Chef Jeremy Leven is a culinary professional known for his expertise in modern Spanish cuisine. He currently serves as the Chef de Cuisine at Mamá Delia Chicago, a restaurant reflecting contemporary Spanish culinary...
Insights
SpanishTapasSteakhouseSeafoodSeafoodUpscaleDinnerBrunchWine BarCocktail Bar
Last updated: 9/5/2026, 3:24:51 AM
Key Information
Mama Delia is a modern Spanish restaurant and sherry bar located in Chicago's Wicker Park neighborhood, offering a fresh perspective on contemporary Spanish cuisine and culture. It is part of the Bonhomme Hospitality Group.
Customer Perception
Customers generally praise the cozy and classic decor, friendly and attentive staff, and creative cocktails. The food receives mixed reviews, with some finding it exceptional and unique, particularly the tapas and paella, while others feel it doesn't quite meet expectations compared to other Spanish restaurants in the city. The Basque Cheesecake with Manchego is frequently highlighted as a standout dessert. Some reviews mention long wait times for food and drinks, and dissatisfaction with automatic gratuity and service fees.
Additional Details
The restaurant is known for its extensive sherry selection and unique spin on traditional tapas. The space is described as having a great ambiance, with a patio vibe even when seated indoors.
Mama Delia’s is a nice spot, the decor inside is cozy and classic. We sat at the bar since we didn’t make a reservation, and the bartender was super friendly. Drinks were good and service was fast. Food was okay, I expected more. I think there are other Spanish restaurants in the city that have better food, but that’s just my opinion.
Nice cozy atmosphere with great staff and an amazing vibe. My fiancé and I were here for a restaurant week and the menu was great.
Everything was laid out nice and easy for us. I also highly recommend the wine pairings to add to your dinner.
The staff was super polite and helpful. I will definitely be returning.
5
The space is wonderful. We had the table between the bar and outside and it was perfect. Patio vibe but no pedestrians and cars.
Food is very good. Unique spin on Tapas. The basic tapas items are all dressed up a bit so they are more interesting and tasty. The toast with Anchovies should not be missed. The Paella we had was the Arroz Negro one. Amazing prawns in it, and the soccorat on the rice was perfect.
Service was friendly and really good. Out waiter was knowledgeable about the food and made a great wine suggestion, he also helped make sure the Sherry selection was well matched to the desserts we ordered.
Speaking of dessert, the Basque Cheesecake with Manchego is probably one of the best I have had. But there is this chocolate pudding thing, with chocolate toast and some incredible olive oil. Simply amazing. I even had to go order the olive oil myself from Williams-Sonoma
1
First, I want to say our server was excellent—friendly, attentive, and the highlight of our experience. This review isn't a reflection of the service.
Unfortunately, the rest of the evening was a disappointment. We arrived around 4:30 p.m. when the restaurant was completely empty. We didn't have a reservation, so we were seated at the bar. I understand holding tables for reservations, but by the time we left around 6:30, there was only one occupied table inside and one outside. It was frustrating knowing there were plenty of empty tables the entire time.
The cocktails were creative, and I appreciate places that try something different, but I sampled three different drinks and didn't enjoy any of them.
Our appetizer was very good, and my wife enjoyed her scallops. I ordered the pork belly, which was essentially beans and rice served in a cast iron skillet. It wasn't bad, but it felt like something I could easily make at home and didn't justify the price.
To top it off, the bill included an automatic 18% gratuity plus a 3% service fee, bringing the total to roughly $100 per person.
Overall, I left feeling underwhelmed. The service deserved five stars, but the overall experience simply didn't live up to the cost or expectations.
3
It's taken a while for me to get around to writing this review, but my experience with Mama Delia has never left my mind.
We arrived with no reservation at around 7:20pm, and plenty of tables were open both inside and outside. Even though the place wasn't busy, it took a while before our server got to us.
First, we ordered a cocktail and needed more time to get the food sorted out but didn't expect to be ignored for the next TEN minutes when, again, it wasn't busy.
It would have been nice to be made aware upon sitting down that certain items on the menu were out for the day - specifically 2 of their paellas and the french fries. No french fries?! Apparently, their summer menu has limited stock (?)
(Cocktail) Bordel's World Famous Spanish Coffee: This took 25 minutes to get to our table.
Escalivada Flatbread: Alright.
Shishito Peppers: Not worth $12. Very salty.
Chuleton: Takes 40 minutes to prepare. We asked for medium and got something more medium rare bordering on rare in some cuts.
The service was seriously lacking in addition to the wait times for the appetizer and peppers. Our starters came out roughly at the same time, but it was still about a 15-20 minute wait. All in all, we spent 1.5 hours here, and actually eating the food was 1/3 of that.