Lincoln Square is a North Side hot bed for dining out. The neighborhood, often mentioned in passing when its larger neighbor Ravenswood comes up, has classic Southern comfort food, Thai cuisine, a Michelin-starred restaurant, and more. Forget about cooking at home and treat your taste buds to the flavors of Lincoln Square.

Here are just a handful of the neighborhood eateries worthy of a night out. 

Lincoln Square photo courtesy of Erstwhile.Human

Bistro Campagne

Finding a new regular restaurant is one of the delights of moving to a new neighborhood, and Bistro Campagne is a strong go-to spot contender. The restaurant, styled after a French bistro, has brunch and dinner menus that are frequently updated with new dishes. Expect to find options like steak frites, ratatouille, and artisan cheese platters. Dine indoors, or sit outside on the small patio shaded by trees and lit by hanging lights. Bistro Campagne has a warm, welcoming ambience perfect for date night or a meal shared with friends. 

Café Selmarie

Any neighborhood worth its salt will have at least one restaurant with a solid breakfast /brunch menu. Lincoln Square has more than one, but Café Selmarie might take the cake. This Lincoln Square establishment has a Saturday brunch menu and a Sunday brunch menu. Go for savory dishes like pesto and eggs, chilaquiles casserole, or the Selmarie benedict. If sweets are more your style, order cherry walnut pancakes, cinnamon roll griddlecakes, or berry French toast. You can also get breakfast, lunch, and dinner (plus a wide variety of treats from the bakery) during the week.

Dancen

Dancen does Korean bar food, and despite its somewhat spare interior, the food is mouthwatering. Dancen’s signature dish is buldak, or fire chicken. You can watch your meal being made from the open grill set right behind the bar, according to the Chicago Reader. Plus, the restaurant does late-night food for those days when dinner after midnight hits the spot. 

Gather

Gather regularly pops up on lists of Lincoln Square’s hottest restaurants—with good reason. The casual American eatery is open in the evenings all week and for brunch on the weekend. Come for locally sourced dishes and the impressive wine list. 

Goosefoot

Goosefoot has landed a couple of Michelin stars, which is unsurprising given the fanciful presentation and taste of its contemporary American cuisine. The restaurant’s multi-course tasting menu rotates on a regular basis. Prepare yourself for a culinary experience. It takes about 2.5 hours to eat your way through the $145 tasting menu. If you are planning on dining at Goosefoot, you’ll want to make a reservation. The restaurant only has 24 seats.

Green Leaf Thai Cuisine

Long-time Lincoln Square restaurant Opart Thai House closed this spring, but the new Green Leaf Thai Cuisine opened in the same space, according to Chicago Eater. The owners of Opart sold the restaurant to Rattiya Udompaichitkul, who worked there for many years, according to the report. The new Thai spot has signature dishes like mee krati and garlic black pepper chicken wings, as well as a full menu of soups, salads, seafood, curries, and rice and noodle dishes. If you’re still hungry after the main course, you can get dessert (fried banana, thai custard, or mango and sticky rice). 

Jibek Jolu

Jibek Jolu, named for the Silk Road, serves Kyrgyz food. You’ll find dishes inspired by the foods of Afghanistan, China, India, Turkey, and Russia. Try lagman (vegetables and beef with hand-pulled noodles) or pelmeni (dumplings with ground beef and onions). The restaurant also serves cold drinks like kompot (a type of fruit juice) and airan (yogurt and cold water). Jibek Jolu has a high-ceilinged dining room—decorated in warm reds and yellows—with a collection of smaller tables and chairs.

Luella’s Southern Kitchen

When you’re looking for comfort food in Lincoln Square, Luella’s Southern Kitchen is the ultimate answer. Named for the chef and owner Darnell Reed’s great grandmother, the restaurant does dishes like creole catfish, buttermilk fried chicken, pimento cheeseburgers, kale ambrosia, shrimp po boys, and smoked jerk chicken—true Southern decadence. Don’t forget to order buttermilk biscuits and skillet cornbread for the side. If you can save room for dessert, Luella’s serves beignets (doughnuts dusted with powdered sugar) and hummingbird cake (a cake made with banana, pineapple, pecans, and cream cheese frosting).