The Top 100 Restaurants Near Marisol
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Rank 1. Shanghai Terrace
Chinese
- Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
- AAA Four Diamonds
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 2. Indienne
Modern Indian
Michelin-starred modern Indian fine dining on a quiet River North block, where the tasting menu arrives looking like gallery pieces and somehow still manages to taste like home cooking from across the subcontinent. The room pulls off warehouse bones alongside white tablecloths and rose-pink booths without breaking a sweat, which tells you exactly who's in it: people dressed up enough to feel the occasion but too cool to admit they're impressed.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Sujan Sarkar
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 3. Topolobampo
Mexican
Rick Bayless is one of those celebrity chefs even non-food people actually know, and Topolobampo is where he does his finest work. It's a proper fine dining room on the more dressed-up end of Chicago's restaurant scene, built around seasonal Mexican cooking that takes tradition seriously without getting stiff about it. The agave spirits pairing is genuinely worth doing. The crowd runs dressed-up date-night to special-occasion regulars who know exactly what they're ordering.
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Rank 4. Brindille
French
- AAA Four Diamonds
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Hospitality
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 5. Chef's Table at Astor Club
Contemporary New American
Ten seats, one seating, everyone eating together inside a private members club on the Gold Coast. Chef's Table at Astor Club runs a tasting menu that leans into luxury without taking itself too seriously, and the room feels like a dinner party thrown by someone with very good taste and a serious pantry. You don't need a membership, just a reservation, which is harder to get than you'd think.
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Rank 6. NoMI Kitchen
French
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Rank 8. Tre Dita
Tuscan Italian
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Hotel Bar – U.S. Central
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Best Design
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Rank 9. Miru
Japanese
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Rank 11. Les Nomades
Haute French
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Rank 12. Frontera Grill
Regional Mexican
Rick Bayless built his reputation here, and the Bib Gourmand backs it up. This is a lively sit-down spot in River North where the margaritas get shaken tableside and the menu chases regional Mexican cooking you won't find at your average taqueria. The molés alone take days to make. The room is loud and warm in all the right ways, packed with people who came for a real meal and stayed for another round.
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Rank 13. Oriole
French-Japanese New American
Two Michelin stars in a converted warehouse where you ride a freight elevator to reach one of Chicago's most serious tasting menus. The room is quietly dramatic, the service is the kind that anticipates things before you ask, and the cooking blends French and Japanese instincts in ways that feel inevitable rather than showy. Couples dressed like it matters share the room with people who've clearly been saving up for this one.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Winner · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Noah Sandoval
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Rank 14. Sepia
New American
Sepia is a Michelin-starred fine dining room that manages to feel genuinely grown-up without making you feel like you're in trouble. The space was a print shop in another life, and the exposed brick and dramatic chandeliers give it real bones. The chef pulls from Southeast Asian, Korean, and Mediterranean influences without letting any one of them take over, so the menu reads American but keeps surprising you. First-date energy, with everyone looking quietly pleased with themselves.
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Rank 15. Tzuco
Mexican
Tzuco is a buzzy, upscale Mexican restaurant on State Street where Carlos Gaytán, a genuinely big deal in Chicago's food world, turns out dishes that feel rooted in tradition but quietly inventive. The room is warm and handsome, ceramics and earth tones everywhere, and the energy matches the crowd: date-night couples, groups who look like they planned this weeks out. Grab the chef's counter if you can and let the kitchen lead.
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Rank 16. Sifr
Wood-Fired Middle Eastern
Sifr is a wood-fired Middle Eastern spot in River North where the whole table becomes a landscape of dips, grilled plates, and things you'll quietly refuse to share. The hummus alone, topped with charred chickpeas and zhoug, is worth the trip, and everything coming off the grill backs it up. It's casual enough for a weeknight but the food earns its Bib Gourmand. End with the house-made ice cream and you'll leave annoyingly satisfied.
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Rank 17. Gilt Bar
American
Gilt Bar is a dark, grown-up gastrobar in River North that's been setting the moody-basement-tavern standard for years. The front bar does cocktails with quiet confidence, while the back room, all studded leather and warm light, fills up with the kind of crowd that orders the pot pie and somehow also finds room for a slab of carrot cake. Big flavors, Bib Gourmand prices, zero pretension.
