Now on Resy: Amor Y Tequila, Proxi, and More Local Favorites

All of the classics are here (flavorful pozole, tacos, ceviche, queso) but the molcajetes are the real showstoppers. There’s a surf-and-turf option filled with grilled meat and shrimp, and another filled with vegetables — each is topped with melting panela cheese and accompanied by a side of warm, housemade corn tortillas. Then it’s all DIY from there. Margaritas are a must.

Oliang (or savory, spiced Thai iced coffee) is the specialty here, along with an assortment of tea-based beverages with optional boba. But, it’s the array of perfectly prepared Thai classics like khao soi, assorted curries, and krapow kai that will keep you coming back.

You can’t go wrong at this friendly, longtime Roscoe Village favorite. The menu runs deep on comfort food favorites (think beef chili, chicken parm, mac & cheese), and the burgers — among them a build-your-own option with a dozen possible add-ons — always satisfy.

This dazzling space channels Moorish palaces of Spain, decked out with a museum’s worth of intricate mosaics and woodwork to set the scene. Whether for an intimate meal or a grand event, enjoy some of the city’s best Middle Eastern food, from dips to kebabs, plus family platters heaped with menu highlights.

You can’t go wrong with a bowl of guacamole and chips, tacos (fish, barbacoa, and more) with housemade corn tortillas, and a few salt-rimmed margaritas. Elotitos — street corn, just cute and small — go with everything. Bonus: The friendly servers, who treat everyone like their regulars.

Come hungry to this Hyde Park pizzeria (and more) from Naples-born pizzaiola Nella Grassano. The perfect charred Neapolitan-style pies are just the beginning of a menu that ranges from a bountiful mixed antipasto plate to a treasury of pastas (many of them involving seafood), to grilled lamb chops with pancetta potatoes.

Everything is fresh and bright and full of flavor at this modern Lincoln Park Thai restaurant. Signature dishes include grilled chicken with herbs and stir-fried noodles with river prawns and tamarind sauce — and definitely try the smoky Bangkok old fashioned with coconut sugar and cardamom bitters.

The chefs behind Indienne properly dazzle at Sifr, where the irresistible mezze platters are so generous, you’ll need to be careful in order to save room for what comes next … Think grilled specialties (like lamb kebab with Aleppo pepper) and large-scale shareables (like branzino with tahini) that’d be a shame to miss.

Transplanted from West Town to Wicker Park, Vajra is where chef Min Thapa reimagines Nepalese and Indian classics with a luxe touch — think dishes like lobster momo and Gruyère-and-chile kulcha with truffle butter. Pro tip: Watch out for special events, like a multi-course Nepalese feast. 

You’ll find all the Italian dishes you know and love at this family-friendly neighborhood gem in West Lakeview, courtesy of the team behind Butcher & the Burger. Think meatballs marinara, fettuccine carbonara, chicken parmesan, tiramisù — and don’t leave without a sip of the housemade limoncello. 

We’re here for the sink-into-luxury atmosphere, the classic cocktails, and the dramatic presentations of all your steakhouse favorites. Think shrimp cocktail and wedge salad, an array of steaks and chops, like a 45-day, dry-aged prime tomahawk ribeye — not to mention fish dishes, pastas, and a Wagyu burger with bacon jam.

Because this cushy, warmly-lit Glen Ellyn establishment has been drawing crowds and acclaims since 2012. You only need to look at the menu to see why, where housemade pastas, creative small plates, and wood-fired pizzas are made to the nines. The craft beers and excellent, fairly priced wines probably don’t hurt the experience one bit.

You can’t go wrong at this Burr Ridge favorite. The Mediterranean-inspired American menu is full of just what you want to eat: fried calamari, whole branzino, fettuccine alfredo, a prime New York strip steak, and is matched by well-chosen wines at friendly prices.

Palermo-born Salvatore Lo Cascio gained kudos for his thin-crust pizzas at Coda di Volpe, and they’re the star of the menu here — both Sal’s special pies and build-your-own varieties — alongside some pasta offerings and a few other Italian specialties. Pro tip (and a point of pride at Sal’s): Any pizza can be made gluten-free.

Bring someone special — or even come alone — to this casual but gastronomically serious Ravenswood sushi place, where the affable chefs make dinner a fun experience while offering top-flight sushi and sashimi and a seven-course kaiseki menu tailored to just the kinds of things you want to eat.

Goose Island brews are on almost everybody’s list of America’s best craft beers, and you won’t find a better place to enjoy them — along with beer-friendly fare like hop-salted pretzels, smash burgers, and franks and beans — than at the brewery’s own indoor-outdoor pub, on the banks of the Chicago River.

What screams summer more than a rooftop filled with sunny yellows and Astroturf, Aperol everything, eggplant fries, and kale salads? Set atop Paradise Park, it’s a summer party in one fell swoop. All you need is you (and a few besties).

It just feels right sipping housemade ciders and beer inside a converted Masonic temple, surrounded by soaring ceilings and exposed brick. Pub fare, such as maize-coated fried pickle chips, birria grilled cheese, and shrimp and grits, isn’t an afterthought here.

This is not your everyday sports bar: It’s a non-stop tailgate party with a fun-and-funky atmosphere, including an all-weather beer garden and plenty of large-screen TVs. On the food and beverage front, there’s an abundance of cocktails and brews, alongside a chef-created menu featuring house-smoked meats, variations on wings, and mac & cheese that’ll win the day.

Is this Wilmette gem a full-service croissant-to-carrot-cake bakery, or a bright and homey restaurant serving everything from breakfast to late lunch, with a saucy cocktail program on the side? Yes to both. Chefs Garrett VanBergen and Jory Downer and pastry whiz Jordana Downer combine their excellent talents, and as a result, EvaDeans is a must.

A cozy and comfortable place, Niche couldn’t have found a better name for itself. This warm Geneva standby’s rightly celebrated for its internationally accented American menu, its encyclopedic list of whiskeys from no less than three continents, and its prestige wine list — and did we mention all the cotton candy you can eat at the end of your meal?

It’s tacos and quesadillas, cervezas and aguas frescas, and a Yucatán beach-bar feel at this lively West Loop sensation — part of a 20-plus-unit, multi-state chain born out of a mobile taco stand in a repurposed VW bus in Playa del Carmen. Pro tip: Double your pleasure every Tuesday, with two tacos for the price of one.