Dining Around the World in Chicago: The Best Restaurants for Foreign Cuisine

One of the best things about eating in Chicago, along with the BYOB restaurants and the famous chefs, is how much international food there is at every price, from dirt cheap to Michelin-starred. From Argentine to Vietnamese, the city seems to have a restaurant for nearly every country on earth. Here are our favorites, sorted by cuisine.

A lot of the places on the first version of this page have closed since 2010, so this list is mostly new. Several of the picks below have earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand, the guide's nod to good food at a fair price. For whole neighborhoods to eat your way through, like Pilsen, Chinatown and Devon Avenue, start with our food and drink hub.

Ethiopian

There's a handful of Ethiopian restaurants on the North Side, around Uptown and Edgewater. Demera, 4801 N. Broadway, is the easiest one to get to, a few minutes' walk from the Lawrence Red Line stop. Order a combination platter to share, tear off pieces of injera and use them to scoop up the stews. It opens at 4pm Monday through Thursday and at 11:30am Friday through Sunday.

Argentine

Tango Sur, 3763 N. Southport Ave. just north of Wrigley Field, has been serving big Argentine steaks by candlelight since the 1990s. It's BYOB and doesn't take reservations, so come early or plan to wait. Split the filet and order empanadas and a plate of melted provoleta to start.

Mexican

Chicago has a large Mexican community, and the food goes well beyond tacos.

Kie-Gol-Lanee is a family-owned Oaxacan restaurant rooted in the cooking of Santa María Quiegolani, a village in Oaxaca. It has won a Bib Gourmand five times. The original is at 5004 N. Sheridan Rd. in Uptown, and there's a second one at 2901 W. Diversey Ave. in Logan Square.

Mi Tocaya Antojería, 2800 W. Logan Blvd. in Logan Square, is another Bib Gourmand pick, a neighborhood place built around antojitos, the snacks and small plates you'd eat at a Mexican street stall.

Frontera Grill, 445 N. Clark St. in River North, is Rick Bayless's flagship and the easiest pick downtown. Book ahead.

For cheap tacos and carnitas, walk 18th Street in Pilsen. The cheap eats page has more.

Vietnamese and Thai

HaiSous, 1800 S. Carpenter St. in Pilsen, serves Vietnamese food à la carte or as a tasting menu, and it was a James Beard Award nominee in 2026. Its daytime café next door opens Wednesday through Sunday from 10am to 3pm, with Vietnamese iced coffee and wings.

Ghin Khao, 2128 W. Cermak Rd., cooks Northern Thai food with the heat left in. Michelin notes that it's run by siblings, and the name means "eat rice," which you'll need. The Chicago Tribune singled out Grandma's pork belly.

Chinese

Craving Peking duck? Sun Wah BBQ, 5039 N. Broadway in Uptown, is still the place. Ask for the Beijing Duck Dinner, and a whole roasted duck is carved at your table and served with steamed bao, then duck fried rice and a soup made from the bones. It's dine-in only and closed Thursdays. Our cheap eats page has the full rundown.

For dim sum, take the Red Line to Cermak-Chinatown. MingHin, 2168 S. Archer Ave. in Chinatown Square, is big, busy and has several other branches around town.

Chef's Special Cocktail Bar, 2165 N. Western Ave. near Bucktown, is a cocktail bar with a Chinese menu good enough that Michelin gave it a Bib Gourmand.

Japanese

Toro Sushi is still at 2546 N. Clark St. in Lincoln Park. It's a small room, and the special rolls have names like "Oh My God" and "Pig in the Sea." It's closed Mondays. It used to be BYOB, so call (773) 348-7255 to check before you bring a bottle.

Indian

Devon Avenue on the far North Side is the traditional stop for Indian and Pakistani food. Closer in, two Bib Gourmand picks are worth the trip. Superkhana International, 3059 W. Diversey Ave. in Logan Square, serves dinner Wednesday through Saturday and brunch on weekends, and it's closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Nadu, 2518 N. Lincoln Ave. in Lincoln Park, cooks regional dishes from all over India, from Hyderabadi biryani to Kerala curries.

Filipino

Boonie's, 4337 N. Western Ave., is a Filipino restaurant with a Bib Gourmand. Dinner is Wednesday through Saturday, with lunch on Fridays and Saturdays. Reserve if you can.

Greek

Greektown runs along Halsted Street just west of the Loop, and you can walk it from the UIC-Halsted Blue Line stop. Greek Islands has been there since 1971 and is the name most people know. It's closed Mondays. Athena, 212 S. Halsted, is a block south on the same street. Go hungry and order more plates than you think you need.

Middle Eastern

Sifr, 660 N. Orleans St. in River North, cooks over a wood fire and has a Bib Gourmand. Michelin says you can't come here and skip the hummus, which comes topped with charred green chickpeas, crispy chickpeas, zhoug and za'atar. There's a year-round terrace too.

German and Alpine

Resi's Bierstube, 2034 W. Irving Park Rd. in North Center, is an old-school German tavern with schnitzel, brats, potato pancakes and a long list of weissbier. Take the Brown Line to Irving Park.

Table, Donkey and Stick, 2728 W. Armitage Ave. in Logan Square, cooks the food of the Alps and has earned a Bib Gourmand 11 times. It's named for a Brothers Grimm fairy tale and built to feel like a mountain inn. On a January night, it's hard to beat.

French

Mon Ami Gabi is part of a chain, with a location in Las Vegas among others, but you'd never guess it. It has been in the Belden-Stratford building at 2300 N. Lincoln Park West since 1998, serving French bistro classics. It's across from the park and the zoo, so it's an easy dinner after an afternoon in Lincoln Park.

Photos by dianaschnuth, Tammy Green (aka Zesmerelda), BigEd Stites