The 2026 Finalists for Chicago's Local Food Awards, the Banchets

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Chicago's proudly homegrown local food awards are back. The nominations for the 2026 Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence have been announced in 12 categories recognizing chefs, restaurants, designers, and bartenders from fine dining jewels to counter service gems. 

"That is the beauty of the Banchets in a bottle," says Banchet executive director Michael Muser. "We cover all of these areas of Chicago food life that probably aren't going to see a James Beard Award or a Michelin star, but the Banchets exist to be able to put them where they belong – which is onstage next to culinary greatness like Grant Achatz."

Achatz is the chef behind the legendary Alinea, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year. He will receive the lifetime achievement Culinary Excellence Award at the Banchets this year in recognition of his influence across global dining.

"He is the single biggest name in the food world, period," asserts Muser. "In the way that Chicago now has a pope, we have Grant." 

Joining the Culinary Excellence Award this year is Iconic Restaurant of the Year, which honors restaurants "that have existed for so long, they've straight-up become a part of their city," says Muser. The inaugural recipient is the steakhouse Gene & Georgetti, which has been open since 1941. 

Winners in the other 12 categories will be announced at a ceremony on Sunday, January 25 at Venue SIX10, where a portion of ticket proceeds will go to the Illinois efforts of Giving Kitchen, a nonprofit that helps food industry workers in crisis with emergency financial assistance. The nominees are below.

Rising Chef of the Year

Alex Cochran of Cellar Door Provisions - Cochran joined Cellar Door Provisions last year and has ushered in an exciting era of increased attention on the Logan Square restaurant in his collaboration with owner Ethan Pikas on the ever-changing, ultra-seasonal menu. He's now chef de cuisine there. Further proof of the hype is Cellar Door's nomination for Restaurant of the Year.

Bailey Sullivan of Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio - Sullivan gained fame this year as a Top Chef finalist, outlasting fellow Chicagoans César Murillo (also nominated in this category) and Zubair Mohajir (nominated for Chef of the Year) with her "hipster nonna" style, as one judge put it. She worked her way up from line cook to executive chef at the ever-popular Monteverde.

César Murillo of North Pond - Another Top Chef contestant, Murillo was a semifinalist this year. He's the executive chef of North Pond, drawing on ingredients from the nearby Green City Market for his menu that also incorporates influences from his birthplace of Mexico. He recently shared some of his favorite places in Chicago with us. 

Javauneeka Jacobs of Frontera Grill - Like Bailey Sullivan, Jacobs worked her way up from line cook to leader (she was just promoted to co-chef) at a single acclaimed restaurant, Rick Bayless' Frontera Grill. Like Sullivan and Murillo, Jacobs also found some fame on TV, winning a Julia Child-themed competition on Chopped.

Best New Restaurant

Cafe Yaya - Cafe Yaya is an all-day cafe by the team from the adored Galit, which is next door. Mornings see the pastries of Mary Eder-McClure (nominated for Pastry Chef of the Year), while evenings offer a casual menu of bistro-y dishes that run the gamut from the Middle East to France to New Orleans. 

Feld - After a rocky start, Jake Potashnick's "relationship-to-table" restaurant has become one of the most talked-about places in the city for its hyper-seasonal tasting menu and welcoming service (it's also up for Best Hospitality). Potashnick was a James Beard Award semifinalist for Emerging Chef this year, and Feld was named one of America's best new restaurants by Bon Appétit this year. 

Il Carciofo - The latest restaurant from Top Chef winner Joe Flamm, Il Carciofo explores dishes from Rome, including pastas handmade in a precisely controlled room. Flamm's Rose Mary was nominated for Restaurant of the Year at last year's Banchets.

Void - Where Il Carciofo looks to Rome for its Italian dishes, Void is inspired by Italian-American food closer to home – including a now-famous take on Spaghetti-O's served out of a can.

Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year

Bungalow by Middle Brow - Pastries or bagels in the morning, sandwiches and bread mid-day, sourdough pizza at night, and experimental wines and beers made to pair with the food whenever you want: Bungalow can serve many purposes, which may be why it was also nominated in this category last year. 

Coda di Volpe - Upscale but casual, with a bar, pizzas, and pastas, Coda di Volpe fits its neighborhood around the Southport Corridor well, and is a collaboration between the rapidly expanding Ballyhoo Hospitality and Gage Hospitality Group.

Mahari - Opened this year in Hyde Park, Mahari offers a tour of the world via the African diaspora, with dishes from New Orleans, Nigeria, East Africa, and the Caribbean, served in a community-focused environment.

Maplewood - This brewery and distillery quietly expanded and added a Polish-centric pub food menu this year, with hunters stew and farmer's cheese dumplings sitting alongside a burger and a meatloaf sandwich.

