Chicago’s inclusive environment encouraged ethnic groups including Hispanics, Italians, Greeks and Polish to gravitate toward Chicago in the early part of the century resulting in many of the city’s ethnic restaurants. These groups have developed important communities within the city, remaining strongly integrated into the city’s fabric today and providing countless ethnic food choices within its 77 diverse neighborhoods. Check out some of the best ethnic food in the city, including:
- Looking for authentic Italian food? A great wine list? Check out Osteria Via Stato, offering a three-course prix fixe menu served in Italian-style progression.
- Le Colonial Restaurant in the Gold Coast neighborhood serves up a dinner menu that is all Vietnamese. French influences are evident on the wine list, which has selections from Burgundy, Bordeaux, the Loire valley, Alsace and Champagne.
Featuring an authentic Moroccan menu, Alhambra Palace is a 1,000 seat restaurant that is decked out with art, artifacts and furniture imported from Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon and Egypt. - A South Loop favorite, Cuatro, showcases a menu spiced with Latin American and Caribbean flavors. Enjoy a perfectly roasted sugarcane-cured double-cut pork chop with plantain mole yuca cake and Caribbean-style green beans.
- Rosal's, in the Little Italy, is about homemade Sicilian food, and remembering the sounds, aromas and flavors of the old neighborhood.
- OPAA! Located just west of the city’s central business district, Greektown provides visitors with a plethora of dining options serving traditional Greek cuisine, from saganaki to baklava you will not forget your experience here! Some of the favorites include: Athena Greek Restaurant, Parthenon Restaurant, The Roditys Restaurant, Santorini Restaurant and Venus Greek-Cypriot Cuisine.
- Fogo de Chao showcases an authentic Southern Brazilian steakhouse where Gaucho chef’s parade with 15 different cuts of meat on skewers and slices them onto your plate. Also serving traditional Brazilian steakhouse meals, including filet mignon, rack of lamb and top sirloin, is Brazzaz, The Brazilian Steakhouse.