Cafe Ba-ba-Reeba and Lil' ba-ba-reeba have a New Year's Day special. So I went to try their brunch offering. Has Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba help with my search of a good tapas place? Let's find out: Ambiance Lil Baby-Ba-Reeba is a bar. We were seated in an outside heated enclosure.the speaker was pretty close, so the music was a bit loud but since the seats were in a small enclosure, the noise level is pretty loud. Service The waitress was friendly. The food came out in a pretty good pace. We did not wait too long between each dish. One issue I did have was the waiters would leave the sliding door open. I had some cold breeze blowing on my back while the heat lamp above was on my side. Food -Goat cheese baked in Tomato sauce This dish came with some garlic bread. The bread itself was crispy and the sauce when mixed has a lasagna taste to it. If you like lasagna, you will like this dish -pressed bikini sandwiches This sandwich was really tasty. It had the crispy texture of the bread with the softness of the filling. It also had sweetness from some honey that was drizzled over it. It was a fun and delicious sandwich to try. -brunch patatas bravas with bacon This version of the patatas bravas came with an egg and we added some bacon to the dish. The potatoes were crispy and the sauce had a hint of spiciness to it. The sunny side up egg did not really add to the dish and the yolk kind of got absorbed by the potatoes when we got the them. The bacon was crispy. -Chorizo-stuffed date The spiciness/saltiness of the chorizo works well with the sweetness of the date. It was a good dish. Overall Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba is a great place to get tapas. The food was really good and the service and staff were nice. There some other dish I would like to try on my next visit, but I would recommend trying Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba especially if you have a hankering for some Spanish tapas! read more

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Million times yes. Very good. Feels like Sebastian's table from Lincoln NE that I ate in college. Both white and classic sangria were delicious. The espresso martini was the best I've had in Chicago so far!!! read more

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The service was amazing very quick and made sure to get them in a great order. Everything was amazing, the empanada and the chorizo dates were our favorites. The shrimp was unbelievably tender you would think it's raw but it had great flavor, super great with the goat cheese and bread. So many different lamps for lighting I loved it!! read more

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This was the first stop for our Chicago weekend getaway, and what a great start! The ambiance is perfectly designed to match the menu and theme of the restaurant. The Spanish style tapas food was quickly delivered and very tasty! Our favorite dishes were the empanada and the chorizo dates! Pairs well with the yummy sangria! Staff was friendly and efficient too! Would recommend to anyone visiting! read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I'm a big fan of Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba so this is a convenient place to have a similar experience only closer to where I live. Great tapas and drinks, and the servers are helpful in making good recommendations or explaining menu items. read more

Had a great experience dining here with some friends on a Sunday night. We all shared several tapas dishes - most of them were great, but a few (like the deviled eggs and beef Toro skewer) were lacking in flavor. Each dish was small, and fairly easy to share between 2 or 3 people, as long as you ordered many. The scallops and chorizo-wrapped dates were my favorites of the evening. We sat on the patio and enjoyed the ambiance and summer weather. The service was fantastic, and we were never left wanting for refills or menu suggestions. I would definitely recommend Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba. read more

Everything was amazing. You should go to the place. Food is incredible. Every dish was tasty. We sat in the patio. We requested to change place because of sunlight on face (though nice but not for longwr time) and the staff quickly arranged another place for us. 4 of us had food and drinks and that cost us around $210 (excluding tip). read more

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We came here on a Sunday for brunch-- with countless options in the area, we chose this place because of the catchy name and we were not disappointed. Our server was so sweet, I'm sad I can't remember her name, but she described the items on the menu well and was pleasant in all our interactions. You can tell she likes her job. We tried the patatas bravas, French toast, hanger steak, shrimp, baked goat cheese and Brussels. Everything was tasty, but I have to take a star off for the price / portion of the steak. It was $20 bucks and unlike any of the other tapas portions, it wasn't shareable. Also, the baked goat cheese was really underwhelming with a dollop of cheese floating in a ramekin of sauce. Otherwise we enjoyed everything else including the ambiance Oh yeah- make sure you read your check.. you can have the 3.25 percent surcharge removed. read more

