The 2027 Finalists for Chicago's Local Food Awards, the Banchets

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The finalists for the Banchets, Chicago's respected local food awards, have been announced. Named after the legendary chef Jean Banchet of suburban Chicago's Le Français, the Banchets honor Chicago's hospitality talent, spotlighting people and places that might be missed by national attention such as the James Beard Awards – and sometimes anticipating them. This is especially evident in categories like Best Counter Service and Best Heritage Restaurant, where you'll find places outside neighborhoods known for their restaurants (including the suburbs; Schaumburg alone has two nominated restaurants this year). 

This is the 25th year of the Banchets, and they are celebrating the milestone by moving the January 31 awards ceremony from Venue SIX10 to the larger Harris Theater for Music and Dance. Tickets are available for the public to purchase, while the ceremony will also stream live via NBC 5 Chicago News.

In addition to the categories listed below, three other honorees have already been announced. Paul Kahan of One Off Hospitality will receive the Culinary Excellence Award, Manny's Cafeteria & Delicatessen will be named Iconic Restaurant, and Sarah Stegner of Praire Grass Cafe will accept the inaugural Environmental Leadership Award. 

Stegner is one of only a few women in this year's nominees, reflecting the upper ranks of the broader industry, with only four of 15 named nominees women – although some restaurants and bakeries up for nominations are led by women. One category change, from Pastry Chef of the Year to Pastry Program of the Year, takes away four of those named nominees, two of whom are women this year. One other category has been slightly changed, from Beverage Program of the Year to Bar of the Year, although one nominee, Oliver's, is still both a restaurant and bar.

Rising Chef of the Year

Alex Ching - A Honolulu native who has also worked at Oriole in Chicago, Ching is behind the beef-focused, Korean-inflected tasting menu at West Loop's Bonyeon, a restaurant from Sangtae and Kate Park of TenGoku Aburiya and Omakase Yume. He shared his favorite Chicago spots with us earlier this year.

Alex Cochran - This is Cochran's second year being nominated in this category, for his work raising the standard and profile of the ultra-seasonal, creative menus as chef de cuisine at Logan Square's Cellar Door Provisions, which is also once again up for Restaurant of the Year. 

Devin Denzer - Denzer combines Nordic and Japanese influences, with an emphasis on seafood, at the tasting menu spot Atsumeru, which opened in West Town in 2025. 

Tayler Ploshehanski - Ploshehanski has been quietly building her skills for years, including by inventing new menus every week at the now-closed Wherewithall, but her time as chef de cuisine at the Midwestern-French bistro Creepies has launched her to national attention. She was on the cover of Chicago magazine, while the West Loop restaurant from David and Anna Posey of Elske has been on just about every national best new restaurant list. So it's no surprise to also see it in the Banchet's Best New Restaurant category.

Best New Restaurant

All Well - Backed by Oriole's Noah Sandoval and headed up by that Michelin-starred restaurant's former chef de cuisine Larry Feldmeier, All Well offers precisely calibrated a la carte plates on its bar side in addition to a five-course prix fixe menu in the West Loop.

Creepies - This Midwestern-French bistro from David and Anna Posey of next-door Elske is receiving nonstop local and national attention only a year after opening, thanks in part to chef de cuisine Tayler Ploshehanski, who's up for Rising Chef of the Year. 

Petite Edith - Like Creepies, Petite Edith is a Midwestern-French bistro from an acclaimed husband-and-wife duo, although it leans more French and seafoody. Katrina Bravo and Jenner Tomaska wanted to offer the artful, technique-heavy food Tomaska is known for, but at a lower price point, in River North. Tomaska is also up for Chef of the Year.

The Greggory - A trio who cut their teeth over years in Chicago's restaurant scene, including in the Gibsons restaurants, brought their hospitality expertise to northwest suburban South Barrington with the steakhouse The Greggory, and have been bringing attention along with them. 

Best Neighborhood Restaurant

Cerdito Muerto - Emidio Oceguera's family has run businesses out of the Pilsen building now occupied by this Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar for decades. Cerdito Muerto has received a good amount of hype since opening in 2025.

Il Mio - This bright Italian restaurant in west suburban Clarendon Hills will likely be a revelation to Chicagoans. 

Spice by CMB - A longtime Lettuce Entertain You chef set off to explore his own heritage in his debut restaurant, which features African diaspora food in Logan Square, and has been quietly building hype since opening earlier this year.

Torizen - Those in search of Japanese food know to decamp to the northwest suburbs, where spots like Torizen (in Schaumburg) serve a population eager for homey classics.

