The Top 100 Places to Eat and Drink Near Side Practice Coffee
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Rank 1. Side Practice Coffee
Filipino
- Eater Chicago’s Best Coffee Shops
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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- The Infatuation The Best Cocktail Bars In Chicago
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Bar Program
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Rank 7. Cariño
Mexican
Beneath the rumble of the Uptown L, Chef Norman Fenton orchestrates a tasting menu of Mexican cooking that pivots between tradition and invention—huitlacoche ravioli with fried corn silk, lamb tartare tostada styled as al pastor. The counter seats you close enough to watch his small team work, their energy matching the pace of each course.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Norman Fenton
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 8. Atelier
New American
A modest storefront on Western Avenue conceals Chef Bradyn Kawcak's assured kitchen, where a tasting menu draws from nearby farms with global references and uncommon technique—pupusas with blue corn, carrot-miso dumplings in rutabaga wrappers, buckwheat noodles swimming in layered umami sauce. The room is small and the cooking is deliberate, each course calibrated to taste rather than impress.
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Rank 10. Spacca Napoli Pizzeria
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 14. Munno Pizzeria & Bistro
Roman-style Pizza
The dining room fills nightly with neighborhood regulars drawn to Roman-style pizzas with a bubble-like char and a serious kitchen that doesn't settle for one talent. Oblong pies like the diavola sbagliata, paired with house-made pastas that sing with restraint and care, suggest this unfussy spot knows exactly what it's doing.
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Rank 16. Jimmy's Pizza Cafe
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 18. Bayan Ko
Cuban
In a narrow Ravenswood room, Lawrence Letrero and Raquel Quadreny trace their Cuban and Filipino lineages through a tasting menu: arroz caldo crowned with lobster in calamansi butter, vaca frita recast as wagyu with black bean purée. The format forgoes stuffiness entirely, each plate a deliberate reclamation that honors both traditions without nostalgia.
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Garlic smoke rises from the rice cooker each time the door swings open at this narrow Filipino spot, once a food stall, now a compact temple to pork—crispy belly hash, herb-marinated cuts, sausage. Steelhead trout in burnt tomato and tamarind broth offers brief reprieve; a fried plantain spring roll dusted with brown sugar closes the meal like a handheld brûlée.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Joe Fontelera
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 21. Kie Gol Lanee
Oaxacan Mexican
In a quiet corner of Little Saigon, regulars who've traveled to Oaxaca gather to debate the merits of soft pork tamales in green mole and crispy tlayudas loaded with chorizo. The roasted Cornish hen arrives with skin like a potato chip, cloaked in a dark mole built from layers of spice that taste faintly sweet. A focused menu, executed with care, for those who know the difference.
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Rank 22. Demera
Ethiopian
Demera's corner storefront on Broadway draws Uptown neighbors into its bright dining room, where communal wicker tables and wide windows create theater around the meal. The yesiga wot—beef stewed dark in berbere with ginger and onions—arrives with injera for sauce-sopping, and the vegetable spreads are equally substantial.
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Rank 23. Birrieria Zaragoza
Mexican
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Rank 24. First Sip Cafe
Vietnamese
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Rank 25. Big Jones
Creative Southern
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Paul Fehribach
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Paul Fehribach
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Rank 26. Bayan Ko Diner
Filipino
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Rank 27. Alinea
Creative
Grant Achatz orchestrates dinner as theater—vapor drifts across the table, hidden flavors emerge from diminutive courses, and tableside pyrotechnics render the plate obsolete. The evening oscillates between whimsy and precision, each course a small rupture in expectation, culminating in dessert painted directly onto bare wood.
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Rank 28. Galit
Modern Middle Eastern
Inside a modest storefront, Zach Engel's modern Middle Eastern cooking unfolds through a prix-fixe of diners' choosing, opening with creamy hummus, warm pita, and pickles that establish the evening's warmth. The falafel carries unexpected brightness, wines from the Levantine region flow with purpose, and the whole operation hums with genuine hospitality.
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Rank 29. George's Deep Dish
Chicago-Style Pizza
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Rank 30. The Victor Cocktail Bar
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 32. Mi Tocaya Antojeria
Mexican
Lively chatter and seasonal cocktails fill the dining room at this Logan Square antojeria, where Diana Dávila's menu reclaims lesser-known Aztec traditions—guisado de nopalitos, a fragrant cactus stew with charred chilies and salty fried cheese curds, arrives with warm tortillas. The tacos carry the clarity of Mexico City street food, unpretentious and exact.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Diana Davila
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Diana Dávila
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Rank 33. Daisies
Italian
Sunlit and sprawling, Daisies has upgraded into a roomier iteration of itself, keeping its house-made pastas—pappardelle with mushroom ragù, rigatoni with pork ragù and fermented tomato—front and center. The onion dip with house-made ruffles remains essential; a new bakery operation supplies pastries, ice creams, and sorbets that close the meal with intention.
