CHIGuide

The Hit List: New Chicago Restaurants To Try Right Now

We checked out these new restaurants—and loved them.
The Hit List: New Chicago Restaurants To Try Right Now image

photo credit: Kelly Sandos

When new restaurants open, we check them out. This means that we subject our stomachs and social lives to the good, the bad, and more often than not, the perfectly fine. And every once in a while, a new spot makes us feel like "Weird Al" Yankovic at an accordion sale. When that happens, we add it here, to The Hit List. 

The Hit List is where you’ll find all of the best new restaurants in Chicago. As long as it opened within the past several months and we’re still talking about it, it’s on this guide. The latest addition might be a buzzy new restaurant with caviar priced by the bump. Or it might be an under-the-radar lunch counter where a few dollars will get something that’ll rattle around in your brain like a loose penny in a dryer.

Keep tabs on the Hit List and you will always know just which new restaurants you should be eating at right now.

New to the Hit List (2/21): Brasero

THE SPOTS

photo credit: Garrett Baumer

South American

West Town

$$$$Perfect For:Special OccasionsBig GroupsBirthdaysEating At The BarDrinking Good Wine
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Brasero seems to specialize in throwing a party every night. This Latin American spot in West Town is great for upbeat get-togethers of all sizes, with a mix of shareable dishes like fried quail and grilled half lobster, and catchy Bossa nova music that practically begs you to show up with the best gossip to match the secluded space and good-times vibe. But Brasero’s food is equally fun, with nearly everything nailing a balance between sweet and spicy. Pork ribs are covered in guava and hot sauce, a combination so good you might show off any rogue stains afterward. The moqueca has the perfect amount of chili to enhance the coconut broth, mahi mahi, and shrimp. Whatever you order, you’ll all leave with a light cologne of smoke, thanks to the wood-fire grill in the back and dessert sparklers that constantly float around.

The towering chicharron from Cariño’s Latin-inspired 11-course tasting menu makes you gaze in wonder, like you’re reenacting the first scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey—or Barbie. It comes with a side of smoky esquites, and tells you everything you need to know about this Uptown spot: you’re in for a playful, fun-to-eat meal. Other courses follow suit, like Huitlacoche ravioli that builds a world of corn on a plate or Tajin-topped oysters with a Modelo foam that channels the spicy, refreshing flavors of a michelada. And despite only having a few seats and its not-inexpensive $210 price, Cariño isn’t stuffy or overly formal—you could totally wear a hoodie and jeans to eat a churro with a tiny foie gras hat.

On the surface, this new spot from the team behind Pacific Standard Time has all the trappings of a clichéd West Loop restaurant. But behind the big windows in a building that reads more “art gallery” than “failed startup headquarters” is a fantastic place with dishes that are hard to classify. A puff of doughy gnocco fritto comes with prosciutto dressed with black currant-pepper jam. Thick, pita-like scallion pancakes pair beautifully with french onion dip. A single, halved Japanese sweet potato that could be mistaken for crème brûlée swims in a nutty Thai curry. Do we know what to call this cuisine? No. Do we know we’re excited to go back and eat clay pot rice in a fun space that looks like a minimalist’s fantasy while listening to Sade on vinyl? Absolutely.

Bonyeon's $255, 13-course, two-hour, wagyu-centric tasting menu (enough hyphens for you?) sounds like a lot—and it is. But if you need a spot to celebrate a special occasion with someone who enthusiastically swallows animal parts, this West Loop Korean beef omakase is a perfect fine dining option. The luxury here is in the details: gold chopsticks greet you at the glossy, 12-seat countertop and palate cleansers like yuzu scallops and refreshing patbingsu keep the meal from feeling like a meat overload. But you'll get close. Highlights include a juicy tenderloin—grilled in front of you and topped with miso-infused bone marrow—and a noodle soup that crams beef’s purest essence in every slurp.

