We live in the suburbs and have guests coming in from Florida. We are staying downtown one night and trying to decide where to take them to dinner. We eat downtown once in awhile and have our own favorites but wondering where you would take someone from out of town or where do you folks from out of town like to go when visiting Chicago. We are in our 30s and there will not be any children with us. Don't want anything too expensive (maybe $100-120 per couple with wine).

A fun, lively place with creative good food that has great people watching is Marche. It isn't cheap, but will probably fall into your budget. It is in a trendy part of town. It is lots of fun.

How about Cafe Luciano?

I really like Nine for the atmosphere. And of course my perenial favorite is an old classic : Gibson's

I live downtown Chicago (and am from Florida) and always have guests during the summer visiting. Favorites are:
Everest, french, south loop area, great views
Topolobambo, authentic mexican (not tex-mex), Rick Bayless chef, River North Area
NOMI, in Park Hyatt hotel, overlooks historic Water Tower, american/asian influence
Nine, electic american, west side of loop
Spiaggia, italian and great view onto Michigan Ave towards Oak Street.

Tru and Charlie Trotters are amazing, a little more pricey, but definetly a dining experience.

Randloph Street (called restaurant row)west of loop has lots of great places, onesixtyblue all the way at end of street is good, Michael Jordan is a silent partner too!

So many great places here, you really can't go wrong!

Of the above, Topolobampo is the best. Frontera Grill is the less expensive alternative (same kitchen) but it doesn't take reservations.

Could also try Salpicon, my favorite. The owner used to work at Frontera Grill. Joe's Seafood & Steaks is good for seafood.

Not a big fan of Nine (too full of itself) and Marche (tired). I have friends that love both Nine and Marche and the earlier posters liked them so just my opinion.

The big trendy area (kind of a schlep) is W. Division (Sushi Marai, Fortunato). Fortunato is getting good reviews. Merlo is another good Italian up in Lincoln Park.

Do you really think we could do Nine for that much money? I have only been for lunch and thought it was expensive but it is pretty cool. Thought about Topolobampo but not sure if they would like it and we spent quite a bit when we were there before. We also thought about Gibson's since it does seem to be a favorite for out of towners. We have never been to Cafe Luciano's but did actually consider that and I am guessing it wouldn't be very expensive.

Cafe Luciano is a favorite for me. It might test your budget a bit - depending on the wine you choose.

Try National 27, the food is vey good and around 10 or 11pm they move the tables in the middle of the restaurant and start salsa dancing.

I think the best restaurants have been named, but I'd rearrange the order.

I like the menu at Frontera Grill slightly better than Topolobambo, but both are top notch and great dinner experiences. Also, Marche is the best place in Chicago to see and be seen. Best of all, it has not caught on that much with tourists. It still has a "very upscale, but local" feel.

Sounds like Marche might be somewhere good to try. We haven't been there before either.

My husband also likes Salpicon but I feel the same way as I do about Topolobampo - I am afraid they won't like it. A group from work asked for a suggestion on somewhere to go for lunch and I suggested Frontera. Every one of them hated it. I couldn't believe it and obviously they weren't spending nearly as much money.

Is Cafe Luciano owned by a group? You know like Stephani restaurants or something. Just curious.

If you want something more casual, noisy, fun and with GREAT bread pudding you could try Angelina's on N Broadway. It isn't downtown so I didn't mention it first but it is always fun and not too far by taxi. Personally I like the smoking side ambience better even tho I am a life-long non-smoker. Definately it can fit your budget and reservations on the weekend are a must.

Not a big Cafe Luciano fan personally (ok food, ok service). Also not a big Marche fan. Frankly, the Randolph Street restaurants have been on the wane a bit (even 160blue, my favorite after Grace, has changed chefs). Grace was operating in bankruptcy for awhile, but I think they finally closed. Also, Randolph will require cab fares and if you're trying to watch the expenses a bit, I'd stay in the downtown area.

Nomi service can be spotty, but they have a great outdoor terrace. Coco Pazzo CAFE (not the pricey original) has pretty good Italian with great outdoor seating (food used to be better, but I still enjoy this place).

Have fun.

go to VIA EMILIA
it's on clark street next to chicago oven grinders
lobster ravioli in strawberry cream sauce. EXCELLENT

Yuck! Is that last one smothered in hot fudge also?

I agree with triple XXX about Grace and I'm still in mourning over its demise. We live downtown and just took our friends who were in from Maui to Keefer's.
It is new and the food and service were wonderful. The dining room is very cool and the bar is sleek. I would also suggest Bistro Margot, Salpicon, NoMi and Butterfield 8.

While not downtown, a great experience would be fondue at Geja's Cafe on Armitage between Lincoln and Clark.

It's so fun!! And yummy, too.

I'm a huge Geja's fan, too. The bill for the seafood or combination steak and seafood platters plus Geja's house wine (which is pretty good) will run you about $110 for a couple, including a big tip. You'll be waddling out of the restaurant, though! And, I tend to like Geja's more in the cold weather.

There are so many fun restaurants in Chicago. It really depends on what type of experience you want to have.