They're Worth It.

Start with the papaya salad and get sticky rice alongside it. The som tam uses anchovy and fish sauce with the full fermented funk the dish requires. The broader menu here includes a well-executed khao soi and a larger seafood selection alongside the Isan core. plaa rad prik is crispy and exactly right. Pad thai, kra pow, and moo krob are all among the best in the city. Mango sticky rice when mangoes are in season. Kanom tuay when they are not. Easier to get into than the Lakeview original. Equally worth it.

Start with the papaya salad and order sticky rice alongside it. The som tam uses anchovy and fish sauce with the full fermented funk the dish requires. The plaa rad prik is crispy, flaky, and exactly right. Curries are rich and balanced. Pad thai, kra pow, and moo krob are all among the best versions in the city. Mango sticky rice when mangoes are in season. Kanom tuay when they are not. Expect a wait. Go anyway.

Start with the malai croissant and the jaggery chocolate chip cookie — both are among the best versions of their respective things in the city. The jaggery cookie has a smoky molasses depth and a thick, chewy texture from the whole wheat and semolina blend that sets it apart from everything else on the chocolate chip cookie list. Savory breakfast items are strong across the board. Order the masala chai over the coffee. Come with people so you can share widely across the case. The pastries sell out; earlier is better.

The pancakes are the best argument for coming and one of the best in the city. Fresh organic ingredients, cooked correctly, light and fluffy without exception. The steak and eggs and the Benedicts both hold up. The biscuits and gravy are a regular order for good reason. Nothing has come back bad across many visits. Drip coffee is diner coffee — embrace it. Weekends bring a short wait. Worth every minute of it.

Filipino-Cuban all-day diner in Ravenswood, the casual sibling to the original Bayan Ko, in the old Glenn's Diner space. The garlic rice is the tell: light, fluffy, perfectly controlled. Get the lumpia by the full order, chase the silog and shrimp and grits at brunch, and make the ube pancakes your shared table dessert. My favorite pancakes in the city right now.

The pineapple sourdough muffin is the signature — get it every time. The mole chocolate croissant is a Sunday and Monday special worth rearranging your weekend for. The pastry case changes daily; whatever is fresh is worth ordering. Masa-based items throughout the menu make this one of the better naturally gluten-free options in the city. The cappuccino is pulled and steamed with real technique. Two Kyoto-style cold brew drip towers for cold coffee worth drinking slowly. No laptops, no cash, expect a line.

The tteokbokki croissant — seaweed-flecked laminated pastry, chewy rice cakes, spicy-sweet gochujang — is the reason to arrive early and the first thing to sell out. The kimchi focaccia and mushroom bulgogi focaccia are both worth getting. Salt bread is simple and excellent. The chocolate chip cookie is cooked just past golden brown for a nutty crunch that makes it quietly one of the better ones in the city. Coffee is functional, not a destination. Expect a line, expect sellouts on the best items, expect to come back.

The breakfast sandwich — steamed egg, Gouda, thick-cut bacon, house-made hash brown, onion aioli, jalapeño jam on a Martin's potato roll — is rich, messy, and worth every conversation about whether it costs too much. It does. Get it anyway. The pastry program is rotating and small; whatever is in the case is worth ordering. The chocolate chip cookie is one of the best in the city when it's available. Coffee is serious, consistent, and served by people who know what they're doing. The fried chicken sandwich is solid but not the reason to come.

Start with the beef noodle soup. The broth is dark, deep, and exactly as serious as it looks. QQ noodles made in-house, tender beef, pickled mustard greens cutting through at the right moment. The cold sesame noodles with Sichuan numbing spice are the move alongside it. Fried chicken nuggets dusted with plum powder are worth ordering every time. Brunch is as strong as lunch and dinner. House-made sodas and Taiwanese mocktails make the NA options here genuinely interesting — try the sour plum. Not a miss on the menu yet.

Order the soppressata and mortadella tavern squares first. Wisconsin-sourced meats, good lace, and a Calabrian chile honey oil that makes every bite slightly addictive. The mozzarella sticks have an extraordinary stretch and a fry that holds — get them. Pastas are solid across the board. Bar program is strong with real NA options. Gluten-free pizza and pasta both available. Multiple distinct spaces inside: a nostalgic dining area, a lively bar, and a hidden downstairs taverna. Choose based on the night you're having.

The tavern pizza is the reason this makes the list alongside the best squares in the city right now. Paper thin, excellent lace, a sauce with genuine sweetness, and housemade sausage distributed perfectly across every square cut. The mozzarella sticks are a standout: soft pull, crunchy fry, the version you were hoping for. Pastas are worth ordering. Gluten-free options are available across a meaningful portion of the menu. The space feels like it has been there for decades. It opened in 2025.

Wicker Park coffee roaster stuffed with Star Wars toys, working vintage Macs, a tube CRT with old Nintendo games, and a full DeLorean with a flux capacitor. The coffee is excellent and holds up even when the line is out the door. Donuts with personality, patio out front, communal tables always full. An anchor of independent Wicker Park that the neighborhood needs more than it probably knows.

