The 20 best restaurants in River North

One of the best omakase experiences in the city, The Omakase Room at Sushi-San is well worth the splurge. Hidden above Lettuce Entertain You’s perpetually hopping restaurant is a far more serene 10-seat space where you’ll get to know your neighbors while watching master sushi chefs craft an 18-course meal focused on line-caught fish. Embrace the indulgence with sake and wine pairings or just ask the excellent staff to recommend a cocktail or Japanese whiskey.

Brendan Sodikoff's vaguely French steakhouse is a departure—or perhaps an evolution—for the restaurateur. While his other spots (Gilt Bar, Au Cheval) have their charms, the appeal of this spot—decked out with jazz-era decor and music—is practically universal. Diners need not be huge steak fans to get a good meal; in fact, as good as the steak frites is, both the fried and roasted chicken are even better. Elegant cocktails begin meals here; fabulous pies (lemon meringue, chocolate cream) end them.

Sharing a front door with Frontera Grill, Topolobampo opened two years after Rick and Deann Bayless’ original spot to offer a sleeker and more adventurous alternative. The Michelin-starred and James Beard Award-winning restaurant offers a regularly changing tasting menu, with a dining experience that starts with snacks and drinks in the front lounge. It's hard to predict exactly what will be offered day to day—but because Bayless is involved, it never really feels like a gamble.

Added to Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list in 2022, Ciccio Mio brings classic Italian-American fare to a supper club environment packed with vintage-style art and furniture. Start in the cozy lounge with an amaro shaved ice or white negroni, then sit down in one of the rounded booths for a comforting meal of chicken parmesan or spicy vodka rigatoni. Be sure to plan ahead because reservations book up quickly.

Vegetarians, vegans and carnivores will all find excellent six-course tasting menus showing off beautifully presented, innovative spins on Indian fare. It’s worth trying different versions even if you don’t have dietary restrictions just to appreciate the depths of chef Sujan Sarkar’s creativity and the perfect wine pairings. Add on some supplemental courses for the full experience or just get a taste of the restaurant by ordering some a la carte dishes and a cocktail at the bar.

Take a culinary tour of Peru at Tanta, where the menu of shareable plates showcases how native Peruvian cooking has been inspired by Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, African and Italian influences. Start with Peru’s national dish—ceviche made with seasonal fish and sweet potatoes—and the country’s national cocktail, the pisco sour. You can also get a taste of Peruvian street food with a grilled octopus skewer before digging into a plate of wok-fried beef tenderloin. For a real escape, get a seat on the restaurant’s 1,550-square foot rooftop.

The celebrated West Loop restaurant offers the same Mediterranean-inspired food and extensive wine list in a larger space in River North. The sunny spot is great for date nights or larger groups who can share plates of chorizo-stuffed medjool dates, handmade pasta and whole-roasted fish. Take advantage of half-price bottles of wine on Tuesday or come for a weekend brunch to dig into spiced shakshuka while sipping bottomless mimosas.

The first Mexican chef to receive a Michelin star, Carlos Gaytán uses French cooking techniques to prepare dishes from his hometown of Huitzuco, from which the restaurant takes its name. Favorites include the mushroom cazuela featuring goat cheese and tortillas and the cochinita pibil, pork shank with black bean puree and habanero salsa. Pair your meal with a pitcher of Mexique sangria made with brandy, burgundy and hibiscus flowers or come for brunch and try a Bloody Mary spiced with ancho and guajillo peppers.

Restaurants have always been a family affair for Oliver Poilevey, who worked as sous chef for his father at Bucktown institution Le Bouchon. Now he’s partnered with his brother Nicolas to put his own spin on French cooking at Obelix, bringing Asian and Mexican flavors to classic dishes. Be sure to bring a big appetite and order the beef wellington with al pastor hollandaise along with a bold bordeaux. A menu of bite-sized desserts means you can have a sweet finisher so matter how full you are.

The second restaurant from the team of the Rancics and the Melman kids was this steakhouse, which turns out perfectly cooked steaks, a towering seafood platter and potatoes with black truffles. The desserts are the secret star, with a flaming baked Alaska and chocolate cake, though you should just pretend it's your birthday and snag one of the over-the-top sundaes.

