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GuideUpdated July 16, 2026

4 Best destination Restaurants in Chicago

The best 4 restaurants for destination in Chicago — curated by TastyPals editors.

The best destination restaurants in Chicago are Alinea, Sepia, Smyth, and more. Start with Alinea if you want the strongest overall first pick.

By James Whitfield•4 ranked picks•Published July 16, 2026•Updated July 16, 2026
Methodology•Editorial team
AlineaSepiaSmyth
4 Best destination Restaurants in Chicago
Google

Top picks at a glance

#1AlineaAmerican • Chicago • splurge#2SepiaAmerican • Chicago • splurge#3SmythAmerican • Chicago • splurge

Who this guide is for

This guide covers the highest-rated restaurants for destination in Chicago, sorted by Google rating and editorial judgment.

Quick picks

Alinea
American • Chicago
Alinea has spent two decades as Chicago's argument for dining-as-theatre, and the question now is whether the spectacle still earns the occasion.
Sepia
American • Chicago
Sepia occupies a specific register that Chicago's fine dining scene rarely sustains: the special-occasion room that doesn't perform occasion at you.
Smyth
American • Chicago
John and Karen Urie Shields built smyth around a premise that still reads as quietly radical in fine dining: that the vegetable courses deserve the same intellectual rigor as anything else on the t…
Browse all Chicago restaurantsBack to Chicago hub
Editorial details
Published: July 16, 2026
Last updated: July 16, 2026

On this page

  1. 1. AlineaView →
  2. 2. SepiaView →
  3. 3. SmythView →
  4. 4. Bar MarView →

How the restaurants compare

Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Alinea
Google
Alinea
Chicago • American
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
splurge
Best for
Fine dining
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Sepia
Google
Sepia
Chicago • American
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
splurge
Best for
Fine dining
Mood
Casual
Editorial restaurant image stand-in for Smyth
Google
Smyth
Chicago • American
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
splurge
Best for
Fine dining
Mood
Casual
Bar Mar
Chicago • Fine Dining
9.9/10
TastyPals Score
Price
splurge
Best for
special occasion
Mood
Casual

How we chose

We looked for restaurants that feel like a strong fit for the guide topic, not just the most obvious names in the city. The shortlist favors rooms with clear mood, dependable pacing, and enough distinction to help someone decide faster. Read our full methodology →

Room tone

Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.

Food fit

We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.

Useful range

The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.

4 ranked picks

Alinea — Alinea has spent two decades as Chicago's argument for dining-as-theatre, and the question now is whether the spectacle still earns the occasion. In November 2025, Michelin demoted the Lincoln Park room to two stars after a fourteen-year run at three — a verdict worth weighing against the cheque. Grant Achatz, who opened here with Nick Kokonas in 2005, still trades in whimsy: the Black Truffle Explosion ravioli, whose gel liquefies at the bite; the Hot Potato, Cold Potato pulled from its pin so warm and cold collide; the edible helium balloon that has become shorthand for the place. Three experiences are offered — Salon ($365), Gallery ($435), Kitchen Table ($495) — each carrying a 20% service charge atop tax and drinks. That positions an evening well past most special-occasion budgets. The scented vapors and tableside performance remain genuinely singular; whether the cooking now matches the staging is the honest tension a diner should expect to feel. Go for the invention and the anniversary pedigree, not for reassurance that three stars were unjustly lost. View restaurant →
Sepia — Sepia occupies a specific register that Chicago's fine dining scene rarely sustains: the special-occasion room that doesn't perform occasion at you. Where many tasting-menu destinations layer ceremony over substance, Sepia is consistently described as working in the opposite direction — the room, with its warm antiqued tones and Edwardian-inflected bones, absorbs the evening rather than amplifying it. Diners who track this kind of thing report that the pacing feels editorial rather than procedural, and that the experience holds coherence from first course to last. That coherence, according to those who follow the room closely, is rarer than its price point suggests. This is a restaurant for people who want the meal to be the event, not the architecture around it. The wine program is where Sepia's curatorial intelligence is most legible, and the list reads as considered rather than exhaustive. The 2019 Altesino Brunello di Montalcino is known as a structured, patience-demanding Tuscan — the kind of selection that signals a list built around what food actually requires of a wine, not what sells on name recognition. The 2007 Domaine Tempier Bandol is a more provocative inclusion, a Provençal wine with real age that suggests the sommelier is worth trusting. The NV Ca' del Bosco Cuvée Prestige is widely regarded as the natural aperture into an evening like this — precise, unfussy, correct. The 2021 Borgo Maragliano La Caliera Moscato d'Asti closes a tasting progression without tipping into cloying sweetness, a technically considered choice that most lists don't bother attempting. Book the full tasting format if the occasion warrants it; à la carte here is reportedly like reading alternate chapters of the same text. Regulars suggest requesting a table along the inner banquette for better sightlines and softer acoustics, and Tuesday or Wednesday bookings tend to yield service with more room to breathe. The consistent advice from those who know the room: let the sommelier lead the pairing, and open with the Ca' del Bosco. View restaurant →
Smyth — John and Karen Urie Shields built smyth around a premise that still reads as quietly radical in fine dining: that the vegetable courses deserve the same intellectual rigor as anything else on the tasting menu. The kitchen's two Michelin stars reflect a cooking philosophy grounded in fermentation, preservation, and long-standing relationships with regional farmers — sourcing treated not as a talking point but as the structural foundation of what arrives at the table. The menu changes with those relationships, which means what diners encounter is contingent on what the land is producing and how the kitchen has chosen to work with it over time. The dishes smyth is known for illustrate that philosophy in concrete terms. The long-fermented beet course is regularly cited by guests and critics as a demonstration of what extended fermentation can do to a single ingredient — not embellishment, but transformation. The farm squash course draws on the same logic: a vegetable that most tasting-menu kitchens would treat as a supporting element given its own moment of full attention. The egg yolk with koji reportedly shows the kitchen's interest in umami-building through process rather than luxury ingredient. The preserved-produce dessert carries the preservation ethos through to the final course, which is either a coherent statement or an acquired taste depending on what you expect a dessert to do — guests who arrive open to that conversation tend to leave persuaded. Smyth operates as a tasting-menu-only room, so commitment to the full experience is the price of entry — practically and in terms of time. Service is consistently described as warm and genuinely informed, with a front-of-house team prepared to discuss each course at whatever depth a guest wants. Reservations book ahead; planning several weeks out is the realistic expectation for prime seatings. View restaurant →

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Save these spots to your Chicago list

Save these spots to your Chicago list in the TastyPals app, then explore similar restaurants when you want a tighter shortlist for the night.

Personalized city picksCleaner shortlistsBuilt for iPhone and Android
TastyPalsTonight
Your taste. Our picks.
Smarter follow-through after the guide: better restaurant context, quicker narrowing, less second-guessing.
For tonight
Date night spots with warm rooms and polished service
Next step
Keep exploring in the app when you want a tighter shortlist