There's a small restaurant on Ada Street in the West Loop that just did something extraordinary. In May, the organization behind the World's 50 Best Restaurants named Smyth the top restaurant in all of North America — beating out every fine-dining destination on the continent. It's a milestone on its own. Paired with the restaurant's 10th anniversary this month, and its standing as Chicago's only three-Michelin-starred restaurant, it's one of the best Chicago stories going right now.
From Charlie Trotter's Kitchen to Rural Virginia — and Back
Husband-and-wife chefs John Shields and Karen Urie Shields met years ago working the line at Charlie Trotter's, the restaurant widely credited with putting Chicago fine dining on the map. They built a friendship first, in the kind of close-quarters intensity only a professional kitchen produces. John later helped open Alinea as a sous chef under Grant Achatz, while he and Karen stayed close.
When the chance came to open a Trotter's outpost in Las Vegas — arguably the biggest opportunity in the industry at the time — they turned it down. Instead, they answered a Craigslist ad and moved to Chilhowie, Virginia, in Smyth County, to take over a small restaurant called Town House. Sourcing from regional farms and foraging their own ingredients, it's where the Shieldses found the culinary identity that still defines their cooking today. A glowing New York Times review in 2009 turned Town House into a real destination, pulling diners off the interstate and into rural Appalachia for dinner.
In 2012, their now-business partner Keith Shapiro called and asked them to give Chicago another shot. They said yes — and when they opened their new restaurant in 2016, they named it after the Virginia county that shaped them: Smyth.
Ten Years, Three Michelin Stars, and a No. 1 Ranking
Smyth opened in the West Loop in 2016, with its more casual downstairs sibling, The Loyalist, debuting a month earlier. The pairing was intentional from day one — Smyth's elevated tasting menu upstairs, and a genuine neighborhood spot downstairs anchored by what's widely regarded as one of Chicago's best burgers.
The accolades followed quickly. Smyth earned its first Michelin star within its first year, a second in 2017, and its third star in November 2023, joining an exclusive club of only 13 restaurants nationwide. It shared that distinction with Alinea, John's old kitchen — though after Alinea lost a star in late 2025, Smyth now stands alone as Chicago's only three-Michelin-starred restaurant.
Then came the bigger stage. When the World's 50 Best organization launched its North America's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2025, Smyth debuted at No. 4. A year later, at a May 2026 ceremony in New Orleans, Smyth climbed all the way to No. 1 — ahead of every restaurant on the continent.
Grant Achatz, who gave John his start at Alinea, isn't surprised by how far the Shieldses' partnership has carried them. As he put it, the two simply "speak the same language."
What Makes the Food Different
Smyth's menu changes daily, built around what's actually in season from a tight network of small farms. Each Saturday, John is at Lincoln Park's Green City Market before sunrise, hand-picking the best of what local growers bring in, then hauling it to his car in his chef's whites on the way to work. Jason Hammel, chef-owner of Lula Cafe in Logan Square, has watched the ritual for years and says there's no ceiling on the inventiveness the Shieldses bring to developing flavor from that produce.
The restaurant grows some of its own ingredients, too — John tends a rooftop garden most mornings, supplying herbs and edible flowers for the kitchen. The team has also built relationships with specialty growers most restaurants never touch, including a Wisconsin farmer who spent two years developing a rare Japanese squash variety specifically for Smyth's menu.
On stage the night Smyth received its third Michelin star, John kept it humble, inviting the room to "come see if we deserve this."
Running a Three-Star Restaurant in 2026
None of this comes cheap. When Smyth opened in 2016, its tasting menu cost $135 per person. Today it's $420 — more than triple, driven by inflation, labor costs, and the rising price of specialty ingredients (the restaurant reportedly pays $45 a dozen for eggs from one of its farm partners). Even at the top of the industry, margins stay tight, and restaurants already priced near the ceiling have little room left to raise prices further without losing guests.
That's exactly why The Loyalist matters as much as Smyth does. The approachable downstairs burger spot — with its $28 "OG Cheeseburger," often ranked among the city's best — gives the Shieldses a steadier, more resilient business underneath the ambition upstairs. The goal downstairs was never complicated: build a real neighborhood spot loyal to classic technique.
Why This Matters Beyond the Plate
West Loop's transformation over the last decade mirrors what we've watched happen across so many Chicago neighborhoods. Fulton Market's old warehouses turned into some of the best restaurants in the country, and the neighborhood grew right alongside them into one of the most in-demand places to live downtown. A restaurant like Smyth doesn't just feed people — it becomes a landmark that anchors a neighborhood's identity and pulls visitors, press, and new residents toward it. It's the same pattern we've watched play out block by block in West Town, Bucktown, and Wicker Park: one great addition changes how people see an entire area.
So when asked what's next, and the answer is simply, "We'll have some champagne, I'm sure" — we're right there raising a glass, too. Congratulations to Smyth on ten remarkable years, three Michelin stars, and the best restaurant in North America.
