Chicago's 2026 James Beard Award Semifinalists

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The James Beard Awards, a national recognition in the food and hospitality industry often compared to the Academy Awards, have announced 2026 semifinalists. Chicago has 23 semifinalists this year, one more than last year. Chicago represents nearly half of the 20 semifinalists for Best Chef: Great Lakes, which encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio, while also appearing in numerous national categories such as Outstanding Restaurant.

Nominees will be selected from the semifinalists and announced on March 31. The awards ceremony to reveal the winners will once again take place in Chicago at the Lyric Opera, on June 15.

Chicago was represented by two winners last year out of five nominees, while the South Side institution Lem's Bar-B-Q was named an "America's Classic."

Find Chicago's 2026 semifinalists below. Check back at wttw.com/food on Sunday night for the winners of Chicago's local Jean Banchet Awards for Culinary Excellence. You can find the nominees for those here.

This story has been updated with more information about each semifinalist.

Outstanding Restaurateur

Frank Callero, Kara Callero, Joe Flamm, and Steven Zaleski, Day Off Group (Rose Mary, il Carciofo, and BLVD Steakhouse) – This West Loop-based group features the Italian-inflected cooking of Top Chef winner and Chicago native Joe Flamm. They also just opened Bar Tutto, while il Carciofo is nominated for Best New Restaurant at Chicago’s local Banchet Awards.

Outstanding Chef

Diana Davila, Mi Tocaya Antojeria – Davila has been a perennial contender in the Best Chef: Great Lakes but has moved up to this national category this year for her personal Mexican dishes at Logan Square’s Mi Tocaya.

Zachary Engel, Galit – The Middle Eastern, Michelin-starred Galit was a Beard Award finalist for Outstanding Restaurant last year, while Engel himself already has a Beard Award from his time at New Orleans’ Shaya. He also opened Cafe Yaya next door.

Outstanding Restaurant

EL Ideas – Located in an industrial area of North Lawndale surrounded by trains, this creative Michelin-starred restaurant from Phillip Foss has quietly been delighting diners in its intimate space for years. 

Kasama – One of the most famous restaurants in Chicago – and arguably in America – Kasama is a Filipino-ish bakery and brunch spot by day and a tasting menu joint by night. It just became one of four restaurants in Chicago to have two Michelin stars, while its husband-and-wife chefs Tim Flores and Genie Kwon have already won a James Beard Award for Best Chef: Great Lakes, in 2023.

Emerging Chef

Nicolai Mlodinow, Class Act – A self-taught chef, Mlodinow runs the new Bucktown tasting menu restaurant Class Act, where guests all share a table and drinks together.

Bailey Sullivan, Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio – Sullivan was a finalist this year in Top Chef, and is up for Rising Chef of the Year at the local Banchet Awards. Sarah Grueneberg, her boss at Monteverde, the ever-popular Italian restaurant in the West Loop, already has her own James Beard Award.

Best New Restaurant

Nadu – The latest project from Sujan Sarkar, who was a Beard nominee in 2024 for his Michelin-starred Indienne, Lincoln Park’s Nadu explores the regional cooking of India, noting the origins on the menu of lesser-known dishes. 

Nic & Junior's – Nic & Junior's two partners found fame in Texas, including a Beard semifinalist nod for Junior Borges. Now they're offering both fresh pasta and Brazilian flavors amidst skyscrapers in River North.

Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker

Courtney Kenyon-Snider, Obélix – Kenyon-Snider has been showcasing her pastries at the popular modern French bistro in to-go weekend boxes, as well as on the menu at both Obélix (a Beard nominee in 2023) and Le Bouchon. She’s also up for Pastry Chef of the Year at Chicago’s Banchet Awards.

Outstanding Hospitality

Daisies – The local produce-spotlighting Italian spot in Logan Square has seen its share of acclaim in both media and Beard semifinalist nods for its morning pastry and lunch program and evening pasta and vegetable dishes, all of which are sustainably focused.

Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program

Brasero – Alex Cuper is in charge of the wine program at this Latin American-inspired spot in West Town, as well as at El Che Steakhouse & Bar, where he has received notice for an all-South American wine list. He’s up for Sommelier of the Year at Chicago’s Banchet Awards.

Outstanding Bar

Hopleaf – A stalwart of Andersonville, Hopleaf has been spotlighting beer for decades, helping introduce Chicago to hard-to-find Belgian styles and supporting the craft beer scene as it exploded (and now shrinks). 

Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service

Christopher Marty, Best Intentions – Logan Square’s Best Intentions has received accolades you might not expect for its laid- back dive bar feel, including Bar of the Year at Chicago’s 2024 Banchet Awards and recognition from the World’s 50 Best Bars in North America.

Best Chef: Great Lakes (IL, IN, MI, OH)

Thai Dang, HaiSous – Dang was also a nominee in this category last year for his Vietnamese cooking at HaiSous in Pilsen, which is up for Restaurant of the Year at Chicago’s Banchet Awards. Dang also just opened the pan-Southeast Asian restaurant Crying Tiger, one of the hottest reservations in town.

Danny Espinoza and Jhoana Ruiz, Santa Masa Tamaleria – Located in the often overlooked Northwest Side neighborhood of Dunning, Santa Masa is run by Ruiz and her husband Espinoza and has been wowing visitors with its artisan tamales, as well as a more formal regular dinner series. 

Norman Fenton, Cariño – This small Michelin-starred tasting menu spot in Uptown offers flavors and dishes inspired by Fenton’s time in Mexico, where his wife and children still live – including a late-night taco tasting menu. 

Christopher Jung and Erling Wu-Bower, Maxwells Trading – These two chefs are no strangers to awards nominations and acclaim. Jung won Rising Chef of the Year at Chicago’s Banchet Awards last year, while Wu-Bower had a decorated career at various restaurants in Chicago before opening the inventive American-meets-Asian third culture Maxwells Trading.

Mari Katsumura and Adam Sindler, SHŌ – A recently opened omakase restaurant in Old Town, SHŌ has deep Chicago roots: Katsumura’s parents owned the influential Yoshi’s Café, while Sindler’s family opened Chicago’s first sushi bar. Katsumura received a Michelin star at her short-lived Yūgen. 

Nick Kleutsch and James Sanders, Sanders BBQ Supply Co. – Located in Beverly, Sanders was named a best restaurant by the New York Times last year 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. 

Rishi Kumar and Zubair Mohajir, Mirra – This unique restaurant combines Mexican and Indian flavors, reflecting Kumar’s long tenure with Rick Bayless and Mohajir’s work at Lilac Tiger and Coach House. Mohajir was also a Top Chef competitor last year and is up for Chef of the Year at Chicago’s Banchet Awards. 

Ben Lustbader and Sarah Mispagel-Lustbader, Loaf Lounge – Most famous for making the chocolate cake featured in the hit Chicago-set show The Bear, Loaf Lounge draws crowds to Avondale for its pastries, bread, and breakfast sandwiches. The husband-and-wife team were finalists for Pastry Chef of the Year at last year’s local Banchet Awards.

Jacob Potashnick, Feld – This is the second Beard semifinalist nod for Potashnick, who generated buzz for his “relationship-to-table” tasting menu spot on social media, then quickly revamped as his stark courses faced critique online, a story told in the show Knife Edge. Now Feld has found its place with a Michelin star, a Best New Restaurant nomination at Chicago’s Banchet Awards, and a spot on Bon Appétit’s national best new restaurant list.