228 Best Restaurants in Illinois, USA

A long-running fixture on Division Street in Humboldt Park---also known as the Paseo Boricua---family-owned Nellie’s is especially popular on weekends, when locals come out in droves for the generously sized breakfast and brunch dishes. It’s a good place to sample a jibarito, the Puerto Rican contribution to Chicago’s sandwich pantheon: it’s an assemblage of grilled meat and toppings surrounded by flattened, fried plantains.

Grant Achatz's buzzworthy sophomore effort is big on concept: the restaurant completely transforms its menu, tableware, decor, and beverage program every three months to focus on a unique theme, whether that’s an homage to famed chef Auguste Escoffier's tenure at the Ritz Paris or to Ancient Rome. Tickets for the one-of-a-kind meal from executive chef Alan Mileykovsky are paid for in advance, nonrefundable, and only available online.

Despite the "bakery" in the title, you're coming to Nhu Lan for one of their delicious banh mi sandwiches. Fillings like ham, pate, lemongrass chicken, and bbq pork fill crackly baguettes topped with pickled veggies, cucumber, and jalapeno. Sides include spring rolls and steamed buns; a variety of canned Asian beverages fill the cooler for hydration.

The views of Michigan Avenue from the floor-to-ceiling windows are breathtaking at the Park Hyatt’s NoMI Kitchen, a seventh-floor lifestyle-focused concept that goes along with NoMI Lounge, NoMI Garden, and NoMI Spa. The open kitchen features a locally sourced menu of modern twists on Midwestern classics, though the sushi is some of the city’s best (with fresh wasabi grated on the side).

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.

Noon O Kebab sits at the heart of a stretch of Kedzie Avenue that's rich with Persian and Middle Eastern restaurants. Those familiar with Mediterranean menus will find favorites like baba ghanouj and dolmeh on the apps section, while entrées feature house specialties like skewers of chicken, beef, and lamb kebab or koubideh alongside delicious dill rice and charbroiled veggies. 

If your taste buds crave a quick Middle Eastern fix, make your way to the back of the Jewelry Mall, walk up to the counter, and place your order for creamy hummus, crispy falafel, grape leaves, a shish kebab sandwich, or another snack. It isn't fancy, but it's good, and the service is snappy.

Chef Fabian Hernandez Blanco serves some of Chicago’s most soul-satisfying Italian food at this cozy and convivial Logan Square Piedmontese restaurant. The pastas are flawless and come stuffed and topped with seasonal accompaniments, while the hearty meat and seafood main courses pair perfectly with the Northern Italian wine list—save room for the classic Italian desserts or order a bittersweet digestif to end the meal.

It's easy, crowd-pleasing Italian here, with an array of classic pasta, salads, meat, and seafood dishes. The results are tasty, but Osteria shines brightest at making you feel comfortable. If you opt for the $49.95 prix-fixe, you pick an entrée and servers do the rest, working the room with several rounds of communal platters of antipasti followed by your entrée and dessert.

Dan Wentz and John Slimp ditched their corporate jobs to open this cheerful, low-key breakfast and lunch spot. They named it for Otto Sallman who built the building in 1899 and had planned for, but could never open, a restaurant of his own. We're pretty sure Otto would be pleased with the changing menu of home-cooked, locally sourced dishes such as whole wheat pancakes, spinach salad, and biscuits and sausage gravy made with Arnold's Farm organic pork sausage. There are gluten-free and vegetarian options, too, plus made-from-scratch desserts (like pineapple upside down cake, made-to-order), and lovingly crafted dinners every Friday and Saturday night.

The crowd at this casual spot serving fried chicken and fish is decidedly hipster, but even if that’s not your scene, the food and cocktails are worth making your way to to the location on the southern end of Logan Square. During the summer, the beer garden is packed with folks playing table tennis, chowing down on shareable snacks and sandwiches, and sipping boozy slushies and cheap beer. With additional locations in Lincoln Park and Andersonville, there's always a picnic table with your name on it.

Chef-owner Steve Dowe explains that the name of his restaurant is a play on words and relates to the monumental brasses that hang majestically on the walls of this romantic spot about a block from the Galena River. Making brass rubbings—and teaching others the craft—has been a longtime hobby of the native English man and his wife Renee. Another side love? Making his own organic spice mixes. Dowe has used the blends in his recipes for nearly 45 years and is now bottling six varieties under the name AcroAma Inc. But you'll be happy you left the cooking to chef Dowe when you taste his spot-on petite beef tenderloin, paired with quail; or grilled lamb with homemade lamb sausage; or his sautéed Gulf shrimp with olives in a Provencale sauce. Top it all off with the signature chocolate cup dessert: a bowl of solid Swiss chocolate filled with creamy dark and milk chocolate ganaches.

