Set up like a swanky beer hall with urbanites young and old sitting across from each other at long communal tables, Publican specializes in oysters, hams and fine suds – all from small family farms and microbrewers. So you’ll know your pork shoulder is from Dyersville, Iowa; your orange-honey turnips from Congerville, Illinois; and your oysters from Bagaduce River, Maine.

Many locals think the weekend brunch is the best around – Publican does indeed know its bacon.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Chicago attractions

1. Kavi Gupta Gallery

0.25 MILES

Gupta represents contemporary, mid-career artists who work in various mediums, including painting, sculpture, collage and film. Intriguing new exhibitions…

2. Carrie Secrist Gallery

0.25 MILES

Secrist's contemporary gallery has been around for more than a quarter century. The big, open space hosts about six different exhibitions per year, both…

3. Haymarket Square

0.27 MILES

The odd bronze statue of guys on a wagon marks the spot where the world’s labor movement began. So the next time you take a lunch break or go home after…

4. Mars Gallery

0.39 MILES

This pop-art gallery is pure fun, from the colorful, cartoony prints and paintings to the building's offbeat history (it was an egg factory and then a…

5. Batcolumn

0.44 MILES

Artist Claes Oldenburg – known for his gigantic shuttlecocks in Kansas City and oversized cherry spoon in Minneapolis – delivered this 96ft, baseball-bat…

6. Mary Bartelme Park

0.5 MILES

The neighborhood's stroller-pushing families and dog-walking hipsters get their exercise in Mary Bartelme Park. Five off-kilter stainless-steel arches…

7. Old St Patrick’s Church

0.55 MILES

A Chicago fire survivor, this 1852 church is one of the city’s oldest. Old St Pat’s is best known for its World’s Largest Block Party, a weekend bash in…

8. Art Works Projects

0.6 MILES

Art Works is a nonprofit organization that uses the arts to educate about human rights issues. The group's small office does double duty as a makeshift…