Local Eateries
Chicago is a great city for those to love to eat, filled with world-class restaurants of all types. Some great resources for finding restaurants:
Yelp.com: Users can rate and review restaurants (and other services) in the city. Search by food type, neighborhood, or restaurant name.
Urbanspoon.com: Similar to yelp.com, users rate and review restaurants in Chicago.
DNAinfo.com: Chicago information, local news and public interest stories.
Please remember that tipping your server is expected. 15-20% of your bill is customary, though if your service was bad, a 10% is a way to indicate your displeasure. You can leave cash, or add your tip to your credit card. In bars, $1 per drink is customary.
Note: if your tip says “gratuity included” that means the tip has already been added in, and you do not need to add any further tip. This is usually done for large groups, though sometimes gratuity is routinely added in high-traffic tourist areas.
Food at the Zoo
| Food at the Zoo | Description |
|---|---|
| Park Place Café | The indoor café for everyone! Choose from Mexican, Italian, burgers, sandwiches and ice cream. |
| Eadie Levy’s Landmark Café | Grab a classic Chicago-style hot dog, iced slushy or beer. |
Quick Lunch Spots
| Quick Lunch Spots | Cuisine | Distance from Zoo |
|---|---|---|
| Subway | Sandwiches | 0.1 mi/ 0.16 km |
| Dog Joint | Hot Dogs | 0.1 mi/ 0.16 km |
| Sedgwick’s Bar & Grill | American | 0.2 mi/ 0.32 km |
| Stanley’s Kitchen & Tap | American | 0.2 mi/ 0.32 km |
| Sai Mai | Thai | 0.1 mi/ 0.16 km |
| Starbucks | Coffee & light food | 0.1 mi/ 0.16 km |
Other Restaurants Near the Zoo
| Other Restaurants Near the Zoo | Cuisine | Website | Distance from zoo | Directions/bus (starting at LPZ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elly's Pancake House | All-day breakfast | ellyspancakehouse.com | 0.8 mi/ 1.3 km | Bus: #22 towards Harrison |
| Orange | Brunch/lunch | orangerestaurantchicago.com | 0.4 mi/ 0.6 km | Walk, or take #22 towards Howard, or #36 towards Devon/Clark |
| Standard Market Grill | Bar/restaurant | www.standardmarketgrill.com | 0.5 mi/ 0.8 km | Walk, or take #22 towards Howard, or #36 towards Devon/Clark |
| RJ Grunts | American style restaurant | www.rjgruntschicago.com | 0.2 mi/ 0.3 km | Walk to corner of Dickens and N Lincoln Park West |
| The J Parker | Rooftop bar and restaurant with stunning views | www.jparkerchicago.com | 0.5 mi/ 0.8 km | Walk or Bus: #151 towards Union Station, or #22 towards Howard, or #36 towards LaSalle |
| Mon Ami Gabi | French bistro | www.monamigabi.com | 0.2 mi/ 0.3 km | Walk to the corner of Belden and N Lincoln Park West |
| Green Tea Japanese Restaurant | Sushi and Japanese fare | 0.3 mi/0.5 km | Walk to the corner of Clark and Webster | |
| Riccoardo Enoteca | Italian and wine bar | riccardoenoteca.com | 0.2 mi/ 0.3 km | Walk south on Clark St |
| Chicago Pizza and Oven Grinder Co | Pizza and sandwiches | chicagopizzaandovengrinder.com | 0.2 mi/ 0.3 km | Walk south on Clark St; it is between Webster and Dickens |
| Sultan’s Market | Middle Eastern | chicagofalafel.com | 0.8 mi/ 1.3 km | Walk south on Clark St |
| SIMPLY IT | Vietnamese | simplyitchicago.us | 0.8 mi/ 1.3 km | Walk to N Lincoln, or take Bus #37 towards Fullerton Red Line |
| Adobo Grill | Mexican | adobogrill.com | 0.4 mi/ 0.6 km | Walk to North Ave, or take Bus #156 towards Union Station |
| North Pond | Farm-to-table modern American fare | northpondrestaurant.com | 0.5 mi/ 0.8 km | Walk down Cannon Dr heading North |
| DryHop | Gastropub | www.dryhopchicago.com | 1.8mi/2.9km | Bus: #151 towards Devon/Clark and get off at the Sheridan & Briar stop |
| The Peasantry | Locally-sourced comfort food | thepeasantry.com | 0.9 mi/ 1.4 km | Walk, or Bus #22 towards Howard |
| Café Ba-Ba-Reeba | Tapas | www.cafebabareeba.com | 0.8 mi/ 1.3 km | Walk to Armitage, take bus #73 towards Laramie |