The Best Latin American Food in Chicago
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The best Latin American food in Chicago, according to the experts: Michelin Guide, The Banchets, and James Beard Awards have all weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Cariño comes out on top.
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Rank 1. Cariño
Latin American
The CTA rumbles overhead while the chef rattles off ingredients like an auctioneer building to a close. This intimate Uptown tasting menu spins Mexican cuisine through a restless, personal lens, moving from "chips and salsa" rendered as salsa verde jelly and tortilla crumble to a lamb tartare tostada seasoned al pastor-style. Counter seats put you close enough to watch the small team work. It holds a Michelin star and landed on the New York Times Restaurant List for 2025.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: 1 Star
- The Banchets The Banchets: Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards James Beard Awards: 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Norman Fenton
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Banchets Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Norman Fenton
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Rank 2. Trino
Modern Latin American Steakhouse
The awards
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Rank 3. Matilda
Latin American
Matilda is a River North restaurant that puts Mexican and Peruvian cooking in one kitchen and lets them argue it out on the plate. The guacamole arrives as a roasted avocado you mash yourself at the table, which feels like homework you'd happily do. The wine list is entirely Mexican, tequila and mezcal run the cocktails, and a hidden door leads to a speakeasy, because of course it does. Eater lists it among Chicago's best Mexican restaurants.
The awards