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Jun 2, 2023 · The South Loop isn’t known for its restaurants, but there are quality eats to be found around the stadium for sports and music fans looking for a pre- or post-event bite. Check out the...
- The Berghoff
- The Walnut Room at Marshall Field’s
- Won Kow
- Pump Room
- Superdawg
- Lem’s Bar-B-Q
- Maxim's de Paris
- Everest
- Blackbird
- Cherry Circle Room
Hermann Berghoff opened his original restaurant, seen here in 1911, in order to sell beer in Chicago. Photo: DN-0008950, Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum One of the oldest restaurants in America came out of an entrepreneurial immigrant’s desire to sell beer. Herman Berghoff came to America from Germany and eventually opened a b...
The Walnut Room's Christmas tree in 1959. Photo: Chicago History Museum, ICHi-017139; Clarence W. Hines, photographerThere’s another wood-paneled dining room downtown with a long history in Chicago, although not quite as long as the Berghoff. The Walnut Room on the seventh floor of what used to the Marshall Field’s on State Street—now a Macy’s—supp...
Won Kow's building has changed little since it opened in 1928, the year pictured here. Photo: DN-0085745, Chicago Sun-Times/Chicago Daily News collection, Chicago History Museum Orange Garden on Irving Park Road, which just sold off its sign, became the oldest continuously operating Chinese restaurant in Chicago after Won Kow in Chinatown closedin ...
One dish at the Pump Room was served by waiters from flaming swords. Photo: HB-07662, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection For decades, the Pump Room hosted celebrities alongside food presented with a drama worthy of the Hollywood stars enjoying it. Opened in 1938 in the Gold Coast’s Ambassador East Hotel, the Pump Room shimmered wit...
Twelve-foot tall hot dogs on the roof, carhops serving you at a drive-in: Superdawg is unlike anywhere else left in the city. Photo: Eric Allix Rogers/Flickr You might think eating in your car can’t be memorable unless you spill a sticky beverage all over your upholstery, but this far Northwest Side hot dog stand proves you wrong. The last remainin...
Lem's Bar-B-Q's towering exhaust pipe—and the tantalizing scent of smoke—announce the barbeque institution's presence on 75th Street. Photo: Wikimedia/Amy C. Evans of Southern Foodways Alliance The Chicago Reader called this South Side institution “a civic treasure,” and it continues to draw crowds to 75th Street for its hot links and rib tips made...
Maxim's contained Chicago's first discotheque, seen here in 1972, and also helped introduce haute cuisine and some important French chefs to the city. Photo: ST-13002498-0020, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum Even though it was inspired by a famous Art Nouveau restaurant in Paris, Chicago’s Maxim’s de Paris was actually designed...
One of the French chefs whose career was launched at Maxim’s de Paris was Jean Joho. In 1986, he went on to open Everest with the Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group. It had one of the most stunning views of any restaurant in the city, given that it was located on the 40th floor of the Chicago Stock Exchange. Not that you would know it was there...
Blackbird's minimalist design won a James Beard Award, while its innovative food won over Chicagoans. Photo: Doug FogelsonWhen Blackbird opened in 1997, it was out of place. One of of the early innovative restaurants to open in what is now the culinary mecca of the West Loop, its minimalist, heavy-on-white aesthetic distinguished it from other ambi...
The Cherry Circle Room in the Chicago Athletic Association building is a reimagined version of a private club's restaurant. Photo: Clayton Hauck Once again, we have a downtown dining room that prominently features fine wood—but this time the restaurant is relatively new, sort of. The Cherry Circle Room is located in the Chicago Athletic Association...
- The Berghoff Restaurant. The Berghoff was established by German immigrant Herman Joseph Berghoff in 1898. He opened the tavern to showcase his family’s beer (which was sold for a nickel), with sandwiches given away for free.
- The Walnut Room. Have lunch or dinner in The Walnut Room, the first-ever restaurant in a department store when it opened in 1907. It was housed inside the original Marshall Field’s, which at the time was the largest store in the world.
- Lou Mitchell’s. Lou Mitchell’s has been a favorite breakfast spot for locals and Route 66 travelers since 1923. This family-run diner prides itself on its warm hospitality, which includes free mini boxes of Milk Duds candies for women and children (handed out since 1958), and complimentary donut holes for all.
- Italian Village. Owned by the Capitanini family since 1927, the downtown Italian Village is Chicago’s oldest Italian restaurant. During the course of its 90 years in business, Italian Village has dished out some nine million meals and employed more than 40,000 Chicagoans.
Sep 21, 2023 · The most iconic restaurants in Chicago. 1. Manny’s Cafeteria and Delicatessen. Delis. West Loop. Photograph: Michael Jarecki. The most prominent Jewish deli in Chicago has operated for eight...
- Daley’s Restaurant. Location: 6257 S Cottage Grove Ave. Opened: 1892. Known for: 24-hour breakfast. photo source: Yelp. The oldest restaurant in Chicago is Daley’s Restaurant.
- The Berghoff Restaurant. Location: 17 W Adams St. Opened: 1898. Known for: German food and beer. photo source: Flickr. The Berghoff Restaurant was opened in 1898 by a family man named Herman Berghoff.
- The Walnut Room. Location: 111 N State St. Opened: 1907. Known for: Being inside Macy’s. photo source: Flickr. The Walnut Room is an eclectic, slightly more upscale dining room known for being the first restaurant ever opened in a department store.
- Pompei. Location: 1532 W Taylor St. Opened: 1909. Known for: Italian desserts. photo source: Pompeiusa. Pompei, like many neighborhood restaurants, is an Italian eatery known for fresh pizza, daily baked bread, and amazing Italian desserts.
Jan 7, 2019 · The best downtown Chicago restaurants have it all: soupy dumplings, saucy barbecue, stacked burgers and fresh-baked scones.
Two months before its August 2015 demolition, the unique design of this restaurant can clearly still be seen, although its glass window below the roof and brick walls have been inexplicably filled in to more closely resemble thousands of McDonald’s restaurants built from 1968 to the 1990s.
