I've been to a lot of tapas restaurants and this...is one of them.
Seriously, this is fine, and you'll find all the tapas standards on their menu, but nothing really stood out in any way, +/-. There was plenty of room in early afternoon on a week-end.
A serviceable option on Milwaukee near the Six Corners.
Is it just me, or do people in Chicago just get excited when a restaurant menu says "tapas." A lot of people told me how great this and Cafe Ba Ba Reba are. I am equally unimpressed with People as I am with Ba Ba Reba. Because tapas offer few bites, every bite is important. They demand high quality ingredients and I expect a sense of flair. I will sit on the sidewalk to people watch on Milwaukee and sip sangria during the summer and maybe eat a plate or two. But if you ask me, I'd rather have a free pizza with my drink a few doors down at Crocodile.
Review Source:I spent 3 years of my life living above and then around the corner from Cafe Ba Ba Reba and all its Lettuce Entertain You craziness. Â Constantly busy, advertised on the El, a major destination tapas place. Â Now I live in Bucktown, right down the street from People and I very regularly forget that it exists. Â In fact, the only reason we ended up there is that Big Star had an hour wait and we passed by it walking to Santullo's and decided to give it a whirl. Â And you know what, for a place that was only half full at 7:30 on a Friday night and gets roughly zero hype...it was pretty darn good!
We started with the cheese platter which comes with a generous quantity of 4 different cheeses plus a jam and candied walnuts. Â The large portions continued with the HUGE serving of perfectly crispy potatoes bravas atop an awesome red pepper aioli. Â The flat bread we ordered was a little surprising since it was a do-it-yourself assembly, but it was definitely tasty. Â The pork empanadas were great, very crispy and deep fried, stuffed with lots of well seasoned shredded pork. Â Next time I'd love to try the goat cheese and mushroom ones. Â And last but not least we had the shrimp over polenta and corn - different, great texture, very flavorful. Â We also had a few specialty drinks that were on special for $7, and their beer list was pretty good as well. Â All and all a very good experience, although the atmosphere is a little strange since it was so dead. Â It might have been because it was 4 days till Christmas though, so we'll have to try it again on a normal night.
I've been to Peoples for bar hopping with friends, to go to after work, and usually later at night. Â The bartender, Â Collin is an attentive barman, knows his drinks and isn't cheap on the booze. Â Which is important. Â
The drinks list usually has a wide variety of cocktails, wine and beers--most of which I've never heard of. Â I've never had the food but its tapas so how can you screw that up? Â Tip accordingly.
I live pretty close... and thank God I do, because I love this place. It's hip without being pretentious (not easy to pull off, especially in this neighborhood), a great place for a date, or friends. It's super-duper great when it's warm out, and you can sit outside on Milwaukee and watch all the people walk by... but inside is really nice as well.
I like the calamari a lot - not too heavy, perfect amount of flakiness. And the salmon tostada is really interesting, with a citrus-y kick. But it's a tapas bar, and everything goes well with everything. Makes it easy to come back, so you can keep mixing and matching.
Lots of good places to eat around here, but People really stands out in my mind.
WOW. We were blown away by this place! Everything here was delicious! We came here as a group of about 20 for a set menu meal. Â The chef here came and talked with us. Â It was a great Chef's table event!
Here is what we had from the menu:
plato de queso - artisanal Spanish cheeses, house made fig jam, candied walnuts
ensalada de avocado- Â bibb lettuce, avocado, cucumber, crispy serano, avocado vinaigrette
People's skirtsteak: braised wagyu, tomatoes, cornichons, capers, aged manchego cheese
Patatas Bravas: crispy russet potatoes, spicy red pepper aioli
mushroom & goat cheese empanadas - oyster, porcini, portobello & button mushrooms, goat cheese, chive aioli
empanada de cerdo - sweet chili pork empanadas, belgian beer aioli, apple salsa
dátiles con bacon- goat cheese stuffed dates, applewood smoked bacon, apple cider reduction
scallops - pan seared scallops, carrot-cumin quinoa puree, edamame, crisy serrano ham, wasabi greens
meal came with :
House made red or white wine sangria
Red wine: La Vendimia Garnacha/Tempranillo from Spain
White Wine: Basa Blanco Rueda Verdejo/Viura from Spain
dessert: mint ice cream (real fresh mint) with mexican chocolate cake.