The service was excellent. The ambiance is also very lively and cool but a little on the loud side, which does not make for easy conversation. The sangria was excellent as was the red wine we ordered. Unfortunately, the tapas were a bit disappointing. Perhaps I was expecting a lot given how highly the restaurant was rated, but nothing really stood out. I would definitely avoid the tin tuna -- the only redeeming quality was the bread that came with it. The goat cheese and tomato was very good, but nothing out of the ordinary. The mushroom was really disappointing--needed more salt-- I liked the sauce it came with but even with a generous coating, it tasted bland. The "bikini" bread (basically a panini) was way too oily -- and this was true of a number of dishes here. The croquets and the bacon wrap dates were just okay. A pity, I was really hoping for a home run here. read more

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A Spanish restaurant in river north . That means it will be constantly crowded and loud. These were what we expected, but the food there was surprising. Focusing on Spanish tapas, the menu contained dishes ranging from vegetarian to meat to seafood, and many of them were creative and delicious! We ordered 5 dishes to share as neither one of us were hungry. The first dish we had was Brussels sprouts. It was my friends first time to have Brussels sprouts salad so he found it interesting. But I thought the dressing was too sweet. The Fried shishito pepper was better. Btw it was not spicy at all. Then we got the shrimp and baked goat cheese. I really love the goat cheese dish!! Super creamy, warm, with layers of flavors from the rich tomato sauce and cheese itself. It went great with the bread on the side as well. My favorite dish was the seared sea scallop. The scallop was very fresh and tender. Moreover it was topped on some creamy cauliflower purée. Plating was also good. A perfect dish indeed! Besides our server was quite friendly and helpful. The only thing I regret--we did a wrong calculation of the tip, ending up giving too little to him lol. read more

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Yum! We came by for brunch on a Saturday and elected to sit inside even though the patio was tempting. I've been to this tapas spot a couple of times but never for brunch so I wanted to try a couple of their brunch items. We ended up getting the crystal bread tartine sandwich and a few of my go-tos the chorizo wrapped dates, garlic shrimp, patatas bravas, ham croquetas, and goat cheese in tomato sauce. For 2 people this ended up being way too much food (and too many carbs). Everything was yummy but I wished the food was a bit lighter. Our favorites were the garlic shrimp and the tartine sandwich which had really good flavor. We also each got a glass of sangria which paired perfectly with the food. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I was so excited to try this place out since I have a special love for Spanish tapas since I studied abroad in Madrid. The atmosphere inside is low lit and romantic, but we ended up sitting outside because the weather was so nice but we wish we sat inside for better atmosphere. I love olives but really did not like the lemon zest they used on it because it made it pretty bitter. The croquettes were the best part of the meal and were tasty. The chorizo sandwiches were pretty good too. I was disappointed by the patatas bravas because instead of being drizzled all over the potatoes they were just soaked in a clump of the sauce. The sauce also was not the best. Our waitress was nice though. read more

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We had very high hopes for this place based on the reviews! Tapas in a very cute restaurant! Yes please. We were immediately seated and ordered a few tapas to try after we ordered some red wine sangria. The sangria was pretty good however the tapas were just so so. We got the potatoes, flank steak, garlic shrimp, ham croquettes and the meatballs. The steak was like 4 pieces + potato mash. The steak came out room temperature like it was sitting out awhile and came with a average mash. The roasted potatoes were good and the ham croquettes were also good. The shrimp were okay. The meatballs were also okay. Very lackluster food. Our waiter also vanished for awhile and we had to leave soon to get to our tour. So that was a little annoying. Maybe we ordered the wrong tapas? Not sure but thought it was okay and very expensive to be okay food. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Sangria and tapas - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Got brunch here. The food was great, but this dish we got (pictured) was interesting. Definitely recommend, but I would likely try something different next time. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We sat on the patio for an early fall happy hour and it was so lovely, a really nice space! This was my first time at Lil Ba Ba Reeba, although I've been to the sister restaurant in Lincoln Park several times. I think the happy hour at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in Lincoln Park is superior, as it goes until 6 pm (in River North it's 5:30 pm) and the happy hour menu is a lot more extensive with more tapas options to choose from. That being said, everything was decent. The white peach sangria was amazing, and the deviled eggs and garlic shrimp were quite tasty. The potatoes were a nice crispy on the outside texture and the creamy sauce was good. Unfortunately I think the service wasn't great at least this time around. Our server was nice, but he didn't come by to our table until about 15 minutes after we sat down. He only returned twice after that in maybe an hour and a half time period, including when we had only ordered drinks and hadn't put any food in yet. It was still overall a nice time but I would recommend Cafe Ba Ba Reeba if that location is accessible. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Garlic Shrimp, Deviled Egg, Patatas Bravas, White Peach Sangria - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Service: Marilyn was our serve and she was fantastic! Super knowledgeable and friendly. We were about to commit a tapa crime by ordering double potatoes in the 1st round and she caught our fowl. Food: With everything being tapas, my group was able to try almost everything on the menus. Dishes were brought out as they were prepared, so everything tasted fresh and temperature-appropriate. My favorite was the grilled octopus and the potatoes. My least favorite were the deviled eggs, they were a bit too vinegary for my taste. Ambiance: It's a very intimate and romantic restaurant. There's overhead lighting and table lighting that gave this place a bit of whimsy. Great for date night or a group event. Overall I really enjoyed the dining experience and will definitely be back when I'm in the area. 5/5 read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Interior - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

