At a time when national restaurant menu prices climbed 4.1 percent year-over-year as of December 2025, according to FSR Magazine, four Oak Park spots are still serving complete meals for $15 or less.
The Forest Park Review highlighted the restaurants in a Thursday, June 26 roundup by Adam Siemer identifying 15 affordable dining options across the west suburbs. Four are in Oak Park, spanning three corridors:
Alice & Friends Vegan Kitchen, 104 N. Marion St. — The Not Dog, a vegan sausage topped with caramelized onions, fried shallots, relish, and mustard, comes with mashed potatoes or a side salad for $13.95. Owner Mun Wong runs what the community site Explore Oak Park and Beyond calls Oak Park's only fully plant-based restaurant. The spot won the Chicago Reader's Best Vegan Restaurant award in 2023. Wong told Explore Oak Park and Beyond it's "a wonderland for vegans, so they can enjoy everything on the menu without double-checking." Open daily; hours vary.
Sen Sushi, 814 S. Oak Park Ave. — The Lunch Special Bento Box packs tofu teriyaki, soup, house salad, shrimp and vegetable tempura, a California roll, and rice for $15 flat. Owners Chaiprasert and Varanya have operated the 30-seat restaurant since July 2009. Some fish is imported from Japan and kept no more than two days. Open Tuesday through Sunday; closed Mondays.
Habibi's Chicken & Falafel, 421 N. Harlem Ave. — The Chicken Shawarma Bowl layers Lebanese street-food staples over creamy hummus with rice, Arabic salad, garlic smash, and pickles for $13.99.
Mulata Kitchen, 136 N. Oak Park Ave. — A soup-and-empanada combo pairs lentil or chicken soup with garlic crostini and one of 10 daily empanada flavors for $11.75. Founder Cristiane Pereira, a Brazilian immigrant, has operated the café in the Hemingway District since 2019. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Industry-wide, 68 percent of restaurant operators raised menu prices in 2025, with an average increase of 12 percent, according to FSR Magazine.
The full 15-restaurant list, which also covers Forest Park, Berwyn, Brookfield, and other nearby communities, is available at forestparkreview.com.
