Ravenswood Grill

Ravenswood Grill may be a diner, but it’s NOT a greasy spoon! Everything here is super, super fresh. In fact, I took a friend with a sulfite allergy here (can’t eat ANY preservatives) and she was able to order anything she wanted! (Most restaurants only have one or two options on the menu she can eat).
This is brunch with a Mexican twist. The savory stuff is spicy and tasty, the sweet stuff is loaded with delicious fresh fruit.
They keep saying they’ll have a dinner menu in the summer, but I have yet to see it. My only complaint is that the service here is just mediocre, but not bad enough to remove a star.

My sister suggested going here when all the hot brunch places we set out for in the area had lines of people waiting outside. I was a little skeptical as it kind of looks like nothing special on the surface but I should know better than to doubt Julee’s taste and Unilocal research! Now I make excuses to visit her so we can brunch here (I’m kidding — sort of).
Love their Mexican brunch specials. The sweet stuff looks great as well but I can’t get past my spicy. My Mom, who usually takes half of everything home, ate her entire plate of strawberry marscapone french toast (immediate seating on Mother’s Day by the way). I’ve had several of the Mexican dishes and the chevre flautas are my fave. Looking forward to trying the mole enchiladas. Come to think of it I need to go visit Julee soon!

I have an eating disorder. I like to eat. A lot.
One morning I was craving some strawberry pancakes, so the Prince of Breakfast and I did a quick Unilocal search and found Ravenswood Grill. Such a find! We were seated immediately and started drooling over the delicious menu.
The Prince wanted the Hangover Chilaquiles and I should have never looked at the menu, because once I saw the Chorizo Burger all thoughts of strawberry pancakes flew out of my mind. But still, I had a craving for them all week and we came there specifically for the pancakes, so we ordered them too… with a side of bacon. The waiter professed his love for us as a «beautiful couple with an appetite», which is probably a nice way of saying «how do you guys stay skinny and still eat like a couple of pigs?! Tapeworms??»
The chilaquiles were delicious with tender, juicy skirt steak. These were probably the most perfect chilaquiles that I have ever had (except they needed a touch more sauce.)
The chorizo burger was phenomenal! I wasn’t even mad that they made it wrong — I wanted the meat rare and the egg well done, not the other way around. The guacamole on top of the burger (already topped with chorizo and a fried egg) was chunky and fresh. This was the burger of my dreams!
The strawberry pancakes were decent, but paled in comparison to our other dishes. Poor little strawberry pancakes!
Everything was washed down with nice diner style coffee and freshly squeezed orange juice. I’m totes BYOB’ing a bottle of sparkling the next time for some mimosas.

There are many wonderful things in life like puppies, found money, the 1966 GTO, and Blackhawks Stanley Cups. And then there are the chilaquiles at Ravenswood Grill. Slap my ass and call me Sally, those chilaquiles are fantastic.
We stopped in on a Saturday for brunch and expected to have to wait. Nope, seated right away. There aren’t enough characters allowed in this space to list out everything we ordered, so I’ll highlight the chilequiles. The skirt steak was cooked to a tender medium temperature and was seasoned deliciously. The tortillas were fried up such that they weren’t soggy but not so crunchy that they tasted stale. The green tomatillo sauce was kickin’ and had awesome flavor, I just wish there were a little more of it in the dish. The cheese was sharp and the guac was fresh and chunky. It’s a huge dish, but don’t ask me to share because they are all mine.
Our waiter was very funny and personable and it’s BYOB, so add that to the awesome scale. Living a couple blocks from here will NOT be good for my health.

Ravenswood Grill offers a no-​frills diner setting with somewhat more ambitious food and great customer service. So far I’ve only experienced brunch, but I would love to see what they can do with a straight-​up breakfast or lunch menu. And, according to their website, they will be serving dinner in «Spring 2011.» We shall see.
In the meantime, we content ourselves with weekend brunch. Sweet offerings such as blueberry cobbler pancakes keep calling, but I keep opting for savory. There is a standard build-​your-​own omelette with a ton of filling options, but a large portion of the menu leans south of the border, with chilaquiles, spanish hash, flautas, a cazador omelette, et alia. I can vouch for the breakfast chicken enchiladas as well as the guacamole appetizer (both in the B+ range). Today I went for the chorizo burger: hamburger, crumbled chorizo, pepper jack cheese, guacamole, and an egg. This was a very well conceived burger, with all ingredients in perfect proportion, although I found it all to be rather dry (mainly the meat’s fault). B on the burger, as well as the massively thick hand-​cut fries as well, which suffered from being TOO thick and therefore undercooked in spots. Big thumbs up, however, for the adobo chipotle ketchup.
I would guess that the breakfast and lunch menus are probably served only on weekdays (hours 9 – 3 M-​F), so I may never have the opportunity to try their more classic diner/​grill fare. However, I am looking forward to coming back for dinner and for more brunch. They’re a solid 3.5 now, but I am rounding up for the neighborhood appeal. I love a place to which I can walk on a Sunday morning.

