Chicago's Best Restaurants Restaurants near Gray Line Chicago Sightseeing

Illinois Restaurant Association

The Illinois Restaurant Association Educational Foundation is a non-profit organization (501 c3) dedicated to build and promote the health and prosperity of the restaurant industry by investing in our youth and our workforce. Through initiatives centered around the ProStart® Program, career exploration, job readiness training, and yearly scholarships, the Educational Foundation is constantly striving to make a difference in the Illinois foodservice industry.

Garrett Popcorn Shop (East Madison St.)

The flagship Michigan Avenue store, from which long lines of tourists and locals queued for decades, lost its lease in spring 2008; the founding family sold out in 2005; and the new owners have opened new shops.

Lockwood Restaurant and Bar

On the lobby level of the historic Palmer House Hilton, Lockwood offers contemporary cuisine rooted in French and Italian traditions. In the Lockwood Bar, Chef Joe Rose plans to bring a brasserie-type feel with seafood platters and a French-inspired menu.

Gold Coast Dogs (S. Wabash)

Howard Frum Jewelers

Long-running shop specializing in pre-owned & vintage watches from luxury brands.

Miller's Pub

In 1950, three brothers of Greek descent, Pete, Nick and Jimmy Gallios, pooled all of their resources and purchased the flailing Miller’s Pub from the Miller brothers, who had established the bar in 1935.

Vapiano

Pasta, pizza, and Italian desserts get the upscale quick-service format at Vapiano.

Pizano's Pizza & Pasta - Loop

Rudy Malnati Jr. continues his father's legacy in Chicago with Pizano's Pizza & Pasta, which he opened in 1991 with Rudy Malnati Sr.'s original recipe. The restaurant chain specializes in a signature thin-crust pizza as well as deep-dish pies.

The Gage

Steps from Millennium Park, The Gage serves upscale comfort food, fine wines, boutique beers and whiskeys amid a vintage decor. The tavern is situated in a group of three buildings collectively known as the Gage Group that were built in 1889–1890 by Holabird & Roche for the millinery firms of Gage Bros. & Co., Theodore Ascher & Co. and Edson Keith & Co.

Bank of America Theatre

First opened as the Majestic Theatre, a vaudeville house, in 1906, and known as the Shubert Theatre for much of its history, this 1,800-seat theater underwent a major renovation in 2005, retaining and restoring most of the original fixtures designed by Edmund R. Krause and George and Cornelius Rapp.Today, it showcases touring shows and pre-Broadway tryouts as one of the Broadway in Chicago houses.

Potter’s—Chicago Burger Bar

Think again if you believe the burger craze will ever slow down in Chicago. It’s hotter than ever, so much that Potter’s has transformed into the latest trendy burger bar. Nestled inside the historic Palmer House Hilton, the former cocktail lounge now specializes in gourmet burgers with an emphasis on local ingredients from the hotel’s rooftop garden and apiary.

Good Stuff Eatery

"Top Chef" alum Spike Mendelsohn--who competed against Chicago chef Stephanie Izard (Girl and the Goat, Little Goat) during season four--brings his burger concept to the Windy City. Expect gourmet burgers, fries and shakes in a fancy setting.