High quality Spanish tapas place with a fun name. Here's a breakdown of all the tapas that I tried: Roasted Hen of the Woods Mushroom ($13)- mushroom was pretty good and interesting but the sauce wasn't that flavorful and kind of just oily Tortilla Española ($10)- tortilla was basically just egg and potato (kind of like an omelette), not bad but kind of plain Garlic Shrimp ($11.50)- decent but not that special Chorizo-Wrapped Date Pintxos ($10)- delicious; salty/savory chorizo nicely complemented the sweet dates Roasted Rates Wrapped in Bacon ($11.50)- similar to the above, also delicious and these were smaller and more plentiful than the chorizo wrapped ones and also came with apple chunks, which offered a nice sweet refreshing taste/crunch to each bite Basque Cheesecake ($10)- delicious; creamy consistency but not that thick (in a good way) with a great cheesecake flavor So while the tapas were generally very good, the cost can definitely add up as you order more and more. The place itself was very busy even on a weekday night but we managed to get a reservation earlier the same day. There is a lively atmosphere with all the people. There is a bar area and also lots of other table seating. The interior has kind of dimmed lighting with some interesting Spanish-themed, old-fashioned decor including wine bottles along the walls and some interesting decorative pieces. Our waiter was very friendly and attentive. The service speed was pretty quick. Overall, I would highly recommend Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba to you if you are looking for high quality tapas in a nice lively environment. read more

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Definitely this is one of my favorite sports in my area. Most of the experience here were good but had a couple of weird which make me to avoid it for a while but I love tapas and this place so I'm always coming back for more . :) Ryan it's one of the people that I met there from the beginning because he was taking care of us . He's very friendly and helpful and with a smile on his face so I highly recommend if you are there and have him he will get very good care of you. Yesterday I went there because we were craving tapas and try the new "bikini baba sandwich "which was very good . We stayed at the bar and Sofia took care of us . She's so lovely and attentive. Happy hours there are fire and the ambiance it's so lovely with music so it's one of the places you'll enjoy. They have a large variety of tapas and the nice part it's that they also change the menu for once in a while and add new options of food. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Don't love it as much as the full cafe ba-ba- Reeba because the menu is condensed but still good food!

I'm a sucker for tapas restaurants, so I was excited to try this one as it was highly recommended. I came here for Sunday brunch at noon. The ambience was really calm, warm, and welcoming. What we ordered: Drinks: We got a pitcher of red sangria. It was super delicious with the right amount of fruitiness. Food: So we went a little crazy with the food because we were ravenous! Sorry I'm advance for not having pictures of all of our food, but we were too busy inhaling it lol We ordered Garlic Shrimp, Fried Shishito Peppers, Shaved Brussel Sprouts Salad, Goat Cheese Baked in Tomato Sauce, Patatas Bravas, Torrijas, Blueberry-Lemon Compote, & Whipped Cream, Chorizo-Wrapped Date Pintxos, and Flat Iron Steak. A little more on our favorites out of the bunch: 1. Garlic Shrimp: This is an absolute staple order for tapas, and it is rarely done incorrectly. The shrimp were cooked perfectly, and the garlic oil is simply delicious and I often dip any extra bread into it. 2. Fried Shishito Peppers: I've actually never had this before, which is wild since I love spicy things. The black salt on these peppers MADE IT! It married so well with the peppers. Highly recommend! 3. Patatas Bravas: This is another tapas staple. These were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. The tomato aioli sauce that came with it was super addicting as well. 4. Flat Iron Steak: This steak was well prepared and cooked. It was so tender and buttery, and the flavors added to it enhanced it like no other. Really loved this one! If you are visiting Chicago like I was, I recommend checking this place out! read more

