The Top 100 Restaurants Near Nightshade Bar
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Rank 1. Migos Fine Foods
Halal
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Rank 2. 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 3. 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 5. 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 6. Sol de Mexico
Traditional Mexican
Tropical walls and mariachi set the scene at this Cicero mainstay, where sopes arrive filled with caramelized plantain and house chorizo in vivid abundance. The pollo en mole manchamanteles—its mahogany sauce rich and nutty—justifies the dish's name: tablecloth stainer.
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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 8. 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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- Time Out Chicago Pie · The 18 best pizzas in the world right now
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Pizza
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Rank 11. 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 12. Jimmy's Pizza Cafe
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 13. Scofflaw
Gin-Focused Cocktail Bar
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Rank 14. Santa Masa Tamaleria
Mexican
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Danny Espinoza and Jhoana Ruiz
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Counter Service
- The Infatuation 2024 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 15. 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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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 19. 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 20. 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 21. Bokeh
Cocktail Bar
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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 23. Johnnie's Beef
Italian Beef American
- Time Out #5 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- Eater The Best Places to Eat in Suburban Chicago
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Rank 24. 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 25. Spacca Napoli Pizzeria
Neapolitan Pizza
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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 27. 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 28. 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 29. Giant
New American
Jason Vincent transforms familiar comfort foods—crab salad, ribs, onion rings—with unexpected flourishes in a cozy, modern-rustic room on Armitage. His thick pici noodles with bacon and jalapeños prove that straightforward ingredients, when treated with precision, need no apology.
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Rank 30. Union
American
A warm, wood-lined gastropub that balances comfort food with creative touches, from spicy baby gem salad to shawarma-spiced chicken. Regulars camp at the bar under Edison bulbs while the kitchen keeps cheeseburgers and fried cheese curds turning.
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Rank 31. Lardon
Salumeria Italian
A converted butcher shop where whole-animal charcuterie hangs in plain sight, Lardon arranges house-cured pork across wooden boards and soft bread with the precision of a craftsman's inventory. The honeycomb floors and visible curing chamber anchor an old-world Chicago sensibility that extends from midday salumeria to weekend bistro fare.
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Rank 32. Coda Di Volpe
Southern Italian
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Rank 33. Andros Taverna
Greek
A handsome Greek taverna near Logan Square where mezze platters and grilled lamb chops emerge from a wood-burning oven with equal care. The wine list ranges across Greek regions, and custard pie with phyllo provides an impressive finale.
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Rank 34. Hermosa
Cambodian
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Rank 36. Schubas Tavern
Chicago
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Rank 37. Table, Donkey and Stick
Alpine German
A rustic Alpine tavern on Armitage where communal tables and an inviting bar set the stage for whimsical cooking that refuses convention. The grilled lamb shoulder towers over creamy lentils; choucroute garni's beef richness yields to sauerkraut purée; pretzel ice cream sits atop jalapeño caramel. Creative dissonance runs through every course, from charcuterie to dessert.
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Rank 38. 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 39. Soul & Smoke
Chicago
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Rank 42. Paulie Gee's Logan Square
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 44. 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 45. 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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Rank 46. Osteria Langhe
Piedmontese Italian
A glass-fronted garage space on Armitage glows with bare bulbs and wood tables where Piedmontese cooking unfolds with quiet confidence. Thin ribbons of poached beef drift in tonnato; house-made tajarin, eggy and abundant, swirls with ragù; hand-pinched ravioli cradles creamy la tur. A neighborhood fixture that earns its steady crowds through unfussy execution and genuine hospitality.
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Rank 47. 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 48. Middle Brow
Tavern-Style
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Rank 49. 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 50. 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 51. 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 52. 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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Rank 53. Redhot Ranch
Chicago-Style American
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Rank 54. 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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Rank 55. 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 56. 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 57. 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 58. Smyth
Contemporary
The open kitchen at this chic West Loop tasting room showcases Shields and Urie-Shields' boundary-pushing approach to seasonal produce, some grown on-site. A kelp tart with pea butter and trout roe, or foie gras doughnuts with crab, exemplify their restless creativity.
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Rank 59. 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 61. Ever
Creative
On a hushed corner of Fulton Market, Curtis Duffy orchestrates an austere dining room where every element—light, spacing, plating—answers to a larger vision. The food arrives as disciplined architecture: technically assured, visually composed, each plate a study in structure and restraint.
- AAA Five Diamonds
- Michelin Guide 2 Stars
- World Culinary Awards 2025 · Nominee · North America's Best Fine Dining Experience
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Rank 62. Birrieria Zaragoza
Mexican
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Rank 63. Pat's Pizza
Tavern-Style Pizza
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Rank 64. Brasero
South American
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
- Wine Enthusiast 2024 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- Time Out #23 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 65. Ragadan
Middle Eastern
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Rank 66. George's Deep Dish
Chicago-Style Pizza
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Rank 67. 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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Rank 68. Lilac Tiger
Cocktail Bar
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 69. Oceanique
Global
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An alleyway corner in Ukrainian Village where hanging plants frame a scatter of garden tables and Chef Noah Sandoval's pan pizzas arrive charred and purposeful. The soppressata square with Castelvetrano olives and maitake mushrooms tastes like someone finally got the ratio right.
