Where To Eat and Drink Near the United Center

Find your perch at the bar with a couple of mojitos and dive into the daily happy hour offerings of oysters and tacos at Bocaditos. The flavors and ambiance are so pleasant you might be swept to the bustling markets of Oaxaca or the sun-drenched shores of Baja California. Menu highlights include a crisp Caesar salad, flame-charred panela cheese served tableside, a lively spiced ceviche, and a succulent marinated skirt steak accompanied by Mexican rice and mole enchilada.

Prepare to splurge a bit for your pregame at Bonyeon, but know it’s worth every penny. Chef Sangtae Park, celebrated for his Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Omakase Yume, recently opened Chicago’s first ever all-beef omakase restaurant, delivering an unparalleled meat-forward tasting menu. With only a dozen seats, this intimate spot showcases beef cuts from around the world, with a heavy emphasis on beautiful presentation. Expect seafood interludes and palate-cleansing vegetables to punctuate each course.

Kick back or rev up your evening at Leña Brava, where live-fire cooking meets a chic and cozy vibe. Helmed by chef Bryan Enyart, the restaurant focuses on the cuisine of Baja California through a menu packed with fresh seafood and inventive flavor combinations. The raw menu includes oysters, salsa macha ceviche, tuna carpaccio, and pineapple aguachile; while entrees from the grill include hearty surf-and-turf platters like a Parrillada Mexicana loaded up with skirt steak, chicken al pastor skewers, homemade chorizo, and charred queso fresco, served with warm tortillas and salsas (natch).

Perched atop the Hoxton Hotel, this rooftop gem offers a compelling exploration of Peruvian flavors, courtesy of renowned chef Stephanie Izard (of Girl and the Goat). With sweeping views of downtown, the lively rooftop restaurant serves bright, lush bites like striped bass and sweet potato ceviche marinated in a spiced citric golden raisin leche de tigre, or house-made chorizo anticuchos (think kabobs) with aji amarillo mayo and serrano cilantro. Each dish is a testament to Izard’s innovative flair and respect for tradition. Plus, the poolside tables are perfect for sipping cocktails with ingredients like passionfruit, coconut, and pineapple—a major bonus for anyone looking to linger a little longer.

This playful French bistro and wine bar by Bonhomme Group (owners of Porto and Beatnik) is just a 15-minute walk from the United Center, with bright salmon-colored walls, curving banquettes and bold retrofuturist design. Enjoy a colorful cocktail and dishes like fire-roasted leeks with grain mustard and tarragon, or Parisian gnocchi with smoked duck foie, and fig jam, and pain pain d’épices. Or swing by post-event for dainty patisserie treats and natural and biodynamic wines from Alsace and the Languedoc, because Coquette is open until midnight or later.

A cheery red and brick facade and warm atmosphere lure guests to this retro-styled tavern, where sumptuous booths and friendly servers make you feel immediately at home. The menu leans toward all-American classics, including steaks, skillet cornbread, and prime rib, all served in generous portions. Snag pigs in a blanket, oysters, and meatball sliders during happy hour Monday through Friday from 4 to 5 p.m., along with wine, beer, and Old Fashioned deals. (Bottles of wine are half off all night on Wednesdays, too.) Within the Tavern, the walk-in only Lobster Bar serves shellfish, sushi, and slushies.

Top Chef runner-up and James Beard Award-winning chef Sarah Grueneberg is the star power behind Monteverde Restaurant & Pastificio, where you can spot cooks making fresh pasta daily – the cacio whey pepe with ricotta whey is simple but sublime, and you can’t go wrong with any of the agnolotti and ravioli. There’s even a dedicated gluten-free menu with plenty of pasta, salads, crudo, and more. Aperitivo hour is served in the Italian tradition with stuzzichini snacks and spritzes before dinner service begins, or you can swing by for a nightcap (vin santo and biscotti, anyone?) and butterscotch budino or tiramisù after the event.

Can’t get a reservation? Here’s how to snag one.

Guinness Open Gate Brewery Chicago is a new brewery, taproom, restaurant, and bakery housed in a former rail depot in the West Loop. As its name implies, the focus here is on Guinness beers, with experimental draughts exclusive to the taproom alongside signatures straight from Dublin. The food menu combines elements of the brewery’s Irish roots with Midwestern ingredients, like Guinness barbecue chicken wings, stout-infused Irish brown bread, grilled sausages from Paulina Meat Market.

Chef-owner José “Pepe” Barajas named his upscale-casual Mexican restaurant and agave bar after his late aunt Josefina, a hard-working street taco entrepreneur who inspired Barajas to go into the restaurant business. The restaurant has earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand for its impressive mezcal program and Mexican cuisine, from al pastor and barbacoa tacos to refreshing ceviches and the best enchiladas in the city. There’s daily happy hour before 6 p.m., with new food and drink specials each week, making it a great idea for a margarita, elotes, and tacos before a game.

This elegant Italian restaurant is a bit of a hidden gem in the bustling West Loop, offering a menu of Italian classics like Apulian burrata, seafood linguini in a rich tomato sauce, grilled Mediterranean sea bass with oregano and lemon oil, and a grissini-breaded veal chop Milanese. The large dining room can often accommodate walk-ins, and there’s a chic sidewalk patio for when the weather is nice. Paccheri tossed tableside with fresh tomato sauce and 22-month aged Parmigiano cheese is an excellent choice, and the frozen tiramisù soufflé is one of the most whimsical and delicious desserts in town.

There’s always something going on at this urban winery, restaurant, and concert venue, whether it’s a live performance or a wine tasting. The large dining room can usually accommodate walk-ins, and there are more than a dozen wines on tap, with wine flights and pairing suggestions for crowd pleasers like wagyu sliders, duck tacos, truffle fries, kung pao cauliflower, and saffron lobster risotto. Weekday happy hour means half-off wine and pizza between 4 and 6 p.m. for a pre-event meal.

Okay, it may not be exactly walking distance from the U.C., but Cherry Circle Room inside the historic Chicago Athletic Association is well worth the 10-minute cab ride. Brought to you by the folks behind Land and Sea Dept, this old-style supper club is a feast for the senses with plush leather seats, dimly lit elegance, and cocktails that pack a serious punch (you’ve been warned). Chef Sangtae Park’s menu dazzles with dishes like lobster bisque with tarragon foam, Thai-style mussels teeming with lemongrass and green curry, a two-tier seafood platter, or the the gochujang-glazed beef ribs with miso caramel and kimchi turnips. This James Beard Award-winning space provides the perfect backdrop for all kinds of debate before or after the convention (or any event!).