The 10 Restaurants That Defined Chicago Dining in 2025
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We asked our contributors to the Resy Hit List to share their top dining experiences in their cities this year — to choose 10 restaurants that define the state of great dining right now. Welcome back our Best of The Hit List for 2025.
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Upon first glance, it might seem difficult to pin down what ties together this year’s most defining Chicago restaurants: from buzzy all-day cafes to restaurants reinventing global flavors to our continuing nostalgia for red sauce Italian, our city had a lot going on this year. But look closer, and it quickly becomes clear what you’re seeing … and what you’re not. The restaurants that defined dining in 2025 weren’t necessarily from the biggest players with the biggest names. They are, primarily, independently run, deeply personal projects, driven by chefs who use food to tell their own stories.
At Monster Ramen, Katie Dong turned a childhood passion for beef noodle soup and a professional interest in precision ramen-making into her own unique spin on the genre. Özgür “Ozzy” Yavuz, the chef at Elia, is pushing creative boundaries with his new Mediterranean menu, while staying rooted in his Greek and Turkish heritage. And diners flock to Boonie’s—the name a nod to both chef Joseph Fontelera’s grandmother and the way Filipino words have made their way into American vernacular—to experience his highly personal version of Filipino cuisine.
Here, then, are the 10 restaurants that defined dining this year in Chicago, where diners went local, ate global, and supported bold chefs who sought to put their own stories on the plate.
1. Dimmi Dimmi Lincoln Park
“Red checkered tablecloth energy, minus the plastic couch,” says a recent Instagram post from Dimmi Dimmi—and that is truly the vibe at this cozy Italian-American spot that opened in August. Chef Matt Eckfeld is at the helm, and while he spent the past decade with Major Food Group (Carbone, Torrisi) in New York, he was clearly ready to get more personal here: “I want to do it my own way,” he says. Inside the warm and eclectic 78-seat restaurant—whose decor is inspired by a “vivacious art-loving nonna”—you’ll find Eckfeld and team turning out craveable family-style dining, with plenty of pasta and excellent tavern-style pizzas, but also a few contemporary twists, including a hamachi crudo diavolo with almond chile crisp and an “Italian beef” carpaccio with housemade giardiniera. While we know Italian American spots generally hit in Chicago, Dimmi Dimmi has the pedigree and the skill to make even something familiar feel exciting and new.
2. Cafe Yaya Lincoln Park
This year, everyone who loves Galit but wished for a slightly more low-key, à la carte option had their desires granted and then some with the opening of Yaya, a Middle Eastern-esque all-day cafe from the same team. And chef Zachary Engel and restaurateur Andrés Clavero struck gold again, creating a charming daytime spot where you’ll want to set up your laptop and dig into a croissant-wich, but also a nighttime destination that feels intimate and romantic. Engel’s food is just as satisfying and creative here as it is at Galit, though at Yaya he skews slightly more playful: There’s more to nibble (Yaya fries and crudo) and more to dip (pimiento cheese and baba), although mains like the lamb burger shouldn’t be skipped. Bring a date or friends: Cafe Yaya is an all-day gem that delivers on its promise.
3. Boonie's Filipino Restaurant North Center
From a beloved pop-up at Revival Food Hall to a Bib Gourmand-recognized brick and mortar, Boonie’s has become a singular destination for excellent Filipino food. When chef and owner Joseph Fontelera first started, his goal was not only to introduce more diners to Filipino cuisine, but also to show them how far-reaching Filipino culture already is in the U.S. His dining room feels more like a family room, with family photos on the wall and hand-drawn artwork in vintage frames. It’s relaxed and casual — until the food comes. “I had this idea to put Filipino food front and center, for people to see it in an unaltered way as much as possible while still allowing the cuisine and the culture to breathe,” he says. That means sizzling pork sisig with a runny egg on top, a big bowl of adobong isda (black cod in a comforting coconut water adobo), and liempo (a glistening skewer of grilled pork belly with jufran barbecue sauce)—plus lots of extra garlic rice.
4. NADU Lincoln Park,
Meaning homeland in Tamil, Nadu represents chefs Sujan Sarkar and Sanchit Sahu’s take on home: a journey of India’s diverse regional cuisines, steeped in culinary traditions mixed with a bit of modern sensibility. On one visit, you might experience a vegetarian coconut curry from Kerala, butter chicken from Delhi, and a mutton kebab out of Patna. Perhaps the smartest option is to do a tasting, which will take you through a slew of menu items (and regions) so you don’t have to miss a thing. Be sure to tap the drinks menu, as well, just as enticing as the food. The best part? A color-coded legend will help guide you through the wine list. Blue is bright and elegant. Peach is textural and rich. Pink and sweet and fruit forward, and green is savory and earthy. (More restaurants need this.)
