Back when Lula Cafe opened in 1999, Logan Square was a bit of a ramshackle neighborhood. Long before Logan Square’s exponential growth and gentrification, Lula Cafe started a true Chicago trend that hasn’t let up ever since – cozy and unpretentious neighborhood dining, sourced from local, fresh, and in-season ingredients at a reasonable price. Hundreds of restaurants have tried to capture the magic of Lula Cafe in the last 27 years, and only few have succeeded to have the level of success and consistent accolades that Lula can boast, even now in April of 2026.

I came to Lula Cafe on a Monday after work with my cousins, and the place was full – a testament to its longevity and popularity. My cousins and I were seated in the main dining area which didn’t have an open table throughout the evening, although there seemed to be plenty of bar seating if you wanted to try to wing it without a reservation. The restaurant feels like a repurposed Chicago flat, with original wood floors, tin stamped ceiling tiles, and open bar and kitchen spaces. Art made by local artists adorn the walls and regularly changes. Today, it was a cool installation of baseball caps with different words, giving me a throwback reminder to Frank Rossitano’s rotating headwear from the show 30 Rock. Cozy, and cute, indeed.

The food here is simply prepared, yet extraordinarily flavorful. We started with the chick pea frites with nasturtium bearnaise sauce. The dramatically long frites were extremely light and fluffy, and our only complaint was that we wish there was more sauce. What a yummy way to begin our evening.

Next, I couldn’t say no to the “Baked French Feta.” This large slice of flavorful feta cheese was perfectly baked, with the caramelized edges really lending a slightly sweet note to the dish. Surrounding the feta was a very greek inspired olive and cucumber melange, and it was all floating in a mild jalapeno oil, served with fresh, yummy, and huge slices of sourdough. We all melted over the cheese.

The three of us all chose different mains, and I was attracted to the rigatoni with pork sugo. A reasonably sized portion of pasta, it wasn’t too overwhelming, and it had really nice flavors going on. There was very little “sauce” which was fine, who needs a gloppy tomato sauce, and the calabrian chiles really gave it a nice depth of flavor.

We also tried the pasta ‘yiayia’ which were massive bucatini pasta with an extraordinarily rich garlic and brown butter sauce, balanced with a dash of cinnamon. It was an absolutely outstanding pasta dish.

Finally, we tried the grilled cabbage. While too briny for my taste, my cousins really loved this dish. The grilled cabbage itself really gave an umami flavor that was surprising, and the lentils and mushrooms gave it more of a depth than just a plain cabbage might have had. I’m not really sure where the briny flavor was coming from, as the ingredients don’t list anything so salty (additionally there are kumquats, white miso and raclette cheese) but it tasted to me as though it was covered in capers so it wasn’t for me.

By this time we were stuffed, and I was sad to turn down dessert – honestly it’s virtually impossible for me to say no to carrot cake, so I’ll just have to come back and save room. We split a scoop of “london fog stracciatella” ice cream, which had minimal sprinkles of chocolate, and generous sprinkles of lavender throughout. We all loved it and thought it was a surprising take on stracciatella. It’s inspired me to try making lavender ice cream this summer.

My cousins and I texted the next day about how much we loved our dinner here, and how we were all still thinking about the food. Yes, Lula Cafe is located in one of the hippest, most expensive north side neighborhoods of Chicago, but it has stayed true to its innovative and authentic roots. Who can argue when a restaurant has watched an entire neighborhood change dramatically around it, and has survived it all? If you’re looking for authentic, neighborhood dining in Chicago, make your reservation at Lula Cafe and enjoy!