I can't even say which one was my favorite because they were all so good. But if I had to choose, it would be the stuffed dates and our dessert. Â Loved it here!!!
I am a huge Spanish tapas fan and was extremely disappointed by this experience. We ordered calamarie which they had to have forgotten the seasoning. It was the worst I had ever had. The bacon wrapped dates were average. Scallops, spicy potatoes, and  the empanada de cerdo were all very good. We were with a group of 4 and out of the 10 dishes we ordered only 3 were good. It is extremely overpriced and although tapas are small these were even smaller than other places. I would't recommend this place. If you are wanting tapas and don't want to deal with the crowds at cafe ba ba reeba try Twist in Lakeview.
Review Source:The empanada de cerdo was really good. Â It's got a thick, flaky crust and the sweet chili pork was very nicely done. Â They're fairly heavy tasting and pretty big for tapas, so as nice as they are, if you're going to get a plate for yourself, I wouldn't get more than the 2 empanada portion. Â And don't neglect the apple relish that comes on the side. Â
The pollo diablo was very interesting. Â I was suspicious of how mojito'y it could really taste and wasn't disappointed. Â Not as good as the empanadas though for sure. Â The orzo was creamy and complimented the spiciness of the spicy paste (which comes on the side) pretty well, I thought. Â Gotta go easy on the spicy paste though. Â It can easily cover up the rest of the dish and is more hot than tasty.
The waitress recommended 4 to 5 plates per person. Â Not sure what she was thinking but I could never eat that much if the portions I saw (including some other veggie ones I didn't mention here) were any indication. Â I'd say 2 or 3 per person is probably fair. Â Their portions were larger than I expected.
Good food, but nothing innovative or new here, although I will say they did small plates before it became uber-popular. Try the empanadas. Although the plates are designed for sharing, you will want to hog them all to yourself, especially since the portions are small. Bring a decent amount of money as you will find yourself spending more than you anticipated.
The one thing I really like is the music - they sometimes have a DJ setup right on the floor where you can get up and close to the action. Something different and fun to do on a Friday night.
Stopped in on Friday night with some lady friends around eight. Â We were seated right away. Â The server helped us with our sangria pitcher selections. Â We eventually had both the white with champagne and the red with brandy. Â Both decent but served with too much ice and very small glasses. Â We ordered the mushroom goat cheese empanadas, the fish rolls and the gambas. Â The food was average, nothing I would go back for. Â We felt very pressured to leave and give their table back even though we still had half a pitcher of sangria left. Â I liked the vibe but probably will not be back.
Review Source:My friend and I went here Saturday night and loved it. We were going to try and get a reservation at Cafe Ba Ba Reeba, but had no luck, so we opted for the People's Lounge after I looked it up and noticed the good reviews. They are well deserved! We both decided this was our new favorite place. The whole experience was great.... the food, the service, the drinks - all for pretty good prices.
A few of the highlights: ahi tuna, pork empanadas, people's skirtsteak, croquetas. I also recommend the white sangria with champagne to drink. Very good!
Not the most *authentic* Spanish tapas, but certainly tasty! Great place for a group of friends...especially Monday nights when most bottles of wine are 1/2 price. We missed the happy hour special on Mondays, but apparently until 7pm they also have a discount on select tapas at the bar. Great for vegetarians and meat-lovers alike.
I went with a group of three and we ordered 6 dishes which was about the perfect amount. The dishes came out fairly quickly but spaced out enough so our table wasn't TOO crowded at any given time.
