Exceptionally good. Rich and balanced flavor, quality cocktails. Really liked the chicken skewers, the plantains, and the coconut rice. A real staple in the category and highly recommend. read more

Recommending to all my friends. Everything was delicious and loved the vibe. Great tunes with tasty drinks. Service was on point and appreciated that the chef is the owner and came out to deliver your food and explain everything. Price is super fair compared to other Chicago spots. Not to mentions the above and beyond efforts to comply with COVID restrictions so no need to be nervous on that level. Go here. read more

I absolutely loved it. I loved it. There food took me to Utopia. The ribs, the coconut rice, the plantain yuca awesome!!!!!!The service was superior. They were extremely helpful in making decisions on things I've never eat before. It was comfortable. It was Cosy. It was relaxing. I can't wait to go back and try more delectable dishes and I've been telling my friends they're all looking forward in going as well !!!!!!!!! read more

We had a great time celebrating our friends' birthdays at Amaru! This amazing Tapas restaurant in Bucktown/Wicker Park had great food choices, and the servings were sufficient for sharing. I especially liked the Bacon-Wrapped Dates and the Empanadas. Their drinks were also pretty good. read more

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Chicago is probably one of the cities with the most diverse food scene in the world, and somehow, every time I visit it, some sort of magnetism ends driving me back to Amaru. Flavors are perfectly balanced, portions are well measured so you can try different options and all this without hurting your budget. Drinks are real, you can taste the flavor, they have body and are enjoyable to the palate. The chef showoff in a really good way his Latin roots, and praise to the kitchen staff for the consistency which is really important in a good restaurant. The staff was gentile, genuine, knowledgeable and approachable, and something even better, humble about what they know and provide. Amaru, is probably one of the best restaurants and Chicago, and will dare to say it: in the US read more

I've liked their food in the past, but I received some truly terrible customer service during a recent visit from the on duty hostess and manager. The restaurant canceled my pickup order because it was restaurant week and it wouldn't be able to fulfill my order. No problem, these things happen. Uber Eats however did not notify me, so I showed up at the restaurant anyway. If the first thing I heard was an apology and some empathy, I would have understood and left disappointed, but understanding. What I received instead was a confrontational attitude from the staff, as if they couldn't believe I would have the gall to believe that an order I placed would be fulfilled. The words "sorry" and "apologize" were not spoken, and no attempt to have any understanding of my perspective as the customer perspective on this was even attempted. There was no acceptance that it actually was their fault that they left their Uber account open to accepting orders that they couldn't fulfill. I haven't received such poor service at a restaurant in a really long time. read more

So glad I found Amaru! Their food is absolutely delicious. I've only ordered for takeout so far a couple times because of COVID but even via takeout their food is just amazing. And if you're lucky enough to have left overs they taste even better the next day! They also have amazing desserts. Highly recommend. read more

Amaru - Skirt steak, yuca, bacon wrapped plantains. - Latin American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I felt like there were too many things going on in many of the dishes here - too many flavors, ingredients. It's almost a fusion restaurant, mixing Asian and American flavors with Latin food. I didn't think it was particularly successful. read more

Amazing food and drinks! We ordered Ceviche of the day which was freshly prepared. The sauce was amazing! From the medium menu we ordered the chicken carbonara. This was perhaps the best dish that we ordered. The chicken was perfectly seasoned and cooked to the right grill level. It came with yellow sauce and some potatoes which were good too. Lastly, for main course we ordered Entrana Argentinian steak. This was thin slice of steak cooked. The only thing I'd say is the steak although medium cooked have been cooked more. The steak was on bed of kolhrabi puree which was delicious as well. For desert we ordered the espresso tres leches. The waitress brought us some red wine, complimentary of the restaurant, to go with tres leches. On the cocktail side, Holy water and Pisco sour were two of my favorites. read more

