Siboney Cuban Cuisine in Bucktown, LOVE IT!
There's nothing that excites me more than great Cuban Food, DOUBLE YUM!! I had been driving by Siboney (opened in June-09) on Western & Palmer for months until I finally made a stop on Wednesday (and Friday too) night, WOW! Siboney serves the best Cuban food in the city, period!! The restaurant space is quite nice too, elegant and modern, yet warm, with a hint of the tropics. The layout works very well, with a separate upscale sporty-ish bar area, two dining rooms, and a basement banquet facility.
We dined at the bar since we under-dressed after having worked out. A little patience will be needed with Justo, the bartender (great guy), he is just figuring out how to use the touch screen computer...it's obvious that he has never worked on a computer in his life. The friendly owners and chef were born and raised in Cuba. The huge menu may have a few nontraditional items, but the core Cuban staples are abundant and seriously delicious. The food at Sibonoy is definitely more refined when compared to the handful of other Cuban restaurants nearby...and even better, food and drink prices are very reasonable! We ordered the fried Yuca, a side salad, arroz con pollo served with served with black beans & plantains, a Cuban tamal, and a vegetarian plate. The portions are generous and everything was full of flavor and perfectly spiced! The yuca was prepared like an order of fries, OMG were they delicious! The black beans were perfectly authentic with plenty of flavoring from the bay leaves, but not overpowering. The arroz con pollo (chicken and rice cooked with wine and spices, YUM!) was really fantastic, although a little soupy.
Authentic, amazing Cuban food has finally arrived in Chicago!!! Siboney is at the top of my list for favorite restaurants. What great atmosphere too!! I think I put the bug in the owners ear about New Years Eve. This would be a great place to celebrate, with a traditional Cuban band of course.
Great Food, great atmosphere, friendly staff, and reasonable prices! LOVE IT!
Siboney Cuban Cuisine
2165 N. Western Avenue
Chicago, IL
773-904-7210
amoncada
Nov 07, 2009 10:40AM
