Seven of the Best Chicago Restaurants to Visit During Restaurant Week

Chicago’s Restaurant Week 2019 runs from January 25 to February 7. This annual event offers you an opportunity to check out some places you’ve never been before for prices you probably haven’t seen before.

 

This year, around 400 Chicago restaurants are participating, including over 100 restaurants that have not before been a part of this yearly celebration of Chicago food.

 

For 2019, prix fixe menus start at $24 for brunch and $36 and/or $48 for dinner (not including beverages and gratuity).

 

Here are seven of the best Chicago restaurants to visit during Restaurant Week.

 

Avec. Chef Paul Kahan’s breakthrough West Loop restaurant, one of the first in what is now Chicago’s acclaimed Randolph Street Restaurant Row, is offering lunch and dinner during Restaurant Week. Some of the innovative dishes you’ll find at avec during Restaurant Week include chorizo-stuffed medjool dates and wood-fired paella. Offering very excellent food in an atmosphere of casual sophistication, avec is one of the city’s most important restaurants.

 

Booth One. The former Pump Room, re-opened as Booth One, is participating in Restaurant Week big time. On the prix fixe dinner menu are longtime favorites that continue the tradition of greatness established years ago: Confit of Duck, Classic Beef Wellington, and The Original Cheesecake Circa 1954. The food is fantastic, and it’s a thrill just to sit in the same room that once hosted greats like Josephine Baker, Frank Sinatra and Mick Jagger.

 

Barrio. River North’s Barrio is jumping into Restaurant Week with some killer Latin-influenced creations. "Top Chef" alum Chef Katsuji Tanabe is offering brunch, lunch and dinner with standouts like Roasted Sweet Potato Guacamole, Forest Mushroom Tacos and Root Vegetable Enchiladas. Barrio’s usual format allows for shared plates, but for this Restaurant Week meal at Barrio, you may want to keep your plate all to yourself. Muy sabroso.

 

Coco Pazzo. Coco Pazzo, long a beloved Chicago Italian restaurant, is certain to gain new fans during Restaurant Week. With both lunch and dinner menus, Coco Pazzo is serving up many familiar dishes that have gained local as well as national attention: Ribolitta (the Tuscan vegetable soup), Penne all ‘Arrabbiata (with three tomato sauces) and Agnello al Chianti (braised lamb shank) are just a few of the options on the relatively large Restaurant Week menu.

 

Boka. For dinner only, Boka is flexing their culinary muscles during Restaurant Week, serving up dishes that reflect the culinary strength of their highly regarded kitchen. There will be hot and cold appetizers, like Shaved Foie Gras and Poached Shrimp, as well as some entrees that will make you want to return for more, including Glazed Pork Neck and Mushroom Bolognese.

 

Artango Bar & Steakhouse. Artango – the hot spot for great steak, paella and weekend tango performances – is bringing its Latin American verve to bear on Restaurant Week. Highlights of the Restaurant Week menus include Pato Asado (slow-cooked Muscovy duck breast), Cordero Patagonico (lamb shank osso buco) and Bife de Chorizo (New York strip steak).

 

Arami. Japanese restaurants are not all that common on the Restaurant Week line-up, and in that select group, Arami shines. Leveraging many natural and organic ingredients, the chefs at Arami present pure and simple Japanese classics. On their prix fix dinner menu, Arami presents memorable plates like braised Wagyu short rib in dashi broth, broiled King Crab with tobiko, and pan-seared mushroom in mushroom broth. If you’ve wanted to try this truly exceptional place, there is no better time to give it a try than Restaurant Week.