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 34. Nadu
Regional Indian
Chef Sujan Sarkar's Nadu serves contemporary regional Indian cuisine designed for sharing, with meen gassi—walleye in coconut and tamarind curry—standing out as a richly spiced centerpiece. The warm, upbeat dining room welcomes walk-ins at the bar, though reservations help secure a table for the vegetable moilee and other dishes meant for the whole table.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 35. Best Intentions
Midwestern
- 50 Best 2026 · #16 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Top 10 Nominee · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service · Christopher Marty
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- The New York Times 22 of the Best Bakeries Across the U.S. Right Now
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Ben Lustbader and Sarah Mispagel
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Pastry Chef of the Year · Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader & Ben Lustbader
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- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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Rank 38. Ragadan
Middle Eastern
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- 50 Best 2026 · #65 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Esquire 2023 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Bar Team – U.S. Central
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Rank 40. Anelya
Eastern European
In a cozy Avondale dining room, Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim honor Clark's grandmother through meticulously sourced Eastern European fare: green borsch alive with nettles, a zakusky cart of tart roe and seed hummus, butter-glazed pampushky bread. The stuffed cabbage arrives as a study in restraint—locally raised beef, deliberate flavors, no flourish beyond what the ingredients demand.
- Midwest Living 2024 · Best of the Midwest
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation #20 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
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Rank 41. Mirra
Fusion
Mirca's kitchen splices Indian and Mexican vocabularies with unguarded confidence, sending out dum biryani with lamb barbacoa and scallop ceviche in crispy fenugreek roti alongside housemade achar and salsa tatemado that taste like they belong together. A young crowd packed elbow-to-elbow under exposed brick and ambient noise confirms what the food already knows: restraint has no place here.
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- Midwest Living 2025 · Best of the Midwest
- Eater 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 42. Boka
Modern New American
Lee Wolen's dining room—all banquettes, mirrored fixtures, quiet confidence—sustains its reputation through unwavering technique and seasonal rigor. Hokkaido scallops arrive with green garlic purée and aerated sabayon; house-made ricotta gnocchetti swims in cream beneath crispy chicken skin. A restaurant that has earned its steadiness.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Lee Wolen
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Rank 43. Beard & Belly
American
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Rank 44. Bokeh
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 45. Oceanique
Global
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Rank 46. Coda Di Volpe
Southern Italian
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- International Baking Industry Expo 2025 · Winner: Arshiya Farheen · World Bread Awards USA · Challah
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After years of pop-ups, this neighborhood spot has settled into a playful approach to Indian cooking that freely mixes tradition with invention. Naan arrives topped with jalapeños and mozzarella or folded into a butter chicken calzone; Kerala crab curry and chana chaat hold their own alongside. The warehouse space, with exposed brick and a long bar, feels open and generous.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Zeeshan Shah and Yoshi Yamada
- Eater Chicago’s Best Pizza
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Rank 49. Schubas Tavern
Chicago
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- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Bar
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
- Eater Best New Bar
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Rank 51. North Pond
Contemporary
In a converted ice-skate warming shelter facing Lincoln Park pond, Chef Cesar Murillo's seasonal tasting menu braids Latin and Asian influences through dishes like tuna tartare with chicharrón and wagyu with shiso. The dining room trades fussiness for comfort, anchored by rooftop vegetables and city views.
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Rank 54. Lula Cafe
American
A brick-lined neighborhood corner that fills early and stays full, Lula cycles through seasonal plates with the ease of a place that knows its regulars. The potato 'nduja tart arrives burnished and sharp with aged cheddar; the house-made spaghetti, dressed in pancetta and a sweet-heat chili bean sauce, tastes of real technique applied without pretense. This is comfort that doesn't announce itself.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Outsdanding Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 56. Akahoshi Ramen
Noodles
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- The Infatuation #11 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 58. Kasama
Filipino
Tim Flores and Genie Kwon cook Filipino food with striking originality in a spare room, each dish—mussel adobo, shrimp-paste peanut sauce—arriving as both homage and reinvention. The desserts, particularly a corn semifreddo that riffs on mais con yelo, are equally inventive, suggesting a kitchen where tradition and technique speak the same language.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- 50 Best 2025 · #31 · North America's 50 Best Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 60. John’s Food and Wine
Modern New American
White brick and a long banquette set the scene at this counter-service neighborhood spot where diners order before sitting. The kitchen sends out country ham with fried sunchokes, lobster salad with leek aioli, dry-aged steaks with potato pavé—each plate arriving with the confidence of a place that knows what it's doing. Beef fat fries alone justify a return.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #13 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
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- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
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Rank 63. Esmé
Contemporary
Chef Jenner Tomaska's minimal gallery-like space treats each course as art, with flavorful compositions like Dover sole in vin jaune sauce served on custom ceramics by local makers. The high-concept tasting blurs dining and visual experience without sacrificing the precision of dishes like goat cheese ice cream with yuzu and cured egg yolk.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Jenner Tomaska
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
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- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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- Time Out Chicago Pie · The 18 best pizzas in the world right now
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Pizza
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Rank 67. S.K.Y.
