The Top 100 Restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 1. 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 2. 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 3. 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 4. 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 4. 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 4. 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 7. 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
- The New York Times 2024 · The Restaurant List
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Rank 7. 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 9. Topolobampo
Mexican
Rick Bayless's Mexican fine dining showcases seasonal, tradition-rooted dishes with unexpected flourishes, from memela divorciada to salmon in pipian sauce. The agave-focused beverage pairings elevate each course with studied care.
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Rank 10. 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 10. Bisous
Parisian
- 50 Best 2026 · #30 · North America's 50 Best Bars
- Esquire 2024 · The Best Bars in America
- Spirited Awards 2025 · Top 10 U.S. Nominee · Best New U.S. Cocktail Bar
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Rank 10. 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 10. 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
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Rank 14. Brindille
French
- AAA Four Diamonds
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Hospitality
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Rank 14. 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
- The New York Times 2025 · Chaas Aguachile · The Best Restaurant Dishes We Ate Across the U.S.
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Rank 14. 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 14. 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 14. 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 19. The English Room
Continental
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Rank 19. 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 19. 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 19. Indienne
Modern Indian
Chef Sujan Sarkar's progressive vision of Indian cuisine arrives plated like gallery pieces in a River North warehouse: pani puris and curries refined with French restraint, each course deftly spiced and theatrically composed. The room itself—soaring beams above rose-pink booths—suggests ambition without pretense, a setting where familiar flavors taste like discovery.
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- Bon Appétit 2023 · America's Best New Restaurants
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Sujan Sarkar
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Rank 19. Oceanique
Global
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Rank 19. Virtue
Southern
In a Hyde Park corner across from the university, Erick Williams runs a dining room with an animated bar and a kitchen that takes Southern cooking seriously—corn bread arrives with a steak knife and honey butter. The dirty rice with chicken gizzards and house-made charcuterie with pepper jelly suggest a chef thinking past nostalgia toward something more deliberate.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Winner · Emerging Chef · Damarr Brown
- Food & Wine 2025 · The Top 15 US Restaurants
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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Rank 25. Obélix
French
Duck and foie gras anchor a menu of French classics made entirely in-house—from pâté en croûte to squab pithiviers—executed with a clarity that belies the kitchen's ambition. The sun-soaked River North room hums with the contentment of guests who finish with house-made ice creams and warm pastries, as if restraint were never an option.
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Nicolas Poilevey and Oliver Poilevey
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Courtney Kenyon-Snider
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Rank 25. 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 25. Sanders BBQ Supply Co.
Barbecue
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Nick Kleutsch and James Sanders
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 25. Oliver’s
Seafood
A narrow storefront opens into a larger dining room dressed in 1930s Hollywood glamour, all cushioned chairs and gallery walls. The kitchen coaxes global flavors from pristine seafood—a grilled tiger prawn over garam masala, porcini risotto with browned butter—with admirable restraint.
- Artful Living 2025 · The Top 5 Most Stylish Restaurants in America
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
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Rank 25. 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 25. Monteverde
Italian
The pasta station anchors this narrow room where Chef Sarah Grueneberg executes the fundamentals of cucina tipica with quiet precision. Cabbage leaves give way to cacio e pepe made luminous with whey, each strand of al dente pasta coated in Pecorino and cracked pepper—the kind of cooking that fills the counter by early evening.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · Bailey Sullivan
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- Time Out #4 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 25. 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 25. Rose Mary
Croatian Eastern European
Chef Joe Flamm's Rose Mary channels the rustic warmth of Croatian konobas through whitewashed walls and hanging plants in West Fulton Market. Charcoal-fired lamb and delicate rosewater fritule anchor a menu drawing from the Adriatic with assured restraint.