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Love this sister restaurant. Great location in River North with a beautiful patio to enjoy in the summer. We enjoyed a variety of tapas- the best type of dinner. Got a pitcher of sangria to share (they have four varieties that are delish!) and plenty of plates. Highly recommend the garlic shrimp and goat cheese in tomato sauce, but the BEST plate was the brussel sprout salad. It was so fresh and delicious. Must order while you're there! They have plenty of reservations open but recommend making one if you want to sit on the patio. They were nice to change us to a patio seat! :) Only thing that could have made this meal a 5/5 was the timing of dinner. Usually at tapas restaurants I've ordered plate by plate to see what sounds interesting, but our server seemed irritated by our approach to dinner. He seemed to rush us even though we were within our time/reservation. Still nice though! read more

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I love both the Ba Ba Reebas! Service is on point and the food is delicious. The vibe is outstanding. read more

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Huge fans of the original Ba ba reeba, we had been wanting to try this downtown location for some time now. We finally got to this week and were really happy. It's hard to find a place anymore that delivers on the true dining out experience -- good food, good service and good ambiance. Simple as it sounds, most places have lost the ability to please all the senses. We walked in on a weekday and had a friendly hostess who was willing to answer questions about the menu. We had an excellent server who was alert to food sensitivities and took it upon herself to make sure the replacement experience was equally great. The menu is similar in some ways and has a few more upscale dining options like hen of the woods mushrooms etc. Being vegetarian and gluten-free, I had a satisfying meal of patatas bravas, tomato spread on gluten-free bread, mushrooms, and the Brussels Sprouts salad. They do have a happy hour but it's a short menu and we didn't end up ordering anything from it. The ambiance is intimate and classy. read more

The tapas here are so yummy. My fav is the potatas bravas and the chorizo wrapped dates!!! Hearing chorizo wrapped dates, I wouldn't think I'd like it but I loveeee them. So so good. Def go during HH to save some money!!! Their white peach sangrias are my favvvvv read more

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flavors are solid and portions are good for sharing. service was attentive, they knew when to check in without bothering you. the place has a fun vibe, feels spanish or something, good energy going on read more

Visited this place with my fiancé for Sunday morning brunch. The vibes are cute with wine bottles around the room and quirky paintings. We did the restaurant week menu which came with 2 entrees, a drink and a dessert and it was so worth it. We left full and there was so many vegetarian options. We had the shaved Brussel sprouts, potato bravas, tomato goat cheese dip and scrambled eggs on a tomato toast. We also had the chocolate ganache and the butterscotch dessert. Everything hit the spot. The service was pretty good too - steady and attentive. read more

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Menu is absolutely not worth the price point. The flavors are good not great but at least the portions are consistent in terms of item/value. The service was frankly disappointing - made a reservation that was no honored until after 30 minutes and did not even get a phone call to get notified... I wouldn't see it as an issue if the food didn't end up so very average. Overall not a place I will go back to. If you absolutely want to try this place I would give the steak, a bread side and brussel sprout salad a chance. read more

Took my parents here conveniently in time to take advantage of their incredible happy hour offers on the Friday before Christmas 2023. Our server whose name i unfortunately did not get was incredible! The ambiance of this place is super cozy and inviting. The fact that we were able to get several rounds of different flavored sangria as well as a bunch of tapas all at HH pricing was amazing. I 100% recommend this place to others! I'll be back! read more

Fabulous service and food quality is always good. It's a quaint place but great for hanging out with friends for dinner or going on a date. read more

