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    The Licking Chicago

    2.7 (161 reviews)
    ModerateSouthern, Seafood
    Updated over 3 months ago

    The Licking Chicago Photos

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    THE LICKING CHICAGO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Divey
    Casual
    Trendy

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    Sade J.

    Now this was yummy! I'm a south side girl, hey I try to stay far away from the Westside, but THESE WINGS were unforgettable!! I love a naked wing dipped in plenty of sauce! This was a hit! Although the restaurant reminds me of a fancy sharks w/the chandelier lol. This was some yummy and fresh chicken!

    Rozalynn B.

    I've been to 2 of the Miami locations several times so I'm familiar with their food. The location here is new to Chicago and I've heard bad things. But I always check places out for myself! We arrived to a full parking lot on Tuesday at about 2pm. So we used Madison street parking instead of the tight lots. There are 2 sides to the facility, take out & dine in. Take out is in the front & dine in is in the back. When we walked in we were advised there's a 15min wait. Once seated we had a really nice waitress, unfortunately, I can't remember her name. We ordered baked & fried chicken dinners. Got green beans, yams, & mac. They don't have greens everyday of the week! Which is unfortunate because they never have them in Miami either! *** ROLLS EYES*** These must be some bomb ass greens! Geesh THE FOOD IS PREPARED TO ORDER THIS IS NOT A FAST FOOD MCDONALD'S RESTAURANT!!!! GET THAT THRU YOUR HEAD PPL! THIS AIN'T MAC ARTHUR'S! GO DOWN THERE IF YOU'RE HURRIED. It took about 20/25 mins for our food to come out. Everything was fresh/good! I'll definitely be back for the seafood next time.

    a menu on a table
    Chanel H.

    The food is bomb, but service is not so great. Only one person working so can't blame her for the slowness. Definitely need more employees

    Never does it take 20min + to get change back , never got our drinks (they charged us our drinks when she said she was going to take it off never did ) , food was stale (fries) , pasta was like it was sitting around . Ended up going home with a stomachache something was wrong with the pasta . As a server I wouldn't have left a tip from how awful was the service . Cashed us out and never came back . Horrible horrible avoid at all cost and go to the one in Florida !!! Close this location down

    Grilled Fish Shrimp Dinner
    Lauren D.

    Our server was very nice and overall the food is pretty good. Not sure how it is usually, but it took quite a while for our orders to be taken. There was only one server. Luckily my friends and I weren't on a time frame, if we were, our entire day would have been thrown off. It took a long time to get the check as well. The music and TVs were incredibly loud, but when we asked the staff If they'd turn them down they were really sweet and accommodating. All of the sides were delicious. I ordered the chicken wing dinner with plain chicken wings and they were good but really salty. Overall, food was really good. Service was almost perfect. Just took way too long for us to be helped and I think that affected the experience a bit.

    Outside
    Aryanna D.

    At first I was skeptical reading the reviews .. but the food was actually decent I wouldn't pay $50 again but it would be more worth $25... The Mac and cheese wasn't good

    Lacey K.

    If you're looking for the worse service and longest wait, this is the place, but the food was amazing... the employees were cool, but very frustrated. I get it, it's new, was pop'n and very very busy. We went here and waited for over an hour to get seated, then it was over an hour to get our appetizer... they looked out and gave us free lemon pepper wings (fire), with our chicken rolls (fire). Then about 30-ish mins later we got our food. While all that was happening, the table across from us had been waiting for who knows how long. All I know is that they were in there before my bf and I. They got the check before they got their food. The music helped and kept us chill! With all that being said, Enjoy... everything we ate was on point and fire, definitely worth the wait if you had to drive to get there. We didn't get a chance to get a pic of our meal.

    Front of Restaurant facing Madison Ave
    Tiffany P.

