Chicago Restaurants A-Z Index

Read this handy key to find out specifics about my restaurant ratings and price guide.

If you're looking for lasagna, go somewhere else. A Tavola goes the northern Italy route, serving up dishes like grilled beef tenderloin with rosemary potatoes and gnocchi with brown sage butter.

Chef Freddy Sanchez offers a delicious mix of Mexican classics. Definitely get the awesome guacamole, prepared tableside.

Chef/Owner Grant Achatz is a culinary wunderkind and is pushing the envelope with food ingredients and presentation -- think truffle-juice ravioli with melted leek and bison with multiple preparations of Iranian pistachios. Chef Achatz's 24-course tasting menu (which takes 5 hours to complete) has quickly become legendary.

Chef Allen Sternweiler puts a new spin on American food at his sleek restaurant.

Chef-owner Rangsan Sutcharit puts his experience at the legendary fine dining thai restaurant Arun's into good practice at this much cheaper spot.

Chef/partner Gabino Sotelino mixes it up at Ambria, combining both elegant French and modern Spanish tastes.

Ann Sather's Swedish diner food is delish, but the big hit here are their decadent cinnamon rolls.

Tucked inside the Fairmont Hotel, Aria offers an eclectic mix of international cuisines.

This casual spot has been serving up some of Chicago's best soul food for over half a century.

Chef Arun Sampanthavivat is a master in the kitchen, and his fine-dining Thai restaurant is one of the highlights of Chicago dining.

Communal dining at its finest, Chef Koren Grieveson prepares Mediterranean cuisine at a level that rivals Blackbird, Avec's wildly popular sibling next door.

Chef Graham Elliot Bowles world famous cuisine lives up to its posh surroundings inside The Peninsula Chicago Hotel.

Chef John Caputo brings creativity and refinement to this wine bar, restaurant, market hybrid.

Bistro 110 is steps from the Magnificent Mile, and features French classics such as escargots and steak frites.

Chef Michael Altenberg cranks out French standards with a twist, and a focus on using organic, sustainably farmed ingredients.

Bistrot Margot in Old Town has a great menu of French standards, like coq au vin and saumon grille duchesse.

Chef/owner Paul Kahan made Blackbird a Chicago culinary fixture with his ever-changing menu and austere, yet serene dining room.

Bob Chinn's Crab House offers super fresh king crab legs and seafood, and people must like it -- the restaurant serves up to 3,000 diners a day.

Chef Giuseppe Scurato's menu is focused, accessible, and wildly ambitious about using only the freshest products.

With well thought out decor and excellent American contemporary cuisine, Butter Restaurant is a great choice for a romantic dinner.

Cafe Absinthe is a Wicker Park staple, and a great place to take your date before a night out at the area's various clubs.

Delicious spanish tapas and yummy sangria abound at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!, an always busy spot in Lincoln Park.

This casual spot is the place to get spanish tapas and sangria in River North.

Cafe Le Coq specializes in serving up French bistro standards like cassoulet and braised rabbit.

Cafe Matou's menu changes daily, offering French food fans in Wicker Park a unique visit every time.

Cafe Spiaggia offers quality ingredients and inventiveness like its big sister, Spiaggia, but with a lower price point and a less formal atmosphere.

Chef Vincent Di Battista's menu of organic seasonal fare and thoughtful preparations have made Campagnola a neighborhood treasure.

This old school seafood restaurant tucked inside the Drake Hotel is full of classic kitsch like a captain's table and lobsters printed on the napkins.

The boisterous Chicago location of this national chain of steakhouses serves up tons of aged steaks, lobster, calamari, and more.

Carlos' is a fine dining institution, serving contemporary French cuisine in an elegant setting with impeccable service.

Carson's is the big place for tourists to tuck into a big slab of Chicago BBQ ribs.

Many will argue that Charlie Trotter's is the best restaurant in America -- while that may be debatable, Chef Trotter certainly put Chicago on the fine dining map with his painstakingly complex food creations that often use dozens of ingredients.

People line up for long waits and huge portions at this restaurant in the base of the John Hancock Building.

Chicago Chop House is located in a restored Victorian brownstone, a perfect historic setting to enjoy some of Chicago's finest steak.

Located in a converted 1905 firehouse, this restaurant serves up simple, well-prepared American dishes and is a favorite of Mayor Daley.

Cite Restaurant is a long standing fine dining Chicago institution atop Lake Point Tower, offering gourmet food and fabulous views.

Chef Tony Priolo expertly serves up Tuscan-style cuisine at this popular fine dining Italian spot.

Co-chefs Michael Tsonton and Victor Newgren prepare delicious cuisine straight from the Mediterranean at this restaurant on the ground floor of Lake Point Tower.

Chef Suzy Crofton's retaurant on -- you guessed it -- Wells Street is food-focused, unpretentious, and has become a Chicago favorite.

James Beard award winning chef Shawn McClain does a complete 180 from his vegetarian venture, Green Zebra, and fills the Custom House menu with meat, meat, and oh yeah, meat.

This traditional French bistro feels like it was transported directly from Chef/owner Didier Durand's hometown of -- where else -- Bergerac, France.

Located just north of the bustling Southport corridor, Deleece is a cozy spot serving up quality global fusion cuisine.

