The Best Restaurants in Chicago

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It’s nonintimidating fine dining, and the whimsy never fatigues, nor does the meal drag.

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The Publican follows a simple logic: (1) find the highest-quality oysters, fish and pork and (2) stay out of the ingredients’ way.

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Though some folks might be unnerved by sashimi that stares back, the whole aji (horse mackerel)—sliced off the bone into silvery wisps and artfully reassembled and arranged with flowers—is a spectacular beginnin...

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Lula Cafe remains a highlight of Chicago’s culinary scene

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Fresh touch shapes an instant classic

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The menu at the mother ship is a bit intimidating in its depth and pricing, especially considering that these are small plates, but most were pretty darn good

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And, of course, you eat steak. Mastro’s wet-ages theirs for 28 days, cooks them in a 1,500-degree broiler, and serves them nude on sizzling 400-degree plates with nothing but clarified butter and parsley.

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I can’t recommend a better introduction to innards than chef Riccardo Michi’s tripe Florentine, thin clouds of silky veal honeycomb extraordinary on his rosemary-flecked focaccia

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Expect the wow-factor to be high. We’ll never look at “watermelon” the same way again

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Yoshi is still in the kitchen; Nobuko, his gracious wife, works the front desk, and the professional, telepathically attuned staff smoothly serves up creative cuisine at reasonable prices

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food that actually tastes good

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Though Naha has been open since 2000, it feels as fresh as the spring vegetables chef-owner Carrie Nahabedian rotates in to her seasonally focused New American menu

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A warm blueberry-almond financier with a ginger-almond ice cream sandwich still haunts my dreams.

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NoMI Kitchen has a pared down menu and prices to match, but the restaurant’s elegant food and ambience endure.

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Normally we don’t condone paying through the nose for Chinese food when Chinatown options abound, but this gorgeous fourth-floor terrace, brimming with fresh flowers and offering a view of the historic Water Tower...