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Chicago · Open Monday · 2026 Edition

Best Restaurants Open on Monday in Chicago 2026

Monday is the quiet night for Chicago's tasting menus. Alinea, Smyth, Ever and Oriole all go dark Monday and Tuesday to rest their teams, so a visitor who flies in for the city's three-star cooking on a Monday night will find the doors locked. What Chicago does have, more than almost any American city, is a deep bench of great steakhouses, and the steakhouse does not take Mondays off. The art-deco rooms of River North, the wood-fire palaces of the Gold Coast and Fulton Market, and the Rush Street institutions all keep service. Six upscale rooms confirm Monday hours below, ranked by what each is for, in dollars per head before drinks.

The art-deco dining room at Bavette's Bar and Boeuf, River North Chicago
Photo: Google Places. The art-deco steakhouse room at Bavette's Bar & Boeuf, River North, Chicago.

Why a Monday list matters in Chicago

Chicago's fine-dining peaks keep the start of the week closed. The three-star Alinea serves Wednesday to Sunday; Smyth, the city's other top room, and the tasting houses Ever and Oriole all rest Monday and most Tuesday too. A diner who books a Chicago trip around its famous tasting menus and lands on a Monday night is out of luck at the very top. That single fact is the most useful thing to know about eating well here at the head of the week.

What stays open is the city's deepest and best-loved category: the steakhouse. Chicago runs more serious steak rooms than any city outside New York, and they treat Monday as live business, the date night and the deal dinner that the kitchens are built to handle. The order below leads with the modern steakhouse icons, Bavette's, Maple & Ash and Swift & Sons, then the two River North and St. Regis Italians, before closing with the Rush Street classic Gibsons. A timing note: most open in the late afternoon and run to around 10:30pm, with Gibsons the one all-day option. Every hour below was checked against the restaurant's own published schedule in June 2026. For the rest of the week, start with the Chicago dining guide.

The Monday list

1

Bavette's Bar & Boeuf

Steakhouse · River North · $90–170 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 16:00–22:30

Bavette's at 218 West Kinzie Street is the Brendan Sodikoff room that reset what a Chicago steakhouse could be, a dim, jazz-soaked art-deco space behind unmarked black doors in River North. The dry-aged bone-in ribeye, the roasted bone marrow and the famous chocolate cake are the orders, and a dinner runs $90 to $170 a head. It opens Monday from 4pm to 10:30pm, a full service rather than a shortened one, and is listed in the Michelin Guide. Book ahead, the room is small and stays busy even on a Monday; ask for a booth for the full noir effect.

2

Maple & Ash

Wood-fire steakhouse · Gold Coast · $100–200 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 17:00–22:30

Maple & Ash at 8 West Maple Street is the Gold Coast's louder, more theatrical steak room, where chef Danny Grant cooks almost everything over a wood-fire hearth. The "I Don't Give a F*@K" tasting, the hearth-roasted seafood tower and the dry-aged steaks are the draw, with a meal around $100 to $200 a head and a serious Champagne and Burgundy list. It opens Monday from 5pm to 10:30pm. This is the Monday special-occasion pick, the room for a birthday or an anniversary that wants noise and sparkle rather than hush. Book a week out for a prime evening table.

3

Swift & Sons

Steakhouse · Fulton Market, West Loop · $90–180 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 16:30–22:00

Swift & Sons anchors the Fulton Market end of the West Loop at 1000 West Fulton Market, a grand, high-ceilinged Boka Restaurant Group steakhouse with a marble bar and a serious raw program. The prime and wagyu cuts, the king crab and the whiskey list are the orders, and a dinner runs $90 to $180 a head. It opens Monday from 4:30pm to 10pm and is listed in the Michelin Guide. This is the West Loop Monday booking, the steakhouse to pair with a walk through Fulton Market; ask for a banquette in the main room rather than the bar.

4

Tre Dita

Tuscan · St. Regis, Lakeshore East · $100–190 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 16:00–21:30

Tre Dita sits on the second floor of the St. Regis Chicago at 401 East Wacker Drive, a Tuscan steakhouse from chef Evan Funke with hand-made pastas and wood-fired bistecca alla Fiorentina cut for the table. The pasta program, the dry-aged Florentine steak and the river-and-lake views are the draw, with a meal around $100 to $190 a head. It opens Monday from 4pm to 9:30pm. This is the quieter, more refined Monday option, the one for a dinner that wants Funke's cooking and a glass wall over the water rather than a clubby steak room. Book ahead for a window table.