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Rank 18. Ciccio Mio
Italian
Ciccio Mio is a Bib Gourmand-winning Italian-American spot that leans hard into the throwback fantasy, checkered tablecloths and all, without being cheesy about it. The Hogsalt group behind it knows how to throw a party, and the portions prove it. Pastas are made in-house, the chicken is coal-roasted, and the tiramisu is the kind of dessert that makes you cancel your next thing. Dress like you mean it, but not too much.
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Rank 19. Avec River North
Midwestern Mediterranean
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Mediterranean Cuisine Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 20. Alinea
Creative
Grant Achatz's modernist fine dining temple has held two Michelin stars forever, and dinner here is less a meal than a controlled fever dream. Scented vapors drift by, courses arrive in forms you won't predict, and dessert gets splattered directly onto the table like a Jackson Pollock. The crowd is a mix of anniversary couples and people who planned this trip around the reservation. Dress up; this one earns it.
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Rank 21. perilla
Korean
A Korean steakhouse that actually earns the name, perilla serves contemporary takes on familiar Korean dishes in a sleek, windowlit space on a buzzy stretch of Milwaukee. The crowd leans young and well-dressed, the kind of people who know what banchan is but aren't going to lecture you about it. A Michelin Bib Gourmand, and the tea cellar menu at the end is genuinely worth skipping dessert for.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Design
- The Infatuation 2024 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 23. avec
Mediterranean
Avec has been packing in West Randolph regulars for years, and the whole room is basically one long communal table lined with people who came for a quick bite and stayed for two more rounds of wine. It's a Mediterranean-leaning wine restaurant with bold, seasonal plates and a kitchen that clearly enjoys itself. The wood-clad room is cozy to the point of intimate, so expect to make friends with whoever's sitting next to you.
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Restuarant of the Year
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 25. Smyth
Contemporary
Three Michelin stars in a room that feels more like a chic lounge than a cathedral to fine dining, which is exactly why Smyth works. The open kitchen keeps things human while the kitchen does quietly wild things with seasonal produce, some of it from their own garden. Couples on serious dates and food obsessives in nice sneakers fill the room, all of them pretending to stay calm when the next course arrives.
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Rank 26. Boka
Modern New American
Boka has held a Michelin star for years and somehow never feels like it's trying too hard about it. It's an upscale dinner spot on North Halsted that manages to feel romantic without being stiff, the kind of room where date-night couples and quietly celebratory groups both look like they belong. The modern American menu leans seasonal and precise, and the cocktail program is worth treating as a whole separate agenda.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Chef · Lee Wolen
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Rank 27. Mako
Japanese
Tucked behind an unmarked door on a noisy stretch of Lake Street, this Michelin-starred omakase fits just 22 people and books up fast, so plan ahead. Once you're inside, the city noise disappears and the whole room watches the same counter in respectful silence, like a congregation that really loves fish. The chef's style is precise and quietly inventive, and dessert actually earns its spot at the end.
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Rank 28. Ever
Creative
Curtis Duffy is one of the few chefs a casual diner might actually Google on the way to the restaurant, and Ever is why. It's a two-Michelin-star tasting menu in Fulton Market, with the kind of room where the lighting is moody, the tables are far apart, and the service knows exactly what it's doing. First-date energy, but make it formal. The cocktail bar next door, After, is the perfect excuse to keep the night going.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Fine Dining Experience
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Rank 29. Acanto
Italian
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Rank 30. Next
Contemporary
Every few months, Next completely reinvents itself around a new culinary theme, so the menu you heard about is probably already gone. It's a Michelin-starred tasting experience in Fulton Market where the kitchen commits fully to whatever world they've built, whether that's ancient Rome or classic French haute cuisine. The crowd leans into it too, dressed up and ready to be surprised. Dinner here is genuinely theatrical, in the best possible way.