Food was phenomenal. Came by suggestion of a friend because otherwise I've passed this place a number of times and hadn't really thought to go in. The octopus was the best I've had in Chicago - unbelievably fresh and tender. Skirt steak was amazing and the accompanying celery purée wasn't what I expected at all, it was mild and buttery. The Solterito salad is texturally divine and the flavors are so fun and complex and I can't believe I'm writing that about a salad. Legit only ordered it because my friend suggested it and I'm so glad she did. This is my new favorite Wicker restaurant and I'll probably be back this weekend because I lack any self control. read more

This food was absolutely AHHHMAZING. It was a bit of a wait. I sat down at 5:03 and the food didn't come out until 5:50. But when I say it was worth every single minute?!? It was hot (temperature) chicken seasoned to perfection, plantains weren't mushy and were sweet. I mean if my food came out late every single time with this standard I wouldn't even mind. Phenomenal. read more

Amaru - Pollo al Carbon - Latin American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Such a great new spot! I loved the branzino fish and the burger. Such great flavors and can't wait go back for more. Desserts were very unique. read more

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What a cute and delicious spot! The service is impeccable and so personal, the aesthetic is beautiful and the food and drinks are perfect! Visit this spot if you haven't yet! read more

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I don't understand these stellar evaluations. Food was very average, drinks very average, bad playlist.

My wife and I went here a couple Saturdays ago for dinner. They were all booked up at 5:30 already but we were able to snag seats at the bar. It's got a fun Latin vibe, some exposed brick and funky lights hanging down over the bar area. They have a good mix of classic drinks on the menu along with a lot of South American wine. Wife got a pina colada and I had the Oaxaca old fashioned. Mine wasn't over powering which may be good for someone wanting to try mezcal. Food wise we both ordered the Frita cubana (Cuban style burger) and some sweet plantains. Everything come out fresh and hot. My wife thought hers was a little salty but I loved it. And finished hers too. Plantains are a great starter if you're hungry right away. Our bartender was SUPER friendly, kudos to her. I also have to compliment their prices; everything was quite reasonable, especially drinks. I liked Amaru a lot - check this place out! read more

Went here for a date with my boyfriend, the food was amazing! Cocktails are good too. Cute little spot, everyone was really nice. Would definitely come back. read more

Omg what an experience!!!!!! From the welcome to the food and drinks. I will definitely be back. Was very impressed that the chef made his rounds to guest. My seat faced the kitchen. Just an amazing routine going on in there. Chef checked every plate before sending out. He even brought our desserts to table. When I asked about a specific dish he gave full detail. Love the involvement. Only downfall was when seated not one server attended. We waited about 10mins and I pulled someone randomly. She was great. Also, really didn't hear any music playing. Super cute, chic ambiance. Just needs a boost. Overall, great experience and will definitely be back read more

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We ordered a takeout meal from Amaru a few weeks ago and still talk about how good it was! The pernil dish was perfect and I am even craving the lentils. The pork was delicious, the sides were aplenty, and the portions were so generous we had enough leftovers for several more meals. I am so looking forward to trying the rest of their regular menu and eating at the actual restaurant as soon as we can! read more

Amaru - Pernil with lentils - Latin American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I found the food to be OK- not amazing but not bad. I think as a pan-Latin restaurant they don't do any of the food amazingly. The food was pretty formulaic - protein, sauce, side, garnish. Also, the pulpo a la plancha was cold. However, the drinks were great as well as the Yuca fries! The cheesecake was a good way to end as well. Overall, the experience was just OK! read more

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Delicious, great presentation, excellent and timely level of service. We had the Piononos, avocado & endive salad, pollo al carbon, pulp, and the Cuban oxtail. ALL OF IT was deliciously made. Our server had excellent recommendations, and the drinks were delicious. Very worthy of a 5-star review. I would highly recommend!! read more

