Where to Eat and Drink in the Gold Coast

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As one would expect from its name, the Gold Coast is a ritzy neighborhood filled with high-end shopping, beautiful old mansions on quiet tree-lined streets, and, of course, lots of white tablecloth restaurants. But while, yes, there’s a lot of high-end dining here suitable for special occasions — classic Chicago steakhouses, elegant French and Italian joints, farm to table spots where the menus change seasonally, and an Edenic oasis from a celebrated sommelier — there’s also pizza, Guinness, and a pair of the city’s loveliest cafes perfect for perching with a laptop all day long.

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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Note: Restaurants on this map are listed geographically.

This restaurant is tucked in on the first floor of a former city club-turned-Restoration Hardware, featuring a large fountain in the middle flanked by couches and tables (RH, of course). The menu is small, but the crisp grilled cheese, salmon board, and chocolate chip cookie are the stars. Or, just grab a glass of wine and sit back and relax and let your worries melt away.

This sister spot to Sushi Suite in Lincoln Park was designed to appeal especially to women who are tired of sushi bro culture. In practical terms, this means “feminine” cocktails, more affordable maki and rolls, and a $75 Sunday omakase special.

The main focus at this old-fashioned hotel bar is “sugar cane spirits,” rum from all over the world. Sip them neat or mixed into classics like a Hotel Nacional and El Presidente. But the bar also stocks just about any other liquor you can think of.

The restaurant that occupies the old Table 52 space holds a few of the old restaurant’s charms with a more accessible feel. Fried chicken and seasonal cocktails are highlights, but chef Art Smith (who previously cooked for Oprah Winfrey) regularly creates new dishes to match the season.

Lou Malnati’s is a Chicago classic and while there are locations all over the city, this is a fine choice for those who are dining with children or who just can’t tolerate another steak or seasonal tasting menu. Be sure to order the butter crust.

Located in the Viceroy Hotel, built on the site of the historic (and now demolished) Cedar, the Somerset, led by chef Stephen Gillanders (S.K.Y.), serves a seasonal American menu, with salads, steak, and sustainable seafood. Multicourse tasting menus are also available for lunch and dinner.

Steakhouses are abundant in the Gold Coast, but Maple & Ash has a bit of an edge. The first floor boasts Eight Bar, a more casual atmosphere with burgers and martinis. Upstairs, fancy steaks abound, plus a $200 tasting menu aptly named “I Don’t Give a F*@k.”

This Irish pub with a classic wooden bar has been serving Guinness to the Gold Coast for more than 30 years and is currently open all day, every day, serving breakfast (including, improbably, bagels and lox), salads, sandwiches, pasta, stir fries, and the traditional corned beef and cabbage and fish and chips.

Though it only opened in 1989, Gibsons is a portal back to the mid-20th century, the era of martinis, cigars, and giant slabs of meat. Though the restaurant serves oysters, soups, salads, sandwiches, and a surprisingly good and affordable burger, if you want a classic — and indulgent — Chicago experience, order a steak and then finish off the meal with one of the enormous slices of cake.

This sleek spot inside the Thompson Hotel is open all day, every day, with a constantly changing menu that ranges from breakfast pastries to pasta, salads, steaks, and fish at dinner. The bar area, dubbed Salone Nico, is also a great place to unwind with a stiff drink and light bite. The wine list is full of Italian vintages.

Glitzy and glamorous, Adalina is built to impress. The lively newcomer has plenty of eye candy: crystal chandeliers, vintage mirrors, and plush velvet seats. Servers dressed in tuxedos echo the stylish setting, while the modern Italian menu from former Band of Bohemia chef Soo Ahn features refined staples such as cacio e pepe arancini, veal chop parm, and a truffled Caesar salad that’s prepared tableside. The handmade pastas shine too, as do the desserts by Jean Banchet Award-winning pastry maestro Nicole Guini. Also check out the speakeasy-style bar Rose Lounge downstairs.

Though its located on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, Adorn’s chefs, James Beard-winner Jonathon Sawyer and Juan Gutierrez, try to maintain a down-to-earth Midwestern sensibility by using local meat and produce. The menu changes seasonally to take advantage of the freshest offerings.

This French restaurant at the Sofitel hotel offers traditional French food for every meal — think traditional but modern dishes like a duck breast and seared diver scallops. There are tasting menus available as well, along with cheese and charcuterie plates to start the meal off on the right note.

This new European-style cafe from the owners of Maple & Ash features a wood-burning oven that turns out roast chicken and meatballs plus more casual sandwiches and pastries. It’s also open all day so the laptop crowd can move smoothly from coffee to cocktails as soon as happy hour hits. A small market sells wine and gourmet snacks.

Chef Martial Noguier serves up the French classics — pate en croute, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon — in a modern dining room or on a dog-friendly patio. There’s also a regular lineup of special wine dinners hosted by guest sommeliers and Noguier and his crew prepare meals for all the major American and Jewish holidays.

