One of the things longtime River North residents tend to say about the neighborhood is that the sheer density of good options stops feeling overwhelming pretty quickly and starts feeling like one of the better problems
Where to Have a Serious Dinner
River North has enough destination dining to keep a food-focused resident busy for a long time before hitting repeats.
RPM Italian on Fairbanks Court is one of the neighborhood’s most reliably excellent Italian restaurant, with housemade pastas and a room that manages to feel energetic and comfortable at the same time. Longtime residents describe it as the kind of place that works equally well for a first date and a tenth anniversary.
Tortoise Supper Club at 350 N. State is a family-owned River North institution that leans fully into the Chicago supper club tradition. Prime rib, steaks, fresh seafood, craft cocktails, and live Sinatra-style jazz in the lounge on Friday and Saturday nights. Residents who have lived in the neighborhood for years tend to describe it as the place they take out-of-town guests when they want to show them something that could not exist anywhere but Chicago.
Where to Grab a Casual Meal
Beatrix on West Grand has built a loyal neighborhood following on the strength of its all-day menu, strong pastry case, and flexibility across occasions. It works for a working lunch, a weekend brunch, or a post-gym dinner, and it handles vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options better than most.
Xoco by Rick Bayless is the most casual of Bayless’s three River North restaurants and one of the best quick lunch options in the neighborhood. The tortas are the thing to order, along with the tortilla soup and the churros with hot chocolate. Residents who work nearby describe it as a once-a-week lunch habit that never gets old.
Siena Tavern on West Grand punches well above its trendy-Italian-restaurant exterior. The pastas are genuinely excellent, the pizzas can be ordered half and half, and the room is energetic in a way that makes it a reliable choice for group dinners when you need somewhere that accommodates everyone.
Where to Drink Well
River North’s bar scene has a reputation for high-volume club-style spots, which is real but incomplete. The neighborhood also has some of the most interesting and inventive cocktail bars in Chicago for residents who prefer craft over crowd.
Three Dots and a Dash at 435 N. Clark is the city’s most celebrated tiki bar and one of the most well-regarded craft cocktail bars in the country. The entrance is down an alley off Hubbard Street, the room is island-themed and evocative of the 1940s, and the cocktail program is serious enough to draw bartenders from across the industry. Residents describe it as a place that somehow never loses its novelty even after many visits.
The Drifter is a Prohibition-era speakeasy hidden beneath the floorboards of the Green Door Tavern at 678 N. Orleans. The cocktail menu rotates and is presented on tarot cards. The room is small, dimly lit, and filled with artifacts from its actual Prohibition-era past. It is one of those River North spots that visitors find remarkable and residents find themselves returning to more than they expected.
Green Door Tavern itself, at 678 N. Orleans, is Chicago’s oldest surviving drinking establishment, operating since 1921 in a building from 1872. The tavern serves classic drinks and tavern food in a room that has accumulated a century of character. For residents who want a no-frills neighborhood bar with genuine history, this is the answer.
Where to Unwind After Work
Not everything in River North requires a plan or a reservation.
The Chicago Riverwalk runs along the neighborhood’s southern edge and is one of the better after-work destinations in the city during warmer months. The outdoor bars and restaurants along the promenade are casual enough for a spontaneous stop, and the river views and architecture boat tours passing underneath the bridges make it a genuinely pleasant place to sit without an agenda.
The Art on the MART projection show runs nightly from March through December across the Merchandise Mart’s facade. Residents describe it as the kind of thing visitors find spectacular and locals find reliably enjoyable even after seeing it many times.
For a quieter evening option, Beatrix and several of the neighborhood’s wine bars along the State Street and Dearborn corridors provide low-key alternatives to the higher-energy spots that define River North’s reputation from the outside.
Find River North Apartments With PPM
All of the spots covered in this guide are walkable from PPM’s River North properties. Browse PPM Apartments’ River North apartments to compare available units and reach out to the leasing team to schedule a tour.
