With a strikingly luminescent and minimalist dining room, wildly popular Blackbird has packed diners elbow-to-elbow at its sleek, shiny tables since 1998. Chef/partner Paul Kahan crafts his seasonally changing contemporary menus based upon the freshest available ingredients. Like the décor, less is more with his cuisine. You won't find architectural monstrosities here, but the richness of flavors makes the dishes far from simplistic. Past entrées have included braised pork belly and slow-roasted baby lamb. Full bar and award-winning wine list. Serving lunch Mon–Fri, dinner Mon–Sat. Closed Sun.
Where the Locals Eat Rating
Top 100 Restaurant, Chicago
"Like his mentors [Rick Bayless of Topolobampo and Erwin Drechsler of erwin, chef/partner Paul] Kahan brings to the kitchen a passion for pristine produce and a distaste for overly fussy preparations–though there's a depth to his flavors that makes the term 'simple cooking' almost disingenuous."
– Phil Vettel, Chicago Tribune
"This sterile white-and-steel space would make a lab rat feel at home. But for fine dining with a rotation of top-notch seasonal ingredients, served by a crack cadre of skilled food-service ninjas who would die for your smallest whim, chef Paul Kahan is still at the top of the game."
–
Mike Sula, Chicago Reader
"Yes, when the place is packed, as it always seems to be, it comes close to being a sardine factory, and the noise level gets up there. However, when the food comes, and the enjoyment begins, all of that fades into the background, and then it becomes time to let the forks roar and the knives sing."
– Pat Bruno, Chicago Sun-Times
How others rate Blackbird
Chicago Tribune
*** (Excellent)
Zagat 2009
27 Food Rating (Extraordinary to Perfection)
James Beard Foundation
Paul Kahan, Best Chef: Midwest, 2004
Paul Kahan, Outstanding Chef nominee 2009 (national)
TimeOut Chicago magazine
Readers' Poll: Best Midscale Dining, 2008