This new restaurant is a reflection of its owner, sommelier and former Check, Please! host Alpana Singh, down to the name. Singh stocked the wine cellar and designed the menu herself — with the help of chef Juan Chavez — so that the flavors would pop when paired with wine. The beautiful, lush dining room also reflects her sensibility: an Eden that Eve never left and where only one man, Keanu Reeves, is worthy of a photo on the wall.

This restaurant is tucked in on the first floor of a former city club-turned-Restoration Hardware, featuring a large fountain in the middle flanked by couches and tables (RH, of course). The menu is small, but the crisp grilled cheese, salmon board, and chocolate chip cookie are the stars. Or, just grab a glass of wine and sit back and relax and let your worries melt away.

This sister spot to Sushi Suite in Lincoln Park was designed to appeal especially to women who are tired of sushi bro culture. In practical terms, this means “feminine” cocktails, more affordable maki and rolls, and a $75 Sunday omakase special.

The main focus at this old-fashioned hotel bar is “sugar cane spirits,” rum from all over the world. Sip them neat or mixed into classics like a Hotel Nacional and El Presidente. But the bar also stocks just about any other liquor you can think of.

The restaurant that occupies the old Table 52 space holds a few of the old restaurant’s charms with a more accessible feel. Fried chicken and seasonal cocktails are highlights, but chef Art Smith (who previously cooked for Oprah Winfrey) regularly creates new dishes to match the season.

Lou Malnati’s is a Chicago classic and while there are locations all over the city, this is a fine choice for those who are dining with children or who just can’t tolerate another steak or seasonal tasting menu. Be sure to order the butter crust.

Located in the Viceroy Hotel, built on the site of the historic (and now demolished) Cedar, the Somerset, led by chef Stephen Gillanders (S.K.Y.), serves a seasonal American menu, with salads, steak, and sustainable seafood. Multicourse tasting menus are also available for lunch and dinner.

Steakhouses are abundant in the Gold Coast, but Maple & Ash has a bit of an edge. The first floor boasts Eight Bar, a more casual atmosphere with burgers and martinis. Upstairs, fancy steaks abound, plus a $200 tasting menu aptly named “I Don’t Give a F*@k.”

This Irish pub with a classic wooden bar has been serving Guinness to the Gold Coast for more than 30 years and is currently open all day, every day, serving breakfast (including, improbably, bagels and lox), salads, sandwiches, pasta, stir fries, and the traditional corned beef and cabbage and fish and chips.

Though it only opened in 1989, Gibsons is a portal back to the mid-20th century, the era of martinis, cigars, and giant slabs of meat. Though the restaurant serves oysters, soups, salads, sandwiches, and a surprisingly good and affordable burger, if you want a classic — and indulgent — Chicago experience, order a steak and then finish off the meal with one of the enormous slices of cake.

This sleek spot inside the Thompson Hotel is open all day, every day, with a constantly changing menu that ranges from breakfast pastries to pasta, salads, steaks, and fish at dinner. The bar area, dubbed Salone Nico, is also a great place to unwind with a stiff drink and light bite. The wine list is full of Italian vintages.

Glitzy and glamorous, Adalina is built to impress. The lively newcomer has plenty of eye candy: crystal chandeliers, vintage mirrors, and plush velvet seats. Servers dressed in tuxedos echo the stylish setting, while the modern Italian menu from former Band of Bohemia chef Soo Ahn features refined staples such as cacio e pepe arancini, veal chop parm, and a truffled Caesar salad that’s prepared tableside. The handmade pastas shine too, as do the desserts by Jean Banchet Award-winning pastry maestro Nicole Guini. Also check out the speakeasy-style bar Rose Lounge downstairs.

Though its located on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons Hotel, Adorn’s chefs, James Beard-winner Jonathon Sawyer and Juan Gutierrez, try to maintain a down-to-earth Midwestern sensibility by using local meat and produce. The menu changes seasonally to take advantage of the freshest offerings.

This French restaurant at the Sofitel hotel offers traditional French food for every meal — think traditional but modern dishes like a duck breast and seared diver scallops. There are tasting menus available as well, along with cheese and charcuterie plates to start the meal off on the right note.

This new European-style cafe from the owners of Maple & Ash features a wood-burning oven that turns out roast chicken and meatballs plus more casual sandwiches and pastries. It’s also open all day so the laptop crowd can move smoothly from coffee to cocktails as soon as happy hour hits. A small market sells wine and gourmet snacks.

Chef Martial Noguier serves up the French classics — pate en croute, coq au vin, boeuf bourguignon — in a modern dining room or on a dog-friendly patio. There’s also a regular lineup of special wine dinners hosted by guest sommeliers and Noguier and his crew prepare meals for all the major American and Jewish holidays.

This new restaurant is a reflection of its owner, sommelier and former Check, Please! host Alpana Singh, down to the name. Singh stocked the wine cellar and designed the menu herself — with the help of chef Juan Chavez — so that the flavors would pop when paired with wine. The beautiful, lush dining room also reflects her sensibility: an Eden that Eve never left and where only one man, Keanu Reeves, is worthy of a photo on the wall.