Late Night Food in the Gold Coast, Chicago, IL

Many a drinking hole on Rush and Division Streets stays open until 4 or 5am on Saturdays, late enough to see the sun rise—so late night food in the Gold Coast is a must. Among all the late-night bars and clubs of Rush and Division Streets, many storefront pizza and taco joints keep their fluorescent lights burning for 24 hours, or at least late enough for the 5am Saturday crowd to come stumbling out of doors. Barflies don’t even have to leave their watering holes for late-night snacks at some places. Pubs like Butch McGuire’s and McFadden’s Restaurant and Saloon keep their kitchens open late for their clientele.

Proper restaurants on the Gold Coast often have later hours than average. Pricey establishments like Hugo’s Frog Bar and Le Colonial stay open past midnight, allowing for European-style late-night dinners.

The late-night standby, the greasy-spoon diner, is usually pretty downscale, but some do brisk business in this upscale neighborhood. Tempo Café is a local institution where late-night partiers and bleary-eyed early risers sometimes converge at the same time for omelets and bacon, equally rewarding to both.