Chicago Restaurants
 

Will be staying downtown Chicago for a weekend in Dec. So far I have planned Brunch at the Four Seasons on Sunday. Drinks at the Pump Room. And I know that I will end up at Shaws for a lunch or two of Stone Crab. I am so out of touch with Dinner restaurants now. I would like Fine Dining, very upscale, Dressy, but not stuffy.
Love Seafood and Champagne....And thoughts would be welcomed..Thank you

For fine dining and upscale, Charlie Trotters certainly fits the bill, but be prepared to PAY.

Try the Grand Lux caafe it's the upscale version of the Cheesecake Factory. The food was great and sunday brunch is also and you can dress in jeans if you feel like it.

Try Joe's Stone Crab instead of Shaws. Part of the lettuce entertain you network, www.leye.com. Ben Pao is great chinese food, Vong's Thai Kitchen is also great. There are so many great restaurants here, provide more specifics and I will be happy to help.

You might try Avenues at the Peninsula
Chicago Hotel for upscale, seafood.
Haven't been to - but have heard that
Tru is wonderful.

Chicago Magazine ranks the top restaurants every year, here's their tops:

Everest-French, supposed to have a great view of the city
Charlie Trotter's-comtemporary (reserve well in advance)
Trio-contemporary, located in Evanston not Chicago
Tru-contemporary (reserve well in advance)
Topolobampo & Frontera Grill-Mexican, celebrity chef Rick Bayless, Frontera is more casual than Topolobampo
Ritz Carlton Dining Room-French
Seasons-Contemporary, Four Seasons Hotel
Avenues-Seafood, in the Peninsula Hotel
Spiaggia-Italian
Ambria-Spanish, French

There are 10 more on the list, be happy to provide them if you are interested.

I'd also recommend Joe's Stone Crab (not to be confused with Joe's Crabshack) over Shaw's, best crab cakes I've ever had. They are open for lunch and dinner.

We just returned from a weekend in Chicago..beautiful city,the Christmas lights are fabulous!We ate dinner last night at a great Italian place.It came highly rec.from lots of locals.It's called Rosebud and is on Rush street almost right across from the Peninsula.Its upscale, yet very cool.Check it out....reservations recommended.Have fun!

Everest & Tru are highly recommended along with Ambria
which I really love.
While Charlie Trotters is highly touted, we found the noise level
too high and constant traffic to tour the kitchen very unnerving.
The food is very unique but alot needs to be improved to warrant the high tariff IMHO

Roy's, known better for their Hawaiian restaurants, opened recently at Superior and State Streets. Has delicious seafood and a casually sophisticated atmosphere.We really enjoyed it.

Thank you so much for all of your advice. I have only ordered Stone Crab from Joe's in Miami for home delivery. They were outstanding...I will give them a try, and I do LOVE Crab Cakes too. Years ago I went to Charlie Trotters, I too find no need to return.
Ambria (again years ago) was one of my favorites, I love the atmosphere. I am glad to hear that they still are as good. Pump room for drinks and then on to Ambria sounds wonderful. I have been to Roy's in Bonita Springs, I think they are the same. It was very very good. I had some thoughts about trying Tru, but I do know that I might be late for res. already.
Thank you all so very much!!!

While Grand Lux is a nice place for a casual lunch, I would not go there for a special dinner. Joe's Seafood is good. I also like McCormick and Schmick's for seafood. I would also recommend Coco Pazzo, Pane Caldo and Bice for good Italian food.

Another new place you might want to try is Fogo de Chao. It is brazilian and if you like meat it is the place to go. I haven't been there yet but I hear it is excellent. They have a nice salad bar and then they bring out all different meats for you to try.

You can book Ambria and Joe's through www.opentable.com if you don't want to call for reservations. I have used it in the past and it works fine.

Ferragamo,

My husband and I just returned from a weekend in Chicago - the weekend before Thanksgiving. We had our anniversary dinner at the Dining Room at the Ritz-Carlton downtown. It was really nice!. The room is gorgeous with chandeliers reflecting from several mirrors, wood paneling, a pianist, etc. Ask for a booth - they are very comfortable and romantic. The service is excellent and very friendly!! The servers has been there for a long time and the one we had was very friendly and helpful, especially with the wine list.

We both had the tenderloins of beef - fantastic beef that melted in my mouth and the flavor was wonderful. The desserts were excellent also. The carmel chocolate cake was to die for and Jim had the poached apple and ice cream that was out of this world.

Overall, it ranks up there with some of the nicest dinners we have had. We would have chosen one of the tasting menus, but neither of us likes cheese enough to enjoy a cheese course and the dessert listed that night on the tasting menu was not "gooey" enough for out tastes!! Good luck with whatever choice you make.

Ginny

I live in Chicago and have visited many of the restaurants.

Coco Pazzo - my wife is Italian and this is the ONLY restaurant where she would have risotto.

We went to Tru for a wedding anniversary. Highly recommend.

Also went to Ritz Carleton (maybe stuffy) also highly recommend.

Ate at Tru last year,,, excellent service, food, atmosphere.. Overall a fine dining experience... we would recommend it and would certainly consider going back,,,,, however, there are many great restaurants in Chicago.