Even after 30+ years in the city, every single May I think the same thing: this is when Chicago finally turns the corner.
The coats come off, the patios open, the Riverwalk fills up and the city just clicks back into the version of itself that reminds you why you chose to live here in the first place. After 55 combined years working on the north side, Ivona and I have watched this city go through every kind of cycle. But the food scene? It never stops surprising us. What Chicago does with restaurants the creativity, diversity, the sheer ambition of it puts us in a conversation with any city in the world, and I mean that without a single ounce of hometown bias.
Every month I share what I'm excited about on the dining front, because honestly, I think it's one of the best ways I know to talk about what makes this city worth investing in your after-work happy hour, Saturday nights and your long-term roots. So, here's what's new, what's open, and where I'll be sitting down for dinner this month.
This Month's Must-Visit
NAIA
Chicago Riverwalk · 300 N. LaSalle · Mediterranean
I must be upfront: I've been waiting for this one for months. NAIA is set to open this month on the Riverwalk, and I genuinely think it's the most exciting restaurant to arrive in Chicago in years. Not just because of the food though by every account that's extraordinary but because of where it is.
The Riverwalk is one of my favorite things to show people. When clients are on the fence about downtown living, or when out-of-town buyers can't quite picture what Chicago feels like day to day, I bring them to the Riverwalk and let it speak for itself. What this city did with that stretch of the river turning it from an afterthought into a genuine destination is one of the best things that's happened to Chicago. (With the 606 being a close second)
And now it will have NAIA. The restaurant runs nearly a full city block along the water. (12,000 square feet!) It's massive indoor and outdoor with the kind of design that makes you stop walking the moment you see it. The menu is pan-Mediterranean, think Greece, Italy, southern France, Lebanon, Spain, all finding a way to share a table. There's grilled meats, fresh pastas, mezze for the table, a raw bar, beautiful flatbreads.
The team behind this has deep roots in Chicago hospitality, (Dine Amic of Prime and Provisions and Siena Tavern) and they brought in a chef with real Mediterranean credibility to run the kitchen.
My plan: a warm evening, that riverfront patio, a glass of wine, and the mezze spread. I am anxiously awaiting its official opening!! If you beat me to a reservation, I want to hear every detail.
My Note- keep checking the website, naiarestaurant.com this will be the hardest table in the city by June
Five more I'm watching this month
1. All Well
West Loop - 111 W. Carpenter St.
www.allwellchicago.com
The West Loop is a neighborhood I've watched transform from a meat-packing district (think Marche and Red Light Days) into one of the most vibrant dining corridors in the country, and it still somehow keeps raising its own bar. All Well comes from two chefs; Noah Sandoval and Larry Feldmeier who both carry real weight in Chicago's culinary world. When people with that kind of track record open something together, it matters. I'm genuinely curious to see what they're building here, and the early word is that it's the kind of place you want as your neighborhood restaurant: serious without being stiff, creative without being exhausting.
2. Pizza Lobo
West Loop – 165 W. Morgan St.
www.pizzalobo.com
Look, I know Chicago pizza is fierce. My family is a huge Chicago pizza family, and I know everyone has an opinion. But Pizza Lobo doesn't really ask you to pick a side, it just makes really good pizza, with a West Loop patio situation that is genuinely hard to argue with. This is the place you end up on a casual Friday night that doesn't require a reservation six weeks out. It's the kind of spot every neighborhood needs. And don’t forget to stop by their other locations in Logan Square and Andersonville – both with some of the best outdoor space the city has to offer.
3. Noema
Lincoln Park – 1443 W. Fullerton Ave.
www.noemagastrobar.com
Lincoln Park is one of our most coveted neighborhoods, so I always pay extra attention when something opens there. Noema is a Greek gastrobar concept, which is a category that's been having a genuine moment in this city. Greek cooking done well. There is mezze to share, good wine, no one in a rush. Noema is pitching itself as something elevated and modern rather than traditional, and in a neighborhood full of people who've been to Athens and Mykonos and know what the real thing looks like, that's a bet that has to be backed up by the food. From everything I've heard, it is.
4. Jinsei Motto
Logan Square – 2456 N. California Ave.
www.jinsiemotto.com
If your relationship with Logan Square is still passing through on the Blue Line, it's time to reconsider. The neighborhood has developed one of the most interesting and independent dining scenes in the city, the kind of place where a new sushi restaurant isn't trying to be anything other than exactly what it wants to be. Jinsei Motto is new, a new Japanese concept landing in Logan Square has my attention. That neighborhood has a way of making things feel discovered rather than just opened, and I think that's exactly the energy this kind of restaurant thrives in.
5. Schneider Deli
Lincoln Park – 1733 N Halsted St.
www.schneiderdeli.com
Not everything needs to be an occasion. Schneider Deli opened in Lincoln Park, and I could not be more pleased about it. (Their second city location) A proper deli, the kind of place built around a great bagel, a real sandwich, something made with care and without pretension is the kind of neighborhood anchor that quietly becomes essential within weeks of opening. Lincoln Park deserved this, and if you live anywhere near it, you're going to find yourself there on Saturday mornings.
I've been selling homes in this city for a long time, and one thing has never changed: the best neighborhoods to live in are the ones that take their food seriously. That's not a coincidence. Great restaurants mean foot traffic, community, investment, walkability - all the things that make a block feel alive and make a home worth owning. When I walk a client through Lincoln Park or the West Loop or down the Riverwalk and they feel that energy, the food scene is a huge part of what they're responding to, even if they don't name it that way.
Chicago is, genuinely, one of the greatest food cities in the world. I say that every month, and I'll keep saying it until people stop being surprised by it.
Go enjoy it. Make the reservation. Try the new spot. Walk down to the Riverwalk on a warm evening and remember that you chose one of the best cities in the world to call home. And if you're still thinking about which part of it you want to wake up in let's have that conversation over dinner.
Until Next Month – Karen Ranquist
