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While best known for its deep-dish pizza, a steadfast love for its sports teams, and its arts scene and community, Chicago is a very dog-friendly city, with many restaurants and bars across its neighborhoods and suburbs welcoming four-legged friends. During the warmer weather months, patios offer water, food, and drinks for dogs throughout the city, some even including food menus for furry friends, so dog owners don’t have to worry about leaving their pet at home or packing their own food for a day out on the town.
You can find a dog-friendly restaurant or bar in every neighborhood in the Windy City. Here are the top 14 that have something unique to offer:
Bandit
Nestled in the lively West Loop neighborhood, Bandit welcomes both people and pups to enjoy a meal on their patio. Dogs can indulge in the Pup Picks menu, which includes skirt steak, burger patties, and salmon pieces, as well as a dairy-free cream for dessert. For dog parents, the food menu is extensive, too, offering bar-favorite appetizers like mozzarella sticks and chicken wings, small plates, and even a burger called “The Diplomat,” which is meant to be shared among friends. As an upscale restaurant with a hometown aesthetic, bottomless brunch and happy hour are available on the weekends and weekdays, respectively. Trivia and sports events are also hosted weekly. Bandit is part of DineAmic Hospitality, which sends part of the proceeds from its pet-friendly menu to PAWS Chicago.
Parson’s Chicken & Fish – Logan Square
Open daily in the Logan Square neighborhood sits Parson’s Chicken & Fish, a casual and relaxed spot with a hometown vibe. Known for its fried chicken sandwich, Parson’s Chicken & Fish also serves a variety of additional sandwiches, a fish fry, and a “Big Dipper Platter” with a bunch of appetizers to try, like fries, nuggets, and hush puppies. In addition to comfort cuisine, they also serve a ton of unique alcoholic drinks like margaritas, hot cider, and slushies, plus spirit-free beers and mocktails, too. The best part is all of this can be enjoyed with four-legged friends, as dogs are welcome at all three of Parson’s Chicken & Fish locations, including Lincoln Park and Andersonville.
Gemini
With American cuisine inspired by the Midwest, Gemini is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. It features a massive U-shaped bar that can seat up to 92 guests. Gemini has an upscale vibe for both locals and city visitors alike, serving a 90-minute bottomless brunch on the weekends. Outside, a sidewalk patio is shrouded by a pergola that welcomes dogs in the warmer months.
Perch Kitchen + Tap
The Wicker Park neighborhood is home to Perch Kitchen + Tap, a bright restaurant with a brewery-like aesthetic and lots of greenery. The space serves their own in-house brewed beers and boasts a belief that dog visitors should also dine like their owners. For dogs, they serve what they call a “hefe-woof-zen” drink of chicken stock and organic molasses and food options including a bag of five biscuits, an egg scramble, a protein bowl, and popsicles. And for those who want to dine with their dogs, Perch Kitchen + Tap’s main menu includes lobster deviled eggs, soups and salads, and sandwiches with fries or slaw.
PB&J: Pizza Bar and Jukebox
Ever been on a date with a partner or friend and thought it’d be better with a dog? Look no further than PB&J: Pizza Bar and Jukebox. Every Wednesday, the restaurant welcomes dog owners and their four-legged friends for “Doggie Date Night,” serving personalized Guinness beers and espresso martinis for drinks and pupwiches and select apps for food. What’s better: dogs eat for free. Other nights of the week, PB&J: Pizza Bar and Jukebox offers an industrial yet comfortable atmosphere and is known for its Jukebox. Typically, the eatery serves Neapolitan pizza and draft beer. Every month, they refresh their Pizza of the Month, which compliments their menu of appetizers like sliders, fries, and baked ricotta, as well as salads, sandwiches, and a whole bunch of pizza. Brunch is live on Saturdays and Sundays.
