Expat

4.6

11 Reviews

$30 and under

American

Make a reservation

2 people

Mar 11, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

A café, restaurant and bar in Chicago’s West Loop, Expat is your home for American café classics and comfort food, select dishes from destinations around the globe, well-traveled cocktails and natural wines.

Set in an intimate room, Expat channels the style, music and mystique of Havana, Ibiza and Marrakech in the 1950s. These alluring locales captured the imagination of travelers who sought a blend of cultural richness, artistic inspiration, and a break from convention. At Expat we imagine the singular delights one would crave from back home, or from their travels, after spending time away.

“We want to be a space that provides the atmosphere of an exotic destination while preserving the warmth and flavors of home,” says Daniel Alonso, Bonhomme Hospitality Group’s Founder and Creative Director.

Private dining

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Additional information

Location
165 N Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL 60607
Phone number
(312) 929-3448
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
American, Cocktail Bar, Café
Hours of operation
Tue–Sat 10:00 am–1:00 am Sun 10:00 am–5:00 pm
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Marcos Campos
Delivery & takeout
Order direct

What 11 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.6

4.6 based on recent ratings

4.4Food
4.3Service
4.7Ambience
3.9Value

Noise • Moderate

11 Reviews

L
Lennie
Chicago1 review
3.0
Dined on February 15, 2025
1. Overall 3
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
A few standouts. BLT & Octopus were great. So was chicken vesuvio. Calamari and Coconut shrimp were not impressive Parmesan fries were awful and flavor less Service was absolutely lacking! Had to request forks, plates, multiple times. Food runner was new and clearly needed a proper onboarding. Had to request tab more than once. Gotta get up and start walking to the door to get attention
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B
Brian
Chicago1 review
5.0
Dined on December 19, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Cool and eclectic atmosphere. Creative but grounded menu. Looking forward to trying at a time when i’m not overstuffed from late lunch.
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S
Stephanie VIP
Chicago27 reviews
4.0
Dined on December 12, 2024
1. Overall 4
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
We went for drinks and small bites before headed to a holiday event. Our bartender Spencer was exceptional! Super friendly and great service!
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S
Shane VIP
Chicago72 reviews
5.0
Dined on November 19, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
All day cafe concept which is great for working comfortably while grabbing a bite or cocktail. I started here on my own and then had work colleagues join me for a happy hour. Highly recommend!
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R
Rachel
Chicago1 review
2.0
Dined on November 9, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 3
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 3
Expat is a fine place to go if you are a group under 4. We were a group of 8 that had to be split up amongst two separate round tables as they do not have tables that they can push together. This wasn’t a big deal to us, but might be an issue if you want to sit together with your group. The real issue with being a larger group, I think, is that the kitchen was unable to send our food out together or even remotely close to the same time as others in our party. So, a few people received their order and then over 20 minutes went by before another person received his order. Still another 10min went by until finally we asked if the rest of the order was coming. The steak that finally came was cold, but the rest was fine. The appetizer we ordered never came. The server said he took the first round of drinks off of our tab because of the huge delay, but this didn’t actually happen until we went to the bar to ask for the manager. Overall, it was disappointing experience so I don’t think we’ll be back.
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J
John VIP
Chicago12 reviews
3.0
Dined on November 9, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 5
Very understaffed poor service, food is good but really needs staffing help
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W
Werner
Kansas City1 review
2.0
Dined on October 24, 2024
1. Overall 2
2. Food 2
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 4
Food was decent, prices were on the high end for what amounted to slightly better than bar food. I’d come here maybe for one drink, but service was some of the worst I’ve seen post pandemic. No water refills, different times for food coming out, no asking how our meal is, no check or asking about our food when was cleared. Had to go up to the bar and ask for the check.
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J
Jason
Chicago3 reviews
5.0
Dined on October 8, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
couldn’t be happier with a neighborhood cafe for remote work and great food. music slaps. nighttime has been fun too. i’ve been to a few events recently during the bar hours and it’s been a hit. Very grown and sexy.
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S
Steve
Chicago4 reviews
1.0
Dined on August 31, 2024
1. Overall 1
2. Food 1
3. Service 1
4. Ambience 1
I made a reservation for the patio on Saturday 8/31, I walk up and the patio is packed out a loud DG, bottle service, and guests smoking weed. As I was looking to enjoy a solo, casual afternoon lunch, I went into OpenTable to cancel my reservation as I did not want to be around that type of crowd, Expat had already checked in the reservation, even though I had not gone into the building. I opted for somewhere else on Randolph.
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S
Scott VIP
Chicago1 review
3.0
Dined on August 17, 2024
1. Overall 3
2. Food 4
3. Service 3
4. Ambience 3
Curious why they use this app to take reservations, as the host said it was open seating. Thankfully (?) it was nearly empty, if there weren’t open seats, I’d have been upset that I made a “reservation” that they would not honor
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FAQs

Expat offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (312) 929-3448.

Expat is rated 4.6 stars by 11 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Mar 11, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

165 N Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL 60607

Additional information

Phone number
(312) 929-3448
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
American, Cocktail Bar, Café
Hours of operation
Tue–Sat 10:00 am–1:00 am Sun 10:00 am–5:00 pm
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Executive chef
Marcos Campos
Delivery & takeout
Order direct

Expat

Make a reservation

Private dining

Additional information

Menu

What 11 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

Does Expat offer delivery through OpenTable or takeout?

How is Expat restaurant rated?

Is Expat currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information