The 38 Essential Chicago Restaurants

 

Daniel Gerzina

6363 N Milwaukee Ave

Chicago, IL 60646

Superdawg’s founders, Maurie and Flaurie Berman, stand guard over this venerable Chicago drive-in as customers can spot those giant hot dog statues bearing their likenesses from miles away at the intersection of Devon, Nagle, and Milwaukee. Superdawg is a throwback dining experience where customers park their cars and talk to staff through crackling drive-in speakers and carhops bring out trays of food. Superdawg isn’t a traditional Chicago-style dog, but it is a tradition. It uses a proprietary thick all-beef sausage that comes with mustard, pickled green tomato, and chopped Spanish onions. This is all cradled in a box of crinkle fries.

 

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4710 N Ravenswood Ave

Chicago, IL 60640

What is quite possibly the first Michelin-starred brewpub lies on the North Side of Chicago. Gourmet dishes emerge from the kitchen during tasting menus, while brunch services and the bar menu provide a taste to diners on a tight budget. Creative beer selections are brewed on-site, which, combined with a beautiful Victorian-inspired space, make Band of Bohemia a one-of-a-kind operation in the entire country. The menu has plenty of veggie options, including a carrot that’s magical.

Marc Much/Eater Chicago

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3800 N Pulaski Rd

Chicago, IL 60641

With two smokers to prep meaty St. Louis-style ribs, tender brisket, apple-and-oak-smoked pulled pork and more, this ‘cue joint in the Northwest Side neighborhood of Irving Park stands up to any within a thousand miles. Outside of Carolina or Texas, it’s hard to find better barbecue than the casual counter-service Smoque.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

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3361 N Elston Ave

Chicago, IL 60618

It may not serve your momma’s fried chicken — with bones, skin, et al — but Honey Butter Fried Chicken makes swaths of Chicagoans feel like kids again when they dip their birds in that addictive honey butter. Since expanding from supper club to Avondale brick-and-mortar in fall 2013, lines form during peak lunch and dinner hours but move quickly at the cozy counter-service space. Don’t forget the house-made iced teas, alcoholic drinks, and specials sometimes created by noteworthy guest chefs.

Honey Butter Fried Chicken [Official Photo]

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3025 W Diversey Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

This tiny cafe along Diversey, an emerging street for restaurants in Logan Square, packs big flavors. Cellar Door Provisions serves pastries, a popular quiche, and lamb meatballs in the mornings and the afternoons. Ownership wanted to bring something different to Chicago’s culinary scene by baking delicious breads and developing strong relationships with local farmers and vendors to bring top-notch ingredients to their kitchen. They serve dinner on Wednesdays through Saturdays only and reservations are recommended.

Cellar Door Provisions [Official Photo]

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Eater Chicago

2800 W Logan Blvd

Chicago, IL 60647

Few chefs share the talent and drive that Diana Dávila exhibits while showcasing a dazzling display of small Mexican dishes in Logan Square. Dávila isn’t shy about risks; she isn’t pandering to the typical American diner. The bustling full-service spot offers albondigas and dishes like peanut butter and tongue push boundaries, yet there’s also a delectable steak burrito on the menu for those in the mood.

Mi Tocaya [Official Photo]

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2537 N Kedzie Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

Before Logan Square had a multitude of acclaimed creative restaurants and farm-to-table was a buzz-phrase, there was Lula Café. More than a decade on, it’s easy to see why people flock for its creative dinner menu, line-inducing Sunday brunch and Monday night farm dinners. Dishes change seasonally and sometimes daily, with stars that include standout local produce and meats prepared in unexpected ways. What diners can expect is a wait at brunch and dinner, but weekday breakfasts are quiet and cozy.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

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2429 N Lincoln Ave

Chicago, IL 60614

Chicago hadn’t seen this level of Middle Eastern food before acclaimed chef Zach Engel moved from New Orleans to open this smash hit in Lincoln Park. Engel, who won a James Beard Award for Rising Star Chef during his time in the Big Easy, elevates hummus, pita, and more to unforeseen heights at this Israeli excelsior, where reservations have been difficult to secure since its opening in April 2019. Diners sit at the long kitchen counter to watch Engel and team top pools of silky hummus with trumpet mushrooms, fried chicken skin and collard greens, and pull perfect pillows of wood-fired pitas from the coal-burning oven. The salatim — an array of Israeli accoutrements served with pita — coal-fired entrees, and Middle Eastern spins on classic cocktails are also stars here.

Sandy Noto/Galit [Official Photo]

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2507 W Armitage Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

Chicago’s sushi reputation is not as esteemed as cities along the coastlines, but a number of new restaurants are changing that perception. At the top of the list is Otto Phan’s omakase experience — the Japanese concept of chef’s choice — in a nondescript space in Logan Square. Phan’s intimate eight-seat counter provides an up-close look at his bold personality and distinctive style, which is highlighted by larger-than-normal rice grains seasoned with aged red vinegar and premium quality ingredients imported from overseas. The luxurious offerings include fried tilefish crowned with creme fraiche and Osetra caviar, and fatty toro seared on charcoal. The $220 price tag for 18-plus bites — plus extra for beverages — makes it a special destination. A $100 deposit is required to secure a reservation.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

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1747 N Damen Ave

Chicago, IL 60647

While the savory food and the drinks are very good, the sweets and the hot chocolates are predictably not to be missed from an owner with a James Beard award for best pastry chef (Mindy Segal). Crowds flock to this Chicago icon for brunch and peak-hour dinner services, so lunch service is a great bet for minimal waits at the Bucktown superstar.

