Nightly Nosh: The Best 24-Hour Restaurants in Chicago

Chicago has a natural rapport with nightlife. In the early days, immigrants worked night shifts or at odd hours, and clocked out looking for fast food that would keep them going. During prohibition, mobsters and other seedy characters would operate their illicit businesses under the cover of night, taking a break to refuel at a local diner. In the eighties, Chicago house music exploded overnight, causing first a local then international craze, and inspiring thousands to spend their nights in euphoric dance instead of sleep, capping their 6th or 8th or 12th nocturnal hour with a meal from their favorite late-night spot.

In a city rife with unique food traditions—deep dish pizza, Chicago-style hot dogs, polishes, Italian beefs—there’s no shortage of options to satiate a Midwestern football-level appetite that follows an adventurous night out. We combed the streets and scoured the alleyways to bring you this list of the best 24-hour restaurants in Chicago. Some are historic institutions, some are up-and-coming heavyweights. But no matter if you’re on your way out of a game at Wrigley Field, catching a show The Metro, or throwing down at The Cobra Lounge, these Chicago spots will keep you going well into the night, or morning.

Address: 1250 S Union Ave.
Website: jimsoriginal.com

One of Chicago’s most storied late-night food spots is Jim’s Original. Over seventy years ago, a crafty young European immigrant named Jimmy began selling sausages from a food cart he rented from his aunt. Peopled loved it. Flash forward to today, and “polishes,” as the Polish sausages are known, have become one of Chicago’s go-to street foods, right alongside the Chicago hot dog. And we get why: their recipe right down to the sausage hasn’t changed for seventy. Top it with yellow mustard, grilled onions and a couple Sports hot peppers per tradition and you can’t go wrong. Plus free fries, and the price is definitely right.

Address: 1635 W Irving Park Rd.

It’s not that you have to order “The Slinger” if you visit Diner Grill, but there will most likely be a dare at some point amongst your buddies to conquer this massive plate of two hamburger patties, two sunny-side-up eggs, hash browns, cheese, onions and chili. The other infamous menu item that will conquer your hunger no matter time of day is the off-menu “Dick Burger,” (burger, bacon, a runny fried egg, and hash browns) named after a sommelier patron who first ordered it. Either way, Diner Grill will deliver the prescribed gut bomb with aplomb.

Address: 2001 N Western Ave.
Website: arturos-tacos.com

If you’re looking for a burrito in the wee hours of the morning (and if we’re honest with ourselves, who isn’t?), Arturo’s is probably your best bet. Known by both its nocturnal and diurnal patrons for their killer Al Pastor in its burrito and taco forms, as well as their horchata, Arturo’s will fill you up quick for minimal dinero. If you’re not convinced of Arturo’s burrito craftsmanship, or just need more taco intake, check out Lazo’s located right next door.

Address: 1159 S Canal St.
Website: whitepalacegrill.com

I mean, yo, it’s a diner. When compiling a list of the greatest 24-hour restaurants in any American city, and let’s really just say the world, the beautiful twilight zone that is a 24-hour diner *must* be included. Rubbing elbows with a sketchy trucker who’s chowing down on a double-cheeseburger while you get to working on some gnarly huevos rancheros at 4 a.m. is a blissful experience. Opened in 1939, White Palace still serves up classic American diner food for any meal— check out the 2x2x2x2 Breakfast or the Super Burger. Plus, any spot featured on Guy Fieri’s Triple D is prime for late night chowing.

Address: 2032 W Devon Ave.
Website: ghareebnawazonline.com

You may not immediately associate the best food available at any time day or night with Indian food, but when you consider that it’s filling, rife with starches like naan, rice, and chickpeas, and is mightily spicy, it starts to make sense that Indian food would be perfect for post-party and post-post-party feasting. Ghareeb Nawaz specializes in just that. Chili chicken, biriyanis, and curries are the specialty here, and their vast array of veggie options will satiate any gargantuan vegetarian appetite. Plus, just about everything on the menu is under $5.

Address: 1765 W Lawrence Ave.
Website: goldennuggetpancake.com

They say breakfast is good any time. They might be on to something. Golden Nugget Pancake House is another old school restaurant (it’s been around since 1966) that people are staunchly loyal towards. In fact, Golden Nugget’s expanded to seven locations to ensure sufficient pancaking of the greater Chicago populous. Fluffly pancakes with homemade compotes, massive plates called "The Crepe Dealer" and "The Full House Breakfast" pretty much speak for themselves.

Address: 411 W 31st St.

Maxwell Street Depot does a few things, and it does them very well. This South Side haunt, known to regulars simply as “Depot,” has no seats and only one counter, but that doesn't deter patrons from their killer Polish sausages a la Jim’s. The real namesake, though, is the pork chop sandwich. They surprisingly serve the fried pork chop with the bone still in it, topped with caramelized onions and plenty of mustard, adding one last adventure to your night.

Address: 209 W Cermak Rd.

While it officially closes for three hours, from 6-9 a.m.—they need some shut-eye at some point, right?—we nevertheless are implored by our infinite love of dim sum to include Three Happiness, the Don of Chicago Late Night Chinese food. Best visited after a long night out, we recommend ordering any classic American-Chinese dish: egg rolls, sweet and sour or General Tso’s anything, and dumplings, obviously. And remember, while that healthy shellacking of grease might turn some off in the daylight, after midnight, it’s more like polish for the trophy that was the rest of your night.

Address: 2120 S Canal St.
Website: lawrencesfisheries.com

If you need some seafood in your night life life, Lawrence’s Fisheries has been the jam since 1950. Known throughout the Chicago area for it’s shrimp, fried, boiled, or smoked, most people come for the fried seafood or fried chicken with a healthy dousing of hot sauce. But if you’re feeling adventurous, you can always sample the frog legs! If you order the customer favorite, fried shrimp, do like the locals do and throw some hot sauce right in the bag, shake it up, and get messy.

Address: 4126 W Montrose Ave.

Susie’s is the epitome of fast food and that, my friends, is a great thing. Also known by its full name, Susie’s Drive Thru, this is the kind of place where you can order your cheese fries (with appropriate toppings) in an “edible bowl” which is known to the rest of America as a taco bowl (fried in-house). Pretty much anything else goes here, too—a hot dog with gyro meat on it, a triple cheese burger, over sixty types of shakes—but the crowd favorites are the Corn Pole, a polish sausage corn dog filled with cheese, the kitchen sink-style Philly Cheese Steak, and the fajita/italian so-crazy-it-kinda-works Confused Chicken sandwich.