Food lovers in Chicago will have a lot of choices to make next month when Chicago Restaurant Week returns for its 17th year, with nearly 400 restaurants offering special menus for the multi-day culinary feast.
The food fest event kicks off on Jan. 18 with First Bites Bash at Chicago’s Field Museum where more than 50 restaurants will offer a taste of their restaurant week menus. The host chef is Dominique Leach of Lexington Betty Smokehouse, the newly crowned winner of season four Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl.”
Chicago Restaurant Week gives diners a chance to sample some of the area’s top dining destinations at a fixed price. Participating restaurants will showcase curated prix fixe menus with prices set at $25 for brunch or lunch, and $42 or $59 for dinner.
Asador Bastian — the Basque-inspired steakhouse in River North’s Gallery District — is among the restaurant newcomers participating in Chicago Restaurant Week.
Hsing Chen
Fifty-six restaurants are making their event debut this year, including Asador Bastian, an upscale steakhouse with Basque influences that was recently named one of this year’s best new restaurants across the country by Esquire magazine; Pompette, which recently garnered a 2023 Michelin Bib Gourmand nod; and Rose Mary, a popular West Loop restaurant marrying Italian and Croation flavors helmed by “Top Chef” winner Joe Flamm.
Among the restaurants returning represent a wide diversity of cuisines, such as Mima’s Taste of Cuba in Irving Park, Kizami Sushi in Lincoln Park, Rooh Chicago in the West Loop and Demera Ethiopian Restaurant in Uptown, to name a few.
“There is no better time than Chicago Restaurant Week to experience Chicago’s incomparable culinary talent and the cultural richness of our great city and its neighborhoods,” Lynn Osmond, president and CEO of Choose Chicago, the producing entity behind the annual culinary extravaganza, said in a statement.
Restaurant week gives people a chance to explore the city while celebrating local restaurants, Sam Toia, president and CEO of the Illinois Restaurant Association, said.
“Chicago Restaurant Week reflects the passion and vitality of our restaurant community,” Toia said. “Celebrations like this give diners the perfect reason to explore every single pocket of the city and finally get to that spot they’ve been wanting to try — all while bringing essential business to restaurants during Chicago’s winter season.”
For a full list of the restaurants and to make reservations, go to eatitupchicago.com.
