21 editor picks in Chicago.
21 splurge places in Chicago, editor-picked. tasting menus and the full big-night-out treatment in Chicago. All Chicago food.
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.
OrderWhichever course needs your two hands; the kitchen is unsentimental about it.
TipBook the Gallery flow if you want the full theatre; Salon is the quieter, three-course-less option.
Smyth in Chicago is John and Karen Shields's two-Michelin-star tasting menu on Ada Street, with produce from their own farm 90 minutes south of the city.
OrderThe yolk in sea-buckthorn vinegar; it has been on the menu since 2016 for a reason.
TipThe companion bar downstairs, The Loyalist, runs an excellent burger if you can't land the upstairs seats.
Oriole in Chicago is Noah Sandoval's two-Michelin-star room on Walnut Street in the West Loop, a quiet 28-seat tasting menu with a strong caviar service.
OrderThe opening caviar course; the kitchen treats it as the focal pivot, not a bookend.
TipThe wine pairings are unusually well-judged at the German-and-Austrian end. Ask for them by region, not by tier.
Kasama in Chicago is Tim Flores and Genie Kwon's Filipino bakery by day, Michelin-starred tasting menu by night, in the Ukrainian Village on Winchester.
OrderThe morning ube cruffin, which sells out by 10:30 most weekends.
TipThe bakery has no reservations; the tasting menu books out 60 days ahead. Treat them as two different visits.
Alinea in Chicago is Grant Achatz's three-Michelin-star Lincoln Park dining room, the original American modernist tasting menu since 2005 at 1723 N Halsted.
TipSalon is the shortest flow and the easiest to book; Kitchen Table is the deepest dive into the menu.
Ever in Chicago is Curtis Duffy's two-Michelin-star Fulton Market tasting menu, opened 2020 after Duffy left Grace, with rigorous service and quiet plating.
OrderThe foie gras course; it is the dish that follows Duffy across his career.
TipSit at the chef's counter if it is on offer at booking. The view of the pass is the room's best seat.
Smyth in Chicago is the two-Michelin-star West Loop tasting menu from John and Karen Shields, paired with The Loyalist downstairs and produce from their own.
TipAsk for the wine-pairing 'reserve' option if you have a long evening; the cellar lists a deep run of Burgundy.
Oriole in Chicago is Noah Sandoval's two-Michelin-star tasting menu room at 661 W Walnut Street, a 28-seat West Loop room with strong caviar service.
TipThe wine pairings lean Germanic and Austrian. Ask by region, not by tier; the value is on the long-pour bottles.
Bavette's Bar & Boeuf in Chicago is the dimly-lit River North steakhouse on Kinzie, French bistro paintings overhead, with a bone-in ribeye that anchors.
OrderThe bone-in ribeye with hash browns; the lobster gnocchi for non-beef eaters.
TipBook at 21:00 on a weeknight if you want the back booths. The earlier seating is mostly business dinners.
Topolobampo in Chicago is Rick Bayless's Michelin-starred Mexican fine-dining room beside Frontera on Clark, with regional menus that rotate every six weeks.
OrderWhichever mole is on the current tasting menu; Bayless has been cooking them in Chicago since 1989.
TipReservations open 60 days out and the Friday slot goes in an hour. Set a calendar alarm.
Kasama in Chicago is Tim Flores and Genie Kwon's Michelin-starred Filipino tasting menu at 1001 N Winchester in Ukrainian Village, doubling as a daytime.
TipDay-room bakery and evening tasting menu run separate book-and-pay flows. Plan to come for both, on different days.
Ever in Chicago is Curtis Duffy's two-Michelin-star Fulton Market tasting menu, opened in 2020 after he left Grace, with rigorous service and quiet plating.
TipSit at the chef's counter if it is offered at booking; the view of the pass is the room's best seat.
Gibsons in Chicago is the Rush Street steakhouse since 1989 with its own USDA Prime stamp, packed nightly with politicians, athletes and conference traffic.
OrderThe Chicago Cut, a 22-ounce bone-in ribeye. The au jus is on by default.
TipThe cake slices are large enough for four. Order one for the table and ask for four forks.
Topolobampo in Chicago is Rick Bayless's Michelin-starred Mexican fine-dining room at 445 N Clark Street, with menus that rotate every six weeks by region.
TipFriday slots open 60 days out and disappear inside an hour. Set a 09:00 alarm for the exact 60-day mark.
Elske in Chicago is David and Anna Posey's Michelin-starred Randolph Street dining room with Danish influences, restrained plating, and a small front-yard.
TipThe Aquavit pairings are the room's secret weapon. Ask Anna for the by-the-glass walk.
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.
OrderA5 Wagyu sliders to start, the dry-aged ribeye for two, popovers as the side.
TipSit at the bar if you cannot land a booth. The bar menu is the same and the cocktails arrive faster.
Next in Chicago is the Achatz-Kokonas Fulton Market tasting menu that changes theme every season, from Childhood to Sicily to Vegan to Trio.
TipTickets, not reservations: you buy by season on Tock, and they sell out the morning they drop.
Mako in Chicago is B.K. Park's Michelin-starred 22-seat omakase counter at 731 W Lake Street in the West Loop, with fish flown twice weekly from Toyosu.
TipSit at the wood corner of the counter, closest to the rice cooker; the timing of the nigiri is sharpest there.
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.
TipBook the garden room in summer. It is one of the prettiest outdoor dining rooms in the city.
Esmé in Chicago is Jenner Tomaska's Michelin-starred Lincoln Park tasting menu, themed seasonally around a guest artist whose work runs on the plates.
TipSit at the chef's counter for the longer between-course explanations of the current theme.
Galit in Chicago is James Beard winner Zachary Engel's Michelin-starred Middle Eastern dining room on Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park, with a choose-your-own.
TipOrder the laffa straight off the hearth as your opening course; the warm bread is the anchor for every spread on the meze list.
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