Chicago Restaurants and Dining

(Chicago, Illinois - IL, USA)

Dining out in Chicago is immensely popular and there are more than 6,000 restaurants, serving up a variety of cuisine from all over the world. These eateries range from basic snack bars and coffee shops, to high-class restaurants and gourmet haunts. Chicago is also well-known for its street food, which includes pizza and hot dog stands.

In the last 20 years, restaurants in Chicago have changed dramatically, and many are more health conscious, proving a much larger range of tasty, healthy alternatives. There are now a large number of popular coffee shops, which started opening when Starbucks arrived in 1988. The city now has a strong coffee house culture and these outlets provide an excellent place to stop and recharge, particularly when shopping.

Every year the city holds a popular food festival, known as the 'Taste of Chicago'. This ten-day open-air festival includes more than 60 different restaurants offering samples of their most popular dishes. The dining extravaganza is attended by thousands of people every year and also includes live music. The Taste of Chicago runs from the end of June through to July 4th and is considered to be the largest food fest of its kind in the world.


There are many excellent restaurants situated throughout Chicago, many with exceptional views of the city, the coastline and the surrounding scenery.

• Italian - some Italian eateries in the city favor the heavy cream sauces of northern Italy, while others feature tomato sauces from the south
• American - serving juicy burgers, steaks, salads, pasta, sandwiches, fries and much more besides, the city's American-style eateries and diners always provide excellent value for money
• Chinese - Chinatown in the best place in Chicago for traditional Chinese establishments and these all feature authentic Chinese cuisine, such as fried rice, noodles, egg foo young and many American-style Cantonese dishes
• Mexican, Latin American and Spanish - offering a broad spectrum of this type of cuisine
• Seafood - seafood is particularly popular in Chicago and there are many excellent seafood dining venues, serving a selection of fresh fish, lobsters and squid
• French - serving classic French haute cuisine, in bistros and brasseries
• Pizza - the city has become famous for its 'deep-dish' Pizza which it claims to have reinvented. This has a thick layer of dough, covered in a chunky tomato sauce, with plenty of mozzarella cheese sprinkled on the top
• Vegetarian - some vegetarian restaurants exist in the city, but vegetarians should also consider Indian and Southeast Asian eateries, where there are many tasty meat-free dishes