LITTLE ITALY | UNIVERSITY VILLAGE

Head to Taylor Street for all of your eating and drinking needs! Little Italy is home to many amazing Italian Restaurants, including The Rosebud (home of the original Rosebud Restaurants), Tuscany on Taylor, and Pompei!  Stop into Conte Di Savoia, an Italian grocery and deli serving up delicious sandwiches and salads since 1948! Enjoy a refreshing Italian Ice at Mario’s Italian Lemonade, serving up every kind of Italian Ice flavor imaginable, including strawberry, blue raspberry, cantaloupe, and more, since 1954!

Taylor Street offers more than just Italian fare! Chez Joel Bistro Francais – Southern-inspired French food in a quaint bistro setting! Want a quick lunch? Grab some empanadas or tacos for lunch at Chilango Restaurant or visit Kabobchi for some casual, but fresh and delicious Mediterranean food. 

Can’t forget about weekend brunch in Chicago, and Little Italy / University Village is no exception! While Taylor Street is lined with both casual and sit-down cafes, we’d recommend either trying a Monte Crist Waffle or Prosciutto Avocado Benedict with Fresh-Squeezed Mimosas at Stax Café OR enjoying a Country Scramble (hellooooo Heavenly Home Fries) or Holiday French Toast at Sweet Maple Café! 

Taylor Street is also home to a range of pubs, bars and lounges, including  Vintage Bar, Taylor Street Tap, and Little Joe’s, to name a few! 

In addition to some of the best Italian food around, there are plenty of other things to do in this neighborhood! Take a tour of the historic Auditorium Theatre, a Chicago establishment for over 130 years, featuring Visit the National Historic Landmark Jane Addams Hull House Museum – a “dynamic memorial to social reformer Jane Addams…and her colleagues whose work changes the lives of immigrant neighbors as well as national and international public policy” according to the JAHHM website. 

Take a stroll down Lexington Street to check out some of the stunning Italianate architecture, including the William Onahan Row Houses (1254-62 W Lexington, built in the mid-1870s), the John Coughlan House (1246 W Lexington, built in 1971) and the Shrine of Our Lady Pompeii (1224 W Lexington, built in 1923) – the oldest continuing Italian American church in the city of Chicago! Just East of the Shrine in the former convent building is our newest re-development at 1218 W Lexington – 14 stunning apartments housed in the former convent, complete with high ceilings, updated finishes, and a lovely common courtyard.

Farmers Markets:

Maxwell Street Market

• every Sunday 9AM-3PM (April 3rd – December 18th) 
• 800 S Desplaines St (entrances at Desplaines/Harrison, Desplaines/Taylor)

Street Fests:

• Michelada Fest – June 
• Tacos & Tamales Festival – July
• Taylor Street Festa Italiana – August
• My House Music Festival – August
• North Coast Music Festival – September