cafe Babareeba is very Americanized. The two times I have been there, I could not find someone who could even understand Spanish to take our order.

Has anyone dined here and ordered Cava (sparkling Spanish wine - not Champagne) from the wine list? Do they even have Cava? I looked at the list on the restaurant's web site and didn't find any. I like Cava with tapas, but I could be very happy with a nice Rioja. http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...orum/smile.gif

mmmm Cafe Iberico!

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When once you have experienced being a 1K, you will forever fly the friendly skies with your eyes set on 100% mileage bonus and SWUs, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return, every year!

Haha....isn't that the truth.

Yep, by far..Iberico is VERY authentic...this coming from a Spaniard. The decor, the interior smell, the menus...everything. Emilio's in Hillside, while more American feeling inside, has a very Spanish flavor to its comida! http://www.flyertalk.com/dining/ftdi...um/biggrin.gif

When my friends from Spain lived in Evanston to go to graduate school, the only Spanish place they would go to was Cafe Iberico. I like it better than the others, but I find that it is not as strong on varieies of non-seafood dishes.

just another post in support of cafe iberico! not only is it the best, it is also the cheapest!

however, i feel that their paella (sp?) could be better ...

We visited Cafe' Iberico last weekend. GREAT place. Yes it can get busy, but you can always walk around a bit downtown if the wait is too long. I agree with ORD Finn that it is not a good place for an intimate occasion, but if you ever have been in Spain you would know that this is authentic. Spainards would not be likely to go and get tapas for an intimate occasion. Prices are very reasonable, the atmosphere is fun.

We also love a tapas place in GRR where we live. The funny thing we have found is that in general, the places that do tapas well in the US seem to be better quality than the average tapas bar in Spain. I think in Spain tapas are probably more considered "fast food" where in the States, being a little more "exotic", more care is taken in their preparation. Please don't take this wrong, we had some very good Tapas in Spain, but the average seemed a bit less quality than the States. Can someone corroborate this, or have we just been really lucky to find good tapas places in the US?

It's so much better than Tapas Barcelona in Evanston. If your friends lived in Evanston and came to Chicago just to go to Iberico, you better believe it's good!


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When once you have experienced being a 1K, you will forever fly the friendly skies with your eyes set on 100% mileage bonus and SWUs, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return, every year!

This was about 10 years ago when Iberico had first opened and only had the space to the right of the bar. Tapas Barcelona wasn't open then. That reminds me that I need to try them the next time I'm in Evanston for dinner - last time we tried to get in there the wait was too long.

December 16: Sample 30-plus Spanish wines, sherries and brandies with passed tapas and a paella station at Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!'s Holiday Bodega (5-7:30 PM; $25; 773-935-5000).

from Zagat.com

Coming Soon: Sangria Café: A Nuevo Latino tapas outpost in the Clybourn corridor (901 W. Weed St.).

from Zagat.com

We ate there end of September and really enjoyed it. We shared 2 or 3 tapas, then SO had paella while I had 2 more tapas for dinner. Shared the signature dessert which is dedicated to the employees of Windows to the World which was the restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center (hope I got the name right). Oh yes, also had lots and lots of sangria!

January 20: Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! hosts a six-course tapas dinner paired with wines, followed by a presentation on the artist El Greco by curator Dan Barber of the Art Institute of Chicago (7 PM; $40; 773-935-5000).

make your dining experience cheaper, just saw that discount certs were available for all Emilio's locations (suburbs as well) at http://www.restaurant.com

Sign up for the birthday club at Sangria and get $25 worth of free tapas on your birthday.

Was just at Cafe Iberico the other night, I can see how some might say that the quality has slipped as there were some dishes that were just ok, but most were still wonderful, & let that Sangria pour !! ^ !!

Write ups from Crain's for 1492 and Cafe Iberico

1492 Tapas Bar
42 E. Superior St.
(312) 867-1492
Price range at lunch, $4.92-$21.92

This attractive restaurant provides a lovely setting for a business lunch: The dining room is painted a creamy yellow, it's softly lit, tables are covered in linen and service is mostly excellent. It's housed in an old Victorian townhouse — a little spooky on the outside, but inside it's warm, welcoming and clean.