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Rank 31. Esmé
Contemporary
Esmé holds a Michelin star and earns it by treating dinner as a genuine art event, not just a metaphor for one. It's a fine dining tasting menu in Lincoln Park, set in a bright, gallery-like space where each course arrives on a piece made by a local artist. The crowd leans creative and curious, dressed up but not stuffy. The food is genuinely surprising, in a good way, not a "why is there foam on this" way.
- 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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Rank 32. Galit
Modern Middle Eastern
Galit is a Michelin-starred prix-fixe on Lincoln Ave doing modern Middle Eastern food that actually earns the hype. The hummus alone would justify the trip, and the warm pita coming off the flame seals the deal. Wines sourced from Armenia, Lebanon, and Palestine give the beverage program a genuinely interesting angle. The room runs warm and lively, full of people who dressed up just enough to feel like the night matters.
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Rank 33. Kasama
Filipino
Kasama is a two-Michelin-star tasting menu spot in Ukrainian Village that makes a genuinely compelling case for modern Filipino cooking, which is reason enough to book. The husband-and-wife team behind it brings serious fine-dining chops to dishes that feel personal and inventive without being showy about it. The room is unfussy, the crowd leans curious and dressed-up-but-not-stuffy, and the desserts alone justify staying for every course.
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Tim Flores and Genie Kwon
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
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Rank 34. il Carciofo
Roman Italian
Joe Flamm won Top Chef and parlayed it into one of Chicago's most reliably packed Italian spots. Il Carciofo is his love letter to Rome, a spacious, buzzy trattoria in the West Loop where the crowd skews stylish and the pasta is made on-site. The carciofo alla giudia, deep-fried artichokes buried in Pecorino, are reason enough to come. The all-Italian wine list and amaro cocktails are worth staying for.
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- The Infatuation 2025 · #10 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Frank Callero, Joe Flamm, and Steven Zaleski - Day Off Group
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Rank 35. Feld
Contemporary
A Michelin-starred tasting menu in Ukrainian Village that's genuinely obsessed with what's growing nearby, and it shows. The kitchen sits in the middle of the room, so you're basically watching the whole performance whether you planned to or not. The crowd tends toward curious food people who actually read the menu. If the weather's good, the backyard fire pit turns dinner into something you'll still be talking about Monday.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Winner · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Jacob Potashnick
- Bon Appétit 2025 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 36. Bar Sótano
Modern Mexican
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Rank 37. Monteverde
Italian
Sarah Grueneberg is a Chicago name people actually recognize, and her Italian spot on the Near West Side lives up to the reputation. It's a warm, lively casual restaurant where the pasta is made in plain sight behind the bar, which doubles as the best seat in the house. The crowd shows up early and fills every stool before dinner even gets going, so book ahead or just commit to the wait.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Bailey Sullivan
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Sarah Grueneberg
- Eater 2016 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 38. Rose Mary
Croatian Eastern European
Rose Mary is a lively, airy Croatian restaurant in Fulton Market from a James Beard Award-winning chef, and the room alone, all whitewashed walls and hanging plants, earns its following before the food even arrives. The menu draws from the Adriatic, with pastas, burek, and charcoal-hearth mains that hit somewhere between rustic and refined. The crowd skews date-night and celebratory, dressed just enough to feel like the meal matters.
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Restuarant of the Year
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 40. Maxwells Trading
Contemporary
Half the West Loop seems to have the same idea on any given night, which tells you something. Maxwells Trading is a lively, mid-upscale restaurant in a converted warehouse where the cooking plays across Japanese, Chinese, and Thai influences in ways that actually make sense together. The crowd is youngish and social, the bar is genuinely long, and the drinks keep pace with the noise. A rooftop garden quietly supplies the kitchen, which feels very Chicago.
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Rising Chef · Chris Jung
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Chris Jung and Erling Wu-Bower
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
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Rank 41. Momotaro
Modern Japanese
This sleek West Loop Japanese restaurant is the kind of place where a wall-mounted departure board tracks the whisky selection, which tells you everything about the vibe. It's lively and packed most nights, with a crowd that dressed up just enough and is quietly impressed with itself for being here. The kitchen runs multiple stations, so the menu sprawls in the best way, from robata-yaki to solid nigiri. Go thirsty.
