| Restaurant | 2025 award | The meal | Plan before booking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Smyth | 3 Stars | Seasonal tasting dinner | From November 5, 2026, only the extended Chef’s Menu is offered, with full prepayment. |
| 2. Alinea | 2 Stars | Room-specific tasting experiences | Choose Salon, Gallery or Kitchen Table before booking; allow a different amount of time for each. |
| 3. Ever | 2 Stars | Eight- to ten-course tasting dinner | Allow about 2.5 hours; reservations are released on the first Tuesday of the month. |
| 4. Kasama | 2 Stars | Reserved Filipino tasting dinner | Dinner is reserved Thursday through Sunday; daytime bakery and counter service are first come, first served. |
| 5. Oriole | 2 Stars | Extended contemporary tasting dinner | A rolling 90-day reservation calendar offers dining-room and kitchen-table experiences. |
| 6. Boka | 1 Star | Seasonal dinner and tasting menus | Check the current dinner menu; the restaurant says its tasting menus change daily. |
| 7. Cariño | 1 Star | Latin tasting dinner; separate taco omakase | Choose the exact experience; late-night taco omakase is a separate booking from the tasting dinner. |
| 8. EL Ideas | 1 Star | Interactive tasting dinner, BYOB | Bring your own drinks; the restaurant can discuss vegan and other dietary accommodations before booking. |
| 9. Elske | 1 Star | Tasting menu or shared à la carte dishes | The whole table chooses one format on arrival; patio reservations depend on the weather. |
| 10. Esmé | 1 Star | Artist-inspired tasting dinner | Allow 2.5 to 3 hours and use the dining-room entrance at Webster and Sedgwick. |
| 11. Feld | 1 Star + Green Star | Daily seasonal tasting menu | One Star plus a Green Star; all guests begin together, and the menu cannot accommodate vegan diets. |
| 12. Galit | 1 Star | Four-course Middle Eastern dinner | Vegan choices are available in every course; tell the team when booking and at the table. |
| 13. Indienne | 1 Star | Indian tasting menus, including a full vegan menu | Choose a dedicated vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian or nonvegetarian menu before booking. |
| 14. Mako | 1 Star | Japanese omakase | Fixed seatings and no walk-ins; the menu cannot accommodate vegan or vegetarian diets. |
| 15. Moody Tongue | 1 Star | Dining-room tasting menu with beer pairings | Select the Dining Room, rather than the Bar, when booking the starred tasting experience. |
| 16. Next | 1 Star | Changing themed tasting menus | Fashion runs through January 10, 2027; price varies with the reservation date and time. |
| 17. Schwa | 1 Star | Chef-served tasting dinner, BYOB | BYOB and deliberately loud music; allow about two hours and arrive on time. |
| 18. Sepia | 1 Star | Four-course prix fixe or eight-course tasting | Four courses offer choices; the longer tasting has more limited substitutions. |
| 19. Topolobampo | 1 Star | Regional Mexican tasting menus | Check the new menu for your date; the Veracruz menu ended October 24, 2026. |
Choose the dinner that fits your table
For a dedicated vegan tasting menu, start with Indienne. Galit has vegan options in every course, while EL Ideas discusses vegan accommodations in advance. Feld holds a Green Star but cannot accommodate a vegan menu; the environmental award does not describe a diet.
If you want choices at the table, compare Sepia’s four-course menu, Galit and Elske’s à la carte option. For BYOB, look at EL Ideas or Schwa. Schwa makes its loud music explicit, which matters if the plan is a quiet conversation.
The reservation is part of the choice
Kasama’s daytime bakery is a different visit from its reserved tasting dinner. At Moody Tongue, choose the Dining Room for the starred tasting experience. Cariño’s late-night taco omakase and Bar Esmé are separate choices from those restaurants’ full tasting dinners.
For an early-November visit, read the date-specific notices at Smyth and Alinea. Smyth changes its menu and prepayment format on November 5, 2026. Alinea changes reservation platforms for visits beginning November 1.
Why this list has 19 restaurants
MICHELIN’s current starred Chicago directory lists one Three-Star restaurant, four Two-Star restaurants and fourteen One-Star restaurants. The awards are from the 2025 Guide announcement; October 25, 2026 is the date we checked the list and restaurant details.
Atelier appeared in the 2025 awards but closed in May 2026. Its closure record explains the difference between the original 20-restaurant announcement and the 19 active listings. The wider MICHELIN Guide also includes Bib Gourmand and Selected restaurants, which are different distinctions from Stars.
Open a restaurant before you book
Each linked profile includes the address, the exact award, current booking links and the restaurant’s own dining details. Check the final reservation total and confirm any essential dietary accommodation before paying. Older photographs are dated in their captions; changing menus may no longer serve the pictured dish.