Sommelier of the Year

Chris Farrell - Indienne has already won two Banchets, for Best New Restaurant in 2024 and the capstone Restaurant of the Year in 2026. Farrell is tasked with pairing wines with the multi-layered, complexly spiced Indian tasting menu.

Claire McDonal - 2025 Banchet Restaurant of the Year avec has always been known for its easy-drinking, surprising wine list that finds hidden gems at a reasonable price point from all around the Mediterranean, and McDonal has continued to uphold that reputation.

Nathan Ducker - Ducker has to keep up with a constantly changing tasting menu full of as many as 30 tiny bites at Feld, finding wines and beverages that work across them all. Feld has received continual acclaim over the past year, including two Banchets last year.

Olivia Duncan-Williams - Maxwells Trading has quickly become one of Chicago's most cherished restaurants for its eclectic mingling of influences under a generally Asian approach – not the easiest task for wine pairing, but one Duncan-Williams takes on with aplomb, in addition to her cocktails. Maxwells is also up for Restaurant of the Year.

Best Counter Service

Chomp Pizza - New York-style slices aren't common in Chicago; independent restaurants in train stations even less so. Chomp Pizza, located under the 18th St. Pink Line station in Pilsen, is both.

Seedo's Levantine Bakery - Mutaz Abdullah's father has run Cedars Mediterranean Kitchen in Hyde Park for decades; Seedo's, inside Sterling Food Hall in the Loop, serves Middle Eastern-influenced pastries and "sandweesh" options on flatbread. 

No Pasa Nada - This taco stand in the parking lot of an auto repair shop off Lawrence Avenue might be the only restaurant in Mayfair to ever receive a Banchet nod. The menu is tight and cooked on charcoal out back. 

Turkish Doner - Argyle Street in Uptown is known for Vietnamese food, but this spot bucks the prevailing trend with shaved meat and lesser-seen dishes like stuffed-bread pide and khachapuri.

Best Hospitality

Anelya - This Ukrainian restaurant in Avondale from Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark is lovingly named after Clark's grandmother and celebrates a cuisine not often seen outside immigrant enclaves in America; much of the staff are themselves immigrants from Ukraine. This is Anelya's second nomination in this category. 

Brindille - Carrie Nahabedian is a stalwart of Chicago's food scene, having worked at numerous important restaurants over the decades, including her own Michelin-starred Naha. Brindille, a neighbot to Naha's former space in River North, is a classic, unfussy French restaurant of the kind you rarely see anymore: no gimmicks.

Obélix - Obélix is the luxe, modernized version of the Poilevey family's iconic Le Bouchon (which has won the Banchet's neighborhood restaurant of the year), with more global flavors and a more expansive, trendy space in River North for their indulgent French food. Obélix has landed on plenty of best of lists and award shortlists. 

PERILLA Fare - This is the second year this Korean restaurant in River West has been up for this category at the Banchets, and its team has been nominated for other categories in the past. 

Bar of the Year

Bar Bambi - Katie Renshaw worked at many of Chicago's most admired bars before opening her own on the hot dining stretch of Chicago Avenue in West Town. She uses the modern techniques of her former workspaces The Aviary and GreenRiver but in an approachable, classic-adjacent way rather than an experimental one.

Belmont Tavern - Nick Kokonas (not the former Alinea partner) renovated and reopened this blue-collar spot near the Belmont Blue Line stop this year, retaining a dive bar feel (Old Style is the only beer on draft) with simple cocktails that nonetheless feature housemade ingredients.

Culebra - Diego Garcia-Gonzalez opened this speakeasy beneath Lonesome Rose in Logan Square this year, offering Puerto Rican- and Caribbean-themed drinks – so expect plenty of rum. The bar draws on his background and time working in Puerto Rico and Latin America.

Oliver's - The only spot in this category not opened this year, Oliver's is also the only one that is more restaurant than bar. But the classic cocktails at this historically inspired South Loop spot have always grabbed the spotlight.

Best Heritage Restaurant

Lao Hu Tong - This Schaumburg restaurant specializes in xiao long bao (Chinese soup dumplings), a popular treat in which Chicago is somewhat lacking. 

Mazor - Mazor only opened this year in River West but has already garnered critical acclaim for the masa that undergirds Cristian Orozco's Mexican and Guatemalan dishes. 