5

RPM Italian

Italian · River North · $70–130 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 16:00–21:30

RPM Italian at 52 West Illinois Street is the Lettuce Entertain You glamour-Italian room in River North, all white leather and people-watching, run with the Melman family. The signature spicy king crab capellini, the bolognese and the chicken Parmesan are the orders, with a meal around $70 to $130 a head. It opens Monday from 4pm to 9:30pm. This is the Monday pick that leans social and scene-led rather than steak-serious, the room for a lively dinner with a crowd. Book a table in the main dining room; the bar takes a walk-in trade for an early Monday graze.

6

Gibsons Bar & Steakhouse

Steakhouse · Gold Coast, Rush Street · $80–160 per head

Monday hours: Monday, 11:00–00:00

Gibsons at 1028 North Rush Street is the original Chicago power steakhouse, a 1989 Rush Street institution where the politicians, the athletes and the conventioneers have always kept tables. The USDA prime steaks, the giant seafood tower and the W.R. chocolate cake are the signatures, with a meal around $80 to $160 a head. It keeps the widest Monday hours on this list, 11am to midnight, so it is the only full upscale option for a Monday lunch as well as a late dinner. Walk-ins fill the bar; book the dining room for a classic, old-Chicago Monday.

How to book a Monday table in Chicago

The first rule of a Chicago Monday is to stop chasing the tasting menus, which are closed, and book a steak room instead, where the city's depth is unmatched. Bavette's and Maple & Ash are the hardest Monday tables and reward booking a week or two ahead through Resy and SevenRooms respectively. Swift & Sons and Tre Dita take Monday reservations a few days out, the latter through the St. Regis system. RPM Italian and Gibsons hold space for walk-ins at the bar, but a Monday booking guarantees a dining-room table. For a solo Monday, the bars at Bavette's and Gibsons are the easiest seats and a fine solo-dining move. For the bigger picture by cuisine, see the best steakhouses worldwide and the best Italian restaurants worldwide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Alinea open on Monday in Chicago?

No. Alinea, Grant Achatz's three-Michelin-star room in Lincoln Park, serves Wednesday to Sunday and closes Monday and Tuesday, as do most of Chicago's tasting-menu kitchens including Smyth, Ever and Oriole. A diner hoping to book the city's most famous table on a Monday night will be turned away. The strong field that does open Monday is the steakhouse and modern-Italian set listed here, so the start of the week is far from a dead night in Chicago. See the Chicago dining guide for the rest of the week.

Which upscale restaurants are open on Monday in Chicago?

Chicago's great steakhouses carry Monday night. Bavette's in River North opens 4pm to 10:30pm, Maple & Ash in the Gold Coast 5pm to 10:30pm, and Swift & Sons in Fulton Market 4:30pm to 10pm. For Italian, RPM Italian in River North and Tre Dita at the St. Regis both open Monday, and the Rush Street institution Gibsons runs all day to midnight. These are the rooms to book when the tasting menus are closed.

Are Chicago steakhouses open on Monday?

Yes, almost all of them. Bavette's, Maple & Ash, Swift & Sons and Gibsons all keep a Monday service, because a steakhouse treats Monday as a working business and date night rather than a rest day. Gibsons on Rush Street opens earliest, from 11am to midnight. For a Monday steak dinner in Chicago you have more choice than on almost any other cuisine, which makes the steak room the safe Monday booking.

What is the best Monday dinner in Chicago for a special occasion?

Maple & Ash in the Gold Coast is the Monday special-occasion pick, a wood-fire steakhouse with a raw bar, a deep Champagne list and a louder, more theatrical room than the classics. It opens Monday from 5pm to 10:30pm. For something quieter with a river view, Tre Dita at the St. Regis serves chef Evan Funke's Tuscan cooking on Monday from 4pm. Both reward booking a week ahead for a prime evening table.

What time do restaurants open for Monday dinner in Chicago?

Most upscale Chicago kitchens start Monday service in the late afternoon. Tre Dita and RPM Italian open at 4pm, Bavette's at 4pm, Swift & Sons at 4:30pm, and Maple & Ash at 5pm, all running to around 10 or 10:30pm. Gibsons opens earliest at 11am and runs latest, to midnight. For a Monday lunch, Gibsons is effectively the only full upscale option on this list, so plan the others as dinners.

Keep reading

Plan the rest of the week with the full Chicago dining guide, or by occasion with solo dining at the counter. By cuisine, see the best steakhouses worldwide and the best Italian restaurants worldwide. Travelling the Midwest? Compare with the Detroit dining guide. Planning a Sunday too? See the picks for restaurants open Sunday in Dallas. For the global view on closing nights, read where to eat well on a Sunday or Monday.

Hours verified against each restaurant's published schedule in June 2026; confirm directly before travelling. Restaurants for Kings is editorial, not sponsored. Some reservation links may earn an affiliate commission, which never affects a ranking or a score.