Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!
Hours
Profile
$$ - average
Spanish
Spanish Tapas in Lincoln Park
Café Ba-Ba-Reeba! is a restaurant w/ bar in Lincoln park that serves traditional Spanish tapas (small appetizer-sized dishes that you order family style). There are a number of vegetarian-friendly tapas, and some of those are vegan. The dessert selection also offers a number of vegan appropriate sorbets. The restaurant itself is rather large, so it can accommodate larger groups. Reservations are a good idea. The website provides details of Flamenco performances and other cultural events.
- Delivery
- Large Group-Friendly
- Live Music
- Private Rooms
Added by Jonathon Cihlar on Dec 17 05 (updated Dec 17 05)
Reviews
This tapas place is OK. There is a fair amount of vegetarian food, but I am disappointed by the lack of vegan options, which is not impossible to handle in tapas cuisine. I also found it strange that a vegetarian paella is not offered explicitly on the menu. Nevertheless, the desserts were impressive, and I was pleased with a very smooth and delicate almond sorbet.
In terms of ambiance, it's the typical tapas bar scene, but my American sensibilities were assaulted when I had to pass through the barrier of smoke from the bar that sits near the entrance of the restaurant (at the time of this writing the no-smoking ordinance has yet to take place in Chicago). Perhaps that will all change.
I was pretty impressed with Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!'s selection of sangria. There are a fair number of vegan choices, although there definitely could be more. My favorite dishes were the gazpacho and the almond sorbet (which was superb). The portions are huge (for tapas) and the prices are very reasonable. This place is a great compromise for vegans with omnivorous friends.