Restaurant listings are culled from the Reader Restaurant Finder, an online database of more than 4,200 Chicago-area restaurants. Restaurants are reviewed by staff, contributors, and (where noted) individual Reader Restaurant Raters. Though reviewers try to reflect the Raters’ input, reviews should be considered one person’s opinion; the Raters’ collective opinions are best expressed in the numbers. Complete searchable listings, Raters’ comments, and information on how to become a Rater are at chicagoreader.com/restaurantfinder.
This convivial Gold Coast restaurant serves classic bistro cuisine—salade niçoise, moules marinieres, roast chicken—with mostly successful results. One Rater gives special praise to the “out of this world” dessert crepes and strong Intelligentsia coffee. (Illy espresso is also served.) The dining room evokes a Parisian bistro, with tiled floors, heavily mirrored walls, and teeny tables lining long leather banquettes. Weekend brunch offerings have a Gallic twist: eggs Benedict come with poached salmon, there’s brioche French toast with vanilla mascarpone and fresh berries, and of course omelets and a quiche du jour. —Martha Bayne
$$$Seafood | Dinner: seven days | Open late: every night Till midnight
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
This sibling to neighboring Gibson’s attracts a similarly moneyed crowd. The kitchen produces large portions of fresh seafood in unadulterated preparations: huge crab cakes, classic sides like baked potatoes and creamed spinach, fish dishes—blackened grouper, grilled mahimahi, baked halibut with crabmeat stuffing—and, of course, frog’s legs. The decor takes a maritime theme and runs with it—model ships stand on raised shelves, old photos of someone’s sea voyage hang on the walls, and with the low ceilings and frequent crowds, you might as well be belowdecks. —Laura Levy Shatkin
Merlo on Maple16 W. Maple | 312-335-8200
Star chef Richard Sandoval of Modern Mexican collaborated on this cozy folk-art-decorated room tucked behind Rush Street’s see-and-be-seen Whiskey Bar. But the menu is now mostly traditional Mexican, with more changes planned for later in the spring. Well-balanced guacamole, made to order and served with crisp chips, would be at home in a neighborhood spot, as would chilorio sopes brimming with pulled pork. Other standards include carne asada, three-cheese enchiladas, combo plates, and chicken adobado. But a trio of extremely salty Mexico City-style steak tacos made me wonder why I was spending $10 for what would cost half that at my local taqueria. The highlights came from the more sophisticated camp that is no longer: creamy balsamic-painted roasted corn soup with a huitlacoche dumpling and a picture-perfect entree of seared coriander-chile-crusted tuna slices propped up around boniato puree on a hibiscus-blood orange-habanero emulsion. The patio is scheduled to open May 1. —Anne Spiselman
$$$Italian | Lunch, dinner: seven days | Open late: Friday & Saturday till 11
