Cafe Ba Ba Reeba

We recently went to Cafe Ba Ba Reeba in Lincoln Park on N Halsted St between Armitage Ave and Lincoln Ave for dinner. It was a place I'd been meaning to try for a while, and now I feel silly for waiting so long because it really lived up to its hype. It's definitely a restaurant suited for foodies, but we felt very comfortable there in casual clothing and picking up shrimps with our hands, and we were surrounded by couples, friends, and families with small children also dining. The restaurant is very open with windows that fully lift up when the weather's nice and warm. It's very deep, making it feel large. The servers are very attentive.

We ordered a pitcher of mango sangria, which is their current seasonal sangria. Our glasses came loaded with fruit, and the servers constantly refilled us from our pitcher on the table.

We ordered the Deviled Egg with Crispy Jamón Serrano, which is a pinxto, so it's a bite-size dish. It was amazing.



We ordered the Spicy Potatoes with Tomato Alioli aka Patatas Bravas. The alioli was great, and the potatoes were less spicy than what we're used to when ordering similar dishes. Still, it was very good.



We ordered the Beef Tenderloin and Bleu Cheese. It came with chips on the side. The beef was juicy, and perfectly cooked to my liking.



We ordered the Seafood Paella with Shrimp, Bay Scallops, Monkfish, and Green Beans. Paella can only be ordered in 2 servings at a time because of the way it's prepared in the paellera (a large, shallow dish). They bring out the paellera to your table, then separate the dish between two plates for you. If you've never had paella, it's unlike anything else you've ever tasted. The blend of flavors is spectacular, and this dish was amazing. It takes about 30 minutes to cook paella, so order it early.



By this point, we were stuffed, and already prepared to bring home leftovers; however, when we were presented with a dessert menu, we couldn't resist tasting one more thing at this restaurant. The desserts are tapas as well, so they're small plates. We got the cutest Chocolate Truffle Cake, and it was as great as everything else, rich and full of flavor.



The blending of flavors here is what makes everything so fantastic. My advice to you is to order absolutely anything here that sounds good to you. We never made one bad decision, except maybe we ate too much. But I'd do it again.