Sick of waiting for a table at Over Easy?
Seriously, skip it and take yourself to the Ravenswood Grill. The food is amazing (fresh, organic, Latin-​inspired), there is no wait for a table and the service is attentive. I’ve been here a half-​dozen times and I’m always happy with the decision.
Go forth and brunch with confidence!

This unassuming little spot is, as others have mentioned, definitely a cut above your average diner/​greasy spoon. It had been mentally bookmarked for awhile and I finally had a chance to try it for a recent winter breakfast.
Since the time was more on the lunch end of brunch, my Favorite and I started with an order of chips and guacamole. The quac was very fresh, had some heat, and the avocados were actually very chunky. If that’s your thing, this is for you. The chips were a little disappointing — mainly in the grease department — but edible.
I then regressed and had breakfast while Fave ventured forward into lunch. I went with the customizable 3-​on-​3 omelet: 3 eggs and 3 ingredients (many good choices but I opted for only spinach and broccoli). Unforch, the beautiful-​on-​the-​outside omelet was very wet on the inside. The potatoes were only okay and the cinnamon raisin toast, the same.
A note about the blueberry pancake situation:
For breakfast out, I go for an omelet like the one above, or else blueberry pancakes. The omelet won the day in part because the blueberry cobbler pancakes on the weekend brunch menu actually intimidated me; there’s like an entire pie (plus granola!) inside a pancake. I wasn’t sure I was woman enough to take it on. While conducting some review-​prep recon, I noticed that the regular breakfast menu has a blueberry pancake that is right up my alley: whole wheat, blueberries, nothing else. The RG seems like the kind of place where I could request the breakfast, not brunch, version, so may do that. Which brings me to my next point.

The service was very, very good. Our waitress was friendlier than average and that’s a pleasant surprise, especially in Chicago in December — and before noon, too. She took care to write our orders thoroughly, and as a semi-​neurotic, I appreciate that. When it was time to pay, our waitress was handling another table so another waitress scooped up the bill and credit card and handled the procedure for her. It was done for the convenience of the customer, and again, that was cool. She was also friendly.
The rest of the menu looks very good, and I plan to go back for a lunch or dinner in the near future.

With the closing of Ravenswood’s Peppermill Kitchen, thankfully another family-​owned neighborhood brunch spot has opened nearby. I had looked inside the large «storefront» windows several times and never saw anything special until I checked out all the praising Unilocal reviews (thanks to Victoria V who’s judgement I trust). I went directly to their website to see what all they had to offer. I found that they post all their Brunch specials in advance and actually keep the web-​menu up to date unlike many other restaurant’s websites around the city! The menu has a good variety of items with unique twists on American and Mexican cuisine and I was up for the adventure, like any good Unilocaler would be.
After visiting this Sunday for brunch, I quickly learned that Ravenswood Grill is all about the food, not the ambiance, DUH! We walked in and by surprise it was hopping! We were still sat right away at one of the three empty tables and the waitress said it was empty for hours until everyone came all at once. Go figure, the same time we stepped in! I was happy to see that people have discovered this business after new owners purchased and revamped it from the previous «greasy grill hole».
Those who rely on caffeine to wake up, be sure to start off with their Cinnamon-​infused coffee. Mmm! Just hook me up to an IV and run it through my veins! The waiter told me that Chef Hector invents every item himself with his 20 years of cooking skills. My partner had the Enchiladas Huastecas which was three corn enchiladas filled with oven roasted free-​range shredded chicken topped with two over easy eggs, homemade mole negro, queso fresco and sour cream, and all this served over a bed of Mexican rice. The mole negro was one of the best we’ve had in the city (up there with La Ciudad’s in Uptown and Cosina’s just a little farther north on Ravenswood). As everyone should know, mole is far from being an easy recipe involving many ingredients and hours of preparation and cooking (Check out my list «Holy MOLE-​y Truly a gift from the Aztec Gods!»:
) While taking a taste of the Mexican rice, it seemed to possibly be from a box, however, with the grill’s mission of «homemade — organic — fresh,» I was hoping this wasn’t true. I had the Hangover Chilaquiles which looked like the most popular dish served, in line with the cobbler pancakes. The chilaquiles were definitely all homemade with organic corn tortillas, epazote, one of two salsa choices, sour cream, queso fresco (yes, you gotta have the Mexican kind to be authentic), homemade guacamole and two eggs. They were fanta’sticos! I enjoyed the salsa verde, or the serrano pepper tomatillo, which was perfect zesty yet tamed down with the delicious guacamole. Both of the dishes presentation was lovely and celebrities within themselves (see pictures of them within the business profile:
).
My only complaint was that the service was slow. It’s one of those easy things to fix being that the restaurant is new and does have a «waiters wanted» sign posted on the door. All the waiters who were working were über friendly and working to their max, but they were quite overwhelmed with all the tables. In other words, if anyone needs a true job, besides Unilocaling, here’s an option. For dinner keep in mind that Ravenswood Grill is BYOB. I’d love to come back and try their sweet potato fries which are made with 13 different spices! Can’t beat that!
Awarded Review of the Day in Chicago, Illinois on 07/​22/​2011!
*Note: Ravenswood Grill has been closed for some time and is replaced by Fin Sushi Bar:

Ventured away from Ravenswood Manor/​Lincoln Square for brunch today… tried to go to Over Easy, but they were closed on Labor Day. Started to walk back to the bus and ended up at Ravenswood Grill which we saw while waiting for the Westbound #81. My boyfriend and I took a chance…
From the look of things, we thought we were walking into a greasy spoon kind of place, but we saw all the booths in the window full so we took that as a good sign. We were immediately greeted by a very nice gentleman who held the door for us and told us to sit wherever we would like.
The restaurant was clean, our water glasses were immediately filled, there were cloth napkins on the table, and menus were promptly placed in our hands. The menu was printed on thicker paper like cardstock which tells me they change it around often. I’m not kidding when I say that each menu item looked incredible. The gentleman who greeted us came by to say that the chefs shop at local markets and that many of the ingredients we would have in our delicious food were locally purchased and very fresh.
I ordered the Dulce de Leite french toast (always thought is was leche, but that is neither here nor there I guess) and it was delicious. My man ordered Blueberry Cobbler Pancakes and was equally impressed. When the food was delivered, the presentation was totally unexpected and beautiful. Both dishes were overtopping with the freshest berries. The blueberry pancakes came with cinnamon gelato and a piece of pineapple in the shape of a star on top. We both took our first bites and gave each other the look indicating that our shut off valves were going to fail us because we knew we were both going to clear our plates.
Cinnamon roasted coffee was my beverage of choice and it was as great as the server who kept coming by to top up my coffee cup. We actually asked for some lemonade, but the waiter told us they were out because they were waiting for more fresh lemons. He said they only make fresh squeezed juices and it had been a popular choice already so it was gone.
Totally surprising, totally enjoyable, and I’m going to pay the establishment the highest compliment by returning to try more delicious food… sooner rather than later.

Ravenswood Grill used to be a run down sort of diner or at least that’s what it appeared from the outside. While it changed owners awhile back, the restaurant still looked unappealing from the outside and we never gave it a chance. Big mistake. The food here is fabulous.
My husband and I stopped in for brunch on a Saturday and had a great meal. All of the food is organic and made in house. I had the chicken enchiladas (free range) in a mole negro sauce with rice and topped with an overeasy egg, guacamole and queso fresco. I love this mole! The flavor of all of the ingredients both individually and together were amazing.
Although we did not bring drinks, Ravenswood Grill is BYOB. We did notice another table mixing bloody marys.
I can’t wait to go back for dinner! Go here and check it out. I think that the façade of the place scares people away and I don’t want this place to go out of business! So go there and tell all your friends. You will not be disappointed.