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Tapas? Yes, please! I was visiting our Chicago office and a coworker and I went here for dinner on a Monday night. Popular spot, which is not surprising based on the high reviews. It was both our first times here, and we got seated at the bar. The vibes were chill, which was awesome. I ordered my drink and that was delicious. We then tried the following for the food - Meatballs - Not really special. They weren't terrible, but they weren't that memorable either. Brussels Sprouts salad - we had to get a veggie in there somehow, and we chose this one. Pretty good salad. It was pretty filling too, and probably one of the best tapas that we chose for the night. Chicken and Chorizo Skewers - we didn't like this one at all. The chicken was dry and bland, nothing special. The chorizo portion was alright. Scallops - Not bad either, prob on par with the meatballs. Jamon - Really like a prosciutto. The coworker had this in Spain before and it was really good, but this wasn't it unfortunately. Nice atmosphere, but food was alright. Maybe I needed some more drinks in me to enjoy the food a lot more. Surprisingly enough, one of my fave things was the salad, and if you know me and salads... well, not usually my thing. The menu itself looks interesting though, so if I were to visit CH again and come back here, I'd be sure to try some different things. read more

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Visit: 6/2023 Review finished: 3/2024 Unfortunately I am attempting to finish this review in 2024, long after visiting this establishment so I do not recall my visit here in detail besides giving it 5/5 stars. So I must have really enjoyed it. And in my very trusted book of ratings, I absolutely enjoyed this spot and the food was amazing. So I'll be back and do a better job reviewing next time. read more

One of my friend's favorite spots and wow!! We each got a white peach sangria and then shared the Patatas Bravas, Shaved Brussels Sprouts Salad, and Ibérico Ham Croquetas. Each were fantastic and paired great together. The salad was light and broke up the fried tapas well. The patatas came with a flavorful aioli and the Ham Croquetas were creamy and savory. We sat in the enclosed patio area and the staff were still attentive and accommodating. Highly recommend for a fun spot with friends! read more

Cannot be happier about the balance of flavors for my Sunday brunch! From the recommended Spanish octopus to beef tenderloin Toro, to the cider glazed apples with the seared iberico pork presa, ; finishing with the Spanish style French toast everything was spot on! Did I mention the pomegranate sangria?! Crazy good! Thanks to Nina, our server for her recommendations! read more

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Met with colleagues on a Monday night and was excited to have beautiful weather to enjoy the outside seating in late October!!! Our server (and her back servers and bus people) were on point with describing food and drinks as well as clearing plates to make room on the small table. We had patatas bravas which were solid and near raw and truly the only reason I had to knock off a star. Yhe jamon croquetas were not quite what Ive expected from having jamon croquetas in spain but were more like little bechamel/mornay balls with a hint of pork. Still delicious. The octopus, shishitos, deviled eggs, and beverages were all delicious. Would definitely visit again. Great spot. read more

Good! A little surprised they don't serve paella, but what they do have is good. The service was great and friends and I shared the seasonal mango sangria, which included fresh fruit and was super tasty. We had the gazpacho, shrimp, mushrooms, and chicken skewer. All were tasty. Nothing came with bread so we did end up asking for that just to have a little something to eat the food with. Ambiance is very pleasant too. They have both outdoor and outdoor with awning seating which is so fun. Recommend! read more

I love the original Cafe Ba-ba-Reeba. I'm happy they opened this location. They have a great happy hour, and I liked the sangria. The food was also good, but nothing really stood out to me. This is a fun place to go with a group for HH. read more

Amelia was amazing! Food was great. So why not 5 stars? Because after I was shown my table I put my Macys, gym bag and CVS bag in my seat and asked the lady where were the restrooms. I go and when I come out the stall she is frantically looking around but not really looking. Very micro aggressive. Either someone lost something and she didn't look well or they had thoughts about what I was doing and had to check. If the latter is the case no stars. read more

Love this place! The food is amazing...the ambience and flavor of sitting in Barcelona enjoying tapas experience! Highly recommend!! read more

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Stopped by for a Wednesday happy hour and had a great time! We sat at the bar and had great service. The cocktails were all fun. read more

Lil Ba-Ba-Reeba! - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We went as a larger group for my friend's bachelorette party. The service was amazing! Location is great. The vibes inside are relatively laid back. I won't stop raving about the brussel sprouts salad- it was delectable, fresh, and addicting! We enjoyed the spanish charcuterie. The patatas bravas were INCREDIBLE - so crispy, and the sauce just hit the spot. Another standout was the shrimp and the bacon wrapped dates. The drinks were refreshing. Others enjoyed the sangria which they stated was fruity and tasty. I did not enjoy the chocolate truffle cake, but others did. Overall, a fabulous restaurant to share tapas with friends. read more