Ranalli’s Pizza Bar
In the Lincoln Park neighborhood sits Ranalli’s Pizza Bar, an Italian-inspired yet casual restaurant. Serving bruschetta, cheese curds, and garlic knots, the eatery is known for its build-you-own-pizza made with either thin or pan crust and enough toppings to impress even the biggest pizza lovers. They’re also known for what they dub their “famous” chicken tenders. Ranalli’s also frequently hosts community events like weekly trivia. In the warmer months, dogs are welcome to join owners on the patio.
Bar Siena
Italian street food is the specialty at Bar Siena, which is located on the West Loop neighborhood’s Restaurant Row. With a mosaic tile pizza oven serving as a focal point of the space, a pizza bar offers seemingly endless and tasty options. For dogs, a Puppy Ciao menu serves skirt steak, chicken breast, and burger patties, as well as four different dessert options including dairy-free cream and gelato, donuts, and even sundaes. Bar Siena is currently hosting a bottomless spritz experience and happy hour and brunch weekly. Also a member of DineAmic Hospitality, part of the proceeds from its pet-friendly menu are sent to PAWS Chicago.
Parlor Pizza
A neighborhood-style wood-fire pizza place in the Wicker Park neighborhood, Parlor Pizza makes shareable appetizers, salads, and, of course, pizza. The menu rotates seasonally, so there’s always something new to try. It’s dessert counter—called the Dessert Dealer—serves specialty desserts like tacos to pick up in a window connected to the restaurant. There are three locations around Chicago in the West Loop and River North neighborhoods, too, each welcoming dogs to their patio in the warmer months. Guests must be over 21 at 11 p.m. onward each night.
Barrio
Barrio is a laid-back yet upscale Mexican restaurant in the River North neighborhood. The menu offers an approachable way for diners to experience Mexican cuisine in a friendly atmosphere. Dogs are welcome on the patio and to dine—Barrio serves a Puppy Menu with chicken breast and skirt steak options for dinner and a dairy-free dessert. As part of DineAmic Hospitality, part of the proceeds from the Puppy Menu will go toward PAWS Chicago.
Mott St
Mott St is an Asian American-inspired restaurant located in Wicker Park. It blends techniques of traditional Asian cuisine with Chicago ingredients and flavors to create an experience that’s truly unique to the neighborhood. Mott St frequently hosts events onsite—for example, they recently hosted a Lunar New Year event with special menu options—and offers catering services for every holiday. Their patio is pup friendly.
The Moonlighter
Well-known as a dog-loving location, the Moonlighter is a cozy neighborhood hangout located at the crossroads of Armitage and Kenzie. Dogs are welcome to chill on the patio with their owners as long as they’re on a leash. A peanut-free restaurant, the Moonlighter is known for its burgers—add bacon, egg, or both—and late-night bites. They have a dine-in happy hour special all day Mondays as well as Tuesdays through Fridays until 6 p.m.
Corcoran’s Grill & Pub
Next to Zanies Comedy Club sits Corcoran’s Grill & Pub in the Old Town neighborhood. Corcoran’s Grill & Pub is an indoor-outdoor flex space that hosts local events for the community, like promoting green beer for St. Patrick’s Day. They also serve daily food and beverage specials, especially during football season. It’s open each day from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and pups are welcome in its outdoor spaces.
Bucktown Pub
Although Bucktown Pub only serves cocktails and beer, visitors are welcome to bring their furry companions both onto the beer garden patio and inside the pub. They embody the saying “dogs drink free,” giving pups as much water as they need or want while at the bar. The beer garden is open from March through December depending on the weather. It doesn’t serve food for both dogs and their owners, but guests are welcome to bring what they’d like to eat or have food delivered to the space. Dogs are welcome, but it’s not family-friendly—children are not permitted.
Dawg Park
While not technically in Chicago, Dawg Park deserves an honorable mention. In the suburb of Glenview, Illinois, Dawg Park is a restaurant inspired by childhood comfort food and the playfulness of puppy playgrounds. They serve everything from Chicago-style to California-style hotdogs and the options don’t stop there—think burgers, chicken sandwiches, bowls, and milkshakes, to name a few. The space was designed to welcome those with four-legged friends and make their owners comfortable, too.