Contemporary
Tall ceilings and dim sconces frame an intimate dining room where the kitchen moves fluidly between continents—roasted lamb meatballs arrive slicked with tikka masala butter, bibimbap gleams with char and mushroom bulgogi. The banana budino endures, a tether to what worked before, while strawberries meet champagne and pistachio cake in the kitchen's newer ambitions.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Sommelier of the Year · Jelena Prodan
- The Infatuation 2025 · #5 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 68. Sochi
Modern Vietnamese
The husband-and-wife team behind Sochi craft modern Vietnamese dishes with uncommon depth, from duck salad with banana blossoms to pho enriched with Wagyu short rib. Bright, minimalist space on Belmont; desserts like cassava cake justify the hunger you'll bring.
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Rank 69. Scofflaw
Gin-Focused Cocktail Bar
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Rank 71. Pat's Pizza
Tavern-Style Pizza
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- The Infatuation The Best Coffee Shops & Cafes In Chicago
- Time Out The 40 best coffee shops in Chicago
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- Time Out The best bakeries in America
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Pastry Chef of the Year · Bo Durham
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Chef Otto Phan's 10-seat omakase strips down to nigiri alone, with fish cut large and pressed onto generous rice mounds that feel substantial rather than precious. The tamago finishes silky; the prices and beverage list suggest a counter confident enough to skip pretension.
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Rank 76. Kyōten
Sushi
- Time Out #3 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Chef of the Year · Otto Phan
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Rank 77. Schwa
Contemporary
No servers, rap at full volume, and a kitchen that treats classical technique like a toy to dismantle—Schwa remains defiantly itself. A single tasting might pivot from chilled gumbo with blue crab crisps to foie gras ice cream in a cinnamon shell to quail dusted in jerk spice. The cooking is deliberately provocative, sometimes brilliant, always refusing to apologize.
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Rank 79. Thattu
Coastal Indian
- Eater 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The New York Times 2023 · The Restaurant List
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 80. Chilam Balam
Modern Mexican
A subterranean dining room where the rotating menu of small plates balances culinary ambition with approachable flavors, from roasted plantains layered with cottage cheese and salsa macha to achiote-marinated beef empanadas. The kitchen demonstrates real command of Latin American tastes, and the staff's attentiveness makes the inevitable waits feel purposeful rather than tedious.
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- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Rising Chef · Madalyn Durrant
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Rank 82. Cellar Door Provisions
Mediterranean
A sunny corner in Logan Square holds a restaurant content with uncomplicated cooking—tender runner beans with garlic confit, silken duck liver mousse on warm bread—where seasoning lands true and flavors sing without fuss. The breezy dining room welcomes you equally whether you've reserved a table or pulled up to the counter. No pretense, no tweezers, just honest food that knows what it is.
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Rank 85. Itoko
Japanese
Itoko's bright Lakeview dining room—all pale wood and natural light—frames an expansive izakaya menu where tom yum hand rolls share equal footing with robata and sushi, each dish marked by unexpected flavor pairings. A beef tsukune slider finished with miso mustard and a matcha-dipped donatsu suggest a kitchen that treats tradition and invention as equals.
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Rank 86. GG’s Chicken Shop
American
Chef Lee Wolen's casual rotisserie counter honors his mother with impeccably sourced bird—split by quarter or whole—and sides like chicken-fat mashed potatoes that inspire hoarding. Nostalgic desserts and professional warmth elevate what could be ordinary into something genuinely comforting.
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Rank 87. Feld
Contemporary
Chef Jacob Potashnick orchestrates a produce-focused tasting in Ukrainian Village's open kitchen, drawing ingredients from within four hours of Chicago and coaxing them through multiple preparations—raw asparagus, tempura, juice. A single vegetable becomes the evening's argument, whether maitake mushroom across textures or sour cherries from the backyard trees.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Jacob Potashnick
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 89. Le Bouchon
Lyonnaise French
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Nicolas Poilevey and Oliver Poilevey
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Best Neighborhood Restaurant
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Rank 92. Longman & Eagle
Gastropub
A corner gastropub that looks like a whiskey bar but executes refined dishes—terrines, stroganoffs, omelets with brie—from a tiny hidden kitchen. The daylit cured salmon and breakfast menu rival the cocktails that draw neighborhood regulars through morning until night.
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Rank 93. Parachute HiFi
Korean-American
- The Infatuation The Best Cocktail Bars In Chicago
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
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Rank 95. Tied House
New American
A sleek tavern next to Schubas serving gutsy comfort food with technique: butternut squash schnitzel over spaetzle rivals the classics. The kitchen balances approachability with ambition, whether smoking trout or braising garbanzo beans beneath Spanish mackerel.
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Rank 96. Milly’s Pizza In The Pan
Pan-style Pizza
- Time Out Chicago Pie · The 18 best pizzas in the world right now
- The Infatuation #23 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Pizza
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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Neighborhood Restaurant
- Bon Appétit 2019 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 99. Ina Mae
Southern
A sprawling New Orleans tavern anchors a corner of Wicker Park with a three-deep bar and the restless energy of a place that knows what it does. The gumbo and po'boys arrive honest and sturdy, but it's the Nashville fried chicken—a staff obsession—that reveals the kitchen's true ambition.
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Mark Domitrovich, Brian Jupiter, and Aaron Torricelli - Pioneer Tavern Group
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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