Luxurious dining at its finest; chef Curtis Duffy is a master of precision and refinement, and his multicourse meals (one flora, one fauna) progress so naturally it’s like having a conversation. Read more.
Topolobampo and chef Rick Bayless deserve kudos not only for raising the bar on Mexican cuisine, but also for refusing to rest on their considerable laurels. Read more.
As good as the sushi is here, chef Mark Hellyar’s prepared plates, including rich and bold sukiyaki, terrific robata-grill snacks and the signature Momotaro tartare are what will blow your mind. Read more.
Whether one opts for the a la carte menu or the monthly tasting (10 or so courses for about $125), the experience will be superb. Read more.
The focus belongs on Sandoval's simple-looking but complex plates, and the way each course segues seamlessly to the next. An extraordinary dining experience, and a remarkable debut. Read more.
Iliana Regan, the Queen of the Forest Floor, turns her frequent foraging trips into masterful menu progressions. Read more.
The flagship restaurant in the Boka Restaurant Group combines Lee Wolen's approachable yet astonishing savory dishes with Meg Galus' imaginative and delicious pastries. Read more.
Too often overlooked for its less-than-picturesque exterior and South Loop location, Ryan McCaskey’s restaurant is a four-year-old gem that can hold its own with just about any restaurant in town. Read more.
It’s customary for guests at four-star restaurants to relinquish control of the evening to the chef, but Carrie Nahabedian much prefers to engage her guests in the process from the very beginning. Read more.
The restaurant offers tasting menus ($95 and $160), but a la carte selections, available in the lounge, will give you a sense of the experience. Read more.
Glorious city views and bronze Soldini sculptures (one per table) still aren’t as eye-catching as some of Joho’s plates. One of Chicago’s treasures. Read more.
Rick Bayless' newest effort focuses on Mexico's Baja California Norte, a region whose cuisine is largely seafood based, with a reliance on open-fire cooking. Read more.
A messy, brash, noisy and primal restaurant where an open hearth fuels most of the cooking and plate presentation only occasionally catches chef Andrew Brochu's attention. Read more.
Inventiveness, affordable and fun converge in Avondale, where chef-couple Johnny Clark and Beverly Kim combine Asian ingredients and contemporary cooking into food that is uniquely their own. Read more.
The best restaurant to open in 2015 is this Lincoln Park gem, chef Jason Paskewitz' unapologetic homage to classic French cuisine, abetted by a smoothly professional service staff. Read more.
It’s noisy. It’s crowded. You sit with strangers, contemplating the unfamiliar, while servers gently guide you through Abraham Conlon’s lively, Macau-inspired dishes. Read more.
This beautiful, middle-of-Lincoln-Park oasis has such a superb location and so cool an interior, I sometimes forget how good Bruce Sherman’s food is. Read more.
[Stephanie Izard's] deftly balanced flavors are wonderful to behold, but her true genius is the way she can get customers to try unusual foods, and love them. Read more.
This Andersonville restaurant would be worth putting on this list for its fried chicken alone, but Big Jones has so much more going on. Read more.
Chicago's theme-changing restaurant is now in the hands of the under-30 Jenner Tomaska, who replaces LA-bound Dave Beran (for whom Tomaska was sous-chef). Read more.
This casual, affordable restaurant is perfect for the neighborhood, and her pastas (traditional and creative) are joyful and delicious. Read more.
What started as a one-night pop-up dinner became Stephanie Izard’s third restaurant as part of the Boka Group, where Chinese flavors and techniques are reverently, if not strictly, employed. Read more.
2015 was the year of the chef-driven steakhouse, and this Market District gem, featuring chef Chris Pandel and pastry chef Meg Galus, is one of the prime examples. Read more.
Chef Erling Wu-Bower’s menu is rustic Italian, which doesn’t prevent him from using Hawaiian madai or Dungeness crab as the market permits. Read more.
Rick Bayless took Chicago’s enchiladas-and-tacos Mexican dining scene and showed us a better way, one that celebrated regional authenticity and sustainably and ethically raised ingredients. Read more.
I don't think there's anything that chef Martial Noguier doesn't do well. Noguier started his career as a pastry chef, so don’t skip that course. Read more.
Andrew Zimmerman is barely a blip on the celebrity-chef radar, perhaps, but he’s a familiar name where it counts: in the industry. Read more.
With a plate of boquerones (cured white anchovies on grilled bread) and a glass of txakolina in hand, you might think you feel sand between your toes. Read more.
Chef/owner Phillip Foss will go so far as to instruct diners to lick their plates clean (I did this once), but it’s all about breaking down walls and making seriously creative food fun to eat. Read more.
For a city with no seashore, Chicago is a hell of an oyster town, and there's no better place to find them than at Giuseppe Tentori's spiffy nautical getaway in River North. Read more.
I went with Salero because the cooking is more ambitious, the Spanish menu (“Midwest inspired by Spain” is how Aubin puts it) is more of the moment, and I love the space. Read more.
I love everything about this Hyde Park restaurant. I love the architecturally interesting space, the smart and down-to-earth service and the creative French-Italian menu. Read more.
Head for the purple awning, set back from Michigan Avenue, for a delirious assortment of protein-rich, Mediterranean small plates from James Beard-award-winning chef Jimmy Bannos, Jr. Read more.
Calling Brian Enyart and Jennifer Jones Enyart two Frontera/Topolobampo alumns doesn’t begin to describe the influence and importance they brought to those restaurants. Read more.
If your understanding of Czech food is limited to the dumpling palaces of the western burbs, this hip River North spot will be a revelation. Read more.
If there’s a better bird than the sized-for-two roasted duck at Kevin Hickey’s Bridgeport hangout (in a former pre-Prohibition tavern), I’ve yet to try it. Read more.
This is a steakhouse with a wink and a nudge, offering ironic riffs on steakhouse culture while still providing outstanding food. Read more.
This little space for pop-up restaurants at the back of Kinmont is a great place to try food from a wide variety of chefs and pop-ups. Read more.
Jared Wentworth has earned a Michelin star here, and his Pilsen restaurant, Dusek's, and either location you'll find full-flavored, unfussy food, serious cocktails and other libations. Read more.
Chef/owner Gene Kato is a virtuoso on the robata grill, and that is the laser-like focus (so focused, he doesn't bother with sushi) of his 35-seat restaurant. Read more.
Plates are tiny, so you can try multiple dishes; the trick is knowing when to stop. Read more.
Run by two couples who worked together at Spiaggia, Autre Monde is one of the jewels of the western burbs. Read more.
Few chefs are as nuanced as Michael Taus, whose dishes are models of subtlety and restraint. Read more.
A champion of local farm relationships and vegetable-forward cooking well ahead of the curve, Lula Café stays relevant and exciting well into its second decade in Chicago. Read more.
Chef Erick Williams’ creative American cuisine never fails to impress, whether you order a la carte or tasting menu — even the simple bar bites menu is thoughtful. Read more.
Cameron Grant’s northern-Italian cooking, making great use of regional treasures such as plin pasta and grana padano cheese, is worth a little squeeze. Read more.
Steaks are the draw, of course, but chef Doug Psaltis applies a lot of TLC to his other dishes, too. Read more.
I love Julia Momose’s bar program, Aaron Lirette’s menu is approachable and delicious, and the vibe, as I’ve said before, is mature and sophisticated. Read more.
Stop in for a quick bite off Mark Mendez's small-plates menu (mojama, or salt-cured tuna loin, is a treat), or settle in for several dishes or the paella of the day. Read more.
People in the know come here for two things: Peking-style duck and the moist and delicious Mike’s chicken. Read more.
