{"id":736409,"date":"2026-04-18T09:29:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/736409\/"},"modified":"2026-04-18T09:29:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-18T09:29:18","slug":"the-10-hottest-restaurants-in-chicago-right-now-chicago-magazine-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/736409\/","title":{"rendered":"The 10 Hottest Restaurants in Chicago Right Now \u2013 Chicago Magazine"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"ThreePhotograph: Garrett Sweet<\/p>\n

1 Bar Bambi<\/p>\n

What: A vibrant neighborhood bar from Katie Renshaw (Hawksmoor).
Why: With all the restaurants on this stretch, there\u2019s a new spot for a pre- or postmeal drink.
Where:1703 W. Chicago Ave., West Town Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APhotograph: Matt Reeves<\/p>\n

2 Susu<\/p>\n

What: Alexander Willis (Dusek\u2019s) helms this Asian and Mediterranean steakhouse.
Why: Who wouldn\u2019t be curious about dipping their steak in green zhug or Sichuan au poivre?
Where: 652 W. Randolph St., West Loop Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APhotograph: Travis Frangie<\/p>\n

3 Belmont Tavern<\/p>\n

What: The long-closed tavern lives again.
Why: Longtime barman Nick Kokonas (no, not that Nick Kokonas) reopened the space with refined cocktails and Old Style on draft.
Where:3405 W. Belmont Ave., Logan Square Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"VariousPhotograph: Courtesy of The Purple Pig<\/p>\n

4 The Purple Pig<\/p>\n

What: The famed downtown eatery adds a new location west of the city.
Why: It marks the return of Tony Mantuano (Spiaggia), who is part owner of the new outpost.
Where: 15 Oakbrook Center, Oak Brook Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APhotograph: Kim Yeoh<\/p>\n

5 Spice by CMB<\/p>\n

What: A homey Afro-Caribbean spot.
Why: It\u2019s a big draw for brunch\u2009\u2014\u2009think breakfast jollof.
Where: 2853 N. Kedzie Ave., Logan Square Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

6 Tune-Up<\/p>\n

What: A casual bar from the Owl team.
Why: A late-night hangout that goes till 5 a.m. on weekends.
Where: 3810 W. Belmont Ave., Avondale Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

7 Retro Pizza<\/p>\n

What: A Roman pizza takeout joint (plus a coffee bar) from the La Boulangerie folks.
Why: Finally, something new to try in that long-empty Hero\u2019s space!
Where: 3600 N. Western Ave., Horner Park Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APhotograph: Nikki Allen<\/p>\n

8 Kouklas Greek Eatery<\/p>\n

What: Jimmy Bannos Jr. serves a modern take on Mediterranean fare.
Why: Yeah, there\u2019s whipped feta, but you\u2019re going to want to check out the Greek pastas.
Where: 7620 N. Milwaukee Ave., Niles Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

9 Bar None<\/p>\n

What: A THC-focused bar that takes over the caf\u00e9 Froth from Fridays to Sundays.
Why: It\u2019s perfect for nondrinkers who still want to catch a buzz.
Where: 1515 W. Monroe St., Near West Side Website<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"APhotograph: Courtesy of Hattie B\u2019s Hot Chicken<\/p>\n

10 Hattie B\u2019s Hot Chicken<\/p>\n

What: Nashville\u2019s famous chicken joint opens near Wrigley Field.
Why: A Tennessee takeover begins: This is the first of three locations launching here by early 2027.
Where: 3649 N. Clark St., Wrigleyville Website<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photograph: Garrett Sweet 1 Bar Bambi What: A vibrant neighborhood bar from Katie Renshaw (Hawksmoor).Why: With all the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":736410,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5124],"tags":[98108,52912,269426,304194,960,94905,15767,304201,304199,94904,5386,1818,304200,74080,132702,14699,110520,8463,988,304198,304196,304193,304195,304197,94902,27750,94906,69869],"class_list":["post-736409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-chicago","tag-bar-none","tag-avondale","tag-bar-bambi","tag-belmont-tavern","tag-chicago","tag-chicago-restaurant","tag-chicago-restaurants","tag-hattie-bs-hot-chicken","tag-horner-park","tag-hot-list","tag-il","tag-illinois","tag-kouklas-greek-eatery","tag-logan-square","tag-near-west-side","tag-niles","tag-oak-brook","tag-restaurant","tag-restaurants","tag-retro-pizza","tag-spice-by-cmb","tag-susu","tag-the-purple-pig","tag-tune-up","tag-west-loop","tag-west-town","tag-where-to-eat-in-chicago","tag-wrigleyville"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116425010177534108","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=736409"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/736409\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/736410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=736409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=736409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=736409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}