5. Beity West Loop
Ryan Fakih’s Beity offers a completely new Chicago experience: Lebanese fine dining, served as a tasting, family-style menu. And despite his upbringing in Lebanon, Fakih isn’t sticking to tradition; his goal is “to reinvent the wheel” when it comes to the cuisine. In practice, that means colorful meze made his way: the muhamarra is mixed and folded (not blended) so you can taste every component, and the labneh is made with a blend of sheep, goat, and cow’s milk. Even his shish barak are different: He makes a vibrant vegetarian version, blending beets and goat cheese into a dumpling dish that’s all his own. And if the dishes on your table weren’t transportive enough, the stone arches, chandeliers, and even the music are designed to reflect life in a Lebanese household. With every bite, Fakih says, it seems, welcome home.
6. YooYee Uptown
Don’t be fooled by the unadorned facade or the simple interior (just some wooden tables and a few scattered pendant lights): There is so much happening at YooYee, one of the city’s best new spots for Sichuan food. YooYee doesn’t take reservations, so there may be a bit of a wait but it’s well worth it for the delightfully tingly mala of chewy hand-pulled noodles in fragrant and spicy broth, cumin-scented lamb, and this writer’s favorite mapo tofu. (And don’t stress if you can’t handle spicy—you’ll find plenty on the menu, including a lovely chilled eggplant with green pepper. Bring friends and order big: the leftovers are just as delicious.
No reservations; more info here.
7. void Avondale
Void’s owners Pat Ray, Dani Kaplan, and Tyler Hudec together have worked at some of Chicago’s top restaurants, but Void is very much their own project: a restaurant that leans on vintage charm and dive bar vibes, with daring and creative spins on classic Italian American cuisine. Tuck into a red leather booth or a banquette, or head to the butcher block bar under dangling Tiffany-style pendants and kick back for a meal you simply won’t find anywhere else: agnolotti made with Korean sweet potatoes, kimchi, and mozzarella; the instantly-viral “spaghetti uh-os” (anelli Siciliani rings with mini meatballs and a vodka sauce that’s poured from a can, a la Spaghettios, tableside). Other parts of the menu are a little less showy, though just as comforting. There’s double-fried chicken marsala; 18-hour fermented focaccia; and a strip steak with giardinera—yes, this trio knows the way to win over Chicagoans who think they’ve seen it all.
8. Elia chicago Wicker Park
Chef Özgür “Ozzy” Yavuz joined Elia in early 2025, and he brought with him genuine excitement about diversifying the menu. While the restaurant originally leaned Greek and Italian, the chef added global inspiration from a broader swath of the Mediterranean — Turkey, Greece, Italy, and Spain — and you can feel his enthusiasm as the dishes come out. You also can’t always be sure what to expect: Yavuz is often riffing on what he finds at the market on a given day. But it will always look beautiful on the restaurant’s handmade ceramics against the warm backdrop of the room. Start with cold mezze, the chef says, like smoky babaghanoush or a Cretan feta dip, then move on to molten cheese pide, chicken shish, and lamb stew. The only real rule? Come prepared to share, as everything is served family-style.
9. Sanders BBQ Supply Co. Beverly
There’s a lot of competition when it comes to barbecue in Chicago (and plenty of strong opinions) but once James Sanders opened Sanders in Beverly—after years of running a catering business and experimenting with different barbecue styles—it became clear he’s a major contender in the scene. Where to begin? The St. Louis-style spare ribs that have plenty of bark, the epic Flinstone-esque beef rib, the luxurious pulled pork, and the smoked oxtail, all overseen by head pitmaster Nick Kleutsch. But the sides, which too often fall by the wayside, are resolutely excellent, too: from the super creamy mac and cheese to the sweet potato cornbread. The fact that it’s all served in a casual, counter-order space makes it impossible not to root for the team’s success. There are rumbles of a second location opening soon in Hyde Park. We can’t wait.
No reservations; more info here.
10. Monster Ramen Logan Square
It is abundantly clear that Monster Ramen is self-professed “noodle nerd” Katie Dong’s passion project. Since opening the restaurant in 2022, she’s been delighting diners (including Guy Fieri) with her signature gyukotsu ramen. Each component is carefully considered: Dong’s broth is rich and clear, thanks to an 800-pound, high-pressure kettle that allows her to transform 120 pounds of beef bones into a gelatin-rich stock in just two hours. Then there are the thin, square noodles that she also makes in house, visible to diners from the open kitchen. Each option (including a hearty vegetarian offering) is served in a custom bowl designed to optimize its flavor, toppings, and temperature. If you’re new, we suggest starting with the namesake, which combines wagyu rib roast, wagyu chashu, and sweet and savory beef jam with the rich beef broth, garlic miso tare and a soft-boiled egg. You won’t find ramen like this anywhere else, because it’s entirely Dong’s invention; that’s all part of what makes it so special.
