Are you heading to Oak Brook, Illinois for IANDS Conference 2025? If so, you might be wondering where to find the best places to eat in Oak Brook. Preferably affordable, local eateries where you can sample some of the Chicago area’s legendary dishes, like Chicago hot dogs and deep dish pizza.
There are lots of great places to eat in Oak Brook, and within a reasonable driving or ridesharing distance, too. And there are way too many restaurants for us to list here, even if we zero in specifically on the Oak Brook area near the conference. So let’s just focus on the truly top notch joints. The best of the best places to eat in Oak Brook while visiting the Conference, with both great food and reasonable prices. Maybe we’ll run into you waiting in line?
Top Affordable and Iconic Places to Eat in Oak Brook
Antico Posto Serves Up Phenomenal Italian Food
- Menu
- 4.7 stars on OpenTable
- 4.6 stars on Google Reviews
This popular Italian cafe and wine bar in Oakbrook Center Mall is famed for its cozy, inviting atmosphere and delicious Italian food, including mouthwatering margherita pizza.
Beatrix Ranks Highly Among Places to Eat in Oak Brook
- Menu
- 4.7 stars on OpenTable
- 4.5 stars on Google Reviews
A trendy contemporary coffeehouse and restaurant, Beatrix features a menu sporting healthy and delicious options. They’re famed for their bakery featuring in-house pastries, and their iconic coffee too.
Wildfire: An Old School Dinner Club Makes Our List of the Best Places to Eat in Oak Brook
- Menu
- 4.7 stars on OpenTable
- 4.4 stars on Google Reviews
Looking for a proper dinner club spot in the Oak Brook area? You can’t really top Wildfire, a popular chain in the Greater Chicago area oozing with style. With timeless decor accentuated with jazz, Wildfire is a top choice for those with more carnivorous appetites.
Roka Akor, a Small Chain That’s Big on Flavor
- Menu
- 4.7 stars on OpenTable
- 4.5 stars on Google Reviews
Roka Akor is a small chain with three locations in the Chicago area. They offer a surprisingly affordable Japanese steakhouse menu featuring some of the best wagyu beef steaks and sushi you’ll find in the Windy City. And they have a lot of mouthwatering vegetarian options, too, including a Japanese mushroom rice hot pot with optional black truffle.
Lou Malnati’s Has Excellent Deep Dish Pizza and is One of the Best Places to Eat in Oak Brook!
Menu | 4.6 stars on OpenTable | 4.3 stars on Google Reviews
Pizza aficionados looking for places to eat in Oak Brook, look no further. You simply can’t visit the Windy City and not try Chicago deep dish on its home turf, and Lou Malnati’s is a world famous Chicago favorite. Even if you aren’t a fan of Chicago-style deep dish pizza, you can still visit just for the pasta and other culinary delights. Their tiramisu is worth a visit by itself … or maybe seven visits.
Blanco Cocina + Cantina Ranks as the Best Mexican Food in Oak Brook
Menu | 4.5 stars on OpenTable | 4.2 stars on Google Reviews
Unlike the other restaurants we’re counting amongst the best places to eat in Oak Brook, Blanco Cocina + Cantina is actually a national chain, with locations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Tennessee, and Texas. So you might already be familiar with their phenomenal Mexican food served in a laid back, super-friendly environment. But if you’ve never been to any of their restaurants, and if you love Mexican food, this is definitely a restaurant you’ll want to try out!
Long Day at the Conference? Head Out for Craft Beers at Alter Brewing + Kitchen
Menu | 4.3 stars on OpenTable | 4.3 stars on Google Reviews
Looking to unwind after a long day of learning about near-death experiences and related phenomena at IANDS Conference 2025? Alter Brewing + Kitchen features a lighthearted and affordable menu of Americana food—burgers, salads, flatbreads, and more—alongside Alter’s 16 rotating taps of craft beers.
Billy Goat Tavern & Grill: It Isn’t in Oak Brook, but Consider a Visit Anyway!
Menu | 4.5 stars on Google Reviews
“Cheezeborger. Cheezborger. Cheezborger. No fries, cheeps! No Pepsi, Coke!”
Sound familiar? This is the restaurant that inspired a famous 1978 SNL skit, and was a hangout for John Belushi and Bill Murray in their Second City comedy troupe days. They don’t have a location in Oak Brook, but definitely consider dropping by if you’re visiting downtown Chicago, or pay their O’Hare Airport location a visit on your way in or out.
Portillo’s Downers Grove: Legendary Italian Beef Sandwiches, Hot Dogs, and More!
Menu | 4.3 stars on Google Reviews
It would be criminally negligent to talk about food in the greater Chicago area and not mention Portillo’s, a fabled and iconic local fast food chain serving Chicago-style hot dogs, burgers, and the unique and delicious Chicago style Italian Beef sandwich. They don’t have a location directly in Oak Brook, though you can visit their location in nearby Downers Grove, just a 12-minute drive or rideshare away. If you love fast food, it’s worth the trip!
You can’t go wrong with any of these places to eat in Oak Brook During IANDS Conference 2025!
Whatever you’re hungry for, we hope you’ll find a great option on this list of the best affordable places to eat in Oak Brook during IANDS Conference 2025.
We’d love to have time to sample all of these extraordinary restaurants. But IANDS Conference 2025 is going to keep all of us busy! We’re celebrating the golden anniversary of Raymond Moody’s book Life after Life, which played an integral role in the birth of our scientific field of near-death studies. And with countless speakers, special workshops, daily lunches with speakers, healing rooms, and so much more, we’ll definitely have a lot to do during this, the world’s largest NDE conference.
We’re looking forward to seeing you at the Hilton Chicago/Oak Brook Hills Resort and Conference Center August 28th through the 31st! August 27th is our pre-conference day, too. Be sure to register now if you haven’t already. And try not to hog all of that wonderful deep dish pizza before we get there, okay?
