13 Best Restaurants in Chicago, Illinois

The chef at this Pan-Asian restaurant is a stickler for using natural ingredients, and the menu of Thai and Chinese dishes has many options for those seeking gluten-free or vegetarian options.

You can eavesdrop on advertising types who do the after-five mix-and-mingle at this spot on the ground floor of the Leo Burnett Building. When it comes to the menu, there's no shortage of choices: fish and shellfish entrées come in various preparations, from grilled to seared to baked. Classic surf-and-turf combinations like Atlantic cold-water lobster tail and filet mignon mingle alongside Asian-inspired dishes like lemongrass shrimp and yellowfin tuna sashimi. The restaurant, with its marble, granite, and beautifully set woodwork, is an inviting space to relax, and the multilevel dining room provides plenty of eye candy, plus glimpses of the Chicago River beyond. A local jazz trio performs on Tuesday through Saturday evenings.

The name means "game" in Italian, and the restaurant fulfills the promise not with venison, but in the spirit of having fun. The decor is distressed-urban, with brick walls and well-worn hardwood floors—the space is said to have been used by the Chicago gangsters of early 1900s as a gambling house. But the menu is comfort-Italian, with dishes ranging from pizzas and homemade linguine with Manila clams to rustic fare like grilled Colorado lamb chops, and roasted branzino with puttanesca sauce. It's a cozy, neighborhoody spot that keeps the regulars coming back.

Tasty sandwiches and salads that please vegans and carnivores alike are served at Goddess and Grocer.

Every day is Mardi Gras at Heaven on Seven, which pursues a good time all the time. The restaurant has a menu centered on a daring collection of hot sauces, and the food is plentiful and filling. Some guests find the menu too spicy for their kids, but would go back for the well-priced Mardi Gras jambalaya, fried oyster po'boy, cheese grits, and chicory coffee. Cheddar-jalapeño biscuits and chocolate peanut-butter pie are great menu bookends.

We don't know if the sardine reference was meant to telegraph the seating arrangements, but, yes, it's snug here. Still, the solid menu of traditional French bistro favorites—including steak frites, bouillabaisse, and beef Bourguignon—seems to put everyone in a convivial mood. Save room for decadent desserts like crème brûlée and warm apple tart, which are bound to evoke envious looks from adjacent diners.

If you're looking for spicy, filling food and great prices in Chinatown, check out this Szechuan kitchen from Tony Hu, the neighborhood's most prolific restaurateur. Chilis, garlic, and ginger seem to go into every dish, whether it's chicken, green beans, eggplant, or dumplings. The digs are nothing to write home about, but you'll feel smug for choosing it once the feast is finished and you're sipping your tea with a happy tummy.

When Wicker Park's veggie-centric Earwax Café closed, vegans and vegetarians decamped to this new California transplant. Even devoted carnivores scarf down the café's satisfying vegan dishes featuring house-made tempeh, seiten, and other faux meats. Don't miss the decadent-tasting desserts, made without refined sugar. Additional locations in Lakeview and the Loop.

Heaping breakfasts, available anytime, make this spot a favorite with the neighborhood's late-night crowd. There are also branches in Old Town, Lakeview, and Edgewater.

Just outside Lincoln Park, R.J. Grunts has been serving killer milk shakes and burgers since 1971. It is also known for its famous (and gargantuan) salad bar.

Decades ago Yoshi's was launched as a pricey fine-dining restaurant in the Lakeview neighborhood. We offer this history lesson to say that while the atmosphere went jeans-casual and the prices became more reasonable, the cooking quality remained, and remains, high. Yoshi Katsumura turns out informal French-Asian cuisine, like duck breast with black currant sauce or roasted Japanese pumpkin filled with tofu (it's good enough to convert a carnivore). Sunday brunch includes the expected eggs along with a Japanese-inspired breakfast (fish, miso soup, vegetables, and steamed rice).