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A roasted octopus tentacle is arranged on a round white plate.
Copal’s unique cuisine is heating up June.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

The Hottest New Restaurants in Chicago, June 2023

A trio of unique Japanese spots — including one that mixes Mexican flavors — serve as highlights.

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Copal’s unique cuisine is heating up June.
| Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Chicagoans will miss ramp season, despite what anyone may write, and with that tearful farewell, say hello to summer’s typical 90-degree humid days, the kind of sticky nights that a beer company will write nostalgic copy about. June certainly is here, Chicago’s street festivals and traffic gridlock are here, too. Try to escape with some good air conditioning and a great meal. To assist with those quests, it’s time for the latest edition of the Eater Chicago Heatmap.

The Heatmap features new restaurants and old favorites creating a new buzz. Whereas the Eater 38 is a collection of can’t-miss stalwarts and bucket-list entries, the Heatmap is about the now — focused on recent openings that have the city’s diners talking.

With June’s arrival, welcome five new Heatmap members: Lettuce Entertain You Enterprise’s second entry, a Japanese-Mexican mash-up in River North, a Japanese ramen chain, the new location of an Italian American favorite, and a pricey sushi shop’s less pricey little sibling.

For updated information on coronavirus cases, please visit the city of Chicago’s COVID-19 dashboard. Health experts consider dining out to be a high-risk activity for the unvaccinated; it may pose a risk for the vaccinated, especially in areas with substantial COVID transmission. The latest CDC guidance is here; find a COVID-19 vaccination site here.

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FONDA cantina

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Fonda is an Evanston Mexican restaurant from the chef behind Aboyer, an acclaimed restaurant in Winnetka. While Aboyer is French, the team has eagerly tackled modern Mexican cuisine using a fine dining approach. The result is the type of Mexican restaurant that would flourish within city limits and worth a trip to the suburbs.

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Boonie's Filipino Restaurant

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Joe Fontelera has made it. The accomplished chef who once helmed the kitchen at Michelin-starred sushi station Arami has opened his own restaurant with a ton of personal meaning. Boonie’s is a Filipino American restaurant in the Lincoln Square area where Fontelera’s family first moved to after arriving in America. Find Fil-Am favorites from lumpia to loganissa executed with a modern edge and with a ton of joy. It’s a casual spot and poised to join Kasama as Chicago’s next great Filipino spot.

A round blue and white plate holds a cooked Chinese eggplant.
Boonie’s Filipino restaurant is a hit.
Jack X. Li/Eater Chicago

Don Bucio's Taqueria

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A few years ago, Chicago’s vegan options were a bit drab when it came to fine and casual dining. Junk food vegans enjoyed their chain restaurants (many international restaurants understood the appeal of cooking without meat and properly seasoning vegetables), but the lineup wasn’t especially eclectic. Rodolfo Cuadros (Amaru, Bloom Plant Based Kitchen) is changing that with his third restaurant. Don Bucio’s Taqueria in Logan Square focuses on delicious veggies and uses chef-driven techniques to produce delicious results. The vegan pastor — which forms a cone out of chopped veggies before roasting on a vertical spit — is an example of the genius involved.

A smattering of tacos, chips and salsa, and more Mexican food. Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

French cuisine is perched to be trendy once again in Chicago, enjoying the same surge in popularity it’s seen in New York in recent years. The project kicking off this renaissance is Obelix, the project from the Poilevey brothers — they grew up in the restaurant world watching their parents open Le Bouchon and Le Sardine. This modern bistro is a French American take with items like a foie gras taco and a menu section dedicated to duck. Also, look out for outstanding desserts; it wouldn’t be an terrible move to grab a nightcap and something sweet.