Start with the jamon serrano plate ($8.92): In a nice twist, the toast that accompanies the ham and cheese is topped with a sun-dried tomato. Another winner, the queso de cabra (also $8.92) — goat cheese melted in a tomato sauce — is made by the book and with excellent ingredients. Beef tenderloin ($9.92) is sliced thin and served on toast with sun-dried tomatoes and manchego cheese. Pimiento rellenos ($8.92) are soft red peppers stuffed with a seafood mash, a feast for the eyes and very filling. Grilled squid ($6.92) is tender, but its broth didn't please. Ditto the Sevilla salad ($10.92), its greens soggy and its dressing too sharp. The flan ($5.92) is more cake-like than a typical custard, but still serves as a wonderfully sweet endnote.

Diners accustomed to tapas-sized portions — servings the size of an appetizer — should beware: Many here are oversized. We had too much food for two.

We were one of only three tables occupied on a recent weekday. The gracious, attentive service, quality food and just-off-Michigan Avenue location makes 1492 deserving of a crowd.

Cafe Iberico
739 N. LaSalle St.
(312) 573-1510
Price range at lunch, $3-$12.95

This vast place comes to life at night: It's noisy and filled with young and old professionals catching a good and not-too-expensive meal of tapas and paella while sharing a pitcher of sangria. Daytime is different, and it's then you see that the bar area is a bit grungy (though it's a quiet place for solo diners to catch a meal, much as in Spain) and the main dining room oddly lit. Though not full, Iberico certainly attracts a noontime crowd, mostly long tables filled with co-workers and families. I brought a bunch of teenagers who had the day off from school. One had traveled in Spain, but the others were new to the cuisine. We all enjoyed the hubbub of passing, sharing and comparing the tapas and paella and had a wonderful meal.
TOP TABLE
1492 Tapas Bar is a better choice for a quiet business lunch, but we preferred the fare worth fighting over and festive atmosphere at Cafe Iberico, which reminded us of Spain and of another top tapas restaurant in Chicago, Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba (2024 N. Halsted St.), open only at night during the week.
Cold tapas arrived in a flash and the lunchtime paella (ready in half the usual 45 minutes) was a pleasing mix of rice, chicken, fava beans and thin yellow beans, surprisingly good for a "quickie" paella ($7.95). We tussled over certain hot tapas: the tender grilled salmon in green peppercorn sauce ($6.25), beef tenderloin skewers set on caramelized onions ($5.50) and the queso de cabra with herbed toast. Our favorite was the jamon Iberico ($5.75), a platter of razor-thin ham, manchego cheese slices and toast topped with chopped tomato. Piled together, it's one of life's great taste treats: salty and cooling with a crunch.

Desserts are freshly made and very good. Flan ($3.25) has the appropriate jiggle, and we left not a bite of two specials, a chocolate-filled sponge cake and a chocolate-filled crepe ($3.95 each).

Our server was competent but a little rushed. She smiled and lingered only once, to help us correctly pronounce certain Spanish words.

Getting stuff to go from the back deli at Iberico is something to consider too! Lots of wonderful stuff there and good for snacking, avoiding the crowds, smoke, etc.

Despite the earlier comment, I recommend giving Tapas Barcelona in Evanston a try. I've eaten both there and Iberico many times, and I've found the food quality and freshness at Barcelona to be much more consistent. YMMV, right?

I led the way for a group of 5 FTers to dinner at 1492 a few weeks ago. Still my favorite tapas place in Chicago :)

Too tired (or hung-over?) to get dressed on New Year's Day? CAFE BA-BA-REEBA doesn't care. The Lincoln Park restaurant gives guests who dine in their pajamas on New Year's Day a voucher in the dollar amount of their meal for use later in 2006 as part of its ANNUAL PAJAMA PARTY LUNCH. Libations include Cava cocktails and a build-your-own bloody Mary bar. Jan. 1, 2006 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., reservations required. 2024 N. Halsted St., 773-935-5000, http://www.cafebabareeba.com

Meson Sabika in Naperville
 

If anyone spends anytime in the western 'burbs, Meson Sabika in Naperville is quite good. It's a beautiful setting too - in a huge white mansion. Food is much better than Ba Ba Reeba - I haven't been to Iberico, so I can't compare.

If you want to go to Meson Sabika, reservations are needed for the weekend evenings.