Get FREE email communications from Fodor's Travel, covering must-see travel destinations, expert trip planning advice, and travel inspiration to fuel your passion.
River North captures most of the expense-account diners, but the neighborhoods to the west of downtown—Bucktown, Wicker Park, and Logan Square—are where some of the city's most innovative dining occurs. With concepts like the vegetarian-friendly MANA, the pork-heavy Bristol, and dessert-focused Mindy’s Hot Chocolate, West Side restaurateurs serve great food without looking like they're trying too hard. Pick a ’hood and wander on foot—good eating won't be hard to find.
To the east lies Lincoln Park, named for the lakefront park it borders. Often a first stop for recent Chicago transplants moving to the city as well as the permanent residence of families inhabiting pricey brownstones, the popular neighborhood is definitely worth exploring. From a food perspective, it's host to several of Chicago's best restaurants, including Alinea and Boka. On commercial thoroughfares such as Clark, Halsted, and Armitage, you can spend an afternoon bouncing back and forth from great restaurants and cafés to hip shops.
Believe the hype and secure tickets—yes, tickets—well in advance, since Chicago's most exciting restaurant demands an adventurous spirit and a serious commitment of time and money. If you have two to four hours and $305 to $495 to spare, the tasting menu that showcases Grant Achatz's stunning, cutting-edge food is a fantastic journey through intriguing aromas, visuals, flavors, and textures.
The Lyonnais comfort food at this charming, cozy bistro in Bucktown, family-run for three decades and counting, is in a league of its own thanks to pitch-perfect classics along with some light twists on favorite dishes. Evenings can get busy so reservations are recommended; note that Mondays mean half-price bottles of wine, while the raclette smash burger is only served at lunch.
The art that hangs in this Michelin-starred spot's dining room isn't decoration, but inspiration: four times each year, the restaurant mounts a new show by a local artist, and chef Jenner Tomaska composes a multicourse tasting menu in response. Appropriately, the plates are highly visual, often featuring vivid color palettes, sculptural elements, and trompe l'oeil twists. If it all sounds a bit toney, be assured the kitchen has a sense of humor, which comes across in bites like fiery homemade Cheetos. To sample Tomaska's technique without the steep tasting menu price tag, book a seat at the elegant adjoining bar, which offers a three-course dinner for $68.
Chef Zachary Engel has established himself as a critical favorite for his approach to Middle Eastern cuisine, which merges fine dining technique with big flavors and a disarming sense of humor that’s telegraphed through cheeky menu descriptions (e.g., tehina hummus with “way too much olive oil”).
The secret's way out on this creative Filipino spot from culinary power couple Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores ever since it won a 2022 Michelin star and cameoed on essential foodie binge-watch The Bear. Brave the long (like, down the block and around the corner long) daytime queue to the counter for homey brunch dishes like chicken adobo, not to mention ham and raclette danish, among Kwon's other fantastic pastry offerings; at night, there's a major tone shift to an elegant tasting menu with a $275 price tag.