An open-face taco.
The foie gras taco is decadent.
Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Asador Bastian

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The wife-and-husband culinary team that powered Logan Square Greek hit Andros Taverna has formed a new hospitality group that includes a new River North steakhouse. Asador Bastian is a gorgeous multi-level space, a former art gallery, and it doesn’t match what most Chicagoans think about when they imagine what a steak should look like. Former Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ partner and chef Doug Psaltis and stellar pastry chef Hsing Chen say this Spanish steakhouse has special meaning to them — it specializes in one cut of meat, Txuleton, which is popular in Spain’s Basque region. The beef comes from a small farm in Pennsylvania. It’s a unique experience for groups, dates, and it’s still a steakhouse so get polish those corporate credit cards.

Kindling | Downtown Cookout & Cocktails

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Even though dinner service hasn’t debuted — it debuts on Friday, February 3, the Sears’ former headquarters has a buzz. Kindling sits on the ground floor of the Willis Tower with a James Beard Award-winning chef, Jonathon Sawyer, helming a live-fire kitchen which brings a little flair to a well-thought out menu with a little bit for everything. Confit chicken wings, fresh pastas, and plenty of meaty specials are part of the restaurant’s repertoire. 

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Bistro Monadnock

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John, Karl, and Graeme Fehr, the brothers and co-owners behind Victor Bar and Love Street, have recently revealed their first full-fledged restaurant, a French bistro with come-as-you-are vibes inside the 130-year-old Monadnock Building. Executive chef Johnny Besch, who once cooked under French culinary giant Alain Ducasse, is drawing crowds with bouillabaisse and Parisian gnocchi.

A French bistro dining room.
The bistro seats 120 between a bar and dining room.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Daisies

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Daisies is a pasta shop and Midwestern comfort restaurant that endeared itself to the Logan Square community in its tinier original iteration. In April, the operations moved a few blocks southeast, still along Milwaukee Avenue, to a gorgeous and roomier space. The kitchen has more amenities to serve a large menu of pasta (a giant seasonal ravioli is impressive; right now it’s stuffed with ramps) and more composed dishes. There are also delicious pastries and coffee (La Colombe’s roastery is just next-door). Daisies 2.0 is one of the hottest reservations in town.

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Kimski debuted as a Korean and Polish companion to Maria’s Community Tavern, one of Chicago’s most popular dive bars. But the fusion schtick got old for chef Won Kim who’s now leaning into a casual Korean American menu with items like a bulgogi cheesesteak and a ssam plate that uses smoked brisket. 

A ssam platter Aliya Ikumen/Eater Chicago

The Oakville Grill & Cellar

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Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ latest takes cues from Napa Valley with a large wine selection and comfort bites. The wine program will feature a California winery every month and give patrons a chance to buy bottles for home consumption. The goal is to transport diners to wine country. LEYE has put a lot of thought into the design to bring a taste of Northern California to Fulton Market.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Thattu is a restaurant that bridges relationships. It’s the story of its owners, Margaret Pak (a Korean American) and Vinod Kalathil (who’s from Kerala, India). Pak is charged with translating recipes from Kalathil’s mother, and the result is a humble, yet bold, South Indian restaurant, the likes the city has been waiting a long time to enjoy. The restaurant debuted with lunch and spicy chicken sandwiches and recently unveiled dinner service with a decadent pork chop inside a newly built-out space in Avondale.

A dining room with a turquoise bar. Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Fioretta

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Fioretta is the latest endeavor from DineAmic Hospitality Group, a company that puts fun first in its dining and bar options. This boisterous Italian steakhouse has all the bells and whistles that diners would want in the heart of Fulton Market, including a trendy solid-fuel grill where the meats are infused with smokey flavor. The sleek, mid-century space is luxurious, but not over stuffy.

48oz Bistecca Ala Fiorentina: sizzling and carved tableside Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

GG's Chicken Shop/Itoko/Little Goat Diner

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Boka Restaurant Group’s Lakeview complex is fully operational with the debuts of GG’s Chicken Shop, Itoko Sushi, and Little Goat Diner. GG’s is a counter-service restaurant that’s incredibly family-friendly; it even has a space-aged charging table with UV rays in the bathroom. The food centers on chicken which is done fried and roasted. There’s also a special ground burger that gives red meat eaters an intriguing choice. Itoko is the little sibling of Momotaro, Boka’s lauded Fulton Market sushi spot. Chef Gene Kato handles the menu, even the desserts, and while there’s no fancy omakase option, North Siders have an elegant choice that will leave them fulfilled with unique and fresh fish options. The third leg of the operation, the relocation of Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat, debuted late in April in the former Southport Lanes building.

