Four Patio Series Serving Special Menus from Some of Chicago's Buzziest Restaurants All Summer Long
Daniel Hautzinger
May 15, 2025
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Patio season is here. Even if the air turns chilly when the sun sets and an icy wind cuts through the warmth during the day, Chicagoans won’t let that stop them from enjoying the outdoors after a winter of short days and small indoor spaces – perhaps even in shorts, no matter if it’s 40 degrees.
There are plenty of enviable patios in the city where you can camp out for an evening with drinks and food, but a few offer a little something special to further entice you (as if you needed encouragement): regular pop-up series featuring some of the city’s buzziest restaurants.
Breweries, wine bars, and taverns all often bring in food trucks or pop-ups, and there’s even The Chicago Reader’s long-running Monday Night Foodball spotlighting enterprising chefs at Frank and Mary’s Tavern in Avondale. But some establishments have begun drawing on their connections with full-on restaurants (and the occasional pop-up), bringing them in to flex their creative muscles in special, one-off patio menus. They take place early in the week, offering a way to draw a crowd on an otherwise light night. If you ever wished Daisies or Manny's had outdoor seating, here's your chance to enjoy it.
Participation award goes to John Manion, whose Brasero and El Che Steakhouse are taking part in three out of four of these series – and simply don’t qualify for the last, Maria’s Patio Jam, since they’re not located on the South Side. But if you count all of the restaurants in which Oliver Poilevey is involved, he beats even Manion, with Obélix, Le Bouchon, Mariscos San Pedro, and the closed Taqueria Chingon showing up for a total of five times. These two pop-up stalwarts go directly head-to-head on August 18 at PERILLA fare’s Windy City Wiener Wars.
Sportsman’s Club’s Sunday BBQ
This laid-back bar in Ukrainian Village has been hosting Sunday BBQs on its spacious patio for more than a decade now. Every Sunday beginning at 4:00 pm from May 18 through September 7, you can enjoy cocktail specials, an outdoor wine bar, and food from various Chicago restaurants – as well as one out-of-towner, New Orleans’ legendary Bacchanal (June 15), whose idyllic outdoor space and laid back vibe may as well be a model for all of these series. NOLA cocktail bar NightBloom takes over the indoors bar at 9:00 pm that day. Cash is encouraged. Find the full schedule in the below Instagram post.
Spilt Milk’s Family Meal
Logan Square’s Spilt Milk doesn’t have the biggest patio, but it feels like someone’s backyard – especially when some Chicago chefs are grilling up casual plates of food, which can be had along with a specific drink for $25 during Family Meal Mondays from 5:00 pm while supplies last. Menus are announced ahead of time each week on Instagram. Find the full schedule in the below Instagram post.
PERILLA fare’s Windy City Wiener Wars
The Windy City Wiener Wars at Korean restaurant PERILLA fare are a new entrant to the summertime festivities, with a novel concept: on intermittent Mondays from May 26 through September 15 beginning at 6:00 pm, two Chicago chefs will serve up hot dog creations featuring natural casing Vienna Beef sausages. Everything else, from toppings to what it’s served in, is up to them. Paying customers – $15 will get you the hot dog from both contenders as well as chips – will then vote on a winner. The series closes out with the teams from PERILLA’s two restaurants, the more casual fare and more upscale steakhouse, facing off. Find the full schedule in the below Instagram post.
Maria’s Patio Jam
Maria’s in Bridgeport is no stranger to events, but this is the first year the updated and expanded dive bar is hosting Tuesday Patio Jams, from May 27 through September 30. Every Tuesday from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, a different South Side restaurant will serve up menus from the grill, offering a fresh set of places than those found on the mostly North Side-skewing other series. If you want to keep the night going, karaoke starts at 8:00 pm. Find the full schedule in the below Instagram post.