We had such a wonderful experience at Amaru! It took some time for our table for five to be ready, but the hostess was very accommodating and set us up at a small high top for a bit, and offered some complimentary appetizers (which really appeased folks in the group!). Once we were seated at our table, we had a fantastic meal as well as some awesome cocktails and wine. Ceviche del dia - So delicious. With yellowfin tuna and jicama. As others have noted, the jabanero/ mint/ mango sorbet on top was so good! Piononos - I am a vegetarian and didn't try these, but heard good things from others in the group Heirloom beets - fantastic! The beets were so juicy and delicious. I especially liked the queso frito and the tamarind vinaigrette. Chickpea tacu tacu - wow, this was SO good. I was grateful for a vegetarian protein option and this did not disappoint! The acorn squash and green pea curry were so tasty Solterito salad - fresh and full of texture! This was huge win in everyone's books Pernil en lata - again, I'm a vegetarian so I did not eat this. But the presentation was SO cool and the meat eaters at the table were fawning over the dish. Yuca gnocchi - everyone said this was good, but compared to the pernil en lata, it was kind of forgotten. Entrana - people loved the steak! I think the winner was still the pork, though Espresso tres leches - for a friend's birthday, Amaru brought out the tres leches cake. Again, the textures were on point. Great flavor, too. For drinks, we had the pina colada (not blended, but still supposedly one of the best pina coladas this person had ever had), pisco sours (just right!), Old Cuban (tasty but too sweet for me), and a malbec. read more

Found Amaru through Eater and we we are so glad we came! Marely our server made this such an amazing experience. Everything we ordered was exceptional and you can tell everyone at this restaurant has great pride in the food their serving. Thank you so much for making our short time I Chicago so memorable. Ordered food : Yuca and fries Pulpo Solterito salad Piononos Skirt steak Pollo al carbon Branzino Tres leches with espresso Pastel de elote. read more

Great happy hour deal! $5 cocktails and apps! The food was decent too, definitely a good spot to go if you're into meat/beef. The mojitos were great, I'd definitely go again read more

This restaurant is a nice change of pace for the neighborhood! They did very well with the Pan-Latin theme in both the decor and food. I've been here twice now and the menu changed from one time to the other but some staples seemed to remain. The wait staff was EXTREMELY attentive and helpful. They were quick to stop by as soon as we got seated and gave an entire rundown and explanation of the menu each time. They seemed very well verse in not only what was on the menu, but also all the ingredients and asked if there were any allergies right away. Per their suggestion, we ordered about 4-5 things to split among 3 people. We had some sort of plantain wrapped date which was phenomenal and not as overly sweet as I expected it. We also had this bread with a roasted tomato sauce which was also great. The solterito salad is one that remained on the menu both times I had been there and I know why! It was a favorite among our party. While the ingredients are pretty minimal and there isn't a fancy sauce, the unique combination of flavors and textures made it so much of a hit I tried making an imitation version at home. Another standout was the Frita Cubana which is their burger with cheese, garlic aioli and shoestring potatoes. The burger was cooked to perfection. We also had a seasonal pork dish which doesn't appear to be on the menu anymore, but I hope it comes back because it was also cooked extremely well with great flavor. Based on all we had, it seems as if you couldn't pick a bad thing off the menu. I am a big fan and hope to be back to try more soon. read more

This place isn't great for people with dietary restrictions. I am Celiac (gluten intolerant) and am also intolerant to dairy and the alliums (garlic/onions) which I realize is super restrictive and limiting, so I rarely expect to have more than one or two things to eat on a menu. This is why I always call ahead to a restaurant at a non-busy time in order to get a sense for how limited I'll be and identify the one or two things I can order when I get there. I was going to Amaru with a large group on a Friday night and didn't want to put the server through navigating my annoying dietary restrictions, so wanted to call ahead to get a sense for the 1-2 things I could eat be prepared to order when I got there and make it easier on the server. When I called Amaru, I was really surprised to learn that they thought there would be lots on the menu I could eat and that there were plenty of dishes that didn't have garlic or onions. They made me believe I'd have lots of options and suggested I talk to my server about it. Imagine my surprise when I got there and the server told me the only dish I could eat was their vegan plate, which was super disappointing. If I had been told that when I called ahead, I actually would have planned to eat something before going to the restaurant and not eat at all there. After revisiting with my server, they also recommended a salad that came out loaded with raw onions. It was difficult on my server, which I felt badly about, and also uncomfortable for me when I prefer not to call a lot of attention to my dietary restrictions when in a large group. It would have just been so much better if they had just said when I called that there was hardly anything for me to eat there. Also, there were several things on the menu that they identified as gluten free but then later informed me were cooked in a fryer that fried gluten-containing foods, a no-no for many Celiacs (this includes their chicken). I appreciated that they caught it, but I just note that for all you celiacs out there that their menu may not be as gluten free friendly as it appears. A couple of other things - the steak came out cooked to the right temp (med rare) but there were 3 full slices that were just pure fat/gristle which should have been trimmed prior to cooking. Also, everyone at our table had poor cell service in there and their menus are all QR-code based. We got their WiFi password and even that was slow. It took forever to load the menu on our phones and the lucky few who got it to load had to pass their phones around so others could choose what they wanted. And it also made it even more challenging for me to navigate the menu with the server. I don't mind QR code menus but it doesn't work well if nobody has good enough cell service or WiFi to read them. Three stars because the food overall was decent, I did think the cocktails were interesting, and the server at least caught when gluten free things were fried in the gluten fryer. read more