A wooden table covered with metal trays with food from waffle fries, salads, to chicken. Boka Restaurant Group

Miru is the full-service restaurant inside the St. Regis, a new skyscraper with a hotel near Navy Pier. The all-day restaurant features sushi and Izakaya fare, plus a traditional American breakfast menu. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises went out of their way to design a restaurant that pushes modern sensibilities and there are also twin terraces for gorgeous views of Lake Michigan. As a bonus, Miru also serves a Japanese breakfast platter, something that’s hard to find in Chicago.

A fried snapper with tail and a bed of salad greens. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

Mexican stalwart Mercadito is making a splash with Copal, a new subterranean cocktail lounge where chefs delve into a Japanese culinary influence on the cuisines of the Yucatan Peninsula with luscious bites of fire-roasted octopus, Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, and Hudson Valley foie gras. Bar director Javier Arroyo (Bar Sotano) rounds out the selection with a lineup of cocktails with strong Mexican influences like the Zama (gin, mezcal, hibiscus tea, jackfruit, lychee) with a few nods to Japan in options such as Ancient Fruit (mezcal, nigori sake, papaya, black pepper).

A colorful tostada on a round grey plate. Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Kajiken 歌志轩

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Bowls of ramen noodles without the customary rich broth are gaining popularity in America, and Chicago’s Chinatown has welcomed one of the world’s biggest chains that specialize in the dish. Kajiken debuted in Japan and is part of the squadron of new restaurants Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan) is bringing to Chicago to help further diversify Asian cuisine options in the city.

Jack X. Li/Eater Chicago

Oggi Trattoria

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For more than three decades, Oggi Trattoria earned West Town’s trust with an Italian-American menu of pizzas and pasta. The neighborhood was up in arms when the restaurant closed, but the Padilla family has reopened in a new space a few blocks away. For families and folks who want a dependable restaurant nearby, Oggi Trattoria shines.

Oggi Trattoria

Kyoten Next Door

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Otto Phan, the eccentric chef behind eight-seat omakase haven Kyoten in Logan Square, in April launched Kyoten Next Door, a more casual sequel in a neighboring space. In contrast to its more traditional and expensive older sibling, the new restaurant gives patrons a chance to try Phan’s 15-bite omakase menu for $159 per person — a drop from Kyoten’s $450 price tag.

FONDA cantina

Fonda is an Evanston Mexican restaurant from the chef behind Aboyer, an acclaimed restaurant in Winnetka. While Aboyer is French, the team has eagerly tackled modern Mexican cuisine using a fine dining approach. The result is the type of Mexican restaurant that would flourish within city limits and worth a trip to the suburbs.

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Boonie's Filipino Restaurant

Joe Fontelera has made it. The accomplished chef who once helmed the kitchen at Michelin-starred sushi station Arami has opened his own restaurant with a ton of personal meaning. Boonie’s is a Filipino American restaurant in the Lincoln Square area where Fontelera’s family first moved to after arriving in America. Find Fil-Am favorites from lumpia to loganissa executed with a modern edge and with a ton of joy. It’s a casual spot and poised to join Kasama as Chicago’s next great Filipino spot.

A round blue and white plate holds a cooked Chinese eggplant.
Boonie’s Filipino restaurant is a hit.
Jack X. Li/Eater Chicago

Don Bucio's Taqueria

A few years ago, Chicago’s vegan options were a bit drab when it came to fine and casual dining. Junk food vegans enjoyed their chain restaurants (many international restaurants understood the appeal of cooking without meat and properly seasoning vegetables), but the lineup wasn’t especially eclectic. Rodolfo Cuadros (Amaru, Bloom Plant Based Kitchen) is changing that with his third restaurant. Don Bucio’s Taqueria in Logan Square focuses on delicious veggies and uses chef-driven techniques to produce delicious results. The vegan pastor — which forms a cone out of chopped veggies before roasting on a vertical spit — is an example of the genius involved.