I went here with my little sister and my boyfriend on a Sunday afternoon as a last resort to get some brunch. We didn’t have time for the 30 minute wait at Over Easy or the 50(!) minute wait at M. Henry, so I decided to check out «that one place that never has people in it» by my house.
It’s now my personal mission to make sure there is ALWAYS people here (but not so many that I have to wait 50 freaking minutes for a table :). The food and service are AMAZING. I can only echo other reviewers and adamantly state DO NOT BE FOOLED by the façade or the Copperplate font on the sign. My Spanish Hash with pork chorizo was spicy and flavorful but not greasy — and I finished what my sister didn’t of her french toast, which was spongey and light and soaked in a caramelly sauce that I would sip over ice. Fresh coffee, too.
Also some of the best service I’ve ever received in Chicago. Every single member of the waitstaff was attentive and friendly, and when my boyfriend asked for a savory corn muffin (he’d been eying mine), a waiter brought him one immediately for no additional charge.
I cannot wait to try this place for dinner. And BYOB! Be still my heart!

I went to Ravenswood Grill for late brunch today and it was quite an amazing experience. The food was fresh, tasty and surprisingly unique. I thought it was just going to be ordinary diner food, but Ravenswood takes a different spin on diner food and makes it extremely delicious.
We were warmly welcomed at the door as we were sat promptly into a comfy booth. The server was quite helpful as he described the menu and gave suggestions. I got a cup of coffee and the Chilaquiles with scrambled eggs and the red chili sauce. The Chilaquiles were delicious with just the right amount of heat. The tortilla strips, or chips is how they do it there, were freshly fried and crisp as they soaked up the red sauce, the scrambled eggs were fluffy, creamy and dreamy with melted cheese and the guacamole that topped it all was delicious. My friend got a glass of Apple Juice and the Florentine Benedict with breakfast potatoes. The Florentine Benedict consisted of fresh cornbread, Canadian bacon, perfectly poach egg, creamy Hollandaise topped with sun-​dried tomatoes served with crispy home fries. Looked quite tasty.
The overall experience here at Ravenswood Grill was quite amazing. I will be back to try all you have to offer. Like others have said, don’t be fooled by the façade or the fact it may look like an ordinary diner. It’s not. Go in a try their delicious food and you’ll thank me later.

I used to walk by this place all the time and think «Well, that looks like a less flashy version of Golden Apple.»
Wrong. Wrong. Wrong. Welcome to Chicago’s secret weapon in our food renaissance. The things they are doing at this place have blown me away and I am thrilled to know it before it gets packed at 10AM on a Sunday.
BYOB. The best guac I’ve had in a restaurant (sorry, Rick), actually organic and freshly made food, amazing service who CARES about the food, and a constantly rotating menu.
I’ve worked in the service industry for a while and this is the chef and server’s brunch place. No bull, just amazing food like the breakfast burger I had on Sunday. I’m so underwhelmed usually by the ketchup I usually get at most places that I ask for ranch but here? They made it themselves. Sure, they have Heinz as a back up but they not only tried to give me an option — I received one for my fries that rocked.
Make this your brunch option for sure. There’s a liquor store right across the street with an ample supply of champagne and the fresh squeezed orange juice obviously helps. You will not regret going to the Ravenswood Grill.

Don’t be fooled by the façade, the location, or the place that used to be in this spot. After seeing reviews on Unilocal,we decided to try it… and it was the beginning of a long-​term love affair between our stomachs and Chef Hector’s food.
1) Food is healthy and AMAZING. Everything is all-​natural, homemade, organic, fresh, never frozen, free-​range chicken — it’s the kind of meal where you can clearly taste the difference in the ingredients and the care Chef puts into making it. I’m convinced the tortilla soup came straight from heaven. And I don’t even want to understand the combination of 13 spices that went into the sweet potato fries. Even the lettuce served with the (best) chicken sandwich (ever) is worthy of note. And let’s not get started on the bread pudding… OMG, let’s not get started on that… that’s all I can say.
2) He doesn’t know it yet, but Chef Hector is our new best friend. Not only did he keep the place open just for us, but he came out and chatted a bit and told us about his food; he clearly loves what he does. And the host/​server was equally as welcoming and attentive.
3) We walked in right as they were closing and the place was empty. But they took us in, did not rush us, and did not rush our order. We ended up being there for about 90 minutes. A glorious 90 minutes. And never once rushed.
4) The décor is simplistic but «upscale» at the same time — you can tell they put a lot of work into giving it a distinctive feel that sits comfortably between «neighborhood diner» and «fancy-​schmancy bistro». It works well.
5) The prices are FABULOUS and it’s BYOB. And did I mention that the food RULES?
In the end, we contemplated asking the Chef if we could just live under one of their tables and eat 3 meals a day there. But figuring that would not be acceptable, we’ve decided just to come back on a regular basis. Our stomachs vehemently approve.
Thanks for bringing this place to our ‘hood!

