The best restaurants in Hyde Park, Chicago

You can practically feel the soul oozing from the menu at this Hyde Park restaurant. It's because chef Erick Williams cooks with his heart, whether he's plating fried green tomatoes with tender shrimp and creamy rémoulade or he's fixing his famous collards, which arrive studded with hunks of smoked turkey meat. Second only to the food is the ambiance, which is sexy without trying too hard—perfect for a cozy date night.

Taking over for her late father Eddy Cheung, who also co-founded Chinatown mainstay Phoenix Restaurant, Carol Cheung delivers a marvelous lineup of aquatic treasures at this Hyde Park spot. Though you’ll find Peking duck, egg foo young and orange beef on offer, the real stars of the show are the lobster and Dungeness crab, which can be prepared in a variety of ways. We recommend the typhoon shelter-style—tossed with chilis, dried fish and garlic chips and piled high on the plate. It’s a delicious sight to behold.

Quick thinking is the key to success at this classic cafeteria: Once the line reaches the counter, you have only a few seconds to place your order, pick a side, order a drink and pay. For breakfast, we like the generous stack of French toast with a side of poached eggs. For lunch, it’s the baked chicken, so sumptuous that the meat falls off the bone. There’s always the question of whether to eat the sweet, cakey biscuits with your meal or save them for dessert; either way, make your choice the first time around. Otherwise, it’s back to the line.

James Beard Award winner Erick Williams looks to the Big Easy for inspiration at his second project in Hyde Park. Not to be confused with pasta palace Daisies, this vibrant restaurant is where Chicagoans can go to devour delicious sandwiches while watching their favorite teams on big screens. Get your po’ boy with proteins like roast beef, fried shrimp, catfish and even alligator. Other highlights include a muffuletta with a Chicago twist—olive giardiniera—and impeccable pieces of fried chicken. The drink menu stays on theme with sazeracs, Ramos gin fizzes and frozen hurricanes.

Owner Nella Grassano is a professionally trained pizzaiola, which essentially means that she's a bonafide pizza expert (talk about a dream job). Grassano and her husband, Francesco, use this training to crank out pristine Neapolitan pies at their Hyde Park restaurant. Go classic with the stripped-down Nella D.O.P., with mozzarella, tomatoes and basil—or turn things up a notch with the Pescatore, a pie loaded with calamari, shrimp, mussels and clams.

When you see the food coming out of the kitchen, the name of this Hyde Park restaurant makes perfect sense. The "flexitarian" menu puts plant-based products on a pedestal, forging a delectable path ahead for those who are transitioning to a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle. The loaded Philly cheesesteak and the meatless Chicago dog might distract you, but you're here for the "Who Betta" burger, which finds a quarter-pound Impossible patty dressed up with fresh greens, tomato, pickles, grilled red onions, Epitome sauce and cheese (go vegan or dairy).

Located near the University of Chicago, this breezy diner keeps hungry students and Hyde Park residents fueled up with a selection of Southern fare from Lillie’s Q chef Charlie McKenna. Drop in morning, day or night for comforting classics like biscuits and gravy, shrimp and grits, fried catfish and chicken fried steak. It’s counter-service so those in a rush needn’t worry about running late. If you do have some time to kill, though, Roux also offers a small list of alcoholic beverages.

Hogsalt’s offshoot of acclaimed burger haven Au Cheval has an outpost in Hyde Park. Though this isn’t the exact same burger as the West Loop flagship (it’s a little smaller and cheaper), you won’t have to wait two hours in line. You can add bacon (it’s thinner than at Au Cheval), and lettuce and tomato, even though the burger doesn’t need them. The super-thin patties themselves don’t add much flavor, but the perfectly melted cheese, Dijon, onion, pickles and puffy bun add up to a delicious combination.

Former food truck chefs Amy Le and John Keebler blend their childhood food memories at this Asian-Latin fusion restaurant, which has an outpost in Hyde Park. Chow on imaginative dishes like the chorizo egg rolls, which are stuffed with chihuahua cheese and served with jalapeno aioli. No order is complete without a few Bacos (a.k.a. bao tacos): Choose from flavors like guajillo pork, panang curry chicken and soy-ginger tofu.