Recommendation: Mushroom and Goat Cheese Empanadas
The food, service, and experience at People is superb. Â The only drawback that I see is that customers receive relatively little food for the price.
In my most recent visit with a group of three people, we ordered 6 tapas dishes and a bottle of wine. Â On Monday nights, most bottles of wine are half price, and despite that we still spent over $30 each. Â All things we tried were spectacular, especially the Mushroom and Goat Cheese Empanadas.
Overall, I recommend the restaurant, but would only suggest going if you are taking advantage of some type of special.
I have enjoyed my experience at People Lounge a handful of times, until my most recent visit. I was so caught off guard with the sub-par food that I decided to try again. Today, we were seated in the usual, loud dining space. We waited for over 10 minutes, received numerous refills to our water but never had a chance to even place a cocktail order. Unfortunately for us, we were not significantly dehydrated and in the middle of the Sahara, we were on Milwaukee Ave hoping to grab a late bite to eat with little success due to the unusual table assignments, or lack there of. After an extended wait, we decide not to hold our breathe and moved along the Francesa's down the way. I guess we will never know if the food is still on the downward trajectory...
Review Source:Was here a couple of years ago and am finally getting around to reviewing this place, so my review isn't the most up to date nor will it be the most detailed. But... We came here with another couple for a double date and remember being a lil crammed almost sitting on top of our neighbors also creating for a lil bit of a too loud for my liking restaurant.
The decor was cute though and trendy and the service was up to par so that made us happy. However, all the tapas were just so so, nothing stood out and from looking at all the meat pics we got, they don't look super appetizing. We did have the tuna tar tar which had a nice presentation but I'm not the biggest fan. The sangria was yummy and did get us all a lil tipsy. Would I go again? Probably not. Is it worth trying? yes. I just know some other tapas places like baba reeba or even the new modernized tavernita which we def like more.
Dear People,
 You are my favorite tapas place in Chicago. I love your rotating dishes, your knowledgeable staff, your reasonable prices and that I can make reservations to eat with you.
 I recently cheated on you to eat at the new tapas place in the neighborhood and I went home and cried. I wasted my money and a perfectly good chance to eat with you instead. They treated me like dirt and their food was not as good. They even charged me for refills of my iced-tea and didnt tell me until my bill came!
Â
 I decided that even though I know you are the most unique and incredible tapas bar in all of Chicago, maybe it was time I write you a Yelp review for the rest of the world to see that, especially in Wicker Park, the public have options! And that newer places might be fun and exciting, but places like you that have been around for years are trustworthy and reliable..
I wont ever cheat on you again.
IN WICKER PARK... People who know tapas should eat at People.
Not at some place named after an animal that wants to charge after you and quite possibly kill you..
I have been here a couple times and I think it is a pretty good place with a nice vibe. The tapas are good...not the best I have had in Chicago but still pretty good. The sangria was ok although not the best in the city.
The times I have been here, we have had a reservations which allowed us to be seated right away.
I would probably go back to this restaurant if I was looking for a night out in the Wicker park area.
If you're still stuck at the frat boy / sorority girl college scene, by all means, come here. The food is ok, some dishes may even be considered good, but the service just plain sucks and the place is really loud.
I don't expect 5-star service, but I also don't want to be served by argumentative, slow, clueless servers (granted they are all sort of pretty, but that's the only thing they have going for them...).
When I'm being told the Wagyu beef is Kobe beef by the server, I just question their knowledge level. You just simply cannot get Kobe beef here. Period. Read Forbe's article if you don't believe me: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.forbes.com%2Fsites%2Flarryolmsted%2F2012%2F04%2F12%2Ffoods-biggest-scam-the-great-kobe-beef-lie%2F&s=92edfdac5f082300900bc09a7166df522dfcdc383fea7924658e8dee3be71956" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://www.forbes.com/si…</a>
And btw, save your money, their beef is no good. Low quality, bad cut, too much fat, and overcooked. Embarrassing.
