As a native Chicagoan, Lauren Brocato is still awed by her hometown, so much so that she’s dedicated her career to telling the stories of the people and places that inspire her each day.

Lauren is the Food and Drink Editor at Time Out Chicago. She previously edited nearly a dozen lifestyle publications across the country and has helped people from New York City to the Bay Area discover the best of their cities.

When she’s not bouncing between Chicago’s hottest restaurants and bars, you can find her biking along the lake, taking bar trivia way too seriously or hitting up an open-air concert at Navy Pier.

Pitch her at [email protected] and follow her on Instagram (@laurenbrotaco) to experience Chicago’s buzzing food and drink scene through her discerning lens.

Lauren Brocato

Food & Drink Editor, Chicago

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Articles (2)

The 20 best Chicago bars, ranked

In a city where faded Old Style signs swing outside of beloved dive bars and lines snake around the block at trendy cocktail lounges, the best bars in Chicago act as meeting places, date locales and venues for celebrations. With so many great places to grab a beverage, the list of our all-time favorite bars around town is expansive—and inclusive of taprooms at Chicago breweries, sultry wine bars uncorking bottles of reds and whites, and the finest cocktail bars Chicago has to offer. In a metropolis packed with places to sip and swirl, these watering holes shine extra bright and boozy. Take a look at the best bars in Chicago and find the perfect destination for your next night out. RECOMMENDED: The best whiskey bars in Chicago August 2025: This month, we've refined the list to an exclusive ranking of the top 20 absolute best bars in Chicago. You might notice this list is missing one of the city's most iconic cocktail institutions, The Violet Hour, which unfortunately had its final curtain call this summer after 18 headline-making years. Luckily, there's a bevy of other hotspots to grab a bev. So sip your way through these top spots (not all in one night, please), and discover the libations that have put Chicago on the map as a world-class mixology hub. Curious about how we narrowed down this list to just 20 spots? Check out how we curate and review at Time Out.

The 20 best restaurants in Chicago right now

The best restaurants in Chicago come in all shapes and sizes, from pizza joints and Michelin-starred heavyweights to some of the best cheap eats Chicago has to offer. The cuisines are just as varied, with every corner of the globe represented through Korean, Mexican, Italian, sushi and much more. Whether you're a lifelong resident or simply visiting for the weekend, stuffing your face at one of these restaurants is easily among the best things to do in Chicago. This belt-busting food scene shows no signs of slowing down, so we cut to the chase and ranked our essentials—the absolute best restaurants in town. Our editors scour the city for great dishes, excellent value and insider info. We hope to provide an authentic snapshot of Chicago's ever-evolving dining experiences by updating this list constantly with the best new restaurants in the city as well as decades-old stalwarts that keep us coming back for more. It could be a mega-hyped destination restaurant or a remarkable hole in the wall: If it’s on the list, we think it’s terrific, and we bet you will, too. August 2025: Our latest roundup of the city's finest eateries features 20 top spots, from iconic institutions such as Johnnie's Beef and Calumet Fisheries to buzzy haunts like Indienne and Kasama. This month's list offers the updated address for Birrieria Zaragoza's secondary location as the original is temporarily closed due to a recent stove fire. That being said, whether you're just visiting or a lifelong Chicagoan,