Cariño

Verdict

Cariño earns its 2024 Michelin star honestly. This is one of the most technically ambitious Mexican tasting menus in the United States, at a $$$$ price point in Uptown Chicago, it delivers enough invention and precision to justify the commitment. If you have been once and are weighing a return, the answer is yes — the format rewards repeat visits, the 10 PM taco omakase alone is reason enough to come back. Book well in advance: this is a hard reservation to land.

The Room and the Experience

Cariño sits at 4662 N Broadway in Uptown, a neighbourhood where the refined train runs overhead and the dining scene skews casual. That contrast is part of what makes the room work. The space is small and close, the counter seats are the ones to request. From the counter, you get an unobstructed view of Chef Norman Fenton and his team moving through 12 or so courses at an energetic pace, explaining, engaging, clearly enjoying the work. It is an interactive format — closer in feel to a chef's table at Lazy Bear in San Francisco or Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg than to the white-tablecloth remove of somewhere like The French Laundry in Napa. The intimacy is a feature, not a compromise. If you came once and sat at a table, try to get the counter on your next visit.

Cariño opened in December 2023, the Michelin recognition came quickly, within its first year of operation. That speed of credentialing is worth noting: the kitchen did not take time to settle into its identity. The tasting menu format was the concept from day one, the cooking reflects a program that knows exactly what it is doing.

What the Menu Delivers

The tasting menu runs approximately 12 courses and opens with a reframed version of chips and salsa, salsa verde jelly alongside a tortilla crumble, that signals immediately how Fenton approaches the format. He is working with the grammar of Mexican cuisine rather than simply replicating it. Dishes like a huitlacoche ravioli filled with earthy corn fungus, finished with sweet-corn foam and fried corn silk, or a lamb tartare tostada seasoned in the style of al pastor, show the same logic: the reference point is legible, the execution is technically demanding, the result is something that could not exist anywhere else in the city.

The creative range is wide. A pumpernickel quesadilla with black garlic and a chicken liver taco dorado both retain the elemental appeal of their source material while operating at a different technical register. A Michelada arrived as an oyster topped with Clamato pearls and beer foam, the flavour logic of the drink translated into a bite. Spherification and nixtamalization both appear across the meal, deployed with purpose rather than for display. If you compared this kitchen's approach to Mexican fine dining against what Pujol in Mexico City does, the shared instinct is clear: deep respect for the tradition, zero interest in nostalgia as a ceiling.

For diners who have eaten at Topolobampo or the more relaxed Mexican formats around the city, Big Star, Birrieria Zaragoza, Chilam Balam, Cariño operates in a different register entirely. It is not a replacement for those places; it is a different kind of outing. The decision is not which is better but which format you want on a given night.

One note on timing: the kitchen offers a taco omakase available only at 10 PM. If you are returning and have not done this, that is the version to book. It is a late-night extension of the same kitchen's logic, it is not available at the regular service time.

Practical Details

Reservations: Hard to book, plan at least several weeks ahead and check consistently for cancellations. Address: 4662 N Broadway, Chicago, IL 60640 (Uptown). Price tier: $$$$, tasting menu format, so budget accordingly for a full evening spend including beverages. Format: Tasting menu, approximately 12 courses. Counter seating recommended. 10 PM taco omakase available separately. Awards: Michelin 1 Star (2024). Getting there: The Red Line runs overhead in Uptown; the Broadway address is walkable from the Wilson stop.

For a broader look at where Cariño fits in Chicago's dining options, see our full Chicago restaurants guide. If you are planning a full trip, our Chicago hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide cover the rest. For Mexican tasting-menu comparisons beyond Chicago, Alma Fonda Fina in Denver is the closest regional peer worth knowing about. For the broader US fine dining conversation, Le Bernardin in New York City and Providence in Los Angeles anchor what Michelin-starred cooking at this price tier looks like in other markets.

How It Compares

Pearl Picks, If You Like Cariño

• Pujol, Mexico City: The reference point for Mexican fine dining at a global level.
• Alma Fonda Fina, Denver: The closest regional peer for ambitious Mexican cooking in the Mountain West.
• Dove's Luncheonette, Chicago: A more relaxed, lower-price Chicago option for Mexican-influenced cooking.
• Lazy Bear, San Francisco: Counter-format tasting menu with similar kitchen-forward energy.
• Emeril's, New Orleans: For comparison on what chef-driven American fine dining looks like at this price tier in another market.