Walking tour

Randolph Restaurant Row anchors walk

The dining corridor that put the West Loop on the international food map starts at Halsted and runs west on Randolph for roughly a mile. This walk passes the anchors that gave the corridor its current identity — most of which opened between 1997 and 2012 and stayed open through everything since.

For: Anyone curious about the West Loop dining scene's formation.
Length: about 11 minutes of walking between stops — allow more if you linger
Start: Jefferson/Randolph (Sepia's block), a short walk from Clinton (Green/Pink). The route runs west; it ends two blocks from Morgan (Green/Pink).

Stops

1. 1 Sepia

   On Jefferson at the walk's eastern end — Michelin-starred American restaurant in a restored 1890s print shop. Pre-dates most of the Randolph marquee buildings.

   135 N Jefferson St, Chicago, IL, 60661

2. ↓ 1-minute walk

   2 Avec

   Mediterranean small plates from One Off Hospitality (Paul Kahan + Donnie Madia), open since 2003 next to (now-closed) Blackbird. Chef Koren Grieveson won a James Beard Award here in 2010.

   615 W Randolph St Ll-3rd FL, Chicago, IL, 60661

3. ↓ 4-minute walk

   3 Au Cheval

   The diner that put the corridor on Food Network and most-anticipated lists. Walk-ins only — the line is part of the experience.

   800 W Randolph St 1, Chicago, IL, 60607

4. ↓ 1-minute walk

   4 Girl & The Goat

   Stephanie Izard's flagship since 2010 — earned a Beard Best Chef award. This block of Randolph just west of Halsted is where the corridor's current marquee era really started.

   809-813 W Randolph St 1st and Basement, Chicago, IL, 60607

5. ↓ 2-minute walk

   5 El Che Steakhouse and Bar

   Argentinian live-fire steakhouse one block south on West Washington — newer to the corridor but quickly an anchor.

   845 W Washington Blvd, Chicago, IL, 60607

6. ↓ 3-minute walk

   6 Bonci Roman-style pizza

   Back up on Sangamon just north of Randolph — the American flagship of Gabriele Bonci's Rome operation, pizza al taglio counter with slices visible behind the glass.

   161 N Sangamon St 1st, Chicago, IL, 60607

Frequently asked questions

Are these mostly reservations-only?

Au Cheval is walk-ins only. Avec and El Che have bar seating that takes walk-ins. Girl & The Goat and Sepia generally book a week-plus ahead.

What used to be on this stretch before the restaurants?

Mostly produce wholesale and small-scale meat processing through the late 1990s, with some residential and SRO buildings. The Fulton-Randolph Market Historic District covers much of the older fabric.

Sources

• Eater Chicago — Randolph Restaurant Row history
• Chicago Tribune — Restaurant Row archive
• Wikipedia — Stephanie Izard (James Beard Best Chef: Great Lakes 2013)
• Wikipedia — Avec (Chicago restaurant)
• Choose Chicago — Chicago’s James Beard Award Winners
• Wikipedia — Sepia (Chicago restaurant, Michelin star 2011–2022)

See all walking tours or the themed itineraries hub for stop-by-stop visit sequences. Heritage context lives at /west-loop/heritage.