    Really rude staff. They acted clueless to my DoorDash order, like they didn't know how the computer worked or have any knowledge of online orders. I realized after a bit it was an act as they were playing dumb, because they didn't want to do anything. The staff was more focused on getting back to the back room to play on their phones. There were three young staff members, and only one of them looked up from their phone the entire time to help me and other customers. One item I ordered was the Conch appetizer, and at the restaurant, the girl at the counter said that they do not have that menu item. Even though, it is listed on the paper carry out menu and clearly listed on the light up menu behind the counter! I couldn't believe they didn't have this item, as it seems to be THEE main thing that customers gave positive feedback for. The restaurant would not issue me a refund for this, saying they didn't know how to. I left about 10-12 mins later with my shrimp meal. Here's the review on the Food itself: * Macaroni & cheese- this is the Stouffer's Mac & Cheese that you make from the frozen trays. If you've never had it, I'm sorry your childhood was deprived, bc it is pretty good. But, I expect better and different from a restaurant especially when they're charging so much. * Veggie Fried Rice- again this is a prepared food. I can't quite identify it, if it's from a Zatarain's or possibly Rice a Ronni, but I have def had it before and it's NOT "made" in the restaurant. It is also NOT fried rice in any sense, and as far as vegetables from 'Vegetable Fried Rice', these are the little green and red specs that come from the boxed rice * Fried Shrimp- this is the only saving grace of the whole restaurant experience and entire food order. The shrimp were GIANT and fresh. I could tell these weren't frozen shrimp. The breading on them was perfect, and the shrimp were juicy and crisp. They weren't chewy and didn't have a weird texture; they were good! If it weren't for the shrimp, my mood would have risen to the level of anger instead of just extreme frustration with The Licking. * Mystery Drink- Tho pricey, I actually did like the mystery drink! It tasted like a popsicle. I think they take lemonade and put a squirt or two of slushie flavoring into it. I would recommend it, but kind of on the fence if I'd get it another time because they're $4.29 (plus tax) a piece! Being in a food desert tho, honestly it's one of the better options in the area. * Overall- size of the box was small, and even after eating everything bc I was so hungry at the time, I still had hunger pains in my stomach. Disappointing! And I'm. Or a very big person either. I'm sure a 200 lb man would be 200 times more disappointed. Rarely do I have such bad experiences at places. Again, I was surprised just how rude the staff was, ignoring me for several minutes and then immediately talking with an attitude once I was finally approached. It was if I was the biggest annoyance to them, like rolling eyes why are you bothering me at work! Be careful with what prices you pay- see my Tip that details this. Differs bw diff apps and paper menu, up to $12 different. Combined with the disappointing food, and over $20 I spent, don't waste your time & money Yelpers!!

    Shrimp Alfredo
    Tavi J.

    I would say it's more like 3.5 stars. There's two different parts to this spot. On the left side entrance is the to go orders and the right side entrance is for dining in. My expectations were a bit higher than they should of been because this is DJ Khaled restaurant and he seems like he would know food. At this location theirs no alcohol being served yet. We went with the mystery drink and it's pretty much a mixture of different types of really sweet koolaid. The yams were a disappointment and tasted like they were straight from the can. The highlights would be the Mac and cheese and the shrimp Alfredo. I thought the shrimp tasted very well seasoned. I don't live close by so probably won't be making the trek back anytime soon, but I can see this as being a go to spot if I lived in the area.

    Car Outside the restaurant.
    Cynthia M.

    Ok..so, when you visit there are 2 different areas for the restaurant. Take-out: On the main street Dine-In: Follow the inside wall of the strip mall to door (Suite A). A bit confusing but there is a sit down area. There are 9 sitting areas. 7 booths - which seat up to 4 2 booths - which seat 2 For visitors and tourists running low on battery power. Each booth has charging stations EXCEPT the 2-seater booths (possibly they will get temporary charging stations at those). FOOD: Okay...I was craving chicken wings and shrimp. They have a chicken wing and fries meal ($9) and I ordered a side of shrimp ($4). My friend ordered the baked chicken dinner ($12??). He enjoyed the meal, it was too much for him to finish. Me on the other hand, the chicken wings were over cooked so.. they were tiny. The shrimp was perfectly seasoned and fried, I wanted more than 5...greedy me. The fries..eh..they were ok. In fairness, I wasn't hungry for french fries..cole slaw would have been better...not so heavy...but its not a side option they have. We took the bus out to this location...which was an experience. This place is located in a poor neighborhood and they have a security guard watching this tiny strip mall. Not very many cars can fit in the lot!! Be forewarned if you drive to this location. We went on a Saturday and traffic was busy hardly any parking because of the church around the corner. Best to call in your order for To - Go. The mystery drink was very sweet (like I enjoy it). Not a great drink for a diabetic or child...they will be hyped up all day. I'm glad we walked after our meal. Transportation: Public transportation is only a block away. Very convenient. Restrooms: Clean Staff: Polite, professional, courteous and they understand you have to wait a while and they try their best to accommodate. We waited 10 mins for our food. So the wait is Not long. (kudos). Our staff person checked on us several times to make sure we had everything. The big bosses were in the house, they introduced themselves and took our suggestions. A welcome restaurant to that area. I hope other working class/mom & pop entrepreneurs will move into the area and have higher class establishments move in (great lighting, security, nice decor, clean, professional staff, etc.). DJ Khaled and his investors did good with this. It's showing what you can do even if you don't put in tons of money but HIRE RIGHT. Hire folks who want to LEVEL UP, BRING UP OTHERS and at the end of the day KNOW THEY BROUGHT a light to the tunnel.. it's looking brighter in that area.