While it may be a gimmicky tourist trap, Ed Debevic's fake 50s diner decor and insulting waitstaff is admittedly a lot of fun.

Decorated with dark wood, stained glass, and a brick fireplace, Edelweiss serves fine German food and strives to recreate an Austrian fine dining experience.

Emilio's Tapas Bar expertly serves up incredible Spanish fare, and is easily one of my favorite tapas spots in Chicago.

Excellent Cantonese cuisine and fresh seafood, Emperor's Choice is a must during a visit to Chicago's Chinatown neighborhood.

This long running neighborhood restaurant serves up hearty American cooking in an unpretentious atmosphere.

Chef Jean Joho personalized French cuisine even outshines the tremendous view at this restaurant located on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange.

Fogo de Chao is another entry in the hot Chicago trend of restaurants featuring Brazilian churrasco -- delicious meat roasted over an open fire.

Owners Bruno and Melissa Abate bring the feeling of Milan to the West Loop, serving authentic Italian cuisine in a contemporary setting.

This location of Francesca's seemingly ever growing chain of restaurants is a nice fit for the Little Italy neighborhood.

Frontera Grill is more casual than its sister restaurants, Topolobampo, and offers hearty, well prepared Mexican classics.

Chef/owner Gabriel Viti's fine dining spot in Highwood serves French and Italian cuisine in an elegant dining room of white linen, mahogany, and etched glass.

Geja's Cafe is a long running romantic fondue dining spot, with dark booths and flamenco guitarists.

Feel like one of the rat pack at this old school steakhouse, and enjoy Gene & Georgetti's prime steaks, chops, and great martinis.

Gibsons Steakhouse is the see and be seen place on the Chicago restaurant scene, popular with visiting celebrities, swinging singles, and powerful local politicians. As the owner states, Gibsons is known for "big martinis, big steaks, and big desserts", a winning combination.

Gioco's rustic Italian food and hip decor is a terrific place in the revitalized South Loop neighborhood.

Goose Island Brewpub serves up tasty pub fare like fish-n-chips and prime steak salad.

A combination jazz club and fine-dining restaurant, Gree Dolphin Street is a one-stop destination for a great evening out.

James Beard award winning chef Shawn McClain does a complete 180 from his sister restaurant and carnivore's dream, Custom House, with this vegetarian haven in West Town.

Tourists and sports fans are on hand at the Chicago sportscaster's namesake restaurant, lining up for steaks and Harry Caray's famous chicken vesuvio.

Located on the 7th floor of a Loop office building (get it?), Heaven on Seven has been a lunch favorite for years with authentic cajun food like gumbo and seafood po' boys.

Hugo's Frog Bar and Fish House is the seafood sibling of its next door neighbor Gibson's Steak House, and is just as fun.

Jack's on Halsted is a long-time Boystown anchor, serving expertly prepared Contemporary American cuisine. It's proximity to Briar Street Theater (home of Blue Man Group) makes it a great pre- or post-theater dining choice.

Jacky's Bistro is a fantastic French restaurant expertly serving traditional and contemporary French cuisine.

Japonais is an ultra-hip restaurant crammed with beautiful decor and beautiful people, but the real star is the sushi and maki created by master Japanese chefs.

Joe's Seafood, Prime Steak and Stone Crab specializes in... well, I bet you can guess.

Keefer's specializes in steaks, which they do exceptionally well -- which is good, because the rest of the menu is rather standard, albeit well-executed, fare.

Kiki's Bistro serves up the French bistro classics like escargot, Coq au Vin, and Steak au Poivre and serves them up well.

Lockwood Restaurant, located in the Palmer House Hilton, is a world away from the tiki paradise Trader Vic's that it replaced. Now instead of getting 20 kinds of rum drinks, Lockwood offers American Contemporary fine dining.

Located in Chicago's Blackstone Hotel, Mercat a la Planxa offers an excellent array of tapas, steaks, seafood, cured meats, and cheeses.

When you realize that the waiters are chefs, and the phrase "molecular gastronomy" is being bantered about, you know you're in for an intense culinary experience.

Picking the best Chicago hot dog is akin to choosing your favorite child, but in my opinion, Murphy's Red Hots is the quintessential Chicago-style dog.

A joint venture between award winning chef Sarah Stegner and her friend and co-chef George Bumbaris, Prairie Grass Cafe combines the polish of their experience at the Ritz-Carlton with a more personal, rustic menu.

Chef Kevin Hickey brings his amazing talent and inventive cuisine to Seasons, which holds up to the poshness of its location, inside the Four Seasons Hotel.

The Gage sits conveniently across from tourist attraction Millennium Park, in a lovingly restored historic building. And despite the pub-like noise level, Chef Dirk Flanigan is cranking out some serious cuisine.

Topolobampo is the elegant big sister of Frontera Grill, and Chef Rick Bayless' monthly menu serves up sophisticated food with a Mexican flair.

The brainchild of the married team of Chef Rick Tramonto and Pastry Chef Gale Gand, Tru was planned and designed from the ground up to be the ultimate sacred ground of fine dining. The "collections" (tasting menus), whose composition is decided on by the kitchen when you order, are a gastronomical delight.