LINCOLN SQUARE — North Side Restaurant Week is back for its third year with more than 60 restaurants offering fixed-price menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The event kicks off Thursday and goes through March 8. Tickets are not required as diners can simply visit any of the participating restaurants across seven North Side neighborhoods: Lincoln Square, Ravenswood, North Center, Albany Park, Edgewater, Irving Park and Rogers Park.
“We have five different business organizations that are organizing North Side restaurant week, which is really exciting,” Rudy Flores, executive director at the Lincoln Square Ravenswood chamber, told Block Club.
The annual event showcases the culinary diversity of the North Side, including African, Afro-Caribbean, Latin American, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and South Asian cuisines.
“This is our third year doing this, and we got feedback from consumers about it being great to be able to look at the restaurants by neighborhood, but what about cuisine type?” Flores said.
To that end, diners this year have the option to search participating restaurants by both neighborhood and cuisine type on the event’s website.
Since the pandemic, more people are dining at home, and if they’re eating from a local restaurant, it’s usually via a take-out or delivery order at home. North Side Restaurant Week is an effort to get neighbors eating out at local, independently owned brick-and-mortar restaurants, Flores said.
“An event like this, even though it was created to drive foot traffic in the slower colder months, is now evolving to also get people to actually go out to dine,” he said. “We’re hoping that maybe you’ll explore your community you’re familiar with, but you’ll also then see all these other options.”
We’ve listed highlights from this year’s North Side Restaurant Week below, including a few newbies. Get the full list of participating restaurants in all seven neighborhoods here.
Lincoln Square
Bistro Campagne
4518 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-271-6100
5:30-8:30 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 5-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 5-8:30 p.m. Sundays
Bistro Campagne, which opened in 2002, strives to capture the ephemeral quality found in small neighborhood bistros in France.
“We’re hitting the classics with our menu,” General Manager Alex Uribe told Block Club. “People that have been coming here for years will recognize the Poulet Rôti Forestière, our roast Amish chicken. It’s been pretty much on the menu since the first year we’ve been open.”
The three-course menu ($48) options also include French onion soup; Prince Edward Island mussels served with white wine, shallot, garlic, fine herbs and country bread; rainbow trout served with roasted cauliflower, fingerling potatoes, pearl onions, capers and almond beurre blanc; and a sustainably raised Bavette steak with Bordelaise sauce, maître d’hôtel butter, pommes frites and aioli.
“We’re basically using this opportunity to show people how we approach classic French bistro fare through a Midwestern lens,” Uribe said. “It’s a classic French approach, but we’re in Chicago. So we use what we have available to us throughout the year and make it approachable.”
The outside of Piccadilly Pub, 4749 N. Rockwell St., on Jan. 15, 2026. Credit: Alex V. Hernandez/Block Club Chicago
Piccadilly Pub
4749 N. Rockwell St.
773-754-0632
3-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday , 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sundays
Piccadilly Pub took over the home of the former Green Post at the end of last year, and is making its North Side Restaurant Week debut this year. The new fast-casual tavern takes its inspiration from the United Kingdom’s “chippy culture,” where taverns typically offer fish and chips.
The three-course menu ($45) includes options such as smoked trout dip, curry boat chips, spice bags, a chicken sando and, of course, fish and chips.
North Center
A selection of menu items Il Milanese will serve as part of 2026’s North Side Restaurant Week. Credit: Provided.
Il Milanese Ristorante
2201 W. Montrose Ave.
773-360-8262
5-10 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 5-10:30 p.m. Saturday, 5-9 p.m. Sundays
Riccardo Michi, Massimo Di Vuolo and Carlo Maggi are three friends with years of experience preparing traditional Italian cuisine. They took over the former Parkside in 2023 to transform it into Il Milanese Ristorante, showcasing traditional Italian cuisine.
“Whenever we do Restaurant Week, we try to always offer a great value and a showcase of what we can produce,” Di Vuolo told Block Club. “Not only for the regulars, they always come. But for other people that don’t really know about this area or never really knew about our restaurant.”
Their three-course menu ($45) features cream of butternut squash with black truffle, amaretto crumbles and parmigiano; focaccia with crescenza cheese and roasted porchetta; paccheri served with shrimp, calamari, octopus, scampetti meat and grape tomato; and a pan-seared branzino filet with chickpea purée, roasted plum tomato, black olive tapenade and micro arugula.
“We have also have the Carciofi ‘Remi,’ that’s a take on Roman artichokes,” Di Vuolo said. “Another thing for the appetizer is Arancine di Riso, simple fried rice saffron balls served with green peas and mozzarella cheese. It’s very easy to share and is a traditional dish from Italy.”
Pupuseria El Centroamericano
4064 N. Lincoln Ave.
773-799-8781
11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Sunday
Pupuseria El Centroamericano is making its North Side Restaurant Week debut this year. Mother-daughter duo Rina Meza and Sintia Ortega opened the restaurant last year showcasing Salvadoran dishes highlighted by pupusas — a specialty similar to a griddle cake or flatbread made with corn or rice flour and stuffed with cheese and other fillings.
“Just like the taco is the dish of Mexico, pupusas are the dish of El Salvador,” Ortega previously told Block Club.
The three-course menu ($22.50) starts with horchata or passion fruit maracuya; two beef pasteles; a beef or chicken stew served with rice and a salad; and plantain custard for dessert.
Ravenswood
Executive Chef Carlos Cruz uses the hearth at Cultivate by Forbidden Root, 4710 N. Ravenswood Ave., on Dec. 17, 2021.
Cultivate by Forbidden Root
4710 N. Ravenswood Ave.
773-961-7919
4-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 3-10 p.m. Friday, noon-10 p.m. Saturdays, 4-9 p.m. Sundays
Cultivate by Forbidden Root opened in 2021 as a brewpub featuring vegan-friendly options prepared on a wood-fired hearth alongside craft beers with botanical flavors thanks to herbs, spices, flowers, fruits and roots.
The three-course menu ($55) features dishes like smoked short rib potted beef served with pickled red onions, mustard and sourdough; hearth roasted chicken thigh with celery root, turnip greens and a parsnip chip jus; and roasted almond budino served with coffee, candied lemon and a caramel tuile.
Irving Park
Ariel view of Western Avenue and Irving Park Road. Credit: Provided.
Beograd Cafe & Restaurant
2933-39 W. Irving Park Road
773-478-7575
9 a.m.-midnight Monday – Sunday
Serving Serbian and regional Balkan cuisine since 1984, Beograd’s menu features homemade sausages, burger patties, lepinja (pita bread) and more.
The three-course menu ($29) includes items like baked cheese; a šopska salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onions and shredded feta cheese; black angus beef sausages served with onions, sour cream and freshly baked bread; and chicken marsala with grilled veggies or fries.
Albany Park
Left: Mural at 3706 W. Lawrence Ave. by Ryan Tova Katz. Right: Mural at Honore Storage at 3215. W. Lawrence Ave. by Ben Marasco. Credit: provided
Shattaz Jerk Bar & Grill
3109 W. Irving Park Road
773-961-7136
11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday
This jerk bar and grill bring authentic jerk flavors from authentic Caribbean cuisine to Chicago.
The three-course menu ($45) features dishes like halal jerk wings; coconut shrimp; halal jerk, brown stew or curry chicken; oxtail; curry goat; sides including yams and plantains; and desserts like rum cake.
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