Best Brunch in Chicago
Breakfast meets lunch perfectly in some top Chicago restaurants.
The perfect brunch: Be it a great cheap omelette, creative cuisine, cajun and French food, or the best hotel buffet around, Chicago has got a brunch for you.
I can't tell you the amount of friendly arguments I've gotten in with friends that hail from Chicago. I'm not the biggest sports fan around, so I usually let provocative comments about NY and LA teams slide. But when they start in about the country's best restaurants, creative cuisine, or top brunches, that's going too far. Foodies know that LA's cornered the American market for best sushi, and weekend brunch in NYC is a cultural phenomenon. Right?
Well...Wrong. After a few visits involving tasty breakfast and lunch research, I have to give one to Chicago. NYC doesn't own a monopoly on the brunch goodness of omelettes and waffles after all (contrary to what myopic New Yorkers like to believe). And no place can nurse a Sunday morning hangover like a top Chicago brunch restaurant.
The best brunch restaurants in Chicago:
- Wishbone - I went to the Wishbone in the West Loop; there's another Wishbone in Lakeview. Wishbone has the best cheap brunch in this trendy area. The brunch focus is on Southern food, with blackened catfish, crab cakes and corn cakes on the menu. I had the fried French Toast, which is made with a crunchy corn flake batter. It was so good that my dining companions' forks kept somehow sneaking their ways onto my plate. The best brunch here, according to legend, is the shrimp and grits in cream sauce. I liked almost everything I tried here, the exception being the fried green tomatoes. As with all popular brunch spots on weekends (and Mothers Day), there's a wait to get in. A Bloody Mary helps the wait seem more than tolerable. Phone (312)850-2663
- Bistro 110 - This great brunch restaurant is next to the Magnificent Mile, right across from the historic Water Tower. Michigan Ave is a very hip location, and this is quite the hip French bistro. We had the best time at the Sunday Jazz Brunch. I thought that Bistro 110 was a little big for a bistro, but the lunch food more than makes up for the misnomer. There is a year-round outside brunch. Yes, al fresco even in Chicago's famously frigid winters; the outside dining area is seasonally enclosed. Brunch here is classic French - the Salad Nicoise was fresh and great, but my favorite brunch dish was the Crepes Farcies a la Fricassee de Volaille; crepes stuffed with chicken and mushrooms, topped with gruyere cheese. The best known brunch dish here is probably the roasted artichoke with brie. Although it's crowded on Sundays, it's worth it: The Jazz Brunch is Chicago at its best. Phone (312) 266-3110
- Tweet - First off, Tweet doesn't take credit cards, so bring cash. It's worth it; the atmosphere is convivial and friendly, despite the hip Uptown location. Tweet is a gay-friendly restaurant, also popular with families and young children. A traditional American brunch is served here - breakfast favorites like pancakes, scrambled eggs, etc. I had the breakfast burrito with a spinach tortilla,and it felt like I'd never been so full in my life. Tweet is on the small side, with a narrow dining area, but despite occasional jostling no one I was with felt too squeezed in. This Chicago restaurant is best for those looking for a top quality organic breakfast. Phone (773) 728-5576
- Orange - Orange, in the Lakeview area, is the best Chicago spot for creative brunch items. "Frushi," for example, looks like sushi and is mostly fruit (and rice). Despite its creative, beautifully presented brunch fare, Orange is still child-friendly. There's enough standards-with-a-twist here to satisfy picky toddlers. Get this: They actually offer Green Eggs and Ham (pesto, not food coloring, for the green)! What Dr. Seuss-lovin' child can resist? The Lakeview location is a popular spot, but brunch is served all week: Best to go mid-week, when Orange is less crowded. The waitress recommended the "pancake flight" as a favorite dish. This is four stacks of silver-dollar size pancakes, each different (and rotating). The creative cuisine makes Orange tops for me, though. I loved the French Toast Kabob, on skewers, with fruit. And the orange coffee is pretty good, too. Phone (773) 549-4400
- Seasons Cafe - At the Four Seasons Hotel on Magnificent Mile, this brunch is not cheap. This is the best pricey brunch I've had in Chicago - and I was already pretty happy with the Four Seasons for stocking their suite bathrooms with L'Occitane soaps and shampoos. Now, the Seasons Cafe is set up breakfast and lunch buffet style, not usually my thing. But the waitstaff is attentive, and never lets the stations' food get crusty or gross. There are several standard brunch stations here, with scrambled eggs, bacon, etc., but what makes this brunch tops for me are the themed stations (Midwestern and Oriental). Watch out for the dessert stations, though. No one ever said brunch was a low-calorie meal, but those dessert stations really push it over the edge. That "Eighth Wonder of the World" chocolate-banana-coconut-edible gold leaf-pyramid has to be seen (and tasted!) to be believed. Phone (312) 280-8800
Last, I want to mention the House of Blues. This is not on my list of best Chicago brunch spots, because it's just too touristy - even for a tourist. The Sunday Gospel Brunch in the House of Blues is a big draw, don't get me wrong. But it felt contrived, sort of like the Disney version of gospel rather than the real deal. The buffet lunch is mostly cajun food, and Southern fried grub. There were no special groups when I was there; maybe it's different depending on which church choir is singing which day. Still, it's really popular. Phone (312) 923-2000
Related, on Suite 101:
The Ferris Bueller Chicago Tour
Chicago Attractions for Families
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