Some places adopt a food tradition as a kind of theme, a kitschy twist, a hook to get people in. Tapas could have been that for Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. They could have easily gone down that street. But thankfully for all of us, they didn’t. They went all in. And this tapas, pintxos and sangria restaurant not only provides a sprawling space for long, Spanish-inspired early evening drinking meal, they went above and beyond and brought it to brunch too. And no, this isn’t some kind of westernized dim sum, this is just some classic brunch favorites, shrunk down (slightly) so you can get a little bit of everything.

Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba is on what I like to call Brunch Row, aka that strip of Halsted St that has brunch spot after brunch spot and bubbly 20 and 30 year olds spilled onto the street, a little too drunk on a Saturday at 11am. The restaurant has been around for a while, since 1985, and has become a bit of an institution. It’s seems to always be full (with several birthday parties happening), but never a wait (because there seems to be endless tables and seats going further and further back in the restaurant). And always plenty of paella to go around.