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Rank 43. Schwa
Contemporary
Schwa is a Michelin-starred tasting menu spot that has absolutely zero interest in behaving itself. No servers, rap blasting overhead, and a kitchen that seems to treat every convention as a dare. The crowd is adventurous and a little smug about knowing this place exists, and honestly, fair enough. The food is genuinely unhinged in the best way, and the chefs might end your meal by offering you a shot of whiskey.
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Rank 44. Brasero
South American
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Design
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Rank 46. Taqueria Chingón
Mexican
This Bib Gourmand taqueria in West Loop takes Mexico City street food as a starting point, then wanders off-script in the best possible way. Duck carnitas, blood sausage tacos, fried queso with mole negro, all of it landing on freshly griddled corn tortillas. The crowd is young and casual, hovering under the covered patio waiting for their order like it's the best line they've ever stood in. Follow their Instagram if you want to catch the seasonal specials before they disappear.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Nicolas Poilevey and Oliver Poilevey
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Rank 47. Gavroche
Modern French
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Rank 48. Creepies
French
The name is a bit of a fake-out: this is a genuinely charming French bistro on Randolph with checkered floors, art on the stone walls, and a short menu that splits the difference between classic bistro cooking and something a little more Midwestern and personal. The crowd skews neighborhood regulars who know a good thing, plus date-night couples still figuring that out. Simple done well is the whole point, and it mostly nails it.
- Esquire 2025 · Vesper · The Best Martinis in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Infatuation 2025 · #9 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 49. Mirra
Mexican fusion Indian
Mirra is a Bucktown spot mashing up Mexican and Indian cooking in ways that sound like a dare and taste like a great idea. It's a lively, mid-priced dinner-out kind of place, and the crowd is young, loud, and very into it. The open kitchen cranks, the music is up, and the tables are close enough that you'll probably end up talking to strangers. Order a bunch of things and share, because that's clearly the move here. It earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, and honestly you'll see why fast.
- Midwest Living 2025 · Best of the Midwest
- The New York Times 2025 · Chaas Aguachile · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 50. J.P. Graziano
Italian
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Counter Service
- The Infatuation #10 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
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Rank 51. Jeong
Korean
Jeong is the rare tasting-menu spot where Korean flavors get the full fine-dining treatment without losing any of their soul. The room is sleek and intimate, and the crowd skews couples on a serious date, dressed like they looked in the mirror twice. The kitchen takes high-quality ingredients and pushes them somewhere inventive and genuinely exciting. It's the kind of meal you'll still be talking about on the drive home.
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Hospitality
- Bon Appétit 2019 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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- International Baking Industry Expo 2025 · Winner: Arshiya Farheen · World Bread Awards USA · Challah
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Rank 53. EL Ideas
Contemporary
This Michelin-starred tasting menu operates like the world's best dinner party, because technically it is one. The chef lives upstairs, brings everyone in at once, and lets you wander the kitchen while the food is being cooked. Bring your own wine, as much as you want. The cooking is genuinely playful and weird in the best way. It draws the kind of crowd that's done fine dining and finds this more fun, which is probably correct.
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Rank 54. S.K.Y.
Contemporary
S.K.Y. is a contemporary dinner spot that bounces around global flavors without committing to any single passport, and it works. The room is airy and dim, the kind of place where you dress up a little without feeling overdressed. Tikka masala butter on lamb meatballs, mushroom bulgogi, banana budino that refuses to leave the menu, and honestly, good for it. The crowd leans date-night, and nobody's complaining.
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Sommelier of the Year · Jelena Prodan
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Stephen Gillanders
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 55. John’s Food and Wine
Modern New American
John's Food and Wine is a laid-back neighborhood spot on Halsted that somehow makes you feel like a regular on your first visit. Counter ordering sounds like a dealbreaker until the food arrives and you immediately forgive everyone involved. The wine list is genuinely thoughtful, the cooking is sharper than the room lets on, and the beef fat fries alone are reason enough to come back. Bring someone you actually like talking to.
