Two Chicago-area eateries made the New York Times list of America’s best restaurants, including this suburban Greek charmer

Chicago restaurants landed not one but two spots on The New York Times’ 2026 Restaurant List, and the picks make a pretty strong case for getting out of the usual dining bubble. 

The Times’ annual list of 50 favorite restaurants in the country is unranked, and this year’s 16-person scouting team fanned out across the country to find restaurants that felt distinctive rather than simply prestigious. And, excitingly, both Illinois picks are new to the list.

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First up is Creepies, the French-Midwestern neo-bistro from David and Anna Posey and chef de cuisine Tayler Ploshehanski. The restaurant opened in August 2025 next door to the Poseys’ Michelin-starred Elske and has quickly become one of the West Loop’s buzziest tables. The Times singled out its roast chicken, frites, leeks vinaigrette, giardiniera-topped mussels and tavern-style tarte flambée, praising the restaurant for reinterpreting rather than recreating French bistro classics.

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Then there’s Kouklas Greek Eatery in Niles. The Times praised its family-style approach and argued that the restaurant makes a compelling case for eating better Greek food—and eating more of it.

The menu leans into sharing, with dishes including flaming saganaki, taramosalata (a salted roe spread), tirokafteri (a creamy, spicy feta dip), fried calamari, wood-fired oysters, octopus and sausage, plus souvlaki, Greek salad and brown-butter macaroni. Kouklas opened in December 2025, making its appearance on the Times list particularly notable: both Illinois restaurants are relatively young, with Creepies barely a year old and Kouklas only nine months into its run.

And while Chicago has plenty of restaurants that could inspire a national critic to start making reservations, the Times’ choices are a reminder that the city’s dining scene extends well beyond the restaurants everyone already knows to name-drop.

Creepies is located at 1360 W. Randolph St., and is open Thursday to Monday from 11am–2pm and 5pm–10pm. For more information and to make a reservation, click here.

Kouklas Greek Eatery is located at 7620 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Niles, and is open Tuesday through Thursday 5–10pm, Fridays and Saturdays 11:30am–10pm, and Sundays 11:30am–9:30pm. For more information and to make a reservation, click here.