Sommelier of the Year

Alex Cuper of Brasero, El Che Steakhouse & Bar - Cuper has received attention for his entirely South American wine list at El Che; the restaurants' chef and owner John Manion is up for Chef of the Year. Brasero was nominated for Best New Restaurant at last year's Banchets.

Emily Sher of Elske - Scandinavian-inspired, Michelin-starred Elske is getting lots of attention for its refined beverage program, with another nomination in Beverage Program of the Year and a place as a James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine & Other Beverages Program. Sher is also the wine director at Cellar Door Provisions (nominated for Restaurant of the Year), and emphasizes natural wine.

Jonas Bittencourt of Class Act - Bittencourt has received acclaim for building intriguing wine lists at Asador Bastian and John's Food and Wine, and is now at the new tasting menu restaurant Class Act.

Owen Huzar of John’s Food & Wine - Wine is in the name of this Lincoln Park bistro, after all, which has continually received acclaim since opening a couple years ago: It was nominated for Best New Restaurant at last year's Banchets.

Best Counter Service

Kanin - This small bodega is Julius Tacadena's effort to bring his Hawaiian youth to Chicago in the form of handheld protein-and-rice musubi and other items that incorporate flavors from Tacadena's Filipino heritage. Kanin is the latest outpost in an empire of Filipino-ish businesses being built with partners throughout Chicago by Francis Almeda; Del Sur Bakery, whose owner is up for Pastry Chef of the Year, started at Almeda's Side Practice Coffee, next door to Kanin.

Rendang Republic - John Avila has been exploring the Indonesian cuisine of his mother in pop-ups since the pandemic, and now has his own fast-casual brick-and-mortar where he not only offers Indonesian rendang but also cleverly incorporates Indonesian flavors into a hot dog, Italian beef, and fried chicken sandwich. 

Sanders BBQ Supply Co. - Located in the corner of the city in Beverly, Sanders was just named a best restaurant by the New York Times and has announced a second location in Hyde Park. Pitmaster Nick Kleutsch grew up in Northwest Indiana, and shared some go-to spots in The Region with us. 

Taquizas Valdez - Ivan Valdez named his Irving Park restaurant after backyard taco parties he catered with his mother, and offers both cheffed up tacos and tortas as well as bar food like mole wings and loaded fries. He shared some favorite Chicago spots with us. 

Best Hospitality

Asador Bastian - This Spanish steakhouse in an elegantly remodeled townhouse in River North has appeared on numerous best restaurant lists both local and national. 

Feld - See the Best New Restaurant category above for more about this seasonal tasting menu restaurant.

Minyoli - Rich Wang modeled his Andersonville restaurant on the mom-and-pop places of his Taiwanese youth, with hand-pulled noodles, fermented and fried drinking snacks, and rotating Taiwanese specialties explained with deep knowledge and passion by general manager X Wang, Rich's cousin. 

PERILLA Fare - This Korean restaurant from Thomas Oh and Andrew Lim (also nominated for Chef of the Year) brings Korean dishes and flavors to people who might not otherwise encounter them.

Bar of the Year or Beverage Program of the Year

Cantina Rosa, Maria Rodriguez - Cantina Rosa is the latest restaurant from Erick Williams, located in Hyde Park right near Virtue and Daisy's Po-Boy and Tavern. The Mexican-influenced cocktail lounge focuses on tequila and mezcal; head bartender Rodriguez shared a mocktail recipe with us soon after it opened in December.

Daisies, Nicole Yarovinsky - The Midwestern-Italian Logan Square restaurant Daisies emphasizes sustainability, including in its inventive bar program, which utilizes leftover and unused products from the restaurant's kitchen and bakery.

Elske, Monica Casillas-Rios - The beverage program at the Michelin-starred Elske was a James Beard Award semifinalist this year, and Casillas-Rios was recognized for "exceptional" cocktails in the 2023 Michelin guide. Elske's TC Lumbar won Pastry Chef of the Year at last year's Banchets.

Gus’ Sip & Dip, Kevin Beary and Scott Kitsmiller - Lettuce Entertain You opened Gus' Sip & Dip this year across the street from Beary's acclaimed Three Dots and a Dash, its $12 classic cocktails drawing lines.

Best Heritage Restaurant

M’daKhan - This restaurant in the Middle Eastern enclave of the suburb of Bridgeview is unusual in its array of smoked meats, from lamb to beef ribs, as well as wood-grilled kebabs.

Nine Garden - This Chinatown spot serves Shanghai-style food out of a strip mall like a crab lion's head meatball in a hot pot.

Tesfa Ethiopian Cuisine - One of several Ethiopian restaurants spread along Broadway on the far North Side, serving up spiced dishes with spongy, fermented injera bread.

