What to eat in Chicago: 10 dishes and where to find them

What to eat in Chicago comes down to a short list the city cooked for itself: deep-dish and tavern-style pizza, the Italian beef, the Chicago-style hot dog and the Maxwell Street Polish. Add a jibarito in Humboldt Park, carnitas in Pilsen and dumplings in Chinatown, and most of it costs under $25 a head.

Chicago's street food grew out of its immigrant neighbourhoods: Italian families on Taylor Street, Macedonian sausage stands around Maxwell Street, Puerto Rican cooks on Division Street and Mexican butchers on 18th Street. The same city holds 20 Michelin-starred restaurants in the 2026 guide, led by Smyth, the only one with three stars.

Knowing what to eat in Chicago also means crossing the city: the best plates are spread from the South Side to Norwood Park. Prices below are in US dollars and come from menus and ordering platforms in 2026.

In Chicago the plates that made the city famous still cost less than a cocktail.

What to eat in Chicago first: deep-dish at Pequod's, Lincoln Park

Deep-dish is a pizza baked in a tall steel pan, cheese laid under a thick layer of tomato sauce. Pequod's version is pan-style with a ring of cheese pushed against the pan edge, which caramelises into a dark, crunchy crust.

Pequod's is at 2207 N Clybourn Avenue and opens until 2am from Monday to Saturday. A 10-inch pan pizza costs $17.35 and a 14-inch $27.80; count on 40 to 45 minutes from order to table. For the buttery-crust school, Lou Malnati's at 439 N Wells Street, River North, charges $24 to $31 for a small deep-dish.

Tavern-style thin crust at Vito & Nick's, Ashburn

Chicago's other pizza is thin, cracker-crisp and cut into squares rather than slices, the so-called party cut. It began as bar food on the South Side, cheap enough to keep drinkers at the counter.

Vito & Nick's, 8433 S Pulaski Road, has baked it since 1965 in a family business that started as a tavern in the 1920s. A 12-inch sausage pizza costs about $21.50 and a 14-inch about $23.75. The dining room closes at 8.30pm on weekdays.

Italian beef at Al's #1 Italian Beef, Little Italy

Thin-sliced roast beef soaked in seasoned juices, known locally as gravy, piled into a French roll. You choose "hot" (spicy giardiniera) or "sweet" (roasted peppers), and dry, wet or dipped, the whole sandwich dunked in the juice.

Al's opened in 1938 and its stand at 1079 W Taylor Street still anchors Little Italy. A regular beef costs $11.25, a big beef $15.75 and a combo with sausage $13.90. Eat it standing at the counter, elbows out.

Chicago-style hot dog at Superdawg, Norwood Park

An all-beef frank on a poppy seed bun, dressed with yellow mustard, relish, chopped onion, pickle, tomato and hot peppers, never ketchup. Superdawg swaps the tomato for a pickled green tomato and serves it boxed with crinkle-cut fries.

The Berman family opened the drive-in at 6363 N Milwaukee Avenue in 1948; the two giant hot dog figures on the roof are still there, and orders go through a speaker at your car. A Superdawg costs $9.85.

Maxwell Street Polish at Jim's Original, University Village

A grilled Polish sausage on a bun with a heap of grilled onions, yellow mustard and sport peppers. It was born at the Maxwell Street market, where Jim's has sold it since 1939.

In May 2026 Jim's announced it had to leave 1250 S Union Avenue for a building it bought at 551 W 18th Street in Pilsen; in June a lease extension with the University of Illinois Chicago let it stay on Union Avenue for now, with the move spread over the next few years. A Polish or the bone-in pork chop sandwich costs under $10.

Jibarito at Papa's Cache Sabroso, Humboldt Park

A sandwich that replaces bread with two flattened, fried green plantains, filled with thin steak, lettuce, tomato, American cheese and garlic mayonnaise. It was created in Humboldt Park in 1996 at a Puerto Rican restaurant, Borinquen.

Papa's Cache Sabroso has worked from 2517 W Division Street since 2002 and also roasts lechón and chicken. A jibarito costs $13.95, with steak, chicken or a vegetarian filling.

Carnitas at Carnitas Uruapan, Pilsen

Pork cooked slowly in its own fat in the Michoacán style, then sold by weight with tortillas, salsa, onion and cilantro, so you build the tacos yourself. Ask for a mix of cuts, including skin.

Carnitas Uruapan is at 1725 W 18th Street, the main street of the Mexican neighbourhood. Half a pound costs about $10 and a pound about $18.50, enough for two. Go at lunch: the meat can sell out.

Dumplings at Qing Xiang Yuan, Chinatown

Northern Chinese dumplings with about 40 fillings, each available boiled, steamed or pan-fried: pork and cabbage, lamb and coriander, beef and onion.

Qing Xiang Yuan began in 2014 in a Chinatown food court and now has a dining room at 2002 S Wentworth Avenue. Most orders cost $10 to $13; seafood ones such as crab roe run to about $30.

Filipino breakfast at Kasama, Ukrainian Village

By day Kasama is a bakery and counter serving pastries and Filipino breakfast; at night it serves a tasting menu that holds two Michelin stars in the 2026 guide. It was the first Filipino restaurant to win a Michelin star.

Chefs Genie Kwon and Timothy Flores run it at 1001 N Winchester Avenue. The longganisa, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich costs about $12.

Markets, neighbourhoods and when to go

If you plan your days around what to eat in Chicago, group them by district:

• Pilsen, 18th Street: carnitas, bakeries and taquerias, busiest at weekend lunch.
• Chinatown, Wentworth Avenue and Chinatown Square: dumplings, noodles and bakeries, a short ride on the CTA Red Line.
• Humboldt Park, Division Street: Puerto Rican cooking between the two giant steel flags over the street.
• Fulton Market and West Loop: the new openings, from AMARA's Balkan mezze to Berenjak's Tehran grill and Black Briar, Jimmy Papadopoulos's restaurant.
• Magnificent Mile: Garrett Popcorn, 625 N Michigan Avenue, for the Garrett Mix of caramel and cheddar corn.
• Green City Market, Lincoln Park: the city's main farmers' market, outdoors from spring to autumn.

Chicago winters are long and cold; May, June, September and October are the easiest months to eat on foot and queue outdoors.

Frequently asked questions about eating in Chicago

Deep-dish or thin crust? Both are Chicago. Deep-dish takes 40 minutes or more to bake, so order it on arrival; tavern-style is quicker and made for sharing.

How do I order an Italian beef? Say the size, then "hot" or "sweet", then dry, wet or dipped. Dipped is the messiest and the most traditional.

How much should I budget? Most street food costs $10 to $25 a head; the menus at Smyth cost $420 and $550 before drinks.

What is the one dish to try if I only have a day? An Italian beef at lunch, then deep-dish or tavern-style pizza for dinner.

Where to book first

Smyth, 177 N Ada Street, West Loop: John Shields and Karen Urie Shields's restaurant is Chicago's only three-star address; the menu costs $420 before drinks, with a $100 deposit on Tock. Read our story on Conor Dalton, Smyth's new head chef.

Alinea, 1723 N Halsted Street, Lincoln Park: Grant Achatz's restaurant holds two stars in the 2026 guide and sells tickets on Tock in several formats.

Topolobampo, 445 N Clark Street, River North: Rick Bayless's Mexican tasting-menu room keeps one star. Book those three weeks ahead; for everything else on this list of what to eat in Chicago, just join the queue.