Chicago · 6 ranked picks
Alla Vita leads this shortlist.
Alla Vita is a Boka Restaurant Group Italian project in the West Loop, occupying a bright, plant-filled room that reads as deliberately contemporary — closer to a modern European brasserie than the brick-and-candle Italian template Chica…
Pizzeria Portofino is a pizza pick in River North in Chicago when you want dinner to feel a little more planned.
Gino's East keeps showing up in the right conversations when people want a reliable pizza plan.
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Boka Group has a knack for making a room feel more expensive than it is, and Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna at 531 N Wells St.
Siena Tavern is a large, deliberately social Italian-American room in River North that makes no effort to disguise its ambitions: this is a restaurant built for groups, for noise, and for the kind of occasion that calls for a long table…
Paradise Park | Pizza & Patio is the kind of pizza room in Wicker Park you reach for when the evening is meant to matter a little more.
The best pizza in Chicago are Alla Vita, Pizzeria Portofino, Gino's East, and more.
The final six are Alla Vita, Pizzeria Portofino, Gino's East, Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna, Siena Tavern, Paradise Park | Pizza & Patio.
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 →
Lighting, pace, and general energy all need to support the reason someone clicked this guide.
We favored restaurants that feel best suited for the moment, not just restaurants with broad reputation.
The final list tries to give readers enough variation in neighborhood, price, and style to compare real options.
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