Restaurants in Elmhurst
Recommended Restaurants by Groupon Customers
Chefs at La Española Tapas cook authentic and inventive dishes, drawing from the rich palate of Spanish cuisine and the country’s varied climates, landscapes, and cultures. The menu melds classics such as paella with dozens of hot and cold tapas dishes, rich with seafood, vegetables, and spices, and sized perfectly for sharing or creating edible mosaics. Beyond La Española Tapas’ sidewalk al fresco seating, the dining room and lounge spread through airy spaces trimmed with warm wood and cool stone décor. On the weekends, live musicians take the stage, and on the last Friday of each month, the restaurant hosts tablao flamenco nights, filling the atmosphere with energetic staccatos and subjecting the floor boards to its routine durability test.
Al Ferreri, his sister Frances, and his brother-in-law Chris Pacelli Sr., developed their signature italian-beef sandwich out of necessity in 1938. The economic depression made meat harder to come by, so the trio of sandwich makers made their supplies last by cutting thinner slices of roast beef.
Their business started with them feeding guests at family weddings, delivering meals to local hospitals, and catering the country's first food fight, but they soon founded a more permanent curbside food stand in Chicago's Little Italy neighborhood. Despite their relatively humble beginnings, Al's Beef & Nancy's Pizza rapidly expanded and now boasts franchises throughout the Chicago area and across the country. The family business has garnered plentiful acclaim throughout the years, having been named Adam Richman's best sandwich in the Midwest on the Travel Channel show Best Sandwich in America in June 2012, appearing on Richman's Man v. Food and earning a place on Esquire's list of The Best Sandwiches in America in 2008.
The cooks begin every morning by roasting cuts of beef for the day, kneading fresh pizza dough, and cutting french fries with an industrial-strength laser pointer. The hearty italian-beef sandwiches can emerge from the kitchen with simple, unadorned meat or with blankets of melted cheese and spicy housemade giardiniera. The pizzas range from crispy thin-crust disks to deep-dish pies with 2.5-inch-thick crusts, supporting any combination of the 24 available toppings, which include oven-roasted garlic, baby spinach, and bacon.
McNamara’s acquaints guests with the culinary traditions of Ireland by crafting hearty pub cuisine, steak, and seafood dishes within a traditional Irish atmosphere. Familiar cuts of beef and salmon rest alongside edible archetypes of Irish culture, such as juicy flanks of corned beef, savory shepherd’s pie, and sculptures of James Joyce made entirely from mashed potatoes. During morning hours, diners revel in traditional Irish breakfasts and modern brunch favorites amid the corner tavern’s eight HD televisions or upon the umbrella-studded patio.
Set in a bright, color-splashed setting, Lalo's has served up high-quality Mexican cuisine with fresh ingredients to satisfied Chicagoans for nearly 30 years. Much in the way a jockey fondly strokes his steed's mane, diners lovingly pet Lalo’s nachos ($7.95) before voraciously devouring them. Diversify flavor portfolios with the enchiladas suiza— three corn tortillas wrapped tightly with chicken, mexican cheese, tomatillo sauce, and sour cream ($13.95)—or introduce taste buds to the camarones al mojo de ajo—shrimp captured while sleeping, domesticated for several years, taught to read French, and then cooked pink and slathered in fresh garlic-butter sauce ($14.95). Meanwhile, Lalo’s margarita menu enlists a cast of strawberry, raspberry, guava, mango, and peach flavors, each available in small ($6.95), medium ($9.95), or party-pitcher ($23.50) doses.
A bulb-studded arrow loops around Frank’s Pizzeria’s vintage storefront sign, pointing visitors to a dining room where crispy thin-crust disks sit on tables flanked by golden fried chicken and saucy slabs of ribs. Dangling glass lamps glint off the interior’s burnished wood paneling, casting a gauzy glow over companions seated in intimate booths covered with checkered tablecloths and quilted portraits of celebrity pets.
