Experiential dining in Chicago

Here’s some food for thought: there are over 7,000 restaurants in Chicago, each competing for your taste buds. With so many restaurateurs hungry for your business, many have discovered that it’s not just what you eat—it’s how you eat it, and mastered the art of combining delicious delectables with eclectic experiences. With the sumptuousness of summer close enough to taste, it’s the perfect time to dive into some of Chicago’s best fun, immersive, thematic, and just plain over-the-top eating experiences.

TOP IMMERSIVE DINING EXPERIENCES

Alinea Restaurant

For a truly upscale, immersive fine dining experience, Alinea is an easy choice to top our list. The posh, modernist Michelin 3-star establishment was named the “Best Restaurant in the World” by Elite Traveler and the “Best Restaurant in the U.S.” by Gourmet and Business Insider. Alinea’s most extravagant offering goes for $450 per person and promises a completely private “intimate, immersive and cutting-edge experience.” Other dining experiences include a multi-sensory menu that “combines fine dining with experimental moments,” private events, and more.

The Kit Kat Lounge and Supper Club

Haven’t you heard? It’s all about the presentation. Still not sure? The Kit Kat will make you a believer. Upscale, contemporary cuisine accompanied by outrageous nightly tableside drag shows will leave you wanting more. With a martini and cocktail list that tops 200 and a sleek “South Beach meets Hollywood” atmosphere, the Kit Kat is an experience that will engage all your senses. Chef Nate Hamilton’s credentials include serving as personal chef to President Clinton and Secretary Clinton. Other notable clients include President Barack Obama, Paul McCartney and Aretha Franklin.

Carnivale

A kaleidoscope for the senses, Carnivale immerses you in the festive, lush atmosphere of the world’s favorite party. The nearly five dozen tequila options are just one example of the restaurant’s oversized approach to the dining experience. Offering a colorful, blended concoction of dining, drinking and entertainment, Carnivale is our favorite for Latin fusion cuisine, exotic cocktails, and unique desserts. Even better, Carnivale supports local farmers and artisans and promotes sustainability produce grown in the restaurant’s very own rooftop garden.

NEW IN ’22 EATING EXPERIENCES

2d Restaurant

Providing an ultra-unique food fantasy experience, 2d Restaurant, is a hand-drawn comic universe lovingly crafted by the wife and husband team of Vanessa Thanh Vu and Kevin Yu. Chicago artist Mia Larson is behind the amazing artwork that promises an immersive and interactive 2-dimensional comic “artopia.” 2d Restaurant opened in February and will reveal a 300 square foot patio adorned with more of Larson’s mesmerizing artwork this summer.

The X-Pot

A night at the X-Pot is the immersive dining experience that will indulge your palate as well as your other four senses. With sizzling hot pot culinary creations served under HD 360 projections, thematic soundscapes, and interactive light shows, founders David Zhao and Harby Yang have blended the past with the future and Asian with American cultures. The X-Pot opened in January and, to the amazement of patrons, with robot servers to add even another layer to an already one-of-a-kind dining experience.

Museum of Ice Cream

We all scream for ice cream. That’s what Museum of Ice Cream owners are counting on when they open their fourth worldwide location in Chicago this summer. With inclusive environments that are “designed to inspire human connection and energize the senses,” the new ode to ice cream wonderland will feature 14 magical and interactive experiences dreamed up just for Chicago. Take a guided tour sprinkled with plenty of ice cream breaks or head straight to the speakeasy-style bar for cocktails, ice cream, or non-ice cream treats.

TOP FOOD TRUCK EXPERIENCES

The Tamale Spaceship

As the oldest food truck cruising the city’s streets, you’d be forgiven if you turned a blind eye toward the silver bullet spaceship as it cruised by. But, as purveyors of some of the most provocative gourmet ingredients on the street or off, we can’t forgive you for not having sampled their decadent delicacies. Do we have to mention the workers wear luchador masks like Mexican pro wrestlers?

The Fat Shallot

Roaming the streets of Chicago in fire engine red and truckin’ truffle BLTs, Buffalo chicken and turkey sandwiches and, oh, so much more, is the Fat Shallot mobile eatery. Sam Barron and Sarah Weitz, the duo behind the delicacies, also own two brick and mortar establishments. The two culinary school grads and lifelong foodies are veterans of the Chicago food truck phenomenon and have developed a reputation for pop-up dinners, private parties, and catering events.

Babycakes

Well, “Baby got stacks,” as the catering company’s website says. But, baby also got a knack for a flapjack out of the back of the tidy red Babycakes food truck, dubbed “Sweetheart.” Promoted as “breakfast fusion,” the company bank sits business on unique breakfast dishes and (master level) gourmet pancakes. Named one of the top food trucks in Chicago by Chicago Magazine, the caterers have been featured on the Food Network, The Travel Channel’s Food Paradise and Chicago’s Best. For anyone who agrees breakfast time is anytime, Babycakes will be your jam.