Valhalla

Should You Book Valhalla?

Getting a seat at Valhalla is genuinely difficult, and that difficulty is earned. Chef Stephen Gillanders runs a single chef's counter in Wicker Park where every seat faces the kitchen, the tasting menu shifts across Filipino, Mexican, Chinese, and Indian influences, and the beverage program is designed to keep pace. Valhalla holds a Michelin Plate (2024) and landed at #357 on Opinionated About Dining's Leading Restaurants in North America for 2025, up from #377 in 2024. At the $$$$ price tier, it is not a casual booking. But for a special occasion dinner in Chicago, it competes directly with the city's