05/08/07

A family favorite

by rayjay4

I have been eating at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba for many years when in town on business. Four years ago I took my wife when we in town to watch our son play football. It is now a family favorite where we eat on our frequent trips to Chicago. The only downside is that they drop some of our favorite dishes during menu updates. We have NEVER been disappointed with an dish or any Sangria. Our favorite Sangria is the traditonal Red but the Black berry is good too. All of the Tapas are great. Always fun.

• Pros: Good food, good service
• Cons: Parking is at a premium, take a cab

05/11/09

Perfect place for big groups!

by Jenna130

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago! The key is to always make reservations through Open Table. The atmosphere is fun & loud and perfect for big groups, such as birthday parties or girls night out. The blue cheese steak and spicy potatoes are a must!

• Pros: outdoor seating, great sangria, yummy specials
• Cons: always make reservations!

09/06/08

great place!

by crombiejock

this place is soo cute and has great food. try the sangria, its to die for!! great tapas and service was excellent... just another quality restaurant in great lincoln park! :)

• Pros: great crowds
• Cons: none

06/06/08

PARTY IN YOUR MOUTH

by MeLB4

SERIOUSLY the best tapas! Get the dates wrapped with bacon and the cheesey potatoes and the meatballs and the goat cheese with tomato sauce. oh my gosh. its soooooo damn good.

• Pros: THE FOOD IS THE BEST
• Cons: weekends are busy so it may take awhile getting seated, during the week there is no wait :-)

05/26/08

Terrible service-Caution w/Open Table reservations

by Henry26

I made a reservation through Open Table for 7:30 pm on May 25. I received 2 emails confirming this reservation for 7:30 pm. When I showed up to the restaurant at 7:25 to check in, the hostess informed me that I did not have a 7:30 reservation and that I was a no show for my 6:30 reservation. I showed her my confirmation email for 7:30 on my blackberry, but she rudely told me to contact Open Table because the restaurant had me in their system for 6:30. I have used Open Table successfully close to 50 times in various cities and I have never had an Open Table reservation disregarded in this manner. I am extremely dissatisfied with how the hostess treated me. With thousands of other restaurants in Chicago, I do not recommend this restaurant to anyone.

05/04/08

A nice surprise.

by Celstrial

I've been dying to find a great spanish tapas bar in town. And although Babareeba is not your "authentic" spanish tapas, it takes what is great about spanish flavors and gives it a nice twist. Tried the "toro brochetas" which are basically a skewer to great tender meat with a plate of potatoes, caramelized onions and a stewed tomato - had the pork and it was very flavorful. Had the scallops, pine nuts, couscous and that was very delicious - strong garlic flavor, well seasoned. The mushroom empanada was small, but worth every bite, esp the porcini alioli on the side. Lastly the mini desserts were perfect sized, nothing profound, but was a nice sweet end to a great tasty meal. I'd rather have a tasty twist to classic tapas than have not so great authentic tapas. Make reservations!

• Pros: Great food, fun loud ambiance, $3 tapas during happy hour
• Cons: Loud if you don't want that ambience, long wait w/o reservations

04/27/08

Worst paella I ever had.

by bbheli

I went for the Paella. Traditional paella has a crispy, caramelized, toasted bottom (called socarrat in Valencian) that is considered a delicacy. To achieve a socarrat, one either needs to time the evaporation of the water properly with the completion of the rice being cooked or turn up the heat to high and listen to the bottom of the rice toast. Once the aroma of toasted rice comes from the pan, but before the rice burns, the heat is removed once again. The paella is ready to be served after having cooled for several minutes.

The paella they served me was not crispy, and it was loaded with grease rather than broth and had way to much salt and not much meat or seafood at all. It was more like and overpriced rice pilaf. I was very dissapointed. I know they are well known for the tapas and the $3 tapas bar but if you are looking for an authentic paella, this is not the place to spend $60.00 for it. It taste like grease and salt.

03/02/08

Great tapas

by rashad83

The food here is great,service is good too. A litle crowded on the weekends so make sure you have reservations. Paella, brochetas and tapas tasted great and they have a wide selection of them.fun atmosphere and cheap.

• Pros: Brochetas,tapas
• Cons: long wait

01/15/08

My favorite Tapas

by auriellis

I cannot give enough praise to this place. They have some of the best tapas I've ever had and I love the ambiance of the place. Every waiter/waitress I've had has been nice, polite, and fun. I've never sat waiting for a refill (unless I was sitting in the bar area) and I've never had to send back a plate.

I highly recommend the bacon-wrapped dates, which are set in a apple vingrette, the Baked Goat Cheese in Marinara Sauce, and the Chicken/Chorizo sausage skewers. All three are simple divine.

My only complaint is that sometimes they turn the music up too loud some nights so I can't even hear my boyfriend.

• Pros: Great for an evening out, Ambience, Delicious food
• Cons: Music too loud

08/26/07

Good, not great

by psnchckn

Finally made it here, after hearing a lot about it. Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! is a fun place, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. The scallop tapas with couscous, pine nuts, and raisins were quite good, with very tender scallops, but the other three tapas we got were nothing exciting -- pretty standard, safe tapas fare. My paella mixta was very salty and too thick, but the fish and shrimp in the paella were tasty. And Ba-Ba-Reeba's sangria, supposedly what they are known for according to our server, was nothing out of the ordinary -- not much to differentiate it from sangria elsewhere.

Outdoor seating is a plus and the neighborhood is great, but the overall atmosphere and decor makes the restaurant feel like a chain, like Outback for tapas.

I'd go again, but definitely with tempered expectations and enthusiasm. I kind of wish I made it here during the Nineties.

• Pros: Some of the tapas are good; outdoor seating; great neighborhood; good service
• Cons: Overall not very exciting; overrated food and sangria