2. tzuco
8.8
720 N State St (Superior), Chicago, IL
Mexican Restaurant · 14 tips and reviews
ISC Chicago: SHRIMP HUARACHE (Oval-shaped corn masa, shrimp, fennel, nopales, black beans, guajillo salsa, avocado)
Kevin M. McNally, CMP: One you enter into this restaurant, one word WOW! From the chef who created Mexique, here is a celebration of his home in Mexico. Amazing food, beverage & service. You need to dine here! Delicious.
Pablo Cesar Lopez Resendiz: Salomón, squirrel, habanero sauce the high, the best!!
3. Reno
8.0
2607 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, IL
Italian Restaurant · Logan Square · 87 tips and reviews
Carolina Mariana Rodriguez: The Guapo is a fantastic tuna salad and that fennel sausage on the Cowboy Killer is, in fact, killer.
Adrian Brown: The cowboy killer is terrific. Maple fennel sausage, béchamel, Rajas (poblano peppers with cream), topped with and egg that coats everything. Messy but worth it!
Max Blekhter: come for the stumptown coffee (one of two places in chicago that serve it) and stay for the great bagels
4. Marisol
8.9
205 E Pearson St (Mies van der Rohe Way), Chicago, IL
Restaurant · Streeterville · 19 tips and reviews
ISC Chicago: BURRATA with Michigan peach, candied beet, fennel, and marigold butter
Matt Dicker: Perhaps the Gold Coast's best coffee shop, and a true hidden gem.
Tom Biro: Lovely wine list
6. Acanto
8.2
18 S Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL
Italian Restaurant · The Loop · 27 tips and reviews
Reserve: If you’re dreaming of warmer weather, enjoy a taste of summer with Acanto’s Winter Citrus Salad — a refreshing combination of pomegranates, hazelnuts, shaved fennel and pecorino. Read more.
Chicago Tribune: You can enjoy budget-friendly pizzas here, as well as some house made pastas. Try the toothsome duck egg spaghetti with creamy pork sugo and grated caciocavallo cheese, a sinfully rich indulgence. Read more.
Kevin M. McNally, CMP: Simply shared, tasty food offerings at a value price and served via a friendly staff. You must try the Risotto; the flavor cooked perfectly. Applause-Applause for this restaurant.
7. Coco Pazzo
8.0
300 W Hubbard St (at Franklin St.), Chicago, IL
Italian Restaurant · River North · 20 tips and reviews
Chicago magazine: Start with a Neapolitan-style pizza from the wood- burning oven, which pairs nicely with a roasted baby beet salad or perhaps shaved fennel with pomegranate seeds and blood orange segments. Read more.
Time Out Chicago: The soft focaccia and fruity olive oil delivered to your table at this popular River North mainstay are good indicators of what’s to come. Read more.
Time Out Chicago: The mayor recently dined with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, straight from his Situation Room. “Generally we know where he likes to sit,” owner Jack Weiss says. “It’s a special table near a window.” Read more.
8. Range
7.8
1119 W Webster Ave (at N Seminary Ave), Chicago, IL
American Restaurant · North Side · 13 tips and reviews
Scott: It's really nice on the inside and the service is good too. The pumpkin bites were my favorite thing we had, but the fennel cakes and the herb fries were also great too.
Sharif Nassr: Love the decor by Paul Schulman. The fried olives are to die for! Truly my favorite. The pumpkin bites were uniquely divine. The cauliflower bites were a little on the tangy side, but also very good.
Time Out Chicago: The kale sandwich at Range is one of the 100 best things we ate this year. http://tmout.us/rLOtk Read more.
10. Taxim
8.5
1558 N Milwaukee Ave (btwn Damen Ave & North Ave), Chicago, IL
Greek Restaurant · Wicker Park · 51 tips and reviews
ISC Chicago: HTAPODÁKI STI SGÁRA (Octopus, fennel and red onions)
Prashant Patel: Best Greek food I've had in Chicago! Regional dishes from Crete, Asia Minor, Greek Islands, etc. which provides a unique dining experience. No Disneyland-style Greek here! Fried cauliflower is great!
GourmetLive: There’s another gyro in town, and w all due respect to those before it, this one—made w roasted, pomegranate-glazed duck & slathered with a walnut-yogurt mousse—is unlike any other we’ve encountered.
11. Girl & The Goat
9.0
809 W Randolph St (at Halsted St), Chicago, IL
New American Restaurant · West Town · 552 tips and reviews
Darwin Dayan: Try the Confit Goat Belly, Bourbon Butter, Lobster 'N' Crab, Fennel
Michael: Try the Confit Goat Belly With Lobster And Fennel
Chicago magazine: Highlights include a creamy pork liver mousseline, perfectly cooked black olive mezzaluna stuffed with puréed summer squash, and grilled baby octopus with serrano and pistachio. Read more.
12. Terzo Piano
8.1
159 E Monroe St (at S Michigan Ave), Chicago, IL
Italian Restaurant · Grant Park · 51 tips and reviews
ISC Chicago: Smoky Cioppino (mussels, clams, shrimp, sea bass, scallops, tomatoes, crispy fennel): an unusual take on the San Francisco dish
ISC Chicago: Modern, sleek, airy, minimalist space. They got the acoustics right! Excellent for brunch before visiting The Art Institute.
Crain's Chicago Business: You've never had fried perch like this: light and crispy, served with fried lemon slices, fried green beans and aioli flecked with kalamata olives and capers Read more.
14. Avec
9.2
615 W Randolph St (at N Jefferson St), Chicago, IL
New American Restaurant · West Loop · 214 tips and reviews
Janet Johnson: this place is amazing. the salads are big enough for two - the greens/grapefruit had wood-oven smoked fennel, for heavens sake! the whitefish with peas, artichoke and potatoes was fabulous...
Ashley Sheeran: Love the minimal design. Must have bacon-wrapped dates! Open late - great date spot.
Mazda: avec, a wine bar from the award-winning team behind Blackbird restaurant, opened in October 2003.
15. Black Bull
7.6
1721 W Division St (at Hermitage), Chicago, IL
Tapas Restaurant · East Ukrainian Village · 29 tips and reviews
Sharif Nassr: Try the "Vieiras a la Plancha con Citricos y Nueces" (grilled scallops, oranges, walnuts, shaved fennel, and mint). Also, give a pitcher of red sangria a shot. Why not?
Kevin M. McNally, CMP: This is amazing. Great staff. Delicious beverages, the atmosphere accents the depth of a creative menu. Spanish cuisine, small plates. Dive into the Sardines. Delicious! Check out upstairs speak easy.
Monica Qiu: Tuesdays and Sundays there is an unlimited tapas menu for $20 ($25 with a drink). It's delicious and definitely worth the money!