Tesfa was already one of the city’s best Ethiopian restaurants. But after their move from Uptown to Edgewater, it turns out the best can get even better. Tesfa’s new space is decked out with white brick, sparkly chandeliers, and a wooden bar—some major upgrades from the old location’s plain red walls and dropped ceiling. Despite the design change, Tesfa has kept a few charming signature touches, like a TV that plays an endless stream of Ethiopian music videos, and a mural of the restaurant's logo. Most importantly, the incredible food has stuck around: zesty tomato sauce, spicy fish filets, and doro wot that’ll make you want to write a thank you note to each piece of fall-off-the-bone chicken. Bring some friends ready to tackle a massive injera platter, Tesfa 2.0 is here.

Armed with a tight menu of only four bowls, this Logan Square spot from Reddit-famous chef, Ramen_Lord, is poised for ramen supremacy. Both the busy space and ramen have an elegant simplicity, and each bowl makes us glad that conspiracy theories aren’t the only products of the Redditverse. Rich miso and savory shoyu broths complement pork chashu, wok-fried bean sprouts, and housemade noodles that carry the broths up with each slurp like a gluten-based ski lift. Just know that getting in isn’t easy and reservations instantly vanish once they drop. Come right when they open at 5pm—they accept walk-ins.

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Though we were sad to see Wherewithall in Avondale close, we’re thrilled the Parachute team opened Anelya in its place. The Ukrainian food and fun space charmed us so much that we had separation anxiety before we finished dessert. Vibrant fluorescent lamps, low-volume drum and bass, and Ukrainian textiles come together in a space that could be described as “Psychedelic-Ukrainian chic.” Waitstaff push quadruple-decker sparkling zakusky carts. People break into flaky Napoleons while servers hype up dishes like they’re blind dates they want you to go on. With dishes like rich potato and pork jowl varenyky, or kovbasa with apricot and blueberry sauerkraut, you’ll want to have a polyamorous relationship with the entire menu.

After being a pop-up for years, we were elated when Wazwan finally made Wicker Park its “forever home” in 2021. Then they closed to rebrand as Lilac Tiger. Was “forever” a lie? Short answer yes, but there’s no need to panic—Lilac Tiger is actually Wazwan: The Deluxe Edition. It’s still dark, narrow, and busy, but has more seats and a liquor license. Crispy duck fried rice and Korean curry poutine are tasty new dishes, while classics (like mushroom korma and the nihari momos) from the old menu remain. But whether this place goes by Wazwan, Lilac Tiger, or something else, it's one of the city’s best South Asian spots and we’d still elope with their tandoori honey chicken sandwich.

photo credit: Kyoten Next Door

The chef behind Kyoten, one of Chicago’s best (and most expensive) sushi restaurants, opened a more low-key option next door to the original Logan Square location. Aptly named “Kyoten Next Door,” the 18-course nigiri sushi omakase menu is $159 per person. And yes, considering that the original experience is a three-hour ordeal that costs over $450, Kyoten Next Door is more casual. But there’s nothing casual about the food—a dinner here involves phenomenal nigiri made with high-quality fish, heavily seasoned large-grained rice, and a piece of blowtorched wagyu that puts your favorite steakhouse to shame.

After a few years in West Town, this Creole and Italian restaurant moved into a much larger space down the street. And Provaré 2.0 is a blast. This bright spot has an R&B playlist that will remind you of the greatness that is '90s Usher, a speakeasy hiding behind very convincing shelves, and food that makes you put your hand up to silence the table so you can have a private moment with the housemade pasta. There are standout dishes like fried lobster tails, creamy chicken parmesan that’s the antidote to your scary Apple news feed, and juicy lamb chops that go perfectly with a side of spicy charred corn. The restaurant is busy but never chaotic, and there’s a good chance the chef will come out to drop off plates and make sure you’re having a good time. (You will be.)

Tuk Tuk is the type of casual neighborhood restaurant you wish you could live across the street from. And if you live in Lakeview, this might be possible. This small, BYOB spot specializes in Isan Thai dishes, and serves fantastic food (like eight different types of papaya salad, and stir-fried crispy pork belly) packed with chilies and herbs. For the people who tend to overestimate their heat tolerance, there’s fresh coconut water (served in an actual young coconut) on the menu to cool the burn. The restaurant manages to stay low-key even after tables fill up, but you might have to wait a while for dishes to come out as they’re ready. That just provides more time to convince yourself that yes, the table does in fact need to add a fried whole red snapper to the order.

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