Next, we told our server that we didn't love the lamb sliders, the server became argumentative and basically spoke down to us by saying that everyone loves it and can't understand why we don't like it. This went on for about 30 seconds.
In summary, if you are a frat guy / sorority girl, or a recent grad, this is probably your scene. For those of us who are a bit refined, we'll pass on this type of amateur joint.
I arrived here on a chilly, lazy weekday evening to meet a new friend. Â Stepping through the door, the first thing that struck me was how much nicer this place looks than the pictures. Â The scene was shrouded in dim lighting, candles flickering on tables occupied by well-dressed twenty- and thirty-somethings. Â The cutely awkward (or awkwardly cute?) waitress handed us the menu, and I had two immediate impressions: Â "I want everything" and "oh god, look at the prices, let's go dutch."
We ended up sampling a mixture of vegetarian, poultry, beef, and seafood. Â Everything was tasty, particularly the pollo diablo. Â The beer on tap was delicious, but in retrospect I should have tried the sangria - guess I'll have to go back. Â The food reflected the conversation... developing bit by bit, with the occasional awkward pause, easy to get lost in, and leaving me full and satisfied with some left over. Â
If you want to purr out dish names in Spanish over candlelight and booze, this is definitely a place to have on your list.
This place is delicious! We started off with the squash cakes which was full of flavor and had a nice crunch to it from being lightly fried. The potatoes bravas and pork empanadas were tasty too. The empanadas were so good that we ordered a second round. The sangria is a must! We opted for the white sangria with passion fruit. The perfect ending was the apple tart.
The service was very good, everyone was very attentive. The atmosphere was perfect for a tapas restaurant. The only thing I don't like is that there are televisions behind the bar which is open to the dining room. It'd be nice to take those out of the equation to prevent distractions from conversation!
I like this place. If you ca manage to get a seat by the window, it's even better IMO.
The empanadas are good. Nothing special. I think the sauce they lay them in, helps out alot. The Calamari and queso de Cabra was nice. The steak could have used more flavor.
They need help in the caipirinha dept. though. It tasted like a Mojito and not a good one at that. I should bring out my Rio De Janeiro on their ass and show them how it's done...ha.
Will continue to be a fan of this place. It's a cool little setup and perfect for people watching.
Stopped in on a Friday night for a drink with a group of 7. They had nice big tables for us to sit at together. The DJ was good, but our group was more in the mood to talk, and it wasn't a great place for that. We had a pitcher of the white sangria with champaign and I've definitely had better. It just tasted like a bland, dry white wine. Putting fruit in a wine glass does not make it sangria.
Either way the service was good, and the music was good if you're looking for that so I would try it again sometime, and maybe try the food.
Coat Hooks: No
As the current duchess, I felt obligated to write a review. Â I've been visiting People since almost the very beginning often times weekly. Unfortunately the amazing staff that once kept me coming back for more are almost all gone. Â So why should you go there?
It's rarely busy. Â You'll almost never see it as busy as the website pictures show so if you're in the neighborhood it's a place you'll most likely be able to grab a seat, cocktail and some decent food.
Here's what I'd recommend:
datiles con bacon
scallops
people's skirtsteak
patatas bravas
Great food. Â I love their take on spicy potatoes. Â They have a thin aioli as compared to Ba-Ba Reeba's heartier sauce.
I don't like their location and it has a small dining room that felt a little cramped (too many tables in a small space), but the service was good and the food makes me want to go to Wicker Park, even though I hate it.
This place was ok. There were a lot of things I didn't like about it, but I just don't feel like giving it two-stars. I went with a friend and she had already eaten, so I did most of the ordering. Our waiter was just strange--not a bad guy, though. He made a comment along the lines of, "Is your friend ever going to order?" as I was trying to pick out my tapas. He also filled my sangria glass only halfway and quickly walked off. I had ordered four tapas and became concerned that maybe they had forgotten my ahi tuna, but I was told that they thought perhaps I wanted to wait until I was done with my other three dishes.
