The Best Restaurants in Chicago 2026
Chicago Dining Guide
Why we wrote this guide
Chicago does not do quiet excellence. This is a city that stacked three Michelin stars, a fistful of two-star tasting rooms, and a deep bench of Bib Gourmand neighborhood cooking into a few square miles of the West Loop, River North, and beyond. It is one of the strongest fine-dining cities in America, and the range is the point: you can eat a helium balloon at Alinea one night and slap-noodle your way through goat at Girl and the Goat the next. This guide cuts across every cuisine to name the rooms we think are actually worth planning a night around.
We book these restaurants for our guests constantly, so this is not a listicle scraped from a search result. It is the shortlist we would hand a friend flying in. Outside Las Vegas we do not hold the table ourselves, but we tell you exactly where each one books and we work the hard ones on your behalf. Last updated early July 2026, with Michelin status current to the latest Chicago Guide.
The ranked guide
1. Smyth (West Loop)
Smyth is Chicago's only three-Michelin-star restaurant and, as of 2026, the No. 1 spot on North America's 50 Best Restaurants list. John Shields and Karen Urie Shields run a farm-driven North American tasting menu out of a loft-style room with an open kitchen, and the menu changes daily. Expect courses like the kelp tart with English pea butter and trout roe, the croustade with poached miso-cured quail egg, and a doughnut filled with foie gras, egg yolk fudge, and Dungeness crab. See Smyth. Best for: the single most ambitious meal in the city, booked weeks out.
2. Alinea (Lincoln Park)
Grant Achatz's Alinea is the flagship of American modernist cuisine and held three Michelin stars from 2011 to 2024 before settling at two in the current Guide. It is still one of the most theatrical meals anywhere: the Black Truffle Explosion exploding raviolo, the Hot Potato Cold Potato, and the edible helium balloon are courses people remember for years. It is fully ticketed and prepaid through Tock, with menus released months in advance. See Alinea. Best for: a bucket-list dining event where the show is half the meal.
3. Oriole (West Loop)
Entered through a converted freight elevator, Oriole is Noah Sandoval's intimate two-Michelin-star room blending French and Japanese technique on an extended tasting menu. It was named Jean Banchet Restaurant of the Year and has held two stars since shortly after opening. Signature courses include the Dungeness crab tartlet, a Hokkaido uni canape, foie gras parfait with pickled strawberries, and capellini with black truffle. See Oriole. Best for: a quieter, more precise two-star tasting away from the spotlight.
4. Ever (West Loop)
Ever is Curtis Duffy and Michael Muser's follow-up to the shuttered three-star Grace, and it has held two Michelin stars every year since 2021. The serene, luxe room on a quiet stretch of Fulton Market serves an eight- to ten-course seasonal land-and-sea tasting menu built on proteins from land and sea with seasonal vegetables, and compositions of fruits, grains, seeds, and nuts. See Ever. Best for: polished, luxurious two-star fine dining with a serious hospitality pedigree.
5. Kasama (Ukrainian Village)
Kasama is the world's first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant, and Tim Flores and Genie Kwon's project was elevated from one star to two in the latest Chicago Guide. By day it is a casual Filipino bakery and counter; by night it becomes an intimate fine-dining room serving a 13-course modern Filipino evening tasting menu, threaded with Kwon's pastry-driven canapes and contemporary takes on Filipino classics. See Kasama. Best for: a two-star tasting with genuine originality and a great story.
6. Boka (Lincoln Park)
Boka is the flagship of the Boka Restaurant Group and holds one Michelin star. It pairs refined, seasonally driven contemporary American cooking with polished service and a handsome, plant-draped room, making it one of the more approachable ways into Chicago's starred dining without committing to a multi-hour tasting marathon. See Boka. Best for: a special-occasion dinner that is elegant but not intimidating.
7. Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse (Gold Coast)
Gibsons is the Gold Coast icon that launched a national brand, a clubby Rush Street institution running on old-school power-dining energy since 1989. It butchers its own USDA Prime Gibsons Angus beef, and the plates people come for are the grain-fed, 45-day-aged Prime steaks, the bone-in ribeye, W.R.'s Chicago Cut, and the towering signature chocolate cake. No Michelin status, and it does not need one. See Gibsons. Best for: the definitive Chicago steakhouse night out.
8. Monteverde (West Loop)
Sarah Grueneberg's Monteverde is a Michelin Bib Gourmand trattoria built around an open, elevated Pastificio where fresh pasta is made throughout service. The must-orders are the Cacio Whey Pepe, the Ragu alla Napoletana with soppressata meatballs, the Gnocchetti con Pesto, and whatever seasonal tortelloni is on that week. See Monteverde. Best for: the best handmade pasta in the city at a fair price.
