Restaurants

The Somali restaurant near downtown offers working drivers a place to gather, speak their language, and enjoy a taste of home in between fares. 

Chicago's Brazilian community may be small, but chefs are beginning to proudly share the unfamiliar cuisine of Brazil at restaurants like Nic & Junior's and Chef Thiago.

Courtney Kenyon-Snider has been a force in Chicago pastry for years despite her youth. She shares her favorite places in Chicago. 

From bakeries to bars, sommeliers to young chefs, counter service to outstanding hospitality, Chicago's respected Banchets are back. 

Susu is joining the bakery boom with pastries like a baklava bear claw and a Levantine breakfast sandwich, in a part of the neighborhood with few breakfast spots. 

From Balkan food to West African, Filipino-influenced pizza to Midwestern-informed French, there’s a lot to look forward to on Chicago’s restaurant front this fall.

Some of Chicago's tastiest tacos, which many say are just like those in Mexico City, are hiding in a nondescript corner store in Little Village. The clientele is changing thanks to social media.

Irene's Finer Diner, Gingie, and Prime & Provisions all reopened this year after fires, while Dear Margaret is still working towards a return after a fire last year. 

The Logan Square bar exclusively features beer and spirits from Latin America, making its own replacements of things the owners can't source from there.

International bubble tea, bakery, and hot pot chains have opened in Chicago's Chinatown in recent years. Some argue they are driving out mom-and-pop businesses, while others say they bring more people to the neighborhood. 

With a food program headed by a South Side native, a fruit and vegetable garden that hosts teaching opportunities, and more, the program at the Obama Center aims to show "how food can transmit values."

"Chicago deserved a place where Thai cuisine could be celebrated in a different way, where it wasn't just limited to cheap take-out or cheap eats," says Chanita Chayaluk of her locally sourced wine bar TAAN.

Hunter came to Chicago to open Atelier and garnered it a Michelin star. Now he's opening a more casual restaurant that aims to bridge high and low. 

Yelp Top 100 restaurants generally don't get lots of critical attention. What’s behind the gap between critical praise and the mushier space comprising what a lot of the public honest-to-goodness likes? 

The Yuzviks have opened two Soloway Coffee locations and Abrah Bakery in Chicago, but still roast their coffee in Ukraine, where they have some 60 employees.