The food was pretty good. I really loved the ahi tuna, but it wasn't a lot for $15.00. The potato wantons that came with were memorable and I could go back for that dish. All in all, People is overpriced and the service is a little strange. Good food, though!
I gotta say that I love this place!!!
Really nice environment, delicious food, great service, friendly staff and best of all, they have an amazing DJ on Friday nights!!! He plays the best music and smoothly changes from one genera to another making the place really lively! Also, I've notice that while other places play their music way to laud making it impossible to talk to your friends, here the DJ manages to play soft enough so that I can have a nice conversation over dinner and laud enough so that I don't forget that is a Friday night and I am out having fun. Perfect balance!!!!
Friday night is definitely the night to go!!
I went here for a birthday dinner last Saturday and was really impressed! Â The waitress suggested a set menu of some of their favorite/most popular dishes. Â If you have ready any of my other reviews you would know that I am not a fan of set menus, but everyone else was in so I said what the heck. Â I was extremely impressed!! Â The empenadas were fabulous and I can't wait to go back.
Our server was friendly and even shook everyone's hand on the way out.
The only reason I didn't give People Lounge five stars is that I really didn't like the Pinot Noir they served us and I felt it was a bit loud. Â
The prices were reasonable and the food was great. Â I will definitely return.
Went there about a week ago and, granted it was NYE weekend, but the place was dead on a Friday night at 7:30. The wait staff was very nice and the place was nice as well.
This is a tapas places. We found that the food was average but we would not go back. My date loved the scallops but the other dishes were average,
They did have very interesting tequila flights which were great. A very casual place but not worth a special trip.
Music is loud as hell. Tapas is supposed to be a social thing. It is impossible to have a conversation in this place. Waitress was hopeless. We waited 15 minutes and then got up ourselves to get someone's attention to order a drink. On the plus side, the water guys were on their game. We had the change to down three glasses of water each before the waitress even got around to taking our order! She was also a bit of a mumbler. Horrible trait for a waitress in general, even worse with the loud music.
And why the rows of televisions? And why were they playing the food network on one and Dr Phil on another. This was 11pm on a Friday night. Fun... :-/
On the plus side, the cocktails were pretty well made, but the overall experience did not justify their price. $10 for a nice cocktail. Also mid-range whisky on the rocks was $10.
Probably will not go back.
Perchance it was diminished expectations that resulted from my sister in law's negative reaction when I told her I was headed for People Lounge, but I ended up loving this place. Â
Service - Couldn't tell if our very attractive waitress was hitting on us or just someone who knows how to get a decent tip through friendly and attentive service. Â Being that I'm kind of a troll, I have settled on the latter. Â Which is fine I suppose...
Ambiance - Absolutely dead on Thursday at about 6:30 when we walked in. Â But it picked up and became respectable by the time we left. Â Didn't notice the music so much which is probably a good thing...I don't want to go to a place where I need to yell to have a conversation. Â They had some tv's on over the bar with various channels turned on...they were there, but didn't distract from the overall feel. Â So what was the overall feel? Â I have no idea how to describe ambiance. Â Hip? Â Cool? Â Whatever...it was lively enough and had a great feel to it. Â More cozy than Iberico I'd say.
Food - Calamari was the best I've had. Â Pollo Diablo, which is Spanish for Devil Chicken, was chicken on a bed of risotto accompanied with a spicy red sauce. Â Very nice. Â Patatas bravas, Spanish for Courageous Chicken, were ok...I've had better. Â Queso de Cabra, which is Spanish for Cheese of Chicken, was great as expected.
Drinks - had the red sangria and it tasted as it should. Â Did seem to drain a bit quickly...but then again it was only $5.
