Chicago's West Loop is renowned for its vibrant and diverse dining scene, drawing food enthusiasts with its rustic chic ambiance and a blend of old and new architecture. This guide highlights some of the best healthy restaurant options in the West Loop, ensuring that you don't have to compromise on taste while pursuing your wellness goals. From Mediterranean flavors to vegetarian delights, the West Loop offers a variety of choices for the health-conscious diner.
Discovering Healthy Dining Options in West Loop
The West Loop is a treasure trove of restaurants that cater to health-conscious eaters looking for nutritious and delicious meals. These restaurants emphasize fresh, high-quality ingredients and accommodate a range of dietary preferences, including vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. Menus feature an array of dishes rich in vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, ensuring that every meal aligns with your wellness goals.
Featured Restaurants
Adalina
Adalina presents a globally inspired menu anchored by an elevated steak program, featuring exclusive full-blood Wagyu with select Japanese and Australian cuts. Guests can tailor each bite with an interactive Salt Library, offering nearly a dozen curated flavor pairings. Beyond steak, the kitchen showcases pristine seafood and thoughtful vegetable dishes, including a Cauliflower Diane. A robust wine collection spans rare reserve bottles, Old World classics, and new-age discoveries, while the cocktail program leans into adventurous riffs on timeless recipes with a focus on martinis and worldly infusions.
The Oakville Grill & Cellar
The Oakville Grill & Cellar is a Napa Valley-inspired restaurant bringing fresh ingredients, warm hospitality, and the best wines of California to Chicago, located in the heart of the Fulton Market District. It features a menu inspired by exclusive partnerships with California and Midwest farms, ranches, and wineries. Carryout and delivery options are available.
Beatrix (Fulton Market & Loop)
Beatrix is a popular choice with multiple locations across the city, including Fulton Market and the Loop. It is known for its healthy meets delicious options, with many reviews praising its vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. The menu incorporates fresh ingredients and complimentary flavors, with a great gluten-free menu featuring lots of delicious choices. Beatrix also sources locally for its food. The Loop location offers delicious and healthy salads with a fantastic balance of flavors and caters to dietary restrictions. The restaurant is known for offering very fresh ingredients.
Read also: Healthy food access with Highmark Wholecare explained.
Nisos Prime Steakhouse
Nisos Prime Steakhouse celebrates Mediterranean heritage and prime steak excellence in the heart of The West Loop/Fulton Market. It offers an array of succulent steaks, craft cocktails, and an extensive wine list, alongside Mediterranean classics, including house-made pastas, a stellar raw bar, and an exclusive caviar service. Nisos Prime Steakhouse is the flagship space on the second floor with two additional spaces within the concept including Prime Bar: first floor Mediterranean eatery and cocktail bar and The Lounge: a hidden cocktail lounge full of energy, music, and a wondrous care-free late night experience.
Le Colonial
Le Colonial is a great option for health-conscious diners, with a nice choice of healthy selections and options for vegetarians and gluten-free eaters. The food is described as fresh, light, and balanced, suggesting a focus on fresh, high-quality ingredients.
Summer House
Located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood, Summer House offers seasonal specialties, market-driven pasta, artisan pizzas, and fresh antipasti from Chef Ben Goodnick’s California-inspired menu. The restaurant transports you to the West Coast with its beach house decor, retractable glass ceiling, and all-season courtyard. Carryout and delivery are available, or visit The Cookie Bar for a selection of fresh-baked goods, sourdough English muffins, Summer House's renowned oversized cookies, small-batch coffee, and specialty espresso drinks.
Other Notable Mentions
Chicago Cut Steakhouse
Chicago Cut Steakhouse offers guests a selection of signature, USDA-certified prime beef that is hand-cut and dry-aged on-site. The curated menu also features fish, shellfish, chops, and a selection of unique side dishes and appetizers. In addition to martinis and specialty cocktails, Chicago Cut offers a wine list with more than 600 bottles. The dining area features a lively bar scene, vibrant red velvet banquettes, spacious dining tables, private dining options, and sweeping views of the Chicago River. In the warm months, the sprawling outdoor dining patio offers an excellent spot for an outdoor brunch, lunch, or dinner reservation along the river.
Robert's Pizza and Dough Company
Robert's Pizza and Dough Company serves award-winning thin-crust artisanal pizzas with fresh and unique ingredients.
Read also: Healthy Eating on the Run
Monteverde
Monteverde, the best Italian restaurant in Chicago, is open Tuesday through Saturday for sit-down lunch. The daytime menu has a bunch of Monteverde's greatest hits (like the cacio whey pepe and ragu alla napoletana) along with some lunchtime exclusives, like a chicken parm sandwich.
Avec
Avec offers a lunch menu that is a little shorter than the dinner menu, but it includes sandwiches you can’t get in the evening, like one with roasted pork or a fantastic lamb burger. Most importantly, the chorizo-stuffed bacon-wrapped dates are always available.
Gaijin
Gaijin specializes in okonomiyaki, topping the savory Japanese pancakes with things like shrimp, chicken, and beef.
PQM
PQM is a butcher shop, cafe, bakery, and mini market from the owners of The Publican. It offers sandwiches, charcuterie, and baked goods.
Green Street Smoked Meats
This BBQ spot serves meats like ribs, brisket, or pastrami by the half-pound in a fancy warehouse setting.
Read also: Mobile Dining Revolution
Costera Cocina Tulum
Costera Cocina Tulum is a modern Mexican restaurant and lounge with a dark, moody vibe, perfect for a romantic date night. The menu boasts a variety of shareables for the table, plus traditional Mexican favorites like tacos along with seafood, steaks, and pasta.
Aba
Aba's interior is gorgeous, and their most popular dishes include the smoky garlic hummus, whipped feta spread, hamachi, and shawarma-spiced skirt steak. The pumpkin hummus and truffled salmon are also phenomenal.
Rose Mary
Rose Mary's menu is seasonal and encompasses Italian and Mediterranean flavors. The food is shareable, so you can have it all if you want to. They are known for their pasta and figs on toast.
LÝRA
LÝRA is basically Greece meets Chicago, with dishes served tapas-style, allowing everyone at the table to sample a little bit of everything. They use charcoal and wood-burning grills to give everything a smoky flavor.
Alla Vita
Alla Vita is one of the most popular, most loved Italian restaurants in the West Loop. One of their best sellers is the Ricotta Dumplings, which are basically pillowy pasta dumplings stuffed with ricotta cheese.
The Allis Bar (Soho House)
The Allis Bar at Soho House serves European-style dishes and Fall-inspired mezcal drinks.
Coffee Shops
Sawada Coffee
Sawada Coffee is a coffee shop that offers really good lattes. It is attached to Green Street Smoked Meats and has a tiny Ramen noodle bar underneath.
tags: #healthy #restaurants #west #loop #Chicago