Restaurateur Billy Dec celebrates his Filipino roots at Sunda New Asian, which serves modern interpretations of lumpia, pancit and sisig along with sushi and signature dishes inspired by other Southeast Asian countries including Thailand, Vietnam and Korea. The drink menu offers an extensive selection of Asian beer and sake plus seasonal cocktails you can enjoy on the restaurant’s revamped patio. Sunda’s brunch features ube waffles with Japanese fried chicken, a traditional Filipino breakfast and a 32-ounce Sumo Mary with equally outsized toppings including a pork belly bao bun and a baked snow crab handroll.

James Beard Award-winning executive chef Carrie Nahabedian has been serving up an ever-changing menu of French-influenced fare at Brindille for more than a decade. Order oysters, steak and foie gras a la carte or opt for a tasting menu with pairings from co-owner Michael Nahabedian. Be sure to save room for a cheese plate or dessert from pastry chef Craig Harzewski, accompanied by tea or a glass of sweet wine.

There’s nothing wrong with splurging on lobster or king crab and wanting to enjoy it in this institution’s formal dining room. We just prefer to get down and dirty in the adjacent oyster bar, where we slurp fresh oysters, crack open crab claws and dunk lobster tail in copious amounts of butter. Classic cocktails are well-executed, though we'll almost always opt for a well-chosen draft beer alongside seafood.

Miami-based PLANTA Queen hopes to get more diners to eat plant-based by providing a lively destination for flavorful vegan fare. The restaurant offers spins on Asian favorites like watermelon nigiri, Thai lettuce wraps and crispy vegetable gyoza alongside cocktails incorporating sake, lychee and Japanese whiskey. For an indulgent meal, come for an endless mimosa brunch featuring ube mochi waffles and chai-iced cinnamon buns.

Chef partner CJ Jacobson presents a California-style spin on Mediterranean small plates with an emphasis on spreads, dips and mezze such as charred eggplant spread, house-made stracciatella and lamb and beef kefta kebabs. Stop in for happy hour from 4-6pm Monday through Thursday to enjoy $6 craft beer and $10 house margaritas. If you’re just looking for a quick weekday lunch, visit the Rotisserie Ema food bar.

If it gets any more old-school than this circa-1941 steakhouse, we haven’t seen it. The wood-lined dining room features Naugahyde bar stools and a mahogany bar that have hosted celebrities ranging from Frank Sinatra to Will Ferrell. Some of the servers have spent more than 40 years at the restaurant so they can guide you through the menu of Italian classics and signature dishes such as shrimp de jonghe and a garbage salad loaded with salami, provolone and jumbo shrimp.

Most chefs behind culinary empires branch to other cities, leaving the original back home to suffer. Rick Bayless kept close to the kitchen and chose to expand in other ways (packaged food line, cookbooks, TV shows). Lucky us. For over three decades, this has been the spot for regional Mexican fare made with local ingredients, a place to chow down on ceviches, enchiladas with mole, wood-grilled steak tucked into organic heirloom corn tortillas and, of course, insanely good margaritas.

Chef-owner Bill Varley and his wife Janice traveled across Italy to collect regional dishes to bring to the menu of Torchio Pasta Bar. The 100-year-old brick building provides a warm space for the traditional fare, which includes saffron arancini, roasted mushroom risotto and cacio e pepe. The pasta is made on the premises, though they also import gluten-free varieties from Italy so that no one’s left out. Start your meal at the copper bar with a classic cocktail or glass of Prosecco.

The massive, lively restaurant in the heart of River North serves authentic Mexican cuisine paired with tequila- and mezcal-based cocktails. Couples and big groups have flocked to Mercadito for more than a decade for a seasonal menu of guacamole, ceviche, salsas and a huge selection of tacos including beer-battered mahi-mahi with chipotle aioli and smoked brisket with tomatillo salsa. Come for brunch to enjoy chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and carnitas hash.

The lively restaurant is a perfect place for big groups looking to share an affordable menu of wine by the liter along with Italian small plates including Neapolitan-style pizza, veal meatball sliders with giardiniera and handmade gnocchi with fresh basil and ricotta. Start your meal with a tasting of salumi and cheeses and leave room for profiterole with a glass of house-made limoncello. The kitchen is open until 11:30pm, so it’s also a great destination if you’re looking for a late night snack.