Frequently asked questions

Nafsi is at 7059 S. South Shore Drive, Chicago, IL 60649, inside the South Shore Cultural Center on the Lake Michigan lakefront in the South Shore neighborhood. The restaurant is in the historic clubhouse building. Call (708) 773-5764 for directions.

Call Nafsi at (708) 773-5764 for reservations, hours and questions. That is the number on the restaurant's official website and its Choose Chicago listing. For private events you can also email [email protected] or use the events inquiry form on this site.

Nafsi doors open at 3 PM Friday-Saturday, 4 PM Thursday and Monday, and 11 AM Sunday, and close at 11 PM. Five Loaves Brunch, our brunch partner, runs Wednesday-Saturday 8 AM-1 PM. Monday has specials. Tuesday and Wednesday evening are reserved for private events; please call (708) 773-5764 to confirm.

On Mondays, 4-11 PM, Nafsi serves $2 oysters all day and a $10 plate of wings, catfish or sliders, each served with fries. Call (708) 773-5764 with questions. Dinner, Five Loaves Brunch and Sunday service run on other days; see the Visit page for the full week.

Yes. Book a table online through OpenTable from any page on this site, or call (708) 773-5764. For groups and private events, use the private events inquiry form instead.

Yes. Nafsi is open Sunday 11 AM to 11 PM, with the brunch menu served from 11 AM. The brunch menu includes chicken and waffle, tiger shrimp and grits, catfish and grits, peach cobbler French toast, skillets, omelettes, oysters and crab cakes. See the full brunch menu with prices on the menu page.

Happy hour runs Thursday 4-7 PM, Friday 3-6 PM and Saturday 8-10 PM. Specials change, so ask your server or call (708) 773-5764 for the current happy hour offers.

Nafsi serves Southern cooking and seafood made from scratch: oysters raw, chargrilled or Rockefeller, seafood platters with lobster tail, catfish and grits, rosemary lamb chops, red snapper, jerk chicken, wings, sliders and pasta. Dinner entrees range from $22 to $48 on the current menu.

Yes. The menu includes a Veggie Garden Bowl, a plant-based Veggie Burger, House Hummus with fried pita, Collard and Spinach Dip, Fried Green Tomatoes, salads, Loaded Veggie Omelette and Veggie Skillet at brunch, plus vegetable sides. Allergen codes are printed on the dinner menu; ask your server about preparation.

Yes. The Chicago Park District states that metered parking is available in the lot on site at the South Shore Cultural Center. Parking is not free and is not reserved for the restaurant, so allow extra time on busy beach days and during events in the building.

Use the CTA trip planner to 7059 S. South Shore Drive. Search listings mention CTA bus routes 6, 26 and 71 near the South Shore Cultural Center, and Metra Electric serves a South Shore station nearby. Routes and detours change, so check CTA and Metra before you travel.

Yes. Barack and Michelle Obama held their wedding reception at the South Shore Cultural Center on October 3, 1992. Nafsi operates inside the same building, the former South Shore Country Club clubhouse, which is now a Chicago Landmark run by the Chicago Park District.

The building was the clubhouse of the South Shore Country Club, designed by Marshall and Fox in Mediterranean Revival style. The Chicago Park District bought the property in 1975 for $9.775 million, renamed it the South Shore Cultural Center, and it became a Chicago Landmark on May 26, 2004.

Yes. Nafsi hosts private dinners, celebrations and corporate gatherings, with Tuesdays and Wednesday evenings reserved for private events. Send the inquiry form with your date and guest count, use the events portal, or email [email protected]. Capacity is confirmed per event by the team.

Nafsi takes catering inquiries for events. Packages and per-guest pricing are quoted per event; send the catering inquiry form with your date, guest count and service style, or email [email protected], and the team will reply with options.

The printed dinner menu notes a 5% fee on credit and debit card transactions, and the brunch menu notes 3%. Ask your server for the current policy when you order.

Press coverage names Donnell Digby, a South Side native who caddied at the South Shore Cultural Center as a youth, as the owner of Nafsi 1916. He won the concession through the Park District's request for proposals, and Cecilia Cuff of Bronzeville Winery was hired to build out the restaurant.

Nafsi opened in fall 2024. ABC7 Chicago covered the opening in October 2024, and the Citizen Newspaper Group profiled the restaurant about a month after it opened. It occupies the former Parrot Cage restaurant space inside the South Shore Cultural Center.

Yes. Nafsi is inside the South Shore Cultural Center, which sits in a lakefront park that includes a public beach on Lake Michigan, a nine-hole golf course, a nature sanctuary and open lawns, according to the Chicago Park District. The restaurant also has a patio.

Yes. Dinner menu items carry allergen codes: W wheat, D dairy, E egg, F fish, SF shellfish, S soy and N nuts. The brunch menu has no per-item tags, so ask your server. Items may contain or come in contact with these allergens, and cross-contact may occur.

Yes. Five Loaves Brunch, our brunch partner, serves Wednesday through Saturday 8 AM-1 PM. It is a collab, separate from Nafsi's own service: Nafsi doors open at 3 PM Friday and Saturday and 4 PM Thursday. No Five Loaves menu is posted online, so ask your server or call (708) 773-5764.

Nafsi doors open at 3 PM Friday and Saturday, 4 PM Thursday and Monday, and 11 AM Sunday, closing at 11 PM. Five Loaves Brunch, our brunch partner, serves Wednesday through Saturday 8 AM-1 PM, before Nafsi's own service begins. Call (708) 773-5764 with questions.