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Frank Callero, Joe Flamm, and Steven Zaleski - Day Off Group
- Spirited Awards 2024 · Regional Honoree · Best U.S. Restaurant Bar – U.S. Central
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 33. Miru
Japanese
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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 33. Momotaro
Modern Japanese
Momotaro channels mid-century Japanese fantasy through multiple kitchens, with Gene Kato's grilled jidori kimo and robata beef tsukune earning their reputation. A whiskey list displayed on a departure board and severely rationed uni nigiri reward those who plan ahead.
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Rank 33. il Carciofo
Roman Italian
- Condé Nast Traveler 2024 · The best new restaurants in the world
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Frank Callero, Joe Flamm, and Steven Zaleski - Day Off Group
- The Infatuation 2025 · #10 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 33. Birrieria Zaragoza
Mexican
A narrow storefront devoted entirely to birria—stewed goat so tender it dissolves on the tongue, served bone-in for maximum savor in consommé or as tacos with handmade corn tortillas. The quesadilla, stuffed with melting cheese and meat, feels almost indulgent in its simplicity. One dish done with absolute conviction.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- Time Out #2 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The Infatuation #18 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
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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 38. Swift & Sons
Steakhouse
A converted 1920s meat warehouse on Fulton Market, now a plush steakhouse where soaring wood arches and concrete columns frame tables suited for serious eating. Prime beef arrives seared hard and flanked by three sauces, while the wine list obliges small pours and the sides—king crab, Boston cream pie—suggest no one here counts calories.
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Rank 38. 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 38. 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 38. 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 38. 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 38. Mariscos San Pedro
Mexican Seafood
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Marcos Ascencio
- The Infatuation #8 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- Time Out #15 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 38. avec
Mediterranean
Warm wood lines every surface of this twenty-year-old counter restaurant on West Randolph, where a Mediterranean kitchen turns seasonal ingredients into boldly dressed plates—roasted asparagus with za'atar buttermilk, chickpea hummus studded with oysters mushrooms—each one crowned in herbs and crunchy garnish. The effect is unfussy abundance.
- Wine Enthusiast 2023 · Forward 50 Restaurants
- The Banchets 2025 · Winner · Restuarant of the Year
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
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Rank 38. 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 38. perilla
Korean
A mural of Michelle Obama in hanbok presides over a urbane room where Chef Andrew Lim riffs on Korean classics with Wagyu tartare and fire chicken spiked with Chihuahua cheese. The semi-open kitchen and street-facing windows catch the city's pulse, while a curated tea menu substitutes for dessert with quiet intention.
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Design
- The Infatuation 2024 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 48. 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 48. Moody Tongue
Contemporary
A dining room suspended above a working brewery, all moody lighting and masculine restraint, where a tasting menu of global whimsy—Hokkaido scallop, wagyu with oxtail-filled corn bread—finds its match in house-brewed beers that function as something more than an afterthought. The beer pairing is essential to the experience.
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Rank 48. NoMI Kitchen
French
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Rank 48. 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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- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outsdanding Restaurant
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Chef of the Year · Kevin Hickey
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Rank 48. 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 48. Scofflaw
Gin-Focused Cocktail Bar
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Rank 60. Jimmy's Pizza Cafe
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 60. Coda Di Volpe
Southern Italian
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Rank 60. Schubas Tavern
Chicago
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Rank 60. 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 68. 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 68. Taqueria Chingón
Mexican
A West Loop taqueria modeled on Mexico City street stalls, where al pastor and duck carnitas with date puree compete with bolder moves—blood sausage with salsa macha, crispy artichoke with tapenade. Everything lands on freshly griddled corn tortillas under a covered patio that buzzes with the rhythm of a place that knows what it's doing.
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Nicolas Poilevey and Oliver Poilevey
- Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
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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 68. Bavette's Bar & Boeuf
Steakhouse
A speakeasy-dark steakhouse where wet-aged beef meets jazz and a boisterous crowd. The steak frites arrives with buttery béarnaise; the short rib stroganoff swims with hand-cut pasta. Exposed brick and mismatched fixtures frame a room built for noise and conviviality, not quiet contemplation.