Filipino bakery in Lincoln Square from chef Justin Tiu Lerias, who grew up in the south of the Philippines and came to Chicago to bake. The longganisa croissant is one of the best savory pastries in the city. The pandan basque cake lives up to its reputation. The menu rotates seasonally and rewards repeat visits. Metric coffee, pulled well. There will be a line. Get in it.

Some of the best ramen in Chicago, and it has been since 2010. Ramen Wasabi built its reputation on a tonkotsu broth made by boiling Berkshire pork bones for 45 continuous hours with no shortcuts and no powders. The result is rich, velvety, and the best version of tonkotsu in the city. Get the tonkotsu ramen. Get the buns. The NA beer list is excellent if you need one. No reservations, line moves, worth every minute of it.

Chef Sujan Sarkar of Michelin-starred Indienne built Nadu to be the less formal, more vibey version of regional Indian cooking he wanted to make. The $60 prix fixe tasting menu is one of the better deals in Chicago right now. Start with the rasam. Get the crispy barramundi. Don't skip the butter chicken. The room is clean and modern with a stunning original painting as its centerpiece. Service is slow — plan accordingly. Michelin Bib Gourmand and well deserved.

Boka is a Michelin-starred restaurant on Halsted with the pedigree of Eleven Madison Park and a room that manages to feel luxurious and genuinely warm at the same time. The ricotta dumplings are a pasta texture masterclass. The octopus, the sea bass with foie, and an exceptional pastry program round out a menu that doesn't miss. Tasting menu or à la carte, both are right. The place we got engaged. Still one of the best restaurants in Chicago on pure merit.

Not fusion. Farm-to-table cooking through Indian spice geometry, and the difference is something you taste immediately. Superkhana has held its Michelin Bib Gourmand since opening in 2019 and delivers consistently without the hype that once surrounded it, which means you can actually get in now. The naan program alone is worth the trip. The rotating mains are seasonal and sharp. Weekend brunch is excellent and easy to get into. Walk-up window available. One of Logan Square's best.

Dayglow roasts Nordic-style — lighter, brighter, all bean flavor and no roast character — and does it better than almost anyone in the city. The shop in Humboldt Park is minimal and brutalist and exactly right, the baristas are exceptional, and the NA coffee cocktail menu has a Totoro on it, which tells you everything about the vibe. Pastries are limited and good. Just off the 606. A very good reason to go for a walk.

Michelin Bib Gourmand Filipino in Lincoln Square, and every bit worth it. Boonie's is a small, unpretentious room where Chef Joe Fontelera's cooking announces itself the moment you walk through the door. The lumpia is the real thing, the sizzling sisig comes to the table dramatic and loud, and the krispy pata — pork shank braised, roasted, and fried — is one of the best things you can eat in Chicago. BYOB. Built to share. Go with a group.

The best Thai restaurant in Chicago is in Ukrainian Village and it tastes like Thailand. JJ's Street Food is small, loud with Thai pop, and not interested in pad thai tourism. The som tum is the real thing — salty, sweet, sour, funky, complex. The corn salad might be even better. The Guay Tiew Nam Sood Boran pork noodle soup is one of the best bowls in the city. No reservations, tables turn fast. One of the best Thai restaurants in the country.

Tre Dita opened in 2024 as the hardest reservation in Chicago. It's gettable now, and that's your opportunity. Pristine Tuscan cooking inside the St. Regis building, with floor-to-ceiling views of the lake and the river and not a bad seat in the house. The handmade pasta is exceptional, the bistecca comes from a wood-fired oven, and the focaccia will ruin you for other bread. Perfect for a date night, an anniversary, or anyone you really want to impress.

No sign outside. Maybe ten seats inside. Four Letter Word is not interested in being convenient, and that's exactly why it's the best coffee shop in Chicago for people who actually care about coffee. They roast their own beans, run a fully manual machine, and deliver with the kind of barista-to-barista consistency that other shops aspire to. The blueberry old fashioned donut is the move if you want one. Their second location is on a small island in Istanbul, which tracks completely.

The place that confirmed Bucktown was the right neighborhood. Chef's Special is American Chinese done well, with a retro dark room built around a 1970s bar, happy hour lines out the door every night, and a menu that rarely misses. Order the dan dan noodles, the rolled noodles, the walnut shrimp, and the egg rolls. Don't sleep on the homemade Chinese mustard. Gluten-free friendly and genuinely prepared to help.

Parachute HiFi is the more casual, walk-in-friendly evolution of the original Parachute, but the food still carries Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark’s unmistakable point of view. The room now leans into a vinyl listening bar feel, with warm wood, a wall of records, DJs, and a sound system that makes music part of the experience. Order the burger, the tteokbokki pad thai, and the hand rolls. It is relaxed, fun, deeply delicious, and still one of Avondale’s heavy hitters.

A Ukrainian restaurant from the team behind Parachute, built as a 100th birthday gift for a grandmother from Kharkiv. The Zakusky cart alone is worth the trip. The honey cake is why you come back.

One of the most beautiful café spaces in Chicago, and it actually backs it up. Milli by Metric is a converted industrial warehouse in Avondale with warm stone, tall ceilings, and a coffee program serious enough to have roasters working in the back. The passion fruit croissant is a must. The chocolate chip cookie is among the best in the city, charred at the edges, intentionally, in the best possible way. Parking is rough. Go anyway.