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Ema - Ema - River North, Chicago, IL

Ema - River North

4.7 (4648)
$31 to $50
Mediterranean
74 West Illinois Street, Chicago, IL 60654

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2 people
19:00
Booked 140 times today

About this restaurant

  • Vegetarian-friendly
  • Lively
  • Charming
A Mediterranean & California-inspired restaurant featuring small plates & Chef CJ Jacobson's lighter style cooking in Chicago's River North.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Mediterranean, Californian
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Mon–Fri 11:00 am–4:00 pm Brunch Sat, Sun 11:00 am–3:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 3:00 pm–11:00 pm Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Phone number
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive Chef
    CJ Jacobson
  • Catering
    Enjoy Ema Catering for your next event at home, in the office, or for your next celebration! Contact emaparties@leye.com for more information.
  • Private party facilities
    The open and inviting dining room features reclaimed wood, rustic white brick and an indoor ivy terrace with operable windows. The dining room accommodates groups up to 150 guests and may be custom configured for your next family-style dinner, business lunch or cocktail reception event.
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Area
    River North (Chicago)
  • Cross Street
    Clark & Illinois
  • Parking details
    Valet parking is located just east of Ema on Illinois Street at the Hyatt Place/Fairfield Inn valet. Valet costs $25 for 3 hours, no validation needed. Regular rates apply after 3 hours.
  • Public transit
    Red Line Stop at Grand / Blue Line Stop at Clark
  • Additional
    Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining
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What 4,648 people are saying

Ema - River North reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

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

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.7Ambience
  • 4.4Value

NoiseModerate

Diners' Choice Awards

  • Chicago

    Mediterranean

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Ema in River North offers a delightful Mediterranean dining experience with "excellent food and service" and a "wonderful atmosphere." Guests rave about the "delicious hummus" and "creative dishes" like hot honey halloumi and lamb kebabs. Despite occasional service inconsistencies, the restaurant remains a "great spot for both casual and celebratory meals."
4,648 Reviews
  1. Jenny VIP

    Chicago57 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 1 day ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Great accommodations for food allergies, the food so wonderful it never disappoints. With we could have had more attention from our server during our meal

    Is this helpful?

  2. Lindsay

    Chicago27 reviews

    4.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Great restaurant, amazing and friendly staff. Just a little pricey for what you get.

    Is this helpful?

  3. Linda VIP

    Chicago7 reviews

    4.0

    Dined 2 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Food was very good. The Manager Scott was fantastic!! He went out of his way to make 5 senior women feel special.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Brittany VIP

    Minneapolis10 reviews

    2.0

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 4
    Waitress was non conversive and didn’t slow and didn’t check on us often at all

    Is this helpful?

  5. Aaron

    Las Vegas3 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Everything we ordered was flavorful and fantastic.

    Is this helpful?

  6. Filip VIP

    Chicago4 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on 25 April 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Great food and service at the table A smile at the reception desk would be nice

    Is this helpful?

  7. Andrew

    Chicago1 review

    3.0

    Dined on 24 April 2025

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    Host stand was very disorganized. Arrived at our reservation time of 12:15 and didn’t even get to check in for our table for a solid 10 minutes. Then had to wait another couple minutes to get seated. This normally would be no big deal at dinner. But for a business lunch, I would expect to be promptly seated at our reservation time. Food and service was good besides that mishap at the beginning.

    Is this helpful?

  8. Micki

    Minneapolis1 review

    4.0

    Dined on 19 April 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    Ate at Ema last night with my adult kids and a significant other. We enjoyed it. Best dishes: sugar snap peas, crispy potatoes, lamb-beef kefta, and hot honey halloumi - all delicious! My son does not like vegetables as a rule, but loved the sugar snap peas, so a big win there. We also ordered spicy hummus--nice flavor but none of us thought it was the least bit spicy; tahini ceasar--good not great; grilled chicken--ok, but bland and a bit dry. The rice that came with the kebabs was great though. We saved room for dessert and ordered sticky date cake, double chocolate crisp, pistachio frozen Greek yogurt. We weren't amazed with any of them...there was so much sea salt on the double chocolate crisp that we couldn't eat it. I would recommend skipping dessert and ordering additional spreads, vegetable dish, and/or kebab. Wait staff were great! I wish the volume of the music was lower.

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  9. Ignacio

    London1 review

    5.0

    Dined on 18 April 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Always a good choice, good quality and service!!!!

    Is this helpful?

  10. Deanna VIP

    Chicago4 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on 17 April 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    I love Ema and have been coming here for years! I’m obsessed with the Mediterranean salad with grilled salmon as the protein. The salmon used to be a filet that was large enough to lay across my bowl. When I got my salad this past time, it was half the size of my wrist!!! What is going on??? Same price, just a teeny tiny piece!

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Ema - River North offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (312) 527-5586.

Ema - River North is rated 4.7 stars by 4648 OpenTable diners.

Ema - River North does offer gift cards which you can purchase here.

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

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Chicago / Illinois
  4. Chicago
  5. River North (Chicago)

Make a booking

2 people
19:00
Booked 140 times today
Google Map for Ema - River North

74 West Illinois Street, Chicago, IL 60654

Additional information

  • Cross Street
    Clark & Illinois
  • Area
    River North (Chicago)
  • Hours of Operation
    Lunch Mon–Fri 11:00 am–4:00 pm Brunch Sat, Sun 11:00 am–3:00 pm Dinner Mon–Thu 4:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 3:00 pm–11:00 pm Sun 3:00 pm–9:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Mediterranean, Californian
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Valet parking is located just east of Ema on Illinois Street at the Hyatt Place/Fairfield Inn valet. Valet costs $25 for 3 hours, no validation needed. Regular rates apply after 3 hours.
  • Public transit
    Red Line Stop at Grand / Blue Line Stop at Clark
  • Payment Options
    AMEX, Diners Club, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive Chef
    CJ Jacobson
  • Additional
    Gluten-free Options, Patio/Outdoor Dining
  • Delivery & takeout
  • Phone number
  • Catering
    Enjoy Ema Catering for your next event at home, in the office, or for your next celebration! Contact emaparties@leye.com for more information.
  • Private party facilities
    The open and inviting dining room features reclaimed wood, rustic white brick and an indoor ivy terrace with operable windows. The dining room accommodates groups up to 150 guests and may be custom configured for your next family-style dinner, business lunch or cocktail reception event.
Gift card

Gift card

Send gift cards instantly by email or print to present in person.

Send a gift card
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