A smattering of tacos, chips and salsa, and more Mexican food. Kim Kovacik/Eater Chicago

Obelix

French cuisine is perched to be trendy once again in Chicago, enjoying the same surge in popularity it’s seen in New York in recent years. The project kicking off this renaissance is Obelix, the project from the Poilevey brothers — they grew up in the restaurant world watching their parents open Le Bouchon and Le Sardine. This modern bistro is a French American take with items like a foie gras taco and a menu section dedicated to duck. Also, look out for outstanding desserts; it wouldn’t be an terrible move to grab a nightcap and something sweet.

An open-face taco.
The foie gras taco is decadent.
Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Asador Bastian

The wife-and-husband culinary team that powered Logan Square Greek hit Andros Taverna has formed a new hospitality group that includes a new River North steakhouse. Asador Bastian is a gorgeous multi-level space, a former art gallery, and it doesn’t match what most Chicagoans think about when they imagine what a steak should look like. Former Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ partner and chef Doug Psaltis and stellar pastry chef Hsing Chen say this Spanish steakhouse has special meaning to them — it specializes in one cut of meat, Txuleton, which is popular in Spain’s Basque region. The beef comes from a small farm in Pennsylvania. It’s a unique experience for groups, dates, and it’s still a steakhouse so get polish those corporate credit cards.

Kindling | Downtown Cookout & Cocktails

Even though dinner service hasn’t debuted — it debuts on Friday, February 3, the Sears’ former headquarters has a buzz. Kindling sits on the ground floor of the Willis Tower with a James Beard Award-winning chef, Jonathon Sawyer, helming a live-fire kitchen which brings a little flair to a well-thought out menu with a little bit for everything. Confit chicken wings, fresh pastas, and plenty of meaty specials are part of the restaurant’s repertoire. 

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Bistro Monadnock

John, Karl, and Graeme Fehr, the brothers and co-owners behind Victor Bar and Love Street, have recently revealed their first full-fledged restaurant, a French bistro with come-as-you-are vibes inside the 130-year-old Monadnock Building. Executive chef Johnny Besch, who once cooked under French culinary giant Alain Ducasse, is drawing crowds with bouillabaisse and Parisian gnocchi.

A French bistro dining room.
The bistro seats 120 between a bar and dining room.
Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Daisies

Daisies is a pasta shop and Midwestern comfort restaurant that endeared itself to the Logan Square community in its tinier original iteration. In April, the operations moved a few blocks southeast, still along Milwaukee Avenue, to a gorgeous and roomier space. The kitchen has more amenities to serve a large menu of pasta (a giant seasonal ravioli is impressive; right now it’s stuffed with ramps) and more composed dishes. There are also delicious pastries and coffee (La Colombe’s roastery is just next-door). Daisies 2.0 is one of the hottest reservations in town.

Chris Peters/Eater Chicago

Kimski

Kimski debuted as a Korean and Polish companion to Maria’s Community Tavern, one of Chicago’s most popular dive bars. But the fusion schtick got old for chef Won Kim who’s now leaning into a casual Korean American menu with items like a bulgogi cheesesteak and a ssam plate that uses smoked brisket. 

A ssam platter Aliya Ikumen/Eater Chicago

The Oakville Grill & Cellar

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises’ latest takes cues from Napa Valley with a large wine selection and comfort bites. The wine program will feature a California winery every month and give patrons a chance to buy bottles for home consumption. The goal is to transport diners to wine country. LEYE has put a lot of thought into the design to bring a taste of Northern California to Fulton Market.

Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Thattu

Thattu is a restaurant that bridges relationships. It’s the story of its owners, Margaret Pak (a Korean American) and Vinod Kalathil (who’s from Kerala, India). Pak is charged with translating recipes from Kalathil’s mother, and the result is a humble, yet bold, South Indian restaurant, the likes the city has been waiting a long time to enjoy. The restaurant debuted with lunch and spicy chicken sandwiches and recently unveiled dinner service with a decadent pork chop inside a newly built-out space in Avondale.

A dining room with a turquoise bar. Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Fioretta

Fioretta is the latest endeavor from DineAmic Hospitality Group, a company that puts fun first in its dining and bar options. This boisterous Italian steakhouse has all the bells and whistles that diners would want in the heart of Fulton Market, including a trendy solid-fuel grill where the meats are infused with smokey flavor. The sleek, mid-century space is luxurious, but not over stuffy.

48oz Bistecca Ala Fiorentina: sizzling and carved tableside Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

GG's Chicken Shop/Itoko/Little Goat Diner

Boka Restaurant Group’s Lakeview complex is fully operational with the debuts of GG’s Chicken Shop, Itoko Sushi, and Little Goat Diner. GG’s is a counter-service restaurant that’s incredibly family-friendly; it even has a space-aged charging table with UV rays in the bathroom. The food centers on chicken which is done fried and roasted. There’s also a special ground burger that gives red meat eaters an intriguing choice. Itoko is the little sibling of Momotaro, Boka’s lauded Fulton Market sushi spot. Chef Gene Kato handles the menu, even the desserts, and while there’s no fancy omakase option, North Siders have an elegant choice that will leave them fulfilled with unique and fresh fish options. The third leg of the operation, the relocation of Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat, debuted late in April in the former Southport Lanes building.

A wooden table covered with metal trays with food from waffle fries, salads, to chicken. Boka Restaurant Group

Miru

Miru is the full-service restaurant inside the St. Regis, a new skyscraper with a hotel near Navy Pier. The all-day restaurant features sushi and Izakaya fare, plus a traditional American breakfast menu. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises went out of their way to design a restaurant that pushes modern sensibilities and there are also twin terraces for gorgeous views of Lake Michigan. As a bonus, Miru also serves a Japanese breakfast platter, something that’s hard to find in Chicago.

A fried snapper with tail and a bed of salad greens. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises

Copal

Mexican stalwart Mercadito is making a splash with Copal, a new subterranean cocktail lounge where chefs delve into a Japanese culinary influence on the cuisines of the Yucatan Peninsula with luscious bites of fire-roasted octopus, Hawaiian yellowfin tuna, and Hudson Valley foie gras. Bar director Javier Arroyo (Bar Sotano) rounds out the selection with a lineup of cocktails with strong Mexican influences like the Zama (gin, mezcal, hibiscus tea, jackfruit, lychee) with a few nods to Japan in options such as Ancient Fruit (mezcal, nigori sake, papaya, black pepper).

A colorful tostada on a round grey plate. Barry Brecheisen/Eater Chicago

Related Maps

Kajiken 歌志轩

Bowls of ramen noodles without the customary rich broth are gaining popularity in America, and Chicago’s Chinatown has welcomed one of the world’s biggest chains that specialize in the dish. Kajiken debuted in Japan and is part of the squadron of new restaurants Tony Hu (Lao Sze Chuan) is bringing to Chicago to help further diversify Asian cuisine options in the city.

Jack X. Li/Eater Chicago

Oggi Trattoria

For more than three decades, Oggi Trattoria earned West Town’s trust with an Italian-American menu of pizzas and pasta. The neighborhood was up in arms when the restaurant closed, but the Padilla family has reopened in a new space a few blocks away. For families and folks who want a dependable restaurant nearby, Oggi Trattoria shines.

Oggi Trattoria

Kyoten Next Door

Otto Phan, the eccentric chef behind eight-seat omakase haven Kyoten in Logan Square, in April launched Kyoten Next Door, a more casual sequel in a neighboring space. In contrast to its more traditional and expensive older sibling, the new restaurant gives patrons a chance to try Phan’s 15-bite omakase menu for $159 per person — a drop from Kyoten’s $450 price tag.

Related Maps