Mindy’s Hot Chocolate [Official Photo]

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1723 N Halsted St

Chicago, IL 60614

Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas’s three-Michelin-starred avant garde fine dining institution is quite simply one of the world’s best restaurants. Food obsessives make pilgrimages from around the globe to the 10-year-old Lincoln Park restaurant to experience Achatz’s emotional, interactive, and expensive tasting menus, which play out in a recently renovated backdrop that now features three distinct dining options. It clocked in at No. 37 on the most recent World’s 50 Best List in 2019 and was among Eater National’s best restaurants in America. Dishes change often on the tasting menus, but the edible balloon and tabletop dessert are among those that put it on the world stage.

Matthew Gilson

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7500 W North Ave

Elmwood Park, IL 60707

The best example of Chicago’s iconic Italian beef sandwiches exists outside of the city at the two suburban locations of Johnnie’s Beef. The space is a throwback as the original fast-food spot opened in 1961 in Elmwood Park and a second has since opened in Arlington Heights. The menu is simple: beefs, charcoal-grilled Italian sausages, and hot dogs. Pepper-and-egg sandwiches are also available daily; they’re mostly aimed at Catholic customers during Lent Fridays needing a “meat-free” option. Johnnie’s also serves stellar lemon Italian ice. The thin-cut beef is moist and perfectly seasoned with hints of oregano. The hot peppers deliver plenty of heat but don’t overwhelm the meat. Don’t sleep on the beef-sausage sandwich. While the city has plenty of beef options, Johnnie’s is worth the drive to the ‘burbs.

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1028 N Rush St

Chicago, IL 60611

Chicago’s steakhouse tradition can be best experienced at Gibsons, the swanky Gold Coast institution that Eater readers voted the best steakhouse in America’s meatiest city. Celebrity sightings are frequent in the dining room and in the photos on the walls, while white-jacketed servers provide exquisite meat displays at a quintessential Chicago restaurant experience.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

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141 W Erie St

Chicago, IL 60654

Chicago’s food scene got a jolt of fresh air when former Avec and Nico Osteria chef de cuisine Erling Wu-Bower opened this breezy California-inspired restaurant in River North in conjunction with his One Off Hospitality mentors Paul Kahan and Donnie Madia. Bower and team churn out a casual menu of light fare utilizing precise execution and exquisite ingredients, spanning a myriad of light cuisines from warm weather locales such as Middle Eastern-inspired large-format duck, pitas that utilize ahi tuna and beef tartare, dumplings and pizzas. Reservations are recommended, although tables are easier to find during lunch and brunch services at the 2018 Eater Chicago Restaurant of the Year.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

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445 N Clark St

Chicago, IL 60654

Rick Bayless’s Mexican haven in River North, including Xoco on the corner, is a Chicago institution spawning spinoffs around the globe of south of the border fare from street food to high end. At Frontera Grill, his original restaurant, folks flock from around the globe to wait in line (there’s only limited reservations) for casual, festive, groundbreaking regional Mexican fare. At Topolobampo, connected through a side doorway, Bayless’ team serves gorgeous, mind-blowing Michelin-starred tasting menus.

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837 W Fulton Market

Chicago, IL 60607

The template for one of the country’s top chefs and restaurant groups (Paul Kahan’s One Off Hospitality), their temple to pork, fish, charcuterie and beer is stronger than ever, as evidenced by spinoffs across the street and at O’Hare International Airport, and a spot on Eater National’s best restaurants in America list. Don’t mistake the boisterous atmosphere with long beer hall-esque communal tables for pedestrian food or no waits, as it remains one of Chicago’s toughest tables, even for the standout brunch.

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661 W Walnut St

Chicago, IL 60661

2016 saw a slew of great restaurant openings but Noah Sandoval’s West Loop stunner perhaps shined the brightest. He, along with his wife Cara, are leading the way for a new generation of fine dining that’s coupling refined, upscale dishes on its tasting menu, from its caviar starter staple to a Japanese A5 wagyu, all in a laid-back experience. Critics and diners alike have been impressed, with the Michelin Guide awarding the restaurant two stars in its first year.

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820 W Lake St

Chicago, IL 60607

Boka Restaurant Group isn’t short on heavy hitters but its majestic modern Japanese restaurant is arguably the crown jewel of the company. Spread across three floors, Momotaro blends traditional Japanese ingredients and flavors with contemporary technique for a breathtaking experience. The menu is divided between sushi and robata bites and includes luxuries such as A5 wagyu steak and pristine fatty tuna. For a more casual meal and drinks, the lower-level izakaya offers similarly remarkable options like chicken karaage, uni spaghetti, and ramen.

