This cozy Lincoln Park bistro was just named the 2026 Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine

Chicago's dining scene has scored another big bragging right to add to the city's ever-growing list. John’s Food & Wine, the intimate Lincoln Park restaurant from chef-owners Tom Rogers and Adam McFarland, has officially been named the 2026 Restaurant of the Year by Food & Wine. 

The honor, announced on September 1, recognizes restaurants that are helping shape the future of American dining through exceptional food, hospitality and impact. And while John’s certainly has the cooking chops, it’s the way Rogers and McFarland have structured their business that makes the restaurant especially notable.

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Rogers and McFarland met in Chicago almost 20 years ago, eventually working together at New York’s Gramercy Tavern under chef Michael Anthony before returning to Chicago and opening John’s Food & Wine (named after their fathers) in 2024. In addition to building a business together, they also literally built much of the restaurant, including the bar.

But the most radical feature of John’s Food & Wine isn't on the plate. Every guest pays a flat 20-percent hospitality charge, which is pooled among the front- and back-of-house staff, while employees earn at least $25 an hour. Workers can also boost their earnings by taking on additional responsibilities.

According to Food & Wine, that model has helped create a profitable restaurant where dishwashers can earn roughly $70,000 a year and line cooks around $90,000—figures that are among the highest for those positions in Chicago. 

“John’s Food & Wine represents exactly what we look for in a Restaurant of the Year,” Food & Wine editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis said in a statement. “The food is exciting, the hospitality is genuine, and Tom and Adam have shown that prioritizing their team ultimately creates a better experience for everyone who walks through the door.”

For Rogers and McFarland, the whole point was to build the kind of restaurant they wished they'd had when they were starting out.

“Tom and I opened John's to create a place where we would have wanted to work as young cooks,” McFarland said.

Rogers put it even more simply: “We wanted to create a place that felt like us, cook the food we wanted to cook, take care of people in a way that felt genuine, and build a restaurant where incredibly talented people could do their best work. To have Food & Wine recognize John’s in this way is incredibly meaningful. We’re proud of what we’ve built, but more than anything, we’re proud of the people who built it with us. This restaurant is the result of a lot of people caring deeply about what they do every single day.”

John’s Food & Wine is the fifth restaurant to receive Food & Wine’s Restaurant of the Year designation. Previous winners include Diane’s Place in Minneapolis; Burdell in Oakland, California; Birdie’s in Austin and Locust in Nashville.

Chicago diners, move fast—this might be your last chance to land a dinner reservation at John's this calendar year!

John's Food and Wine, 2114 N. Halsted St, is open Tuesday through Tuesday from 5pm–9:30pm; Fri from 4pm–10pm; Sat from 11am–10pm; and Sunday from 4pm–8:30pm. For more information and to make a reservation, click here.