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #13 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 56. Moody Tongue
Contemporary
A Michelin-starred tasting menu perched above a working brewery, where the beer pairing isn't an afterthought but the whole point. The kitchen turns out genuinely ambitious contemporary food, and the house-crafted brews keep pace with every course in a way that makes wine pairing feel a little old-fashioned. The room is dark, close, and quietly serious, full of people who did their research and dressed accordingly.
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Rank 57. Valhalla
New American Cocktail Bar
A chef's counter tasting menu in Wicker Park where the kitchen pulls from Filipino, Mexican, Chinese, and Indian cooking all in the same meal, and somehow it holds together. The room is dark and intimate, the kind of place where everyone's dressed a little sharp and quietly thrilled with themselves for getting a seat. The cocktail and wine pairings are genuinely worth doing, not just an upsell.
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Sommelier of the Year · Jelena Prodan
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Stephen Gillanders
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 58. Mi Tocaya Antojeria
Mexican
Logan Square's favorite neighborhood antojeria earns its Bib Gourmand by going deeper than the usual Mexican playbook, pulling from Aztec traditions most places don't bother with. The vibe is warm and a little festive, the kind of room where the table next to you is clearly having a better time than they planned. Order the seasonal cocktails, share a bunch of small plates, and let the knowledgeable staff steer you somewhere interesting.
- Eater The All-Time Eater 38
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Diana Dávila
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 59. Nadu
Regional Indian
Nadu is a lively, share-everything regional Indian spot on Lincoln Ave from the chef behind the Michelin-starred Indienne, so the pedigree is real. The room runs warm and the menu swings between vegetarian and non-vegetarian plates meant for the table, not just you. It's the kind of place where everyone ends up ordering more than planned. No reservation? The bar has you covered.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Eater 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation 2025 · #2 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 60. Alla Vita
Italian
The room alone is worth the trip, all crystal pendants and hand-painted floors, but Alla Vita is a proper Italian restaurant that actually delivers on the setting. Pasta, pizza, and shareable plates keep everyone happy, and the rigatoni alla vodka has earned its reputation. The lunch crowd packs the stone bar for sandwiches that quietly outclass the neighborhood. The staff keeps it smooth whether you're lingering over wine or just grabbing a quick bite.
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Rank 61. North Pond
Seasonal New American
North Pond sits in Lincoln Park inside a building that used to warm up ice skaters, which sounds like a fun fact until you see the view across the pond with the Chicago skyline behind it and suddenly nothing is funny anymore, it's just beautiful. The tasting menu leans seasonal and creative, pulling in Latin and Asian influences, and the crowd tends to dress the part without overdoing it. A genuinely lovely night out.
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Rank 62. Lula Cafe
American
Lula Cafe is the kind of neighborhood restaurant that's been around forever yet somehow never feels tired. It holds down a corner of Logan Square with a rotating seasonal menu that keeps locals coming back obsessively, and the Michelin Bib Gourmand crowd nodding along. The room fills with regulars who already know what they want, plus a few newcomers nervously eyeing the chalkboard. Cozy, unhurried, and genuinely good.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Winner · Outstanding Hospitality
- James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Jason Hammel
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 63. Girl & The Goat
New American
Girl & The Goat is a loud, lively West Randolph spot that's been packed since forever, and for good reason. The menu is built around bold, shareable plates, including a whole section dedicated to goat, which sounds like a dare but tastes like a reason to come back. The crowd is groups, regulars, and families who all seem genuinely happy to be there. Rustic beams, dim corners, and good energy make it feel like a party someone actually planned.