Value - Perfectly reasonable...for tapas. Â
Parking - Very easy! Â This is more important to me than one would think. Â But I can find free parking easy in wicker park...finding parking near Iberico is a bitch sometimes. Â That could be just the edge this place needs to have me back sooner than later.
I always love coming to People... great atmosphere, every menu item I have tried has been awesome (and I've tried about 90% of the menu) and the sangria w/ champagne is good! I've been here with family of all ages (15-65) and everyone has always had a great time
I highly recommend it to all!
Wow, this place was definitely not what I was expecting in Wicker Park, in a good way. I went here Saturday night for a friend's birthday, and had a great time.
My friend originally booked her party here thinking we would be having a DJ, you know, Top 40 and crowd-pleasing tunes. It turned out that they had booked a Spanish instrumental band instead. My friend was a little peeved because it was a complete surprise, and not what she had planned for. However, after speaking a few words with the manager and a good amount of drinks later, everything turned out fine. We ended up loving the band! They were amazing, and the guitarist was phenomenal. They really encouraged people to dance, and our party took advantage of it. It was a nice change from the normal Saturday night bar/restaurant routine.
Since I had a little too much to drink the night before, I didn't want anything too wild. I decided to stick with their various Sangrias. My personal favorite was their Red Sangria-light and simple. We didn't order much food, but we did get some Calamari, and it was delicious. I did take a peek at their menu and by their descriptions alone, I would love to come back for their Tapas. The prices were pretty moderate, too.
All in all, People is a nice place to come for a more quiet and intimate night out with friends or a dinner date! I will definitely be back.
Overall People lounge was good. It wasn't the best food I've ever had but I am definitely planning on going back to try more. Nice atmosphere, not too noisy, not crowded. Good selection of beers and you should be able to find multiple items on the menu that appeal to you for whatever mood you are in. One thing that irked me is how small the table was in comparison to the plate sizes (this may be different for tables for more than 2 people though). While the server tried to accommodate this by spacing our order, there was still a bit of chaos on the table. But this isn't the first tapas place that has suffered from this.
I'd say People lounge is a great choice for the start of an evening where you can leave satisfied and optimistic, but I wouldn't choose it for the main event.
Great location but mediocre tapas. Â I actually ended up coming here b/c the wait for Big Star was ridiculous. Â
Don't get me wrong, it wasn't terrible but not good enough to deserve 4 stars. Â
I indulged in the following:
Goat cheese/tomato with bread
skirt steak
scallop
shrim
watermelon/avocado salad - my favorite
The night I went, sangria pitchers were $15. Can't beat that.
They have outside seating but it's a small area and having vagabonds stare at you while you eat is neither enticing or comfortable but hey, it's Wicker Park, I get it.
Wicker Park is a hodge podge of eateries, bars, clubs and coffee shops. Â To decipher one between the other, you would have to have your very own identity. Â What drew us to this spot was not the food, but rather the hip hop joints heard blasting from its seams. Â We were intrigued.....
So we entered Peoples Tapas, and got a dinner table to get some eats and libations. Â Surprisingly, at midnight, most of the tables were vacant. Â Everyone was on the bar side, dancing along to the tunes and tipping their cups up. Â
We ordered the steak and some fried calamari, as well as some mixed drinks. Â I ordered my ever so favorite capirinha. Â And hmph....i didn't even finish it. Â The sugar wasn't muddled well, and the rum wasn't very tasty. Â Quite disappointing. Prices for drinks though weren't bad at $8 a pop.
What was kinda annoying was that the people in the bar area were spilling over and dancing to where we were eating. So we're sitting there noshing on our food, and we have a booty in our face or someone bumping our table. Â Understandable if the dining area wasn't crowded, but dang girl, M.O.V.E your butt somewhere else so I
can enjoy my surf and turf. Â
I'd come here again. Â 4 for food, 3 for drinks, 3 for annoying restaurant set up, 5 for music. Â
3.5 stars overall
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