During restaurant week they cancel happy hour but it's still on their website, nice. I took time out of my day for you? Still no? Thanks, again for the excellent customer service. read more

One of my new favorites! Service was friendly and very fast, but the food was phenomenal. Will be recommending to others for sure! read more

Amaru - Piononos - Latin American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Amaru has it going on! My husband and I came with friends this past Wednesday and had an amazing dinner. We all loved the warm and inviting atmosphere and the service was amazing! I cannot remember our servers name but she took so much pride in the menu and explaining each dish to the table. She was phenomenal and it really made the dinner an experience. We tried a little bit of everything... each dish was spectacular. Some items I would definitely recommend were the ceviche (the broth was so outstanding I could drink it alone), Pollo al carbón, and the Pernil en lata (which is served uniquely in a can opened tableside). I cannot recommend Amaru enough! We will be back. read more

Stumbled on this place by accident while searching for a new restaurant to try. Hubby's mom was in town and we always take her somewhere she'll be impressed with as she's a retired chef. So glad we tried Amaru and can not wait to come back when they bring new dishes to their fall menu. Food was exceptional and service was superb! My glass of water was never empty. My dirty plate never stood on the table for more than a minute. Our waiter Andres was so friendly - thank you for all the recommendations! Chef/owner coming to our table to serve the special we ordered was a nice touch! Thanks for a wonderful dining experience! See you soon! read more

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Had dinner last night was an amazing meal. Forgot to take pics of everything but every dish was great!! We had a great waiter but can't remember his name. Party of 4 so the waiter suggested 7 dishes since we all wanted to share. We ended up ordering 6 due to the 20 oz skirt steak. That was our last dish and was probably the best skirt steak I have had in a restaurant in a long time. Started with the ceviche on special. Can't remember what fish it was but was served with apples and the sauce on the side was very tasty, sticky ribs, Inca salad, octopus and bacon wrapped chorizo. Everything was great! Highly recommend and you can't go wrong. We will be back! read more

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Great food and ambient, the ceviche and the pollo were delicious. Great Margaritas as well.

New local spot which really hits the mark. Sat at the bar and enjoyed a few lovely dishes. Special mention for the Solterito Salad, Sweet Plantains and Ceviche - all outstanding (especially the spicy sorbet that comes with the ceviche - brilliant!). If this place was in River North or Fulton Market they could add 50% to the prices easily, its that good. Shoutout to our server - really engaging dude that seemed to really enjoy chatting with us. read more

5 stars all around. 1) Interior is beautiful 2) Staff is kind, knowledgeable, and welcoming 3) We appreciated that the menu was just the right size. Plenty of options to choose from but not your typical 5 pager that you get lost in 4) We had the Pulpo, Ceviche del dia, and Matambre. All three dishes were extremely delicious and prepared perfectly thanks a lot, we will be back! read more

Go. Just go. This place is amazing on all accounts! Food, service, location, and cool boho vibe. You won't regret it. And be sure to get the bacon wrapped plantains. Truly out of this world. read more

