A Guide To Chicago’s Secret Steakhouses

That’s when you need a secret steakhouse—a.k.a. a place that isn’t technically a steakhouse on the surface, but still serves excellent red meat. Here are nine.

And for the best steakhouses in the city, check out our guide.

Unrated: Restaurants we want to re-visit before assigning a rating. We only rate spots where you can eat a full meal. We won’t rate a coffee shop, bar that only serves peanuts, or dessert shop.

THE SPOTS

This reboot of the Chicago Athletic Association’s Cherry Circle Room is all about fancy-ish comfort food, dishes with fun presentations, and the feeling of exclusivity that comes with a small, dark room. The menu is American, and it includes a burger and roast chicken, along with an exceptional wagyu prime rib that's carved tableside. It's got a great balance of buttery and chewy, and comes with a peppercorn jus that has a sneaky sweetness. We can't imagine not ordering this when eating here, even if that means a steak slab the size of Merchandise Mart all to ourselves.

Kasama’s excellent Filipino tasting menu, pastries, and breakfast sandwich already have plenty of (deserved) hype. But the steak and eggs from their cafe menu is a sleeper hit that not enough people talk about. In true Kasama fashion, it gets a Filipino twist: the weekend-only tray comes with an incredible 20oz ribeye, zingy calamansi-onion jam, garlic rice, and fluffy scrambled eggs. It’s great if your friends also want to split some wagyu (and the $95 price tag). Or go solo and take the menu up on its claim that it “serves one to six people.” Just a heads up, since this is a morning- and dine-in-only situation, you will have to line up for a walk-in.

How to get into Kasama

Reservations become available every day at midnight, for 45 days out. If you can’t snag one, get on their Resy notify list. We’ve had success with reservations opening up even as far as a week in advance. Another option is to come here for breakfast or lunch, which is walk-in only. The daytime menu is more casual (but still incredible). Just come early (they open at 9am) because the line for their pastries gets very long within 30 minutes of opening.

The menu at Avec changes a lot, but they always have their butcher steak on the menu. And while the preparation varies (it might come with hummus, chimichurri, or charred pumpkin), you can count on it being both perfectly cooked and delicious. It’s a small plate, but if you’ve ordered correctly (i.e. gotten as many bacon-wrapped dates as you can fit on the communal table without being considered a bad neighbor), it’s big enough to work as an entree for one person.

We’re big fans of 5 Rabanitos in Pilsen. This casual BYOB spot has some of the best Mexican food in the city, and everything on its long menu is really good. Including the perfectly seasoned carne asada, which is well-prepared and generously portioned. Plus, on the weekends there’s usually another cut of meat available on special, like ribeye or tenderloin. So clearly your next date night should be happening here.

You probably have a favorite RPM restaurant the same way you have a favorite twin from Sweet Valley High. The difference being that sometimes you’re forced to decide between having your special night at RPM Italian and RPM Steak. Well, unlike its counterpart that rarely has pastas, RPM Italian always has a few steaks on the menu (like the bone-in ribeye and the filet), and they’re reliably great. For the record, the filet is totally what Jessica would order.

RESERVE A TABLE WITH Bavette’s is a very popular, very good steakhouse in River North. Gilt Bar is the speakeasy-style restaurant next door owned by the same people, and it’s not nearly as hard to get into. We suspect there might be some sort of bootleggers’ tunnel connecting the two, because the ribeye at Gilt Bar seems to be as good as one you get at Bavette’s. Do with that information what you will.

Obviously there’s a theme here. Steakhouses that open up non-steakhouses either don’t want to forget their roots, or know deep-down what they’re really good at. This is also the case with Gibsons Italia, an upscale Italian restaurant owned by the Grand Marshall of the Chicago Steak Parade, Gibsons. While we can take or leave the Italian food at this spot, the steaks are excellent. Plus, the space - which has three floors, a rooftop bar, and a beautiful view - is perfect if you’re trying to impress someone.

RESERVE A TABLE WITH This is another secret steakhouse located the West Loop. Lena Brava’s Baja-inspired menu focuses primarily on seafood, so you’re only going to find a handful of meat dishes here. One of these happens to be the tomahawk - a huge piece of red meat that’s meant “for the table.” So you’d better hope that someone in your group wants to order it too, or at least doesn’t mind watching you try to eat half a cow by yourself. That said, if you’re from Chicago, you’ve been training your whole life to do that. Go for it.

RESERVE A TABLE WITH Bear with us for a second here. While the jibarito at La Bomba in Humboldt Park isn’t exactly what you might typically consider a steak, it’s kind of like a full steakhouse dinner in sandwich form. It consists of charred, tender beef between two fried plantains (standing in for side dishes), plus tomato, lettuce, and cheese (there’s your salad), and a delicious garlic mayo that ties everything together. It will make your breath bad for days, but it’s completely worth it, and you don’t have to make a reservation, sign a lease for a huge booth, or stare down a traveling tray of raw steak to eat it.

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