9. Frontera Grill (River North)
Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill is a vibrant, art-filled regional Mexican cantina and a Michelin Bib Gourmand that has been a Chicago institution since 1987, with a James Beard Outstanding Restaurant award to its name. Go for the Frontera ceviche, the carnitas, the Oaxacan black mole, and the table-shaken margaritas. See Frontera Grill. Best for: landmark regional Mexican and one of the best margaritas in town.
10. Girl and the Goat (West Loop)
Stephanie Izard's Girl and the Goat is a Michelin Bib Gourmand and one of the hardest-to-book tables in Chicago, a loud, high-energy room built for shared, live-fire small plates. It has been the West Loop's anchor restaurant for over a decade and still books out well in advance. See Girl and the Goat. Best for: a fun, boisterous group dinner over adventurous shared plates.
11. Momotaro (Fulton Market)
Momotaro is Boka Restaurant Group's multi-level modern Japanese room, with sushi and robata counters over a subterranean izakaya, led by executive chef Gene Kato. The kitchen turns out jidori kimo grilled chicken oysters, beef tsukune bao sliders, chili mentaiko spaghetti, and ebi uni maguro sushi, and the downstairs Izakaya keeps going as a late-night lounge. See Momotaro. Best for: robata and sushi with a night-out atmosphere.
12. The Publican (Fulton Market)
Paul Kahan's The Publican is a European-style beer hall centered on a long communal walnut table, an homage to oysters, pork, and beer that has shaped Fulton Market for years. Order the pork rinds with cheddar and malt vinegar, the Slagel Family Farm half chicken with frites, the wood-grilled pork ribs, and a run through the raw bar. See The Publican. Best for: a convivial, beer-forward dinner built for sharing.
13. avec (West Loop)
avec is the intimate, wood-clad Mediterranean wine bar that sparked Chicago's small-plates craze back in 2003, and it still carries a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped Medjool dates and the deluxe focaccia with taleggio and truffle oil are the enduring classics, backed by wood-oven Mediterranean small plates and southern-European cheeses. See avec. Best for: a lively wine-bar dinner and the city's most famous stuffed dates.
How to choose, fast
- Want the single best meal in the city, cost no object: Smyth (3 stars) or Alinea (2 stars, ticketed).
- Want a two-star tasting with a point of view: Oriole, Ever, or Kasama.
- Want starred dining without a three-hour tasting: Boka (1 star).
- Want the classic Chicago steakhouse: Gibsons.
- Want the best handmade pasta: Monteverde.
- Want regional Mexican and great margaritas: Frontera Grill.
- Want a fun, loud group night: Girl and the Goat or The Publican.
- Want Japanese with energy: Momotaro.
- Want a wine-bar dinner of small plates: avec.
How MyRSVP holds the table
Outside Las Vegas, MyRSVP does not hold your restaurant reservation. What we do is point you to the right place to book directly, whether that is Tock for the ticketed tasting menus at Smyth, Alinea, and Oriole, OpenTable for rooms like Ever, Kasama, Gibsons, Frontera Grill, Momotaro, The Publican, and avec, or Resy for Monteverde. For the genuinely hard tables, we work them on your behalf and lean on our relationships to get you in.
On the Las Vegas side, MyRSVP handles the full nightlife experience end to end: tables, bottle service, and guest-list access at the city's top clubs and dayclubs. Chicago dinner, Vegas night out, we can help plan both.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best restaurant in Chicago?
By the numbers, Smyth. It is the city's only three-Michelin-star restaurant and currently ranked No. 1 on North America's 50 Best Restaurants list. If your idea of best is theater and modernist ambition, Alinea is the other name in the conversation.
Which Chicago restaurants have Michelin stars?
From this guide: Smyth holds three stars, the only three-star in the city. Alinea, Oriole, Ever, and Kasama each hold two stars. Boka holds one star. Girl and the Goat, Monteverde, Frontera Grill, and avec are Michelin Bib Gourmand honorees, and The Publican is Michelin recommended.
Is Alinea still a three-star restaurant?
No. Alinea held three Michelin stars from 2011 to 2024 and now holds two in the current Guide. It is still one of the most celebrated dining experiences in the country.
What is the hardest reservation to get in Chicago?
The ticketed tasting menus at Smyth and Alinea release months in advance and sell out fast, and Girl and the Goat books out well ahead. These are the ones worth planning around early, and the ones we are happy to help chase down.
Do I need a tasting menu, or can I order a la carte?
Both exist. Smyth, Alinea, Oriole, Ever, and Kasama are fixed tasting-menu experiences. Gibsons, Monteverde, Frontera Grill, Girl and the Goat, Momotaro, The Publican, and avec let you order plates a la carte and share.
Reserve your Chicago table
Tell us the night, the vibe, and the number of seats, and we will point you to the right room and handle the hard bookings.
Build a plan with us
Browse every Chicago restaurant we book.
Build a custom itinerary with the MyRSVP concierge. Pair the venues mentioned above into a single concierge-confirmed evening. See the full Las Vegas events calendar for every upcoming DJ and pool party across the city.
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