Absolutely incredible food, ambiance and service. This new spot checks all the boxes and truly impressed us, especially for the third day they were open! I cannot say enough good things about our experience at Amaru. This is just what the neighborhood needed, and we honestly can't wait to go back. Our waitress, Marieli was absolutely amazing, and the entire staff was fantastic. Fast, friendly, knowledgeable, but not over the top or annoying in any way. Gave us some great thoughtful recommendations and explanation of the dishes that helped us order really well. Honestly one of the best service experiences we have had in a really long time. The restaurant space itself is awesome. Relaxed yet stylish, perfect energy for the neighborhood, and the music was also fantastic. It may be hard to quantify the energy but we just loved being there. But of course the real showstopper was THE FOOD! I cannot do justice to how delicious the food was in this review, you really need to go try it for yourself. We ordered the following amazing dishes: Sweet Plantains with Cotija and Scallions - cooked absolutely perfectly, gooey in the middle with crisp carmelized edges. I am very particular about my sweet plantains, and these were incredible. There was mojo verde sauce on the bottom (very light) and the Cotija cheese on top with the Scallions complimented the plantains so well. Ceviche of the day - also incredible. Fresh citrus forward barramundi with yellow watermelon and pickled jalapenos and red onion that had just the perfect balance of spice and tartness. Everything you could ever dream of from ceviche. Yucca Gnocchi - I will dream of this dish until I have it again, and I will likely order it every time I go to Amaru, which I intend to do often. It is unique, but the flavors and textures are perfect. The best flavor and texture of gnocchi I have ever had, and the rabbit ragu was reminiscent of mole, with depth of flavor that was very tomato and pepper forward. I could eat this every day. Burger (called the Frita Cubana) - Delicious beef burger with chorizo, burnt garlic aioli, and shoestring sweet potatoes that had a cajun seasoning, and a perfect soft buttery bun. Absolutely incredible combination of flavors and textures, just so so so good. Dessert - Cornmeal Cake with Popcorn Ice Cream (compliments of the restaurant) - We really were too full to order dessert but our amazing waitress and chef (who came to check on us numerous times and explain the dishes) sent it out, and we crushed the entire thing. The cake was like a dessert version of the best corn bread you have ever tasted, and the homemade popcorn ice cream was amazing with it. We ate every last bite. We struggled to even decide which was the best dish we had, and we didn't even get to try everything that looked amazing on the menu, such as the fried yucca, the chicken and the steak. We really just can't wait to go back, and in this amazing food city, with so many amazing new places to try, I rarely find a restaurant that is worth repeating. That said, this place seems to be in that very rare league of its own, where I just don't think I can get enough of it. Also, I probably will have to get the yucca gnocchi every single time, and probably the ceviche and plantains too. They were that good. I am SO excited to have them in our neighborhood and will be back very soon. read more

Great first time visiting Amaru! All the staff were so friendly & gave good recommendations. We sat at the bar for their happy hour & tried a lot of their cocktails & small plates. Highly recommend the ceviche and empanadas! read more

Amaru - Pisco Sour - Latin American Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Incredibly tasty and fashionable food, amazing drinks, friendly and warm staff, laid back decor. From picture you wouldn't think it was fancy but they delivered on all fronts. This meal was worth every penny. read more

Haven't written a yelp review in years but feel compelled after our fabulous dinner last night. Fun cocktails, beautiful space, and great service- but the food was absolutely delicious! I had a shrimp pasta that was on special- a little bit spicy and SO flavorful. The oxtail ravioli was also incredible. My group really enjoyed the bacon wrapped plantains as well. Truly a standout in recent places I've tried. Don't sleep on this spot! read more

Outstanding, a fusion of South American tastes, heavy Peruvian influence, great servers, outstanding cocktails, try their Pisco Sour, you'll think your in Lima read more

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Outstanding service. Food was hit or miss though. My fish was excellent as was the octopus and dessert. But the gnocchi was gummy and the steak was under seasoned. Good barely taste the chinichurri. Will try again though! read more