Torizen - Like every heritage restaurant this year, Torizen is located in a hotspot of its cuisine, in this case Japanese restaurants in the northwest suburbs. The Schaumburg spot serves set lunches during the day and becomes a drink-and-bite-focused izakaya at night. 

Best Design

Adalina Prime - Located in another new tower in the West Loop, this new steakhouse from the team behind a Gold Coast Italian spot was designed by Dunne Kozlowski and features graceful arches, greenery, and busy fabrics and wallpapers.

Matilda - This new Mexican-Peruvian restaurant is in a terra cotta building in River North and was designed to evoke Baja California with earth tones and curving arches by Crespo & Br.

Noriko Handroll Bar - Located in the basement of PERILLA Fare, which is up for Best Hospitality, is intimate and dark, centered on a counter where hand rolls are served directly to you.

The Alston - Another steakhouse located in a relatively new tower, this massive effort includes a member's club, several patio spaces, a digital art wall, a wine cellar with a secret door, and many more luxe touches.

Pastry Chef of the Year

Courtney Kenyon of Obélix - This popular modern French bistro has been spotlighting Kenyon's pastries for more than a year now in weekend pastry boxes that feature croissants both traditional and creative (see the Halloween specials boudin noir or Mexican hot chocolate).

Justin Lerias of Del Sur Bakery & Cafe - Lerias started infusing Filipino flavors like the citrus calamansi and the sweet sausage longanisa into pastries for pop-ups at Side Practice Coffee, and has now drawn consistently long lines at his brick-and-mortar location in Ravenswood, which opened this year.

Mary Eder-McClure of Galit and Cafe Yaya - Galit is one of the most well-regarded restaurants in the city, but it's at neighboring Cafe Yaya that Eder-McClure gets to really show off, with Middle Eastern-inspired pastries like a za'atar twist, shakshuka bun, or cardamom bun. 

Dedra Simmons of Pookie Crack Cakes - This Bronzeville shop frequently has lines out the door and sells out; the signature dessert is a bundt cake with rum glaze poured over the top into the cracks and poked holes to make the whole thing extra moist.

Chef of the Year

Andrew Lim of PERILLA Fare, PERILLA Steakhouse, Noriko Handroll Bar - Lim draws on his Korean heritage at the two PERILLAs, mixing it with comfort dishes like cacio e pepe at the downtown steakhouse, and turns to seafood at the Japanese Noriko in the basement of PERILLA Fare.

Jennifer Kim of Proxi - Kim made a name for creative and fine-tuned food at some of their own restaurants, and now runs the kitchen at Andrew Zimmerman's Proxi, which recently reoriented to focus on coastal Asian cuisine. Thanks in part to Kim, Proxi is also up for Restaurant of the Year. Kim has experimented with a variety of fermentation, and spoke to us about the traditional Korean act of kimjang, or making kimchi. 

John Manion of El Che Steakhouse & Bar, Brasero - Manion draws on both the power of fire and a youth spent in part in South America at the live-fire Argentinian El Che and the Latin-inspired Brasero, which especially references his years in Brazil.

Zubair Mohajir of Lilac Tiger, The Coach House, Mirra, Sarima - Mohajir has been expanding his reach, with the new-ish Mexican-Indian Mirra and very new Fiilipino-Indian bakery Sarima. But he made his name cooking Indian dishes at Lilac Tiger and The Coach House, and was one of three Chicagoans to compete in this year's Top Chef. He shared some of his favorite spots in Chicago.  

Restaurant of the Year

Cellar Door Provisions - The menu at this small Logan Square spot from Ethan Pikas changes basically everyday, in tune with the seasons and what products are available. While it's been around for years and survived several shifts, it has recently garnered increasing attention, thanks in part to the arrival of chef de cuisine Alex Cochran, who's up for Rising Chef of the Year. Wine director Emily Sher is also up for a nomination for her work at Elske.

HaiSous Vietnamese Kitchen - Thai Dang explores little-seen Vietnamese dishes at this Pilsen spot that he runs with his wife Danielle, even offering special menus focused on specific regions. He just opened another restaurant, the Southeast Asian Crying Tiger, with Lettuce Entertain You. 

Indienne - This Michelin-starred Indian tasting menu spot won Best New Restaurant at the 2024 Banchets. It's the basis of a growing group from James Beard-nominated Sujan Sarkar that recently expanded to include the regional Indian Nadu. 

Proxi - The second restaurant from Andrew Zimmerman, who won Chef of the Year at the Banchets in 2018, Proxi recently refocused on coastal Asian cuisine in a kitchen now under the direction of Jennifer Kim, who's also up for Chef of the Year.