Argo Tea Cafe16 W. Randolph | 312-553-1551
F 7.9 | S 6.9 | A 8.9 | $$$$ (19 reports)American Contemporary/Regional | Breakfast: Monday-Saturday; Lunch, dinner: seven days | Sunday brunch
Bistro 110110 E. Pearson | 312-266-3110
Walk into this chic cafe just off the lobby of the Sofitel hotel and you could easily think you’re in Paris (where the chain is based) or Milan. Pierre-Yves Rochon’s stunning decor features 5-foot-tall light fixtures suspended from 50-foot vaulted ceilings, brilliant red banquettes, and backlit translucent bar walls that change from green to purple. Chef Gilles Arzur aims to dazzle as well, with an innovative French menu that covers meals from breakfast to late-night snack. The midday meal is a treat, and there’s the option of ordering a four-plate, 30-minute business lunch for $20.95. Dinner entrees on the seasonal menu include olive-oil-poached escolar, hazelnut-crusted venison with a cacao-celery puree, and a lobster trilogy—lobster tartare with a peach-vanilla oil, lobster-asparagus risotto, and poached lobster with braised salsify and truffle cream. The chef also offers a three-course prix fixe dinner menu for $40; your choice of appetizer (e.g., diver scallops, gravlax, seared quail breast, celery veloute with lobster), an entree (beef tenderloin, duck breast, spicy crusted black cod), and dessert. The recently expanded wine list is now more international in its range. —Laura Levy Shatkin
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La Cantina71 W. Monroe | 312-332-7005
F 7.4 | S 6.9 | A 6.6 | $$ (7 reports)American | Lunch, dinner: seven days | Open late: Friday & Saturday till 12:30, Monday-Thursday till 11:30, Sunday till 11
Eno505 N. Michigan | 312-321-8738