Nadu - Sujan Sarkar, the chef behind Nadu, Indienne, Sifr, and Swadesi Cafe, already has plenty of acclaim, including two Banchet wins for Indienne, which just expanded to New York City. Whereas Indienne makes a case for South Asian food as fine dining, Lincoln Park's Nadu celebrates it in a more direct way, offering regional dishes from around the massive Indian subcontinent. 

Noodles Party - Pramereothai “Aomjai” Phumpardit, the colorful character behind this Albany Park Thai restaurant, hasn't tried to Westernize her flavorful food. Instead, Noodle Party offers rare-in-this-country dishes and an atmosphere like a raucous Bangkok street stand.

Best Design

Adalina Prime - This is the second year that the maximalist West Loop steakhouse has been nominated for Best Design. "With custom wooden arches and glowing, tiered chandeliers, the soaring dining room bears similarities to a cathedral or grand train station," Maggie Hennessey wrote for us about Adalina Prime in a piece about the design nominees last year. 

Kitty's Cosmopolitan Club - This Lettuce Entertain You spot in River North opened earlier this year underneath Crying Tiger with a moody, green velvet-bedecked space. 

The Hand & The Eye - Located inside a literal mansion in River North, this expansive magic club (with food and drink) offers a step back in time and an immersive experience. 

Tryzub Ukrainian Kitchen - Tryzub, in Ukrainian Village, has been around several years longer than any of the other design nominees, which is to say, it's not trendy like them. Instead it's homey and grandmotherly, with patterned walls, framed photos, and colorful plates as decoration.

Pastry Program of the Year

Fat Peach Bakery - Husband and wife David Castillo and Kerrie Breuer took over a spot occupied by longtime institution Bridgeport Bakery and have continued to draw lines out the door for their croissants both plain and inventive. They recently announced a second location to come in Hyde Park. 

Guillotine Bakery - This bakery from a trio of French ex-pats (the baker is Vince Le Bec) was one of the buzziest openings of the year, drawing lines down Chicago Avenue for its back-to-basics croissants and baguettes made from imported French flour and butter. Its owners shared their Chicago favorites with us.

Smyth - An outlier in this category as the only restaurant instead of bakery, Smyth is the only Chicago restaurant with three Michelin stars. Its pastry program is run by Karen Urie Shields. Smyth won Restaurant of the Year at the Banchets in 2020. 

Sugar Moon Bakery - One of the early progenitors of Chicago's bakery boom, Sugar Moon has been drawing lines to its quiet Logan Square street for years, with customers hoping to snag one of Dina Cimarusti's pastries. 

Chef of the Year

Adam McFarland and Tom Rogers - John's Food & Wine in Lincoln Park was just named Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine, not just for McFarland and Rogers' dialed-in New American dishes but also for its unusual counter service model that is meant to pay staff more equally across the board.

Jenner Tomaska - Tomaska has been a major player in Chicago's restaurant scene for years, first with the Alinea group and now with his own restaurants, from the arty tasting menu spot Esmé to the bistro Petite Edith (up for Best New Restaurant) and the steakhouse The Alston.

Zachary Engel - Engel's Michelin-starred Middle Eastern Galit, in Lincoln Park, won Restaurant of the Year at the Banchets in 2024, and he already has a James Beard Award. Now with an additional spot in his portfolio, the casual neighboring place Cafe Yaya, Engel is back for another big award. 

Zubair Mohajir - This is the second year the Top Chef alumni and ever-more-prominent Chicago chef is up for this category, now with three more spots under his belt (Mariela, Muhājir, and Bobo) and a fresh Best New Chefs nod from Food & Wine, along with Rishi Manoj Kumar, his partner in the Indian-Mexican Mirra.   

Restaurant of the Year

Asador Bastian - This Spanish steakhouse in an elegantly remodeled townhouse in River North has appeared on numerous best restaurant lists both local and national. It was up for Best Hospitality at the Banchets last year and now moves into the top category. 

Brasero - Owner John Manion won Chef of the Year while Alex Cuper won Sommelier of the Year last year. Can their Brazilian-ish, fire-focused West Town spot get its own award this year?

Cellar Door Provisions - This is the second year in a row that the hyper-seasonal Logan Square restaurant is nominated in this category, while its chef de cuisine Alex Cochran is also once again up for Rising Chef of the Year. 

Maxwells Trading - Chef Chris Jung won Rising Chef of the Year in 2025 for his omnivorous dishes with an Asian baseline at this West Loop restaurant that is co-owned by another prominent and awarded chef, Erling Wu-Bower. Maxwells' sommelier Olivia Duncan-Williams is also up for an award this year.