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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 68. J.P. Graziano
Italian
- The Infatuation #10 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Counter Service
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Rank 68. Daisy’s Po-Boy and Tavern
Cajun & Creole
- The Infatuation #19 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Neighborhood Restaurant
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Rank 68. 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 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 68. Frontera Grill
Regional Mexican
Rick Bayless' Clark Street flagship pursues regional Mexican cooking with theatrical precision—table-side margaritas arrive alongside molés that taste like they've traveled from the coasts of Guerrero. The kitchen's ceviche and poblano-spiked sides suggest a place less interested in fusion than in honoring what already works.
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- 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 79. 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 79. HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen
Vietnamese
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Thai Dang
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Thai Dang
- Eater The 38 Essential Restaurants in Chicago
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Rank 79. Vito & Nick's
Tavern-style Pizza
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Rank 79. Calumet Fisheries
Seafood
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Rank 79. Al Bawadi Grill
Middle Eastern
- 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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- 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 79. Spacca Napoli Pizzeria
Neapolitan 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 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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- The Banchets 2025 · Nominee · Best Heritage Restaurant
- Eater The Best Places to Eat in Suburban Chicago
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- San Francisco Chronicle Top Peninsula and South Bay Restaurants
- San Francisco Chronicle Top San Jose Restaurants
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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 92. Pat's Pizza
Tavern-Style Pizza
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Rank 95. 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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Rank 95. 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 95. Gilt Bar
American
A moody River North retreat where the front bar moves with cocktail-fueled precision and leather banquettes in back promise intimacy. Gilt trades subtlety for impact: fried chicken arrives golden and craggy atop silken potatoes; beef cheek pot pie swims in bone marrow gravy. The cooking is unapologetically rich, the portions designed to defeat you before dessert even arrives.
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Rank 95. Bar Esmé
French
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Rank 95. 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 95. Ciccio Mio
Italian
A coal-fired throwback to red-sauce exuberance, where Hogsalt's latest swings for maximum flavor and portion. House-made pastas anchor the menu—try the lasagna Bolognese rotolo, lighter than tradition dictates—while half chicken emerges from the coals glossy with garlic and fried oregano. The tiramisu arrives booze-soaked and uncompromising.
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Rank 95. 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 95. 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 95. Girl & The Goat
Contemporary
A warren of wooden beams and elevated platforms fills with the din of regulars, families, and groups—a restaurant that hums with purpose from open to close. The kitchen's bold, shareable dishes organize around primary ingredients, with goat as a signature focus, flavors direct and satisfying without pretense. Warm without fuss, it's a place that understands generosity as a design principle.
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Rank 95. 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 95. 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 95. Pleasant House Pub
British
A contemporary room of marble and pottery plays host to English meat pies that justify the crowds—the steak and ale arrives with a flaky, buttery crust and beef stew filling, sided with mashed potatoes and minty peas. Between pies, there's rarebit mac and cheese and a pub burger with bacon aioli that suggests the kitchen understands comfort food as something worth taking seriously.
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Rank 95. 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 95. 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 95. 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 95. Ghin Khao
Northern Thai
At this sibling-run Northern Thai spot, hip-hop thrums beneath murals while the kitchen balances heat, salt, sweet, and acid with precision. Fishcakes arrive crunchy with herb salad; nam khao tod layers crispy rice with chicken, pork skin, ginger, and cilantro. BYOB transforms modest ambitions into proper feasting.
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Rank 95. 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 114. etc.
Southern
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Rank 114. 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 114. Les Nomades
Haute French
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Rank 117. Provaré
Italian
A narrow room of weathered wood and bright paint, where Chef Jourdan Higgs marries his Creole heritage with his Sicilian grandfather's tradition. Crisp calamari stuffed with jalapeños, cognac-laced shrimp over trenette, crabby fries arranged for sharing—the cooking crackles with heat and swagger, soundtrack perfectly calibrated to match.
