Date Night Gems in Chicago on Resy

Date Night Gems in Chicago

From candlelit to casual, here are our favorite tables for two.

Restaurants List

The Duck Inn

4.8 (3.4K) reviews · New American · $$$
Bridgeport
You’ve got to love a restaurant whose two signature dishes are a beef and duck fat hot dog served Chicago-style, and a whole rotisserie-roasted duck with duck-fat potatoes — and there’s plenty more that you’ll crave at this neighborhood Bridgeport treasure from chef Kevin Hickey, of Allium fame.

Roll Up Japanese Handroll Bar

4.8 (165) reviews · Japanese · $
Chicago South Loop
Roll Up brings fresh perspective to Chicago’s growing sushi landscape, featuring more than a dozen creative hand roll combinations and small plates like chicken karaage and furikake fries. It’s a compilation that reads both focused and fun from a team that places an emphasis on premium ingredients.

The Village at the Italian Village

4.7 (8.2K) reviews · Italian · $$
The Loop
Event
Campania Uncorked with Tom Hyland

Sotto & Bar Sotto at the Italian Village

4.6 (307) reviews · Experimental · $
The Loop
Because there’s a proper Italian American reimagining happening beneath Chicago’s oldest Italian restaurant. Come to Sotto and its bar for the warm atmosphere, dishes like black garlic pappardelle and giardiniera-braised short ribs, and signature cocktails (try The Sotto, an applewood-smoked blend of rye, vermouth, and chocolate bitters), among other bites of Italianate deliciousness.

TenGoku Aburiya

4.6 (752) reviews · Japanese · $$
West Loop
If you can’t score a place at Omakase Yume, Sangtae Park’s six-seat Michelin-starred sushi bar, don’t despair: Just next door is this izakaya/gastropub where Park’s team turn their skills to fried and grilled fare, rice and noodle dishes, and, yes, sushi too, to marvelous effect.

ROOP Chicago

4.3 (2.1K) reviews · Indian · $$
West Loop
This Michelin-recognized restaurant celebrates modern Indian cuisine through a tasting menu that transports diners across South Asia and reflects a commitment to housemade ingredients (including paneer, made weekly from hundreds of gallons of milk). Dinner packs in the flavor with options like tandoori cauliflower or Goan crab cakes, and midday is just as exciting with a Tiffin lunch service.

Ciccio Mio

4.9 (9.7K) reviews · Italian · $$$
River North
The fancified, nostalgic Italian dishes, along with the food-loving Italian wines, make this luxe River North spot the perfect place for date night.

Bavette's Bar & Boeuf - Chicago

4.9 (27K) reviews · Steakhouse · $$$
River North
Every meal is a feast at Bavette’s. The modern steakhouse seduces with its speakeasy feel — and as with any Hogsalt establishment, the drinks are stellar. Pro tip: The burger is one of the city’s best.

Gilt Bar

4.8 (14K) reviews · American · $$
River North
Brendan Sodikoff of Hogsalt bestows his magic on Gilt Bar, a temple to gastropub plates and free-flowing libations, within a moody setting that received a Michelin Bib no less.

Kinzie Chophouse

4.4 (326) reviews · Steakhouse · $$
River North
Great steaks, strong drinks, excellent service — this perennial, independently-run, female-owned favorite has all the hallmarks of a classic white-tablecloth steakhouse.

Omakase by Kanemaru

4.6 (70) reviews · Japanese · $$$
River North
A great omakase experience should feel like a private dinner party thrown just for you and a few others. This minimalist Japanese den, tucked away on the second floor of La Grande Boucherie, is precisely that.

Maxwells Trading

4.8 (4.6K) reviews · Contemporary American · $$
West Loop
Because everything here is impeccably thought out, from chef Erling Wu-Bower’s attentive menus to the rooftop garden and apiary, the playlist, and retail pop-ups in the first-floor space.

Brindille

4.7 (1.1K) reviews · French · $$$$
River North
You’ve got to love a restaurant where one of the side dishes is “foie gras or black truffles on anything.” That sets the tone at this opulent, romantic, gloriously French classic from famed Chicago chef Carrie Nahabedian.

Charlie Martin's

4.7 (576) reviews · American · $
River North
It’s giving Hollywood supper club vibes in the heart of River North. Wedge salads, shellfish towers, icy martinis, jazzy soundtracks — it’s all here.

Omakase Shoji & Izakaya

4.8 (562) reviews · Japanese · $$$
West Town / Near West Loop
Pristine sushi created by masters in a beautifully understated yet stylish room — there’s nothing like it. Here, chef Takahashi Shoji, who helmed Matsuya for years, brings it all to his 10-seat counter.