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Rank 64. Cariño
Mexican
A Michelin-starred taco omakase tucked under the rumbling El in Uptown, Cariño is the kind of place that makes you rethink what Mexican food can be. The chef runs a creative, fast-paced tasting menu where dishes come quick and keep surprising you. Grab a counter seat so you can watch the small team work. The crowd skews adventurous and date-night-ready, which tracks when "chips and salsa" turns out to be something else entirely.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Norman Fenton
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Rank 65. HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen
Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Thai Dang
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Thai Dang
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Rank 66. The Loyalist
French
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- Time Out #18 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 67. Ina Mae
New Orleans Southern
A New Orleans-style tavern in Wicker Park that actually earns the comparison, which isn't as common as you'd think. The bar up front stays three-deep most nights, and the dining room behind it buzzes with the kind of crowd that came hungry and dressed casually on purpose. Gumbo, po'boys, beignets, the whole canon is here and done right. Don't sleep on the Nashville fried chicken either, which tells you the kitchen isn't afraid to color outside the lines.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Mark Domitrovich, Brian Jupiter, and Aaron Torricelli - Pioneer Tavern Group
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Rank 68. HaiSous
Vietnamese
A Bib Gourmand Vietnamese spot in Pilsen that goes well beyond pho and banh mi, serving dishes most menus never bother with. The room has good bones, an open kitchen, a proper bar, and communal tables that fill up with the kind of regulars who already know to order the duck salad. The chicken wings have a reputation that precedes them, and the coconut rice pudding is a genuinely good reason to skip dessert everywhere else for a while.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Thai Dang
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- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Rising Chef · John Dahlstrom
- Time Out #20 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Kevin Hickey
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
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Rank 72. Akahoshi Ramen
Noodles
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Rising Chef · Mike Satinover
- Bon Appétit 2024 · America's Best New Restaurants
- Time Out #22 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Tucked into an actual coach house on Division Street, this intimate tasting-menu spot pulls flavors from across South and Southeast Asia in ways you won't find anywhere else in the city. The chef came up through finance, which somehow makes the precision on the plate make total sense. Pickling and fermentation show up throughout, and dessert regularly involves worlds colliding in the best way. The room seats very few, so book ahead.
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Emerging Chef · Zubair Mohajir
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 74. Beity
Lebanese Middle Eastern
Beity feels like a Lebanese dinner party thrown in someone's stone-walled basement, which is a compliment. The chef draws on family recipes to build a mezze spread that's both homey and genuinely refined, then pivots into a full tasting menu of elevated Middle Eastern classics. The bar crowd is looser, cocktails made with arak and tahini and actual thought. Fulton Market is all around you, but inside you'd never know it.
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Rank 75. Le Bouchon
Lyonnaise French
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Best Neighborhood Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Nicolas Poilevey and Oliver Poilevey
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Rank 76. Roop
Indian
Roop brings serious, upscale Indian cooking to the thick of West Randolph's restaurant row, spread across two floors with deep blue velvet seats and a cocktail list that actually deserves your attention. The menu runs from comforting classics to dishes that'll make you put your phone down and think for a second. The crowd tends toward date-night dressers and people who know the difference between a good and a great cocktail.
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Rank 77. Giant
New American
Giant is a Bib Gourmand neighborhood spot on Armitage that makes familiar American food feel genuinely exciting without making a big deal about it. Onion rings, ribs, crab salad, pasta, all of it tweaked in ways you didn't see coming but immediately make sense. The room is small and cozy, full of locals who clearly come here a lot, and there's a chef's counter in the back if you want the full kitchen theater experience.
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- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Rising Chef · Madalyn Durrant
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Rank 79. Apolonia
Contemporary Mediterranean
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Sommelier of the Year · Jelena Prodan
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Stephen Gillanders
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Rank 80. Mott St.
Midwest Chinese
Mott St. is a casual, Bucktown spot that does something genuinely hard to pull off: cooking that's rooted in Asian flavors but filtered through a Midwest sensibility, and it all tastes like it belongs together. The room draws the kind of crowd that's cool without trying too hard, which is basically the Bucktown uniform. It's a Bib Gourmand pick, so the food punches well above what you'd expect to pay. Go hungry and order like you mean it.
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- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Neighborhood Restaurant
- Bon Appétit 2019 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 83. Lou Mitchell's
American
A classic diner near Union Station that's been around forever, and the kind of place that has no interest in reinventing itself. Locals and tourists share booths over eggs done every way imaginable, thick-cut steak fries, and open-faced Reubens on homemade rye. Servers keep the coffee coming and hand out free donut holes like it's nothing. It's unpretentious to its core, which is exactly the point.
