Restaurants in Tinley Park

At Parrot Cage, voted a top brunch spot by OpenTable users, servers whisk seared seafood, succulent meats, and contemporary American cuisine to white-draped tables amid an elegant atmosphere, where lush décor pays homage to the historic building's past life as the grandiose South Shore Country Club. The restaurant was created by the Washburne Culinary Institute, as a place where seasoned chefs tutor pupils in every aspect of running a restaurant. Beyond the restaurant's teaching element, press features agree that Parrot Cage Restaurant is top notch. Centerstage called the dishes "precise and deliberate," and a Chicago Reader reviewer praised the "superb view of the lake" and confessed that with "friendly and prompt" service, he "couldn't tell which staffers were students."

The restaurant's name, tropical green hue, and 100-year-old Victorian parrot cage honor the vibrant feathered creatures of Hyde Park and South Shore. Servers speculate that Chicago's first such birds escaped from an owner's cage, an exhibit at the 1893 World's Columbian Expedition, or an unsatisfying romance with a street pigeon.

An Italian native, Tonino's owner has shown the casual eatery’s chefs the ins and outs of Italian cuisine for more than 30 years. Panzerotto—the house specialty—is a baked or deep-fried pizza turnover headlining the menu, which also includes thin- and thick-crust pizzas that cradle sauce forged from fresh garlic, olive oil, and basil. Noodles such as orecchiette and ravioli anchor pasta dinners, and fillings such as Italian sausage and chicken parmigiana nestle inside sandwiches. A flurry of seasonings crash-land onto grilled calamari, which diners can wash down with beer and cocktails from the full bar.

Renowned chef Michael Papandrea leads a team of culinary craftspeople as they create wide-ranging Italian fare including shrimp, veal, and pasta dishes, as well as a slew of sandwiches. Pizza artisans bake hand-pulled crusts directly on stone, bestowing each round foundation with a scrumptiously crispy texture and excellent posture. The eatery’s pesto sauce kicks butter to the curb, while cheesy bread stashes gooey mozzarella inside an italian loaf prior to baking. Parmesans’ skilled staffers deliver catered fare and set up the Italian nibbles, freeing up hosts to light candles, arrange flowers, and retrieve the special-occasion china from the basement’s 7,926-mile hole leading to the other end of the world.

Jack Gibbons Gardens has broiled and grilled its signature surf ‘n’ turf since 1922, building up a loyal fan base spanning generations of satiated stomachs. Amid flickering candles and stained-glass lampshades, waiters—many of whom have served the same tables for decades—ferry timeless classics such as oyster Rockefeller, 38-ounce porterhouse steaks, and baked tilapia. The sizeable dessert menu adds a sweet coda to every meal, and the wine list features myriad imported and domestic varietals from Californian chardonnay to merlot made from Italian grapes stomped by Hannibal's war elephants.

Hearty homestyle cooking is the hallmark of the menu, with full slabs of smoked ribs arriving at tables paired with fries, bread, and coleslaw. The kitchen staff also grills catfish and piles plates with piping-hot wings, coated in a spicy sauce that's both flavorful and useful for temporarily blinding assailants. On Sundays, a soul-food menu tempts diners with hearty meals of pot roast or baked chicken with sides of greens, mashed potatoes, or candied yams.

Fox's Restaurant & Pub first propped open its doors in 1964, welcoming diners with an extensive menu that eventually grew to encompass comfort foods from both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. In addition to familiar Irish staples—including corned-beef sandwiches and shepherd's pie—the cooks sear 10-ounce hamburger patties and slather baby-back ribs in a rich barbecue sauce. For a distinctly Mediterranean touch, they also hand-form meatballs into perfect dodecahedrons and whisk together their own marinara sauces in-house. The pizza chefs can layer oven-crisped pies with more than 10 available toppings, such as giardiniera, sausage, and chopped garlic.

Select locations help to keep spirits high by hosting live music and restaurant-wide games of musical chairs throughout the week. Bands can get diners' toes tapping and heads bobbing by playing a combination of lively Irish classics and popular favorites.