Talk about hidden gems. This is the definition.
Now, it’s ultra weird that it’s a hidden gem for me as I basically live above it. It just sort of looked like a diner and I wasn’t very excited to go in, but now I lament the months I spent walking past without going inside.
I’ll update this post after I have dinner one of these days, but brunch was spectacular. The chilaquiles were clearly the best I’ve ever had. Everything from the chips on up was made in house and was just perfect. You can choose between a tomatillo sauce and a traditional red. The tomatillo was tangy, flavorful and wonderful.
The Florentine Benedict was also a treat. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any of the homemade corn bread, but it was still stupendous. A perfectly poached egg with a subtle, creamy hollandaise was just outstanding.
This may not be the best name, or the best décor, or the best location, but this is the sort of restaurant that deserves lines out the door. It’s organic, it’s made in house, it’s reasonably priced, and I’m in love with it.
I thought I’d just want to promote it to help my property value, but little did I know, it would turn out to be amazing.

The Ravenswood Grill is, hands down, the BEST breakfast/​brunch place in Lincoln Square. I can’t say enough about the quality of the food, friendliness of the owner, and the changing variety of specials.
I have been there a few times now, and have tried the Lawrence Omelet, Brioche french toast, and Chicken Flautas breakfast. All excellent. The food tastes fresh and flavorful.
The restaurant is very casual and unassuming, but the food quality far exceeds the décor. I will be back sometime for lunch or dinner.

GO.HERE.FOR.BRUNCH.
There is no wait, the food is organic, and it is reasonably priced.
People obviously don’t know about this place and I’m walking the fine line of not wanting this place to go out of business due to low patronage versus it catching on like wildfire thus creating «Over Easy Café» waits…
We tried the eggs benedict, spanish hash, and sides of pancakes and bacon. Everything was awesome and we were so glad we stopped in. Servers are friendly and attentive to boot. Yay for not waiting to eat a good brunch!
Can’t wait to go back and try dinner.

I am writing this review having been turned away yet again from the Ravenswood Grill. This is the fourth time that I have tried to eat here only to be told upon walking in that they are closed, even though their «open» sign is lit and their posted hours say they are still open. Let me assure you that I am not arriving five minutes before closing — this time I was there a full four hours before they close for the day, according to their sign. Also, I have tried to eat here for both breakfast and dinner, but, alas… my efforts have been thwarted. Is there some secret to being able to have a meal here?
I very much wanted to support this business and see them do well. They are just around the corner from me, and I was happy to see them finally open so I could have an option other than Over Easy (which I enjoy, but I don’t always feel like waiting an hour for a table) for breakfast or brunch. The one meal I managed to have eaten here was very good, which is why I continue to try to return and why I gave them two stars instead of one.
I can understand closing early on occasion, in which case, please turn off your sign so as not to get my hopes up. Or if you are open only occasionally, when and if you feel like it, then please take down your posted hours. This is getting ridiculous. I am sad to say that think I may be finished attempting to enjoy a meal at this restaurant.

Ravenswood Restaurant is my new go-​to brunch and breakfast joint. I went here a few years ago when it was a hole in the wall, get what you pay for place and enjoyed it for what it is. It has recently re-​opened with new management, a new style and a fantastic menu. The food is spectacular and Omar, our regular Saturday and Sunday waiter, is great.
The only incident was one time when my eggs benedict were cooked way too long. I told Omar, he immediately sent them back, the chef came by to apologize and said that they were training new people and he was going to monitor them and make sure my eggs were perfect next time. Which they were.
Bottom line: This restaurant is fantastic and getting better by the day. GO. HERE.

Used to be Ravenswood Restaurant. Although I applaud the new owners intention of trying to upscale this diner, I think they are on the wrong track. Concentrate more on fewer ingredients (watercress has a shelf life of 1 — 2 days, so if you don’t use it often, don’t have it on the menu), get the best quality ingredients, bring the menu back to standard diner fare — then you may have a chance. People want breakfast for $ 6 — $ 7 a plate at a diner, not a $ 30 tab for 2.
the pathetic shill reviews have caused me to diislike this place even more