Best Fine Dining Italian Restaurants in Chicago
10 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Giant
An intimate, Michelin-starred New American kitchen known for bold, deeply flavored plates.
Essential Picks
#1
Giant
9
A compact Logan Square dining room where a Michelin-starred kitchen turns out intensely seasoned New American small plates and handmade pastas from an open line. It’s a destination for diners who want serious cooking, tight pacing, and a lively, unpretentious room instead of white-tablecloth formality.
Must-Try Dishes:
Trout Roe Tempura with Sour Cream, Shrimp & Pork Fried Rice with Maple and Salted Black Bean, Slow Cooked Lamb Ribs with Anchovy Aioli
What Makes it Special: An intimate, Michelin-starred New American kitchen known for bold, deeply flavored plates.
Notable Picks
8.8
La Storia Ristorante is a Gold Coast townhouse restaurant pairing handmade regional Italian pastas, wood-fired pizzas, and an extensive wine list with white-tablecloth polish. Diners come for rich seafood pastas, long-form dinners, and a room that feels suited to anniversaries and special nights out more than quick plates of red sauce.
Must-Try Dishes:
Squid Ink Seafood Pasta, Cioppino with Mixed Shellfish, Arugula Pizza
What Makes it Special: Townhouse Italian dining with handmade pastas, deep cellar, and polished service.
8.7
Gibsons Italia is a riverfront Italian steakhouse pairing gold-extruded pastas, Prime beef and seafood with skyline views from multi-level dining rooms. Downtown diners use it for client dinners, occasion meals and polished date nights where service and execution are tightly controlled.
Must-Try Dishes:
Spicy Rigatoni, Cacio e Pepe, Roasted Mediterranean Branzino
What Makes it Special: Italian steakhouse where serious pastas meet river and skyline views.
8.6
A polished, special-occasion Italian steakhouse where the move is splitting prime cuts and leaning into the seafood-and-pasta lane alongside them. The room is built for celebrations and date nights, with a menu that balances classic Italian hospitality with steakhouse execution.
Must-Try Dishes:
Branzino, Dover Sole (tableside), Sesame-Crusted Ahi Tuna
What Makes it Special: Italian steakhouse glamour with prime cuts plus serious seafood.
#5
Tre Dita
8.6
A Tuscan-leaning steakhouse inside The St. Regis built around handmade pasta and live-fire cooking, where the meal works best as a paced progression from schiacciata to pasta to a shareable cut. The room is designed for big-night energy—views, polish, and a menu that rewards ordering fewer things, better.
Must-Try Dishes:
Schiacciata bianca, Pici cacio e pepe, Bistecca alla Fiorentina
What Makes it Special: Handmade Tuscan pasta and live-fire steak in a skyline-view dining room.
#6
Fioretta
8.4
DineAmic Hospitality's glamorous Italian-American steakhouse channels a new-age Copacabana with checkered marble floors, live entertainment, and bartenders in waistcoats. Chef Joe Rizza's solid-fuel hearth delivers exceptional steaks alongside tableside Caesar salad and al dente housemade pastas that nearly outshine the beef.
Must-Try Dishes:
Tableside Caesar Salad, Dry-Aged Ribeye, Chicken Parmesan
What Makes it Special: Mid-century Copacabana glamour meets Italian-American steakhouse excellence
Vibes:
Luxury Dining Elite
Birthday & Celebration Central
Business Lunch Power Players
Group Dining Gatherings
A classic steakhouse format inside the Swissotel with a menu built around prime-aged beef, big seafood swings, and steady, occasion-friendly service. It’s strongest when you order like a traditional steakhouse—one prime cut per person, a shared side strategy, and a familiar starter—rather than over-stacking categories.
Must-Try Dishes:
Gigi Salad, Prime rib, Lobster bisque
What Makes it Special: Old-school steakhouse reliability with Swissotel riverfront setting.
#8
Coco Pazzo
8.2
Vibes:
Luxury Dining Elite
Date Night Magic
Business Lunch Power Players
Birthday & Celebration Central
Operating since 1992, Coco Pazzo is a Tuscan-leaning loft restaurant known for seasonal antipasti, wild-boar pappardelle, and wood-roasted mains. Its high ceilings and warehouse bones make it a fit for longer, more traditional sit-down dinners with a strong wine focus.
Must-Try Dishes:
Pappardelle ai cinghiale, Melanzane Parmigiana, Risotto del giorno
What Makes it Special: Long-running Tuscan restaurant combining loft-like space with classic trattoria cooking.
Set on the 12th floor of The Ritz-Carlton, Torali blends a modern steakhouse with Italian pastas and sweeping city views. It’s more about polished ambiance, cocktails, and composed plates than rustic red-sauce comfort, drawing hotel guests and special-occasion diners.
Must-Try Dishes:
Torali Mafalde Bolognese, Pappardelle Bolognese, Prime Flat-Iron Steak Frites
What Makes it Special: Ritz-Carlton steakhouse with Italian pastas and 12th-floor city views.
Worthy Picks
7.9
A newer Irving Park address that aims for a fuller Italian dinner arc—fresh pastas, seafood, and a dessert finish—rather than a quick neighborhood red-sauce stop. It works best when you order like a proper sit-down meal: one pasta, one protein, and a shared sweet to close.
Must-Try Dishes:
House-made pasta, Pan-seared salmon, House-made gelato
What Makes it Special: A newer Italian spot that leans into fresh pastas and a full dinner arc.