8 new american rooms in Chicago we have eaten in, sorted by editor score. All cuisines in Chicago | New American across every city.
New American is the broad center of Chicago's contemporary dining, where chef-driven kitchens borrow freely while staying grounded in the Midwest. Alinea in Lincoln Park sits at the avant-garde edge, while Girl & the Goat and The Publican drive the lively West Loop scene and Lula Cafe carries the farm-to-table thread in Logan Square. Gibsons in the Gold Coast and RPM Steak in River North show the steakhouse-leaning side of the same tradition.
Alinea ★ 4.9
lincoln-park · 1723 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Alinea in Chicago is Grant Achatz's three-Michelin-star tasting menu at 1723 N Halsted, the dining room that codified American modernist fine dining.
The Publican ★ 4.6
west-loop · 837 W Fulton Market, Chicago, IL 60607
The Publican in Chicago is Paul Kahan's Fulton Market mead-hall, opened 2008, anchored by the heritage pork chop and a daily oyster list of 20 to 30.
Lula Cafe ★ 4.5
logan-square · 2537 N Kedzie Blvd, Chicago, IL 60647
Lula Cafe in Chicago is Jason Hammel's 1999 Logan Square dining room and breakfast counter, anchored by a Monday farm-dinner menu the neighbourhood books out.
Girl & the Goat ★ 4.5
west-loop · 809 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
Girl & the Goat in Chicago is Stephanie Izard's Randolph Street wood-fire kitchen since 2010, with the pig face plate that came back when Bravo's Top Chef.
Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse ★ 4.4
gold-coast · 1028 N Rush St, Chicago, IL 60611
Gibsons in Chicago is the Rush Street steakhouse since 1989 with its own USDA Prime stamp, packed nightly with politicians, athletes and conference traffic.
RPM Steak ★ 4.3
river-north · 66 W Kinzie St, Chicago, IL 60654
RPM Steak in Chicago is the marble-and-leather River North steakhouse on Kinzie from the Melman family of Lettuce Entertain You, with A5 Wagyu sliders.
Boka ★ 4.1
1729 N Halsted St, Chicago, IL 60614
Boka in Chicago is Lee Wolen's Michelin-starred dining room beside Alinea on Halsted, with a quiet garden courtyard and a brined whole-roast chicken for two.
Au Cheval (late night) ★ 4.6
800 W Randolph St, Chicago, IL 60607
Au Cheval in Chicago is the West Loop diner-bar on Randolph that runs the full menu until 02:00 nightly, with the country-famous single-with-egg cheeseburger.