Logan Square and Wicker Park: where to eat on Chicago's Northwest Side

Logan Square and Wicker Park are two neighboring areas on Chicago's Northwest Side, joined by Milwaukee Avenue, the Blue Line and the elevated 606 trail. Both are packed with independent restaurants, cocktail bars, breweries, coffee shops and brunch spots, and they make a natural day out together: brunch in one, a walk along the trail, and dinner and drinks in the other.

Where are Logan Square and Wicker Park?

Wicker Park is a few miles northwest of downtown. Its center is the busy three-way intersection where Milwaukee Avenue, North Avenue and Damen Avenue meet, right by the Damen stop on the Blue Line; the Division and Western stops also serve the area. Logan Square is farther out along Milwaukee Avenue to the northwest, also on the Blue Line. Bucktown sits between and alongside them, and Humboldt Park lies just to the west.

How do you get between them?

Three easy ways:

• The Blue Line, which follows the Milwaukee Avenue corridor and stops in both neighborhoods.
• The 606, an old elevated rail line turned into a walking and cycling trail about 2.7 miles long. It opened in 2015 and links Logan Square, Humboldt Park, Bucktown and Wicker Park.
• Buses, including the 56 Milwaukee, which runs along the avenue, and the 74 Fullerton.

Is the 606 worth walking between meals?

Yes, and it is the single most popular thing to do in the area that does not involve eating. Because the trail runs above street level on the old rail embankment, you skip traffic lights and cross the neighborhoods in a straight line, looking down on backyards, murals and side streets. A popular stretch starts at the Ridgeway Avenue access point in Logan Square and heads west toward Humboldt Park or east toward Wicker Park and Bucktown. Several ramps along the way bring you back down near cafes and bars, which makes it an easy way to walk off brunch before dinner. It is busy with runners and cyclists, so keep to one side.

What is Milwaukee Avenue known for?

Milwaukee Avenue is the spine of both neighborhoods and one of Chicago's most celebrated dining streets, packed with independent restaurants, breweries and cocktail bars. Some people call it the "Hipster Highway". In practice that means you can walk a few blocks and pass a taqueria, a natural wine bar, a pizza place, a ramen shop, a diner and a craft brewery, most of them small and locally owned.

What should you eat in Logan Square?

Logan Square has a strong neighborhood restaurant scene: places locals go back to every week rather than one-off destination dining. Expect creative small-plates restaurants, cocktail bars, brewpubs, bakeries, and a lot of good, casual Mexican and Latin American food reflecting the neighborhood's longtime Latino community. The area around the Logan Square Blue Line station and the boulevards nearby is the easiest place to start.

What should you eat in Wicker Park?

Wicker Park mixes older neighborhood taverns with newer restaurants, and it is a strong area for brunch, late-night food and drinks. Around the Milwaukee, North and Damen intersection you will find bars, coffee shops, pizza, tacos and sit-down restaurants within a few minutes' walk, plus plenty of shops for wandering between meals. Division Street, along the southern edge of the neighborhood, is another strip of restaurants and patios.

Is there a farmers market in Logan Square?

Yes. The Logan Square Farmers Market is held on Sundays on Logan Boulevard during the warmer months, roughly June through October, with produce, baked goods and prepared food from local vendors. In past years it has also run indoors in the colder months. Days, location and season can change, so check before you go.

What is the history of Wicker Park?

After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, German, Polish, Jewish and Norwegian immigrants settled the area. By 1900 the area around the intersection of Division Street, Ashland Avenue and Milwaukee Avenue, just southeast of today's Wicker Park, had become Polish Downtown, the political, cultural and social capital of Polish Americans across the country, home to almost every major Polish organization in the United States. You can still see the area's past in its grand old houses, churches and storefronts. One local note: people often call Wicker Park's main intersection "Six Corners", but Chicagoans will tell you that name properly belongs to a different intersection, where Milwaukee meets Cicero Avenue and Irving Park Road.

How do you plan a day there?

1. Brunch in Wicker Park or Logan Square. Weekend brunch is very popular here, so arrive early or expect to wait.
2. Walk the 606. Get on at one of its access ramps and walk between neighborhoods above the streets.
3. Coffee and shops on Milwaukee Avenue. Record stores, bookshops and vintage clothing stores line the avenue.
4. Dinner and drinks. Book ahead for popular places on weekends, or eat at the bar.

Both neighborhoods change quickly as places open and close, so recent opinions matter more than old lists. On Mosey you can rate the places you ate at and the dishes you ordered, with photos, save lists of spots to try, and follow friends who live nearby.

More guides to read next:

• Pilsen, Chicago: a guide to Mexican food on 18th Street
• Eating in the West Loop and Fulton Market, Chicago
• Chicago deep dish vs tavern-style pizza: which should you order?

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