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Rank 117. Xocome Antojeria
Handmade Mexican
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Rank 117. 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 117. Roop
Indian
Roop spreads across two floors of deep blue velvet in a bright West Randolph setting, where Indian classics meet cutting-edge technique—see the deep-fried cauliflower koliwada with yogurt and rice mousse. The drinks program and creamy dal deserve equal attention to the beef short rib curry and semolina cake.
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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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Rank 117. Beity
Lebanese Middle Eastern
Stone vaults and a sunken dining room with fireplace create an intimate sanctuary in Fulton Market where Chef Ryan Fakih draws on Lebanese family recipes. His mezze spread—charred pita, lamb hummus, falafel in yogurt—opens a tasting menu that moves from refined tradition to stylized interpretations of sayadieh and mograbieh, each course deliberate and unhurried.
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Rank 117. 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 117. 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 117. 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 117. The Momo World
Nepali Noodles
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Rank 117. 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 117. Alegrias Seafood
Mexican Seafood
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Rank 117. Bazaar Meat
Spanish-Influenced Steakhouse
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Rank 117. Acanto
Italian
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Rank 117. Ragadan
Middle Eastern
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Rank 117. Azul
Pan Mexican
On a stark industrial block, Azul materializes as a glowing corner refuge of aqua chairs, street murals, and attentive servers. Pan-Mexican cooking—whole grilled pineapple stuffed with octopus, smoky seafood paella—arrives balanced and visually assured, rewarding the journey inward.
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Rank 117. JM Seafood
Seafood
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Rank 117. Soul & Smoke
Chicago-Style Barbecue
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Rank 117. Alla Vita
Italian
The Boka Group's polished Italian room serves freshly made pasta and puffy-edged pizzas under floating amber sculpture, with rigatoni alla vodka that balances sweetness and cream. A bustling stone bar at lunch offers some of the city's most satisfying sandwiches, attended by unflappable staff.
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Rank 117. Bokeh
Cocktail Bar
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Rank 117. Milly's Pizza In The Pan
Pan-style Pizza
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Rank 117. El Che Steakhouse & Bar
Argentinian Steakhouse
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Rank 117. Ocean Grill & Bar
Vietnamese
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Rank 117. Gaijin
Japanese
Paul Virant's small restaurant centers on a gleaming okonomiyaki griddle where diners customize their own savory pancakes in the Osaka and Hiroshima styles, each cooked to order with the precision he honed in Japan. Brass and exposed brick frame the space like an izakaya, while the menu keeps shirokuma with pineapple-buttermilk sherbet and a house brew from Moody Tongue in steady rotation.
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Rank 117. Chez Joël
French
Soft blue velvet and a gleaming chandelier set the stage for Francophile nostalgia at this Taylor Street dining room, where expats linger over wine and memory. The kitchen honors classical French technique—frogs' legs in Provençal style, crisp-skinned coq au vin—without pretension or constraint.
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Rank 117. 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 117. Coalfire Pizza
Coal-fired Pizza
The open kitchen and coal-fired oven dominate a cozy room where tomato cans double as pizza stands, turning the dining space into theater. Thin, blistered crusts arrive nearly blackened, their restraint a virtue—mortadella with garlic sings, though the menu invites casual reinvention.
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Rank 117. Prime & Provisions
Steakhouse
A glitzy riverfront steakhouse with a two-story wine tower and visible dry-aging room, all beneath barrel-vaulted ceilings and chandeliers. The kitchen opens with house-cured bacon inflected with maple and dark chocolate, followed by a black pepper-crusted dry-aged strip steak with mushrooms and potatoes. It's unapologetic in its indulgence.
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Rank 117. Tzuco
Mexican
Carlos Gaytán's Tzuco crackles with energy, its earth-toned dining room anchored by a chef's counter where hamachi swims in electric cactus aguachile. The tinga de pollo and grilled-octopus tacos honor tradition while reaching toward something brighter.
