Best Fine Dining Restaurants in Near North Side
12 hand-picked restaurants, critic-reviewed and ranked
Last Updated: February 2026
Our Top Pick
Shanghai Terrace
Hotel-level Cantonese with dim sum and duck in a terrace-backed, 1930s-inspired room.
Essential Picks
9
Inside The Peninsula Chicago, Shanghai Terrace serves polished Cantonese and Shanghainese dishes, from Beijing duck to delicate dim sum, in a 1930s supper-club dining room and on a skyline-facing terrace. It’s the area’s most formal Chinese option, pairing hotel-level service and cocktails with carefully executed plates built for celebrations and business entertaining.
Must-Try Dishes:
Beijing Duck tableside service, BBQ Pork Buns, Kung Pao Chicken
What Makes it Special: Hotel-level Cantonese with dim sum and duck in a terrace-backed, 1930s-inspired room.
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.
#3
Maple & Ash
8.8
A high-energy Gold Coast steakhouse where wood-fired cooking, tableside theatrics, and a deep wine program drive the experience as much as the beef. It’s built for celebratory nights and big-ticket ordering, with the kitchen strongest when you lean into its fire-roasted steaks and seafood-forward showpieces.
Must-Try Dishes:
Fire Roasted Filet Mignon, Fire Roasted Seafood Tower, I Don't Give A F*@K
What Makes it Special: Wood-fired steakhouse theater paired with a serious wine program.
8.7
Vibes:
Luxury Dining Elite
Date Night Magic
Business Lunch Power Players
Birthday & Celebration Central
RL Restaurant, attached to the Ralph Lauren flagship on the Mag Mile, delivers classic American club fare—steaks, lobster rolls, and composed salads—in a wood-paneled dining room that feels timelessly tailored. It functions as both a power-lunch address and a special-occasion destination, with service calibrated for lingering meals rather than quick turns. Pricing is steep, but the experience leans heavily into atmosphere and ritual.
Must-Try Dishes:
Lobster Roll, RL Burger, Chopped Vegetable Salad
What Makes it Special: Clubby Ralph Lauren decor pairs with polished, old-school American cooking.
#5
Le Colonial
8.7
Vibes:
Luxury Dining Elite
Date Night Magic
Birthday & Celebration Central
Business Lunch Power Players
Since 1996, Le Colonial has served refined French-Vietnamese cooking in an elegant Gold Coast row house overlooking Oak Street. Guests pair shaking beef, oxtail pho, and chicken curry with attentive service in a palm-filled, white-tablecloth dining room used for date nights, client dinners, and special occasions.
Must-Try Dishes:
Bo Luc Lac (shaking beef), Pho Bo with oxtail broth, Chicken curry (Cari Ga)
What Makes it Special: A long-running Gold Coast institution marrying white-tablecloth service with polished French-Vietnamese classics and a transportive 1920s colonial-style room.
#6
NoMI
8.4
On the seventh floor of the Park Hyatt overlooking Water Tower and the Mag Mile, NoMI serves French-influenced modern American plates, sushi, and seasonal tasting-style menus. A former Michelin-starred dining room with broad review volume, it’s a go-to for polished hotel dining with serious views.
Must-Try Dishes:
Skuna Bay salmon with seasonal vegetables, French onion soup with gruyère, Crunchy spicy tuna maki
What Makes it Special: Elevated hotel dining where French-rooted plates share the room with sushi and skyline views.
#7
Adalina
8.4
A Gold Coast Italian dining room that leans romantic through lighting, polish, and a pasta-forward center of gravity. The meal lands best when you start with a single antipasti, commit to one house-made pasta, and finish with a big-ticket main to share.
Must-Try Dishes:
Veal Chop Parmigiana, Spicy Vodka Rigatoni, Bread Service
What Makes it Special: A modern Italian room built around house-made pastas and shareable showpiece mains.
#8
Z Bar
8.3
Perched atop The Peninsula Chicago, Z Bar is a polished rooftop lounge where inventive cocktails, daikon fries, and warm beignets meet a terrace facing the Magnificent Mile. Service and execution are stronger and more refined than many rooftops, making it a go-to for upscale drinks with real food and serious views.
Must-Try Dishes:
Daikon fries, Warm vanilla bean beignets, Chef-driven bar snacks to share
What Makes it Special: A hotel rooftop lounge pairing skyline-facing terraces with some of the city’s most polished cocktails and snacks.
8.3
Mirai Sushi’s Gold Coast outpost brings the long-running brand’s creative maki and sashimi to a sleek Streeterville high-rise just off Lake Shore Drive. It leans more upscale than casual, with composed rolls like Spicy Mono and Tuna Tuna Salmon anchoring dinners before shows or nights out nearby.
Must-Try Dishes:
Spicy Mono, Tuna Tuna Salmon, Special Salmon
What Makes it Special: Established Chicago sushi name delivering polished, modern rolls and sashimi in a sleek tower setting.
8.2
Gaylord Fine Indian Cuisine is a 1970s-era stalwart just off the Magnificent Mile, serving classic Northern Indian dishes in a white-tablecloth dining room. Guests lean on tandoori platters, rich curries, and a buffet format at select services, using it for everything from business dinners to special-occasion meals.
Must-Try Dishes:
Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer
What Makes it Special: A long-running Mag Mile–adjacent dining room pairing classic Northern Indian recipes with old-school white-tablecloth service.
8.1
Adorn, on the seventh floor of the Four Seasons, leans into globally inspired New American cooking, cocktails, and live music in a sleek hotel lounge-dining hybrid. Recognized by the Michelin Guide, it’s used as much for polished nights out and brunches as for celebratory hotel dinners.
Must-Try Dishes:
Wagyu beef cheeks, Charred octopus, Coconut-crusted snapper
What Makes it Special: A Four Seasons dining room where chef-driven plates meet cocktails, skyline views, and live music.
8
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.