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- Time Out #20 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Rising Chef · John Dahlstrom
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Rank 74. Piece Brewery & Pizzeria
New Haven-Style Pizza
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Rank 75. Beard & Belly
American
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Rank 76. Bayan Ko Diner
Filipino
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Rank 79. Mott St.
Fusion
Chef Edward Kim crisscrosses global flavors with Midwestern restraint, as in wok-fried cauliflower that crackles with Szechuan heat and tangy chili. The cooking avoids novelty for its own sake, letting crispy textures and pungent garlic speak for themselves.
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Rank 80. The Perch
American
A whitewashed storefront gives way to an industrial dining room lined with steel brewing vats—the real draw here. The kitchen turns out filet sliders with blue cheese and caramelized onions, grilled fish sandwiches with house-made remoulade, and a carrot cake that lands soft and generous on the plate. Beer is taken seriously enough that tastings guide your order.
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Rank 81. 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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Rank 83. Sharpies
Detroit-Style Pizza
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Rank 84. Zazas Pizzeria
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 85. The Gundis
Kurdish Middle Eastern
The Gundis opens onto weathered wood and brick, a sleek frame for Kurdish spreads and flatbreads that taste of Turkey, the Middle East, and beyond. Breakfast—eggs with roasted peppers, black sesame bread, house preserves—arrives with bottomless tea, a warming argument for the meal's underrated place in the day.
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Rank 86. Pizz’amici
Tavern-Style Pizza
- Esquire 2025 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation 2025 · #10 · The Top-Rated New Restaurants
- The Infatuation 2025 · #1 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 88. Maxwells Trading
Contemporary
A converted warehouse in West Loop fills nightly with the sound of conversation ricocheting off black-framed windows and an almost endless bar, its kitchen playing confidently with Japanese, Chinese, and Thai influences across dishes like soup dumpling tortellini and turbot with kombu beurre blanc. The rooftop garden feeds the plates; the bartenders fuel the momentum.
- Esquire 2024 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Christopher Jung and Erling Wu-Bower
- Wine Enthusiast 2025 · Top 50 New Restaurants
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Rank 89. 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 Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Stephen Gillanders
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Rank 90. Elske
Contemporary
The Posey's airy dining room and garden patio set a calm stage for cooking that honors ingredients with Danish-inflected restraint. Duck liver tart with salted ramp, composed vegetable plates, and gently handled proteins move across the season; desserts—shaped by Anna Posey's visual arts background—balance considered composition with simplicity. A thoughtful wine and juice program follows.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Anna Posey
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program
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Rank 91. Bisous
Parisian
- 50 Best 2026 · #30 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2026 · Regional Top 10 Honoree · Best U.S. Cocktail Bar – U.S. Central
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Rank 92. Alegrias Seafood
Mexican Seafood
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Rank 93. Creepies
French
Stone and wood walls hold art above black-and-white tile, where David and Anna Posey's bistro unfolds with French discipline and Midwestern warmth. A halibut arrives with sauce homard and dumplings; a gnocchi swims in gruyere and egg yolk—restrained cooking that asks nothing more of itself than clarity.
- 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 94. mfk.
Iberian Spanish
A sunlit basement lined in whitewashed brick and silver tile channels the spirit of M.F.K. Fisher, serving Iberian small plates that move from warm boquerónes to seared scallops with persimmon gazpacho. The meal builds with deceptive simplicity—a croquette, an anchovy on toast, a wedge of Basque cake—each component precise enough to feel inevitable.
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Rank 95. Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining
Cambodian
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- The Infatuation 2024 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 96. 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 97. Asador Bastian
Basque-inspired Steakhouse
Asador Bastian applies Basque grilling discipline to dry-aged beef cooked over charcoal with deliberate restraint, avoiding performance for precision. Set in a 1883 building, the restaurant prioritizes selection and control over volume, anchored by a working open kitchen.
- World's 101 Best #15 · World's Best Steak Restaurants
- Esquire 2025 · Dirty Dirty · The Best Martinis in America
- Esquire 2023 · The Best New Restaurants in America
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Rank 98. Sepia
New American
A former print shop on Jefferson Street holds a dining room where exposed brick and floor-to-ceiling wine racks frame Chef Andrew Zimmerman's restless intelligence. His brioche with black truffle and leek velouté, his sablefish with barbecue spice and smoked apple, suggest a cook equally at home in Southeast Asia, Korea, and the American South.
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Rank 99. Bar Esmé
French
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Rank 100. Maple & Ash
Steakhouse
A wood-fired steakhouse that doubles as a scene: leather banquettes, a photo booth, and a semi-open kitchen where dry-aged beef and whole octopus emerge burnished from the flames. The seafood tower arrives tableside, lobster tail and king crab glistening in garlic butter and chili oil, but it's the theatre—the music, the glow—that makes you want to stay.
- AAA Four Diamonds
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central