Marc Much/Eater Chicago

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736 W Randolph St

Chicago, IL 60661

Chicagoans have few choices for upscale Indian food downtown. Rooh’s 2019 arrival is noteworthy not only because it fills that void, but it also gives the West Loop one of the most unique restaurants in the city. Patrons will be more than impressed with familiar classics such as butter chicken, but jackfruit kofta, gunpowder scallops, and achari monkfish give diners a sliver of modern Indian cooking. All this inside a comfortable space worthy of Randolph Restaurant Row. Look for fun, spiced cocktails to round out the experience. Reservations are recommended for the spinoff of the San Francisco restaurant that opened in 2017.

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1020 W Madison St

Chicago, IL 60607

The first restaurant from former Top Chef and Spiaggia chef Sarah Grueneberg has quickly cemented itself as one of Chicago’s top Italian destinations and its tough-to-get reservations are a prime example. The pastas are the stars at the West Loop hotspot, such as cannelloni saltimbocca with merguez lamb sausage, manchego cheese, peas, harissa, and balsamico, many of which are made on a small demonstration stage of sorts behind the bar. Also try non-pasta dishes such as the skate wing schnitzel and ‘nduja arancini, as well as a standout wine list.

Marc Much/Eater Chicago

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1141 S Jefferson St

Chicago, IL 60607

The torchbearer for a dying breed of Jewish delis and diners in Chicago, Manny’s has endured for more than a half-century in the South Loop thanks to massive and delicious pastrami sandwiches, an array of hot homestyle dishes on steam tables, and family service cultivated over generations in a cafeteria-style setting plastered with decades-old newspaper clippings and letters from Chicago luminaries. The space also now houses a new deli expansion for bagels, sweets, coffee, and food to go.

Marc Much/Eater Chicago

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1800 S Carpenter St

Chicago, IL 60608

HaiSous is a remarkable comeback story for the husband-and-wife team of Thai and Danielle Dang in Pilsen. Thai Dang showcases his heritage Vietnamese flavors through a number of techniques, including claypot cooking, on a menu that’s as ambitious as it’s unpretentious with dishes like grilled wild boar with lemongrass. The neighboring cafe is great for a banh mi or an iced coffee sourced with beans from Dang’s family in Vietnam. The duo worked at acclaimed West Loop restaurant Embeya, but at HaiSous they’re free to express themselves more honestly to create a dining experience worthy of a celebration, or just a wonderful weeknight meal, or even a coffee and a sandwich.

Mistey Nguyen

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1239 W 18th St

Chicago, IL 60608

Star chef Stephen Gillanders, after searching for years to open a new restaurant, discovered room in Pilsen to open S.K.Y. It’s fine dining with good value and without pretension — the menu features flavors from Japan (crispy swordfish katsu), Korea (crackling beef short rib), and the Mediterranean in both affordable tasting menus and a la carte options. The weekend dim sum-style brunch’s lobster dumplings may be the city’s best. Reservations are recommended.

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1725 W 18th St

Chicago, IL 60608

Chicago’s Mexican community and food enthusiasts worldwide flock to this longtime family-owned counter-service institution in Pilsen that celebrates all parts of the pig with its legendary south-of-the-border care. Order carnitas by the pound at the front counter and settle into a table — if one is available — to craft individual tacos with an array of porky goodness and house-made salsas, tortillas, and beans; or have tacos, soup, and cactus salad made. Prepare for lines and waits during peak weekend hours.

Carnitas Uruapan [Official Photo]

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4852 S Pulaski Rd

Chicago, IL 60632

Head to the Southwest Side for goat tacos that are consistently lauded as some of the best in the entire country. In addition, diner make the pilgrimage for other standout dishes such as consomme at this small father-and-son standout. It’s counter-service or take-out-only, and get there early, as it often closes by early evening at the latest.

Birrieria Zaragoza [Official Photo]

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1462 E 53rd St

Chicago, IL 60615

Chicago has long had a history of top-notch African American-owned restaurants that focus on regional Southern cooking, but the city may not have had a restaurant like Virtue before. Chef-owner Erick Williams combines the skill and precision honed through years of fine-dining experience with soulful, family Southern recipes in dishes including cauliflower with cashew dukkah and root cellar vegetables, and heavenly beef short ribs with creamed spinach and crushed potatoes. The restaurant has quickly become a dining beacon in Hyde Park and one of America’s Best New Restaurants, so reservations are recommended for dinner but there’s also a large bar room and a lively brunch.

Nick Fochtman/Eater

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8433 S Pulaski Rd

Chicago, IL 60652

When it comes to pizza, Chicago’s reputation around the country often centers on deep dish. But thin-crust tavern-style pizza — another pizza style that’s unique to Chicago — is actually much more prevalent and popular with locals, and few if any do it better than South Side institution Vito & Nick’s Pizzeria. Thin, crunchy dough is baked with char on top and cut into small squares with very little crust on the outside. In business for nearly a century and making pizzas for more than 60 years, Vito & Nick’s is an always-bustling, family-friendly pizza destination that’s a must-visit for any food enthusiast, so be prepared for a wait for a table or just take a pie to go.

Vito & Nick’s [Official Photo]

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