The 14 Sexiest Restaurants for a Romantic Date Night in Chicago

Take your beau on a trek through alpine Europe by way of Armitage Avenue. Table, Donkey, and Stick has been making waves recently for their carefully curated cheeses, cocktails, and cuts of meat, and it’s for good reason. Their menu changes often and reflects the freshest and most seasonally appropriate ingredients from melt-in-your-mouth confit duck leg to perfectly fork-tender trout with shatteringly-crisp skin. Don’t miss the charcuterie offerings, their duck liver mousse is essential.
How to book: Reserve via Tock.

Nestled right underneath sushiDOKKU sits Booze Box, one of the city’s most oft-overlooked speakeasies. While the upstairs offers a wonderful dining experience in its own right, we recommend whisking your date downstairs, where dim, warm lighting, low ceilings, and in-house DJs provide the backdrop to what will be an unforgettable evening. Booze Box allows you to order from sushiDOKKU’s menu until 11 pm, so settle in and split a sampling of sashimi, while savoring specialty sake as well. Alliteration aside, if you’re looking for an intimate date location, one where it really does seem like the world melts away around you and your partner and it’s just you two and an assortment of delicious sushi (and some of the best miso soup Chicago has to offer), you can’t do much better. As an added bonus, Booze Box has one of the best selections of sake and high-quality Japanese whisky in the city.
How to book: Reserve via Tock.

If you don’t think lovingly crafted burgers, fries, and shakes are romantic, you can skip this entry. Don’t worry, there are plenty of other places you can go to get oysters and scallops and other fancypants date night staples. For the rest of us, DMK has our back. The Chicago elevated fast-food staple offers a jovial-yet-cozy atmosphere, perfect for lady-and-the-tramp-ing some parmesan-and-truffle-cream fries before ordering a boozy peanut butter shake, complete with two straws. Oh, and did we mention the burgers? No matter whether you prefer beef, chicken, bison, salmon, or turkey, DMK has you covered. Our favorite is the No. 5, a bison burger with goat cheese, pickled red onion, and a blueberry BBQ sauce.
How to book: Reserve via OpenTable.

Located within the Langham Hotel, this downtown draw boasts undeniable elegance. Couple those vibes with the refined culinary approach employed by chef Justin Gomes, and you’re looking at a top-tier night out. From mouthwatering wagyu carpaccio to venison with an accompaniment of trumpet mushrooms, huckleberries, and chestnuts, you’ll be sure to impress even the most refined of dining partners. If you’re looking to dine in the main space, request one of the tables along the window to enjoy captivating views of the skyline and Chicago River below.
How to book: Reserve via Tock.

Lettuce Entertain You’s nautical gem is a glistening seafood emporium where the neighborhood’s see-and-be-seen crowd slurps down white sturgeon roe cured with sea salt or any number of other high-class oceanic delights—not to mention choice steaks, pastas, and cocktails. Considering the epic waterfront views, it’s pretty much the top dinner-and-a-show deal in town.
How to book: Reserve via the RPM Seafood website.

This long-revered Mediterranean-influenced fixture from One Off Hospitality has held it down as one of the area’s go-to date night spots since opening its minimalist doors back in 2003, well before many of us could even define romance. And the hits just keep on coming—avec has been busy in recent years, adding a massive and gorgeously appointed new outpost in River North to the family, coupled with an incredible rooftop patio with all the fixings (come warmer months). Regardless of location, the natural-leaning wine list is still spectacular and the Chorizo-stuffed Medjool Dates are still iconic (not to mention addictive).
How to book: Reserve via Tock (West Loop, River North).

Chef-owner Erick Williams brought this welcoming, sophisticated outpost to Hyde Park back in late 2018. Bring your bae to explore Williams’ thoughtful menu, following along as he traipses through Southern cuisine’s multi-faceted history while also managing to throw in a few modern touches. Case in point? Their Chicken Liver Toast, a cheeky ode to the family-friendly fixture featuring chicken liver mousse topped off with sweet onions and bacon.
How to book: Reserve via SEVENROOMS.

It’s easy to feel the romance at this long-standing outpost, situated alongside Lincoln Park’s tranquil North Pond. What once served as a former warming house for skaters has been transformed into an Arts and Crafts-style space that ushers in couples celebrating anniversaries and special occasions throughout the year (not to mention more than a few engagements). Chef César Murillo serves a four-course tasting menu that celebrates seasonality, with exemplary options like grilled wagyu served with bone marrow, radish, and bone broth, or seared Australian ocean trout with tanglefoot ranch prawns, celery root, and blue corn grits. Post-dinner, take your beau for a stroll through the park while basking in the sweeping skyline views.
How to book: Reserve via OpenTable.

Dreamy artwork, a lush living wall, and moody lighting entice diners to this Lincoln Park hotspot, the first in the ever-increasing Boka Restaurant Group portfolio. And then, of course, there’s the food—chef Lee Wolen’s take on seasonal American cuisine, as evidenced by options like lightly-cured kampachi, grilled scallops, and the date-night pinnacle: Whole Roasted Dry Aged Duck for two.
How to book: Reserve on Boka’s official site here.

Nestled between the brick buildings on Lincoln Avenue is Bistro Campagne — you’ll know it by the beautifully kept, ivy-covered trellis to its left. Duck inside to taste a plethora of French dishes courtesy of Executive Chef Adam Grant and Pastry Chef Angel Chavez. The concept here is sustainable, quality ingredients, and their dishes back that up, from their Pain Et Miel featuring some of the most delicious bread you’ll have outside of Europe, to their Poulet Rôti Forestière, made with incredibly juicy Amish Chicken alongside a wild mushroom ragout and onion frites. Be sure to stop back in during warmer months, because the patio at Bistro Campagne is, no lie, one of the most beautiful and romantic places in the city.
How to book: Reserve via Resy.

This Bucktown charmer pairs expertly crafted tipples with all the comforts of American-style Chinese food prepared with cheffy know-how and ultra-fresh ingredients. Expect pillowy Crab Rangoon, Wontons stuffed with pork, ginger, garlic, Thai chili, and black vinegar, Crispy Tofu doused in housemade sweet and sour sauce, Dan Dan Noodles with ground pork and zesty Szechuan peppercorn, and all the warm Almond Cookies you can handle. Throw in a few stellar sips and a dessert to split, and you’ve got one hell of a date night.
How to book: Reserve via the Chef’s Special Cocktail Bar website.

Neighborhood folks in the know have long flocked to this River West charmer, beloved for its seasonally driven lot of fresh, hand-formed pasta dishes and rustic secondi courses (hello, String Cut Black Spaghetti with Mussels, Clams, Shrimp, and Calamari). An impressive, Italian-centric wine list, served both by the glass and the bottle, act as the ideal symphonic accompaniment to the cuisine’s intoxicatingly melodic delivery.
How to book: Reserve via OpenTable.

For a chill date night out, this celebrated Bridgeport tavern is the stuff dreams are made of—especially if said dreams involve chef Kevin Hickey’s signature Duck Inn Dog, a satisfying combination of beef and duck fat smothered in Chicago-style fixings. Served on a poppy seed brioche bun, you’ll probably want to pack extra floss, just in case.
How to book: Reserve via their official website here.

This all-too-often overlooked gem has been quietly peddling a steady stream of refined Italian comforts alongside a Bible-thick list of top-notch wine since 2007. Grab a table and ready your taste buds for an intoxicating Eat Pray Love-esque journey through the rolling hills of Tuscany, the canals of Venice, and the manicured vineyards of Piedmont by way of River North. (Passport not required.)
How to book: Reserve via OpenTable.