Former Gioco vet Gaetano Ascione opened this Hyde Park bistro in 2019, bringing an authentic taste of Italy to the neighborhood. Start with an order of meatballs and burrata before digging into handmade pastas and gnocchi offered in various preparations. For mains, you can’t beat the bistecca alla fiorentina, but the ossobuco is a close second. The weekend brunch program is also solid, and the patio is one of the best local spots to dine al fresco.

Light and loveliness abound at this U. of C.-adjacent spot, courtesy of a southerly wall of windows that offers diners a profile view of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Robie House. Inside, rows of diminutive drawers, taxidermied birds beneath glass domes and a dramatically coiled cold brew drip tower impart a cabinet of curiosities vibe that’s balanced by a fresh white palette and minimalist furnishings. The menu features hale and hearty items like grain bowls and a tartine of tangy sourdough wheat dressed with spinach pesto, crunchy pepitas and a pile of balsamic-laced roasted root vegetables. On the downside, seats can be tough to come by, making us wish someone would clue in the patrons hunkered down over laptops while nursing the dregs of a coffee during the lunch rush.

Bring a Sharpie and an appetite for burgers and pan pizza when you hit this University of Chicago hangout. Patrons have left poetry and political rants on the Med’s booths since it opened in 1963. Among the surprisingly good takes on typical student fare are specialty burgers and shakes, as well as great salads. Go for the simple but classic Ensalata Kimba—blue cheese, apples, red peppers and pecans over crisp romaine. The restaurant also serves freshly baked pastries from its sister bakery next door.

Cedars’ falafel, hummus, lentil soup—pretty much everything that goes with its delicious, warm pita bread—have us hooked. We could fill up just on starters here, but should you venture into the entrées, which include options like chicken shawarma, harissa-glazed wings and lamb barbacoa tacos.

The lights are low and the Caribbean beats bopping at this Jamaican spot in Harper Court. Chicken, shrimp and pork are among the host of proteins given a smoky jerk treatment here. Perhaps most memorable, though, are the slow-cooked dishes like oxtail stew and goat curry, which transform modest cuts and humble root vegetables into pure warming and hearty comfort. On the cocktail front, the Ja’ Rum Punch—a potent mix of white, dark and coconut rums brightened with fruit juice—is a customer favorite.

So maybe this Middle Eastern stalwart isn’t much to look at. But does that stop students, professors, townies and anybody else from packing the place? No. And here’s why: The falafel is fried crisp, the hummus is pureed smooth, and the shawarma is sliced thin. It’s all dropped off at your table with almost alarming speed, which makes it maybe not the best place for a romantic, lingering dinner. But this is U. of C. territory—who has time for romance when there’s Heidegger to read?

This petite, cafeteria-style spot wins top honors in the odd bedfellows department: Beneath the sneeze guard, trays of Indian curries mingle with comfort classics of the American South. (The latter items, along with the name, are holdovers from the restaurant’s previous incarnation as a straightforward Southern spot; when ownership changed hands in the early 90s, some things remained the same.) To our tastes, the Indian dishes—like chana masala and butter chicken—lack complexity. But the cornbread muffins are moist and buttery, and the fried chicken batter has a nice crunch and a tasty black pepper kick. It may not be fare fit for a Mughal emperor, but with generous combo dinners, it’s certainly sufficient to satisfy hungry students. There are just a few tables here, so it’s best to plan to take your meal to go.

You’d be well advised to pay attention to this restaurant’s logo, which claims that Uncle Joe’s specializes in jerk chicken. That’s not to say the impossibly tender curried goat or smoky oxtail should be skipped over, just that the peppery jerk chicken is not to be missed. Tasty side orders, such as rice and peas and creamy mac and cheese, disappear early in the evening, as does the caramel cake, so get there early. The reggae floating through the air of the small dining room seems to mellow out most of the crowd.

It makes perfect sense that this Greek diner should be on U. of C. territory—the interior has that dark, woodsy look of a professor’s office, and servers exhibit all the sensitivity and friendliness of disgruntled college cafeteria workers. For some, that’s half of what makes this place so charming. The other half comes in the form of housemade soups, like the sprightly egg-lemon, the juicy burgers and—especially—the sandwich dubbed Nick’s Delight, which crams not just gyro meat into a pita, but thin layers of roast beef as well.