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Rank 117. 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 117. Chicago Cut
Steakhouse
A riverfront steakhouse where prime beef dry-aged in-house arrives with reliable crusts and the confident polish of old money. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook the Chicago River; the room hums with business-lunch energy and leather-bound tradition.
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Rank 117. 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 117. RPM Steak
Steakhouse
A bi-level steakhouse wrapped around a marble bar, all polished black and wood, where the crowd never thins and the booths offer prime seats for watching money circulate. The beef spans Japanese wagyu to American prime, cooked pink and edged with thyme-and-rosemary crust, the wine list ranging from Napa to Burgundy.
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Rank 117. Yao Yao
Sichuan Chinese
The glass-walled kitchen at Yao Yao frames the work of pickling and braising that defines the place. The signature fish arrives fiery and funky, its sour greens delivering sharp counterpoint to heat; wontons in chili oil and spare sides of celtuce and konjac noodles complete a meal built on fermentation and restraint rather than spectacle.
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Rank 117. La Chaparrita
Mexican
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Rank 117. Al Bawadi Grill
Middle Eastern
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Rank 117. Grano
Mexican Bakery
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A sprawling seafood house with dark wood and mounted fish, serving generous portions of oysters, stone crab, and frog's legs to a perpetually packed dining room. The bar anchors its own scene, while decadent desserts like Muddy Bottom Pie demand accomplices.
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Rank 117. 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 117. Stumara
Georgian Eastern European
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Rank 117. Cadinho
Portuguese Bakery
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Rank 117. Lou Mitchell's
American
Near Union Station, a diner operating since 1923 still fills its booths with travelers and regulars seeking eggs, waffles, and sandwiches prepared without pretense. Servers deliver hot coffee and complimentary donut holes; the open-faced Reuben arrives on homemade rye with thick-cut fries. It promises comfort, not revelation, and delivers exactly that.
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Rank 117. 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 117. Gavroche
Modern French
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Rank 117. Elina's
American Italian
Elina's channels mid-century Italian-American romance through handsome wood and leather, where Chef Ian Rusnak and Eric Safin execute nostalgic classics like clams casino and rigatoni vodka with unexpected finesse. Sinatra plays softly while a stellar bread basket sets the tone for dishes that feel both familiar and carefully considered.
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Rank 174. Middle Brow
Tavern-Style
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Rank 174. Harold's Chicken Shack
American
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Rank 174. George's Deep Dish
Chicago-Style Pizza
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Rank 174. Paulie Gee's Logan Square
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 174. Phil's Pizza
Tavern-Style Pizza
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Rank 174. Forno Rosso Pizzeria Napoletana
Neapolitan Pizza
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Rank 174. Sharpies
Detroit-Style Pizza
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Rank 174. Novel Pizza Cafe
Midwest/Filipino/Mexican
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Rank 174. Hermosa
Cambodian
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Rank 174. Carnitas Uruapan Restaurant
Michoacan-Style Mexican
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Rank 174. Soul & Smoke
Chicago
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Rank 174. Birrieria Zaragoza
Mexican
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Rank 174. Beard & Belly
American
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Rank 174. Zazas Pizzeria
NY-Style Pizza
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Rank 174. Redhot Ranch
Chicago-Style American
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Rank 174. Cafe Central
Puerto Rican Caribbean
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Rank 174. Piece Brewery & Pizzeria
New Haven-Style Pizza
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Rank 211. Bocadillo Market
Contemporary Spanish
- James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Great Lakes · James Martin
- Bon Appétit 2022 · America's Best New Restaurants
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Rank 212. Khmai Cambodian Fine Dining
Cambodian
- James Beard Awards 2023 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Eater 2022 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- The Infatuation 2024 · Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
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Rank 212. Birrieria Ocotlan
Mexican
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Rank 214. Bayan Ko Diner
Filipino
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Rank 218. 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