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Cariño
Mexican
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 strongest first
- Michelin Guide 1 Star
- The Banchets Winner · Best New Restaurant
- James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Best Chef: Great Lakes · Norman Fenton
- The New York Times 2025 · The Restaurant List
- Time Out #7 · The 25 best restaurants in Chicago
- The Infatuation #25 · The 25 Best Restaurants In Chicago
- The New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in Chicago Right Now
- Eater The 38 Best Restaurants in Chicago
- James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant
- Eater Chicago’s Best Mexican Restaurants
- The Infatuation Chicago’s Best New Restaurants
One number, weighted & current 93
How we scoreThe dishes from the writeups
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Oyster michelada
“Guests will be delighted with a 12- to 16-course tasting menu featuring dishes such as an oyster michelada and a ravioli stuffed with the earthy corn fungus known as huitlacoche.”
Eater -
Chicken liver taco dorado
“The cheffed-up versions of Latin dishes — a chicken liver taco dorado, or a pumpernickel quesadilla with black garlic — are ingenious, but retain the elemental appeal of their traditional antecedents.”
The New York Times, 2025 -
Queso truffle quesadilla
“Quickly, the courses compound: A stunning huitlacoche ravioli with fried corn silk, then a queso truffle quesadilla, and at some point, a lamb tartare tostada seasoned in the style of al pastor.”
Michelin Guide
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