    So I ordered a chicken fettuccine Alfredo and it's nothing like the original. It's spicy and it taste like Cajun style and they don't tell you that either. On top of that you have to wait really long. It's not good at all. I was expecting fettuccine Alfredo. If it's any different than that, then it shouldn't be named chicken fettuccine Alfredo because this is not how it's made.

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    Ask the Community - The Licking Chicago

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    I almost didn't know what to make of our visit. We were here about a week ago and things started…read morepretty slow. The table bread didn't come out until we ordered and we waited quite a minute to order because our waiter would take a while to come back each time. The restaurant was not crowded at all so it was hard to understand what was taking so long. The first batch of bread was hard and my child's pasta pieces were also somewhat hard. It was just a bit of a mess at first. Then all of our food finally came, plates were smelling good and that helped lift our moods. My husband said that his pasta was just really spicy and the flavor itself wasn't really there. My pasta (vongole) was actually pretty good. We had to ask for Parmesan which helped with flavor for sure but I tried to have no complaints once our dishes came out. It was a nice place to try. If I was to visit again, I would be going to try their paella.

    Rustico was a really wonderful dining experience. From the moment we sat down, the atmosphere felt…read morerelaxed and welcoming, and the service made the evening especially enjoyable! The bread service was fantastic. The tomato focaccia and the baguette were both excellent and I had to remind myself not to fill up on it before the main meal! LOL! We started with the calamari which was very well seasoned and clearly not the typical frozen version you often see from foodservice distributors. It tasted fresh, was crispy, and well prepared. For dinner I ordered the margherita pizza which was simple and delicious. I ended up ordering a second one to-go for my partner who couldn't make it to dinner. He also loved it - even after it sat for ~30 min or so while we chatted more, then drove home to the Maywood area. I would imagine their delivery is pretty good based on that! My mom had the rigatoni vodka with added crumbled Italian sausage which she loved, and my dad ordered the Marcelino. He loved the generous amount of seafood and how well seasoned it was. My parents are big wine drinkers and my dad was especially impressed with the wine list and the selection available. Oscar was an incredible server!! He struck the perfect balance of being attentive while still letting us enjoy a relaxed, unhurried evening. The support staff and food runners were also fantastic and very friendly, making the entire service experience feel polished! I also loved the kitchen was more open which gives you confidence in the quality and care that goes into the food. The dining space is inviting with a nice bar area and an additional room that looks perfect for busy nights or private gatherings. Overall a great restaurant that we would absolutely return to!!

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    Watta Potato by Yogis Bistro - Chicken broccoli and asparagus

    Watta Potato by Yogis Bistro

    3.4(13 reviews)
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    I went here after seeing some videos on tik tok, and I was not disappointed. The inside is…read moreregular. It is not a sit down restaurant, but they do have some chairs and a counter in there if you decide to stay and eat. The service was quick. Nothing special, but they were nice and took my order promptly. The food was obviously the star of the show. I got the salmon alfredo loaded fries, and it was perfect. At first glance, it seemed like they didn't add enough alfredo sauce, but it was at the bottom of the container. The fries were crispy, and the salmon was perfectly seasoned. The alfredo sauce was delicious as well. On the menu it says that it comes with chives, but it came with spinach. This did not bother me, but I just wanted others to be aware. I would recommend this place. I also tried the strawberry lemonade, and I loved it.

    Watta Potato made its permanent spot off of Washington, and the menu offers their signature baked…read morepotatoes with various types of toppings as well as wings, fries, and nachos. We ordered the following: +Seafood Sensation - with lobster claws, jumbo shrimp, bernaise garlic butter and sautéed spinach +The Chicago - topped with Italian beef, nacho cheese, and giardiniera peppers +and, the Pot Roast - with slow-cooked beef roast and gravy, served with a side of mac and cheese You can also add extra protein and make your own customizations with taco meat, Italian beef, lobster, salmon, steak, lamb chops, etc. One should definitely place an order in advance, because you could technically wait up to about an hour for your items to be ready. Staff could be friendlier. Ample street parking in the area. +order in advance - long wait times +ample street parking available

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    Watta Potato by Yogis Bistro - My surf and turf potato

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    The Licking Chicago - southern - Updated May 2026

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