This old-fashioned parlor, which sells sundaes, shakes, malts, and cones of homemade ice cream, celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2019.

Step back in time at this old-fashioned ice-cream parlor, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2019. Choose from homemade ice cream in flavors like cappuccino and butter pecan, complete with a cone dipped in chocolate. Offering shakes, malts, floats, and banana splits, Petersen’s has a fix for any sweet tooth.

An urban bodega merges with a Vietnamese noodle shop at this quirky corner store that’s won accolades for its fragrant chicken, beef, and vegan pho, based on a family recipe. In the grocery section, hard-to-find imported Thai chips and Japanese chocolates mingle with household essentials.

The weekend bustle of this dim sum house can feel overwhelming, but Phoenix softens you up with second-floor picture-window views that frame the Loop skyline and an excellent food menu. Dim sum is the draw all day long on weekends, but don’t overlook the regular menu, which features an array of live seafood cooked how you like it.

A CTA construction project forced the Pick Me Up out of its original Lakeview location, but its new digs preserve its quirky, neighborhood café charm. The thrift-store treasures hanging on the walls are as eclectic as the crowd that comes at all hours of the day to drink bottomless cups of coffee or dine on a largely (but not entirely) vegan menu of sandwiches, appetizers, and desserts. In addition to specialty coffee drinks and fun milkshakes, they also offer wine, beer, and cocktails. 

The antithesis of Chicago-style deep-dish pizza, Piece’s thin-crust pies mimic those made famous in New Haven, Connecticut. They’re somewhat free-form in shape and come in plain (tomato sauce, Parmesan, and garlic), white (olive oil, garlic, and mozzarella), or traditional red, with lots of topping options. Salads balance out the menu, while the award-winning house-brewed beers pair perfectly with the food.

Wood-fired pizzas are the main draw to this small, dark, rustic BYOB, but there are also interesting Bosnian side-quests into menu items like cevapcici (a dish of grilled, minced meat) and house-cured smoked beef on puffy homemade pita. 

Serving inch-thick pizzas in a comfortable, well-worn dining room, Pizzeria Due is where everyone goes when they've found out that Uno, the original home of Chicago's deep-dish pizza up the street, has an hour-plus wait. Both restaurants serve deep-dish, but Due also offers thin-crust pizzas.

Chicago deep-dish pizza got its start here in 1943, and both local and out-of-town fans continue to pack this Victorian brownstone for the filling pies, while the dim, paneled rooms with reproduction light fixtures make the setting a slice of Old Chicago. Plan on two thick, cheesy slices or less as a full meal; this is no quick-to-your-table pie so also order salads and be prepared to entertain the kids during the inevitable wait.

Anglophiles are at home in this bit of Britain where savory pies in a flaky, buttery crust reign. Vintage wooden desks and industrial lighting fixtures bring a lived-in feel to the bright dining room. Find local, UK, and European beers on draft at the bar, which is likely showing a football match to the delight of fans.

After a long winter, Chicagoans think any old patio is magical, but the peaceful graveled outdoor dining area here is truly special, because it nestles alongside Frank Lloyd Wright's masterful Robie House. The all-day menu's full of satisfying rustic dishes (like grain bowls and prosciutto and manchego baguettes) with a French picnic vibe. There's coffee and wine by the glass, too.   

Head to this branch of a local restaurant empire for salads, house-made pasta, and its famous thick, bready squares of pizza.

Cheerful and reasonably priced, this fast-casual Little Italy café specializes in thick, square slices of pizza along with salads, sandwiches, and homemade pastas. Between the nearby University of Illinois Chicago campus and workers from the Rush University Medical District, it gets busy, but the cafeteria-style service makes it a quick, satisfying meal.

The weird rhythms of travel often leave hungry travelers stranded in the awkward zone between lunch and dinner. This corner spot, where the food skews American eclectic and produce forward, has the hack: all-day brunch. The vibes are mellow and the wine list so enticing you might want to stay on through dinner.

Started in 1963 as a hot dog stand called "The Dog House" in the Chicago suburbs, this River North restaurant is a favorite among locals and tourists alike (usually with a drive-thru line to prove it). A "Chicago Style" hot dog (mustard, relish, onions, tomatoes, pickle, celery salt, and peppers) is the obvious quick bite, but what about an Italian beef sandwich—yum!