If you’re new to Tinley Park or the southwest Chicago suburbs in general and have no idea where to have your baby shower, this post might be of some help.

What The Area Has To Offer

In terms of cuisine, I would say that Italian and American cuisine are the majority. One of the drawbacks of not living in the city is that you don’t have proximity to a greater variety of cuisines. For example, there is one French restaurant within 15 miles of Tinley Park in Homer Glen called La Crêpe Bistro, which I’ve dined at a handful of times, but beyond that you’ll have to go to either Oak Brook for Mon Ami Gabi, downtown Chicago, or further north to get traditional French cuisine.

Diversity on the Horizon

I’ve been desperately missing Indian, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisine down here, but I read that a couple opened and they are both in Tinley Park! They are called Chak De Fuzyon Indian Bistro and SemSem Mediterranean. I haven’t had time to check them out yet, but how cool is that that Tinley Park has an Indian and Mediterranean restaurant options now?

The Most Recommended

Now of the restaurants and venues that we do have in Tinley Park and the surrounding area, I reached out to the Tinley Park Mom Facebook Group for recommendations. I also spied to see what others had recommended to people in the past on other Southwest Chicago Suburb Facebook Groups. I compiled a list of the restaurants/venues that kept popping up and I have the ones that were recommended the most below (in alphabetical order):

Aurelio’s Pizza
4.3 ★ · $$ · Pizza Place
1372 Main St, Crete, Illinois 60417

Barraco’s
4.2 ★ · $$ · Pizza Place
3701 W 95th St, Evergreen Park, Illinois

Bartolini’s Restaurant, Catering & Banquets
4.7 ★ · $ · Italian Restaurant
14420 Pulaski Rd, Midlothian, Illinois 6044

Beggars Pizza
4.3 ★ · $$ · Pizza Place
650 W Maple St, New Lenox, Illinois 60451

Blissful Banana Cafe
4.6 ★ · $$ · Coffee Shop
15447 S 94th Ave, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Board & Brush – New Lenox
5 ★ · $$ · Arts & Entertainment
2401Joliet Highway, New Lenox, Illinois 60451

Dancing Marlin
4.7 ★ · $$ · Seafood Restaurant
20590 S La Grange Rd, Frankfort, Illinois 60423

Deja Brew Bar & Grille
4.4 ★ · $$ · Sports Bar
5219 W 95th St, Oak Lawn, Illinois 60453

Fox’s Pizza Orland Park
4 ★ · $$ · Pub
9655 W 143rd St, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Francesca’s Fortunato
4.5 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
40 Kansas St, Frankfort, Illinois 60423

~ Frankie’s Ristorante ~
4.8 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
9501 171st St, Tinley Park, Illinois 60477

Gatto’s – Tinley Park
$$ · Italian Restaurant
8005 183rd St, Tinley Park, Illinois 60451

Harvest Room
4.7 ★ · $$ · American Restaurant
7164 W 127th St, Palos Heights, Illinois 60463

Healthy Sins, Inc., The Vegan Cafe
4.8 ★ · $$ · Vegetarian/Vegan Restaurant
928 S State St, Lockport, Illinois 60441

Isabella Cafe Northern Italian Cuisine
4.5 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
17211 Oak Park Ave, Tinley Park, Illinois 60477

La Banque Hotel
4.6 ★ · $$$ · Hotel Resort
2034 Ridge Rd, Homewood, Illinois 60430

Legacy Dance Studio
4.4 ★ · Dance Studio
14814 Cicero Ave, Oak Forest, Illinois 60445

Little Joe’s
4.3 ★ · $ · Neighborhood
1041 W Taylor St, Chicago, Illinois 60607

Mama Vesuvio’s East
4.4 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
6361 W College Dr, Palos Heights, Illinois 60463

Oak Forest Bowl and The Park
$ · Bowling Alley
15240 Cicero Ave, Oak Forest, Illinois 60452

Papa Joe’s Italian Cuisine – Orland Park
4.3 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
14459 S La Grange Rd, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Plush Horse – Tinley Park
4.7 ★ · $ · Ice Cream Shop
7903 171st St, Tinley Park, Illinois 60477

Prime Time Restaurant & Bar
4.2 ★ · $$ · Sports Bar
7750 W 95th St, Hickory Hills, Illinois 60457

The Public Landing Restaurant
4.2 ★ · $$ · American Restaurant
200 W 8th St, Lockport, Illinois 60441

Tazza Italian Ristorante
4.5 ★ · $$ · Italian Restaurant
14065 S Bell Rd, Homer Glen, Illinois 60491

Zachary’s Grill
4.7 ★ · $$ · Steakhouse
13415 South Ridgeland Avenue, Palos Heights, Illinois 60463

Choosing a Baby Shower Venue

In the end I chose Frankie’s Ristorante in Tinley Park for my baby shower. My husband and I have a history with the restaurant that goes back when we were first dating and it’s also so really close to our home. They also catered our wedding reception after we had our destination wedding.

One thing that everyone said to factor into my decision of where to have the baby shower was the closeness of the venue to our home. Our baby shower is taking place at the very end of January and everyone involved wants to take every precaution in case the weather and the roads are not smooth.

Whatever your situation may be, whether you feel like your hands are tied because of budget, location or other logistics, remember that it’s not the be-all, end-all occasion in your life. The baby shower is about getting together with people who will hopefully be in yours and your family’s life for years to come. The cuisine, the size of the venue and everything else that might be imperfect won’t matter to you years down the road. Whichever venue you choose, focus on having a good time and less time worrying about anything else, except your safety of course.

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