Where to Eat in January: Marchesa, LeTour, Cherry Circle Room, and More

From the team behind Narcisse and Prosecco comes this beautiful French spot in River North. With decor inspired by Venice’s Guggenheim, the restaurant is filled with artwork, shining brass chandeliers, and marble statues. Whether you go for duck breast a l’orange, steak frites, or a seriously luxurious caviar parfait, each dish is presented as artfully as the space itself. Visit for a romantic date night, or, if you’re planning a special event, book Marchesa’s private dining room, and be sure to visit the Champagne cave for a glass of bubbly to celebrate 2023 in style.

Opened in 1988, Angelina has been turning out classic Italian specialties in East Lakeview for 35 years. Visit this neighborhood standby for rustic beef and veal meatballs baked with oozy provolone, homemade ricotta gnocchi, lasagna made with fresh pasta, and a rib-sticking veal Marsala with garlic mashed potatoes. Sense a pattern? Just about everything here is made by hand, often by Angelina herself, who you can still find in the kitchen preparing her time-honored specialties.

A cozy respite from the decidedly miserable winter weather, The Meadowlark offers creative cocktails in an intimate setting. And we do mean intimate: there’s only space for a mere 30 people. Those lucky enough to grab a seat will be met with a slew of fresh, inventive cocktails, like The Purple Finch⁠ with Scapegrace Black Gin, Ha’Penny Rhubarb Gin, Cocchi Americano Bianco, Creme de Violette, lemon, and blackberry. And the food menu isn’t an afterthought, with snacky offerings like wood-grilled chicken heart skewers with scotch bonnet jerk, sweet pineapples, and cucumber.

If you have a hankering for traditional Greek food, look no further than Thassos, a Western suburbs restaurant that takes its food so seriously they fly their fish (like whole sea bass) in from Greece. Here, you’ll find not just excellent seafood but chicken broiled with lemon and oregano, homemade Greek sausage (loukaniko), and a winter-ready pastitsada, a hearty beef stew served over spaghetti. Since opening in September, Thassos has been packing diners in — luckily, there’s plenty of room in the multi-level space for large groups.

Located on the second floor of the historic Chicago Athletic Hotel, Cherry Circle Room brings the lavish atmosphere of ’50s-era supper clubs to the present. With tufted leather banquettes and a wrap-around wooden bar and cabinetry, its design garnered a James Beard Award in 2016. To this day, it’s just as refined and celebratory. Whether you’re dining before the theater or making a night of it at the Game Room, enjoy dishes like raviolo with truffled ricotta, pork chops with apple and kohlrabi remoulade, and plenty of classic cocktails to boot.

A Bib Gourmand winner in 2022, Giant, helmed by acclaimed chef Jason Vincent, offers the perfect mix of just slightly cheffy comfort food, from cheese blintzes with chanterelles to Japanese eggplant with cashews and pancetta, and tagliatelle tossed with crab and chile butter. Don’t skip out on dessert, either. The dark chocolate microwave cake with peanut brittle is a balm for even the coldest winter days.

LeTour is the latest offering from restaurateur Amy Morton and James Beard Award-winning chef Debbie Gold (who previously collaborated for Found Kitchen + Social House). Tucked into a 1960s-era rotunda bank building in Evanston, LeTour’s vibe is as unique as its 360-degree space. It’s a little bit French bistro, a little bit Pop Art: modern with just a bit of tongue-in-cheek. The menu is equally whimsical — think Moroccan eggplant salad and chicken tagine mingling with a full wheel of baked Camembert and steak frites with red wine demi-glace. If you’re able, get there early for happy hour (weekdays 4:30-5:30 p.m.) for raclette, oysters on the half shell, and $5 drinks.

More info here. 

Want to warm up with something hot and cozy? Head to Shoo Loong Kan Hotpot, an outpost of the Xiaolongkan chain in Sichuan, China, which Lao Sze Chuan’s Tony Hu is responsible for helping to bring to Chicago. The sprawling space is designed for communal eating over a large pot of broth (in flavors including mushroom, pork bone, tomato, or spicy house chile). Order your fixin’s, which include A5 wagyu, lots of seafood, and veggies, via iPad, then cook them tableside with a crew.

No website, call 312-526-3242 for more info.

It finally happened: New York’s famed Levain Bakery and its softball-sized cookies have arrived in Chicago. Visit their West Loop outpost for the famed two-chip chocolate chip, dark chocolate peanut butter chip, and oatmeal raisin cookies. (Plus a seasonal dark chocolate peppermint.) If cookies the size of your head aren’t your thing, there are also loaf cakes, brioche, and muffins, along with Valrhona hot chocolate, natch.

Find more info here.

Midwest comfort food meets the street food of Amman, Jordan at this newly opened (and family-owned) falafel shop in Lakeview. Not sure what that means? Picture fried chicken sandwiches with a healthy dose of tahini ranch, a double burger topped with za’atar mayo, and pita stuffed with falafel and sumac-spiced caramelized onions or labneh egg salad. Finish off with something sweet, like the blueberry-halawa hand pie laced with crunchy pistachios.

Find more info here.