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Rank 85. Gaijin
Japanese
A casual Japanese spot where the star is okonomiyaki, the savory pancake you don't see done this well outside Japan. The chef spent real time there, and it shows: guests pick their own path through the menu, Osaka or Hiroshima style. The room feels like a proper izakaya, all exposed brick and a big communal griddle that draws everyone into the same conversation. Adventurous eaters who own at least one linen shirt tend to fill the place.
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Rank 86. etc.
Southern
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Rank 87. Chilam Balam
Modern Mexican
A Bib Gourmand modern Mexican small-plates spot tucked below street level in Lakeview, Chilam Balam draws the kind of crowd that actually reads the menu before ordering. The rotating plates are clever without being annoying about it, and the staff will talk you through all of it. No reservations means a wait, but regulars treat that as part of the deal.
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Rank 88. Pleasant House Pub
British
Bib Gourmand-winning British pub on the south side that takes its pies seriously, which sounds modest until one arrives at your table and you realize you're not leaving until the plate is clean. The crust is properly flaky, the fillings are hearty, and the whole operation feels warmer and more modern than the concept suggests. The crowd is neighborhood regulars who know what they're doing, and they're almost always right.
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Rank 89. Club Lucky
Traditional Italian
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Rank 90. Atelier
New American
A Michelin-starred tasting menu spot tucked into Lincoln Square like it has nothing to prove, which is exactly the energy. The room is small and quiet, the kind of place where couples lean in and regulars look smug for having figured it out early. The kitchen works in full view, turning out globally influenced dishes that feel comforting and technically serious at the same time. Wear something that says you tried, but not too hard.
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Rank 91. Ocean Grill & Bar
Vietnamese
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Rank 92. Azul
Pan Mexican
Azul is a Pan-Mexican restaurant that earns its Michelin nod by being genuinely fun without trying too hard. It sits in a bleak industrial stretch, so finding this bright, mural-covered corner feels like a reward. Inside, it's festive without being loud about it, the kind of room where the servers are actually happy to see you. The menu swings bold and colorful, pretty much like the room itself.
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Rank 93. Elina's
American Italian
Elina's is the Italian-American spot you didn't know Chicago needed, a cozy, intimate restaurant on West Grand where Sinatra plays overhead and the room looks like someone actually thought about the leather seating. The crowd leans into it completely, and honestly so will you. The kitchen leans hard into the classics done right, the kind of food that feels like a memory even on a first visit.
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Rank 94. Sochi
Modern Vietnamese
Modern Vietnamese done with real care, Sochi is a bright, welcoming spot on Belmont where the cooking carries genuine depth without asking you to dress up for it. The menu leans into bold flavors and thoughtful sourcing, and the pho alone makes the trip worthwhile. It's earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, which means the value is as good as the food. Neighborhood couples and regulars fill the room on weeknights, and they're not wrong to come back.
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Rank 95. Anelya
Eastern European
A cozy, unpretentious Eastern European restaurant in Avondale where the whole evening feels like being welcomed into someone's grandmother's house, if grandma also had a really good Balkan wine list. Start at the bar with a shot of horseradish vodka to set the tone, then let the zakusky cart roll up and make your decisions for you. The crowd leans curious and neighborhood-loyal, which is usually a good sign.
- Midwest Living 2024 · Best of the Midwest
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Hospitality
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 96. Chef's Special Cocktail Bar
American Chinese
A cocktail bar and Chinese-American dining room that wears its nostalgia with zero irony, Chef's Special is loud, colorful, and genuinely fun. The U-shaped bar draws a young, casually dressed crowd who came for a drink and somehow ended up ordering half the menu. Crab rangoon, dan dan noodles, fried rice loaded with pork and shrimp, it all hits the way you remember hoping it would as a kid. Bib Gourmand, and deservedly so.
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Rank 100. Table, Donkey and Stick
Alpine German
A Bib Gourmand neighborhood spot on Armitage doing Alpine German food with genuine personality, which is a sentence you don't get to say often. The rustic inn vibe draws Logan Square regulars who came for a quick drink and somehow ended up at a communal table two hours later. The charcuterie is a serious way to start, and the kitchen keeps surprising you all the way through to dessert. Cozy, affordable, and quietly weird in the best way.