The Chicago edit
Extraordinary tables. Unexpected nights.
A city that always has another story.
01 / Dining
At Esmé in Lincoln Park, chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo have turned the dining room into a Hebru Brantley gallery and the…
Atelier Shang Chicago, Shang Noodle's Wicker Park room at 1613 N. Damen Ave., soft-opens with crab-roe xiaolongbao, braised beef noodle soup, fermented-soy popcorn…
Chef John Hogan, the Everest, Savarin and Keefer's veteran, joins the Poilevey family at Le Bouchon in Bucktown on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026,…
Pitmaster Dominique Leach welcomes Batter & Berries executive chef Ken Polk to Lexington Betty Smokehouse in Pullman on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, for…
Brasero Chicago, John Manion's wood-fired South American restaurant at 1709 W. Chicago Ave., cooks steaks, seafood and cheese bread over an open hearth.…
Lula Cafe's Jason Hammel joins chef John Asbaty at the wood-burning hearth of Ox Bar & Hearth on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, for…
02 / Openings
Smartbar's Tinzo and Jojo night is sold out while UFO95 and Queen! still sell. Spybar stacks POPS and the Avina Brothers, Christkindlmarket opens…
Atelier Shang Chicago, Shang Noodle's Wicker Park room at 1613 N. Damen Ave., soft-opens with crab-roe xiaolongbao, braised beef noodle soup, fermented-soy popcorn…
Sifr, the wood-fired Middle Eastern restaurant from the Indienne team, opens Sifr Café in its River North dining room on Nov. 11, 2026:…
Sound-Bar's Last Dance on New Year's Eve, a flash sale on November 3, the PAWS Chicago Fur Ball at The Drake, Pendry's rooftop…
A Ma Maniére, James Whitner's luxury sneaker and streetwear house, is scheduled to open its first Chicago address at 1144 W. Washington Blvd.…
John Manion of El Che and Brasero, the 2026 Jean Banchet Chef of the Year, is opening Palomino, a live-fire American steakhouse at…
03 / The latest
All the stories. All the possibilities.
Dear Margaret Chicago brings chef Ryan Brosseau’s French-Canadian cooking to Frontier in West Town for Tourtière Night on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026 and again on Dec. 9: a pork meat pie, a green salad, cider-braised turnips and maple crème brûlée for $70. Here is the dinner, the cook behind it and the pop-up series that keeps Dear Margaret at the table.
At Esmé in Lincoln Park, chef Jenner Tomaska and Katrina Bravo have turned the dining room into a Hebru Brantley gallery and the tasting menu into his storybook, down to an edible Flyboy portrait you crack with a spoon. Here is what you will eat, what it costs and how to book.
Smartbar’s Tinzo and Jojo night is sold out while UFO95 and Queen! still sell. Spybar stacks POPS and the Avina Brothers, Christkindlmarket opens November 20, and NOVA NYE at Sound-Bar gets a corrected promoter credit.
Atelier Shang Chicago, Shang Noodle’s Wicker Park room at 1613 N. Damen Ave., soft-opens with crab-roe xiaolongbao, braised beef noodle soup, fermented-soy popcorn chicken and fruit-forward cocktails, 4 to 10 p.m. daily.
Chef John Hogan, the Everest, Savarin and Keefer’s veteran, joins the Poilevey family at Le Bouchon in Bucktown on Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, for a one-night celebration of Alsace built around choucroute. Here is the night, the chefs, what to order and how to get a table.
Pitmaster Dominique Leach welcomes Batter & Berries executive chef Ken Polk to Lexington Betty Smokehouse in Pullman on Thursday, Nov. 12, 2026, for a multi-course South Side & Friends dinner rooted in Southern family cooking. Here is the night, the chefs, what it costs and how to get a seat.
Brasero Chicago, John Manion’s wood-fired South American restaurant at 1709 W. Chicago Ave., cooks steaks, seafood and cheese bread over an open hearth. Here is what to order, what to drink, when the bar pours its best deals and how to get a table in West Town.
Lula Cafe’s Jason Hammel joins chef John Asbaty at the wood-burning hearth of Ox Bar & Hearth on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2026, for a five-course late-fall harvest dinner at $125, with a $65 wine pairing. Here is the night, the regular menu worth a return visit, and how to get a seat in the old Golden Ox building on Clybourn.
Sifr, the wood-fired Middle Eastern restaurant from the Indienne team, opens Sifr Café in its River North dining room on Nov. 11, 2026: baklava croissants, carrot halwa babka, sticky date lattes and lamb keema focaccia from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Here is what to order by day and by night, plus Indienne’s Diwali dinner on Nov. 8.
Sound-Bar’s Last Dance on New Year’s Eve, a flash sale on November 3, the PAWS Chicago Fur Ball at The Drake, Pendry’s rooftop chalets from November 20 and The Curio’s holiday fashion show at ROOF on theWit on December 7.
Upstairs from Beaumont’s on Halsted, The Bull Moose pairs two fireplaces and tufted booths with house dry-aged steaks that arrive with soup or salad and Robuchon potatoes. Here is what to order, what it costs, the happy hour and how to book in Lincoln Park.