New on Resy: Wherewithall, Bar Esmé, Bar Goa, and More

James Beard Award-winning chefs Beverly Kim and Johnny Clark of the Michelin-starred Parachute are behind this well-loved Avondale spot, which just reopened after more than a year of being closed, with Tayler Ploshehanski (Elske) in the kitchen and an often-changing four-course tasting menu offered nightly.

Whereas the tasting menu at the elegantly spare Esmé in Lincoln Park is artful and unique, the adjacent 16-seat Bar Esmé goes for fun and informality. That doesn’t mean bar snacks, though. Oysters and a cheese board, yes, but you could also opt for a whole roasted fish or a Wagyu steak if your idea of a good time is eating something serious.

Lively and inviting — that’s what it’s like to dine at this gastropub dedicated to exploring the rich culinary traditions of Goa, which often meld Portugese flavors with those of Southwest India. Pro tip: Don’t sleep on the fried rice or the Goan fish curry.

Is this a restaurant, a bar, a coffee shop, a workspace, a meeting place? All of the above. Enjoy a single-origin pour-over, a spicy margarita, or a crispy shrimp po’boy in this dazzling Merchandise Mart complex, complete with designer furniture and views of the Chicago River.

Italian restaurant legend Joe Carlucci closed his last area restaurant in late 2018, but you can’t keep a good restaurateur down, and now he’s back, with a gorgeous new establishment (elaborate tile flooring, murals of Pompeii on the walls, luxurious brown booths) and a menu of Carlucci favorites. Do not miss the bombonato, broad noodles with prosciutto tossed tableside in a hollowed-out wheel of aged Parmigiano.

What could be better than a good-looking neighborhood bar and grill (wood-slat walls and ceilings, seating in seafoam green or caramel brown) with a no-stress menu of wings, salads, burgers, fish, and more? And if you’re still not feeling mellow enough, you could always add a dose of Raden Botanicals CBD to your artisanal cocktail.

In the mood for an easy-going, family-friendly Italian restaurant with a highly relatable — and shareable — menu (from flatbreads to pasta to skirt steak Vesuvio)? Look no further than this radiant Clarendon Hills favorite.

Come hungry, but don’t wear your fanciest attire to this high-energy seafood paradise, where the big draw is deliciously messy snow crab legs, lobster claws, head-on shrimp, and other seafood, served eat-with-your-hands style, in bags, glazed with a choice of heady sauces.

Slide onto a lyre-back stool at the long wraparound bar, where the floor spells “Guinness” and the whiskey list goes on forever — or grab a seat at a cozy table and dig into chef chef John Woods’ hearty Irish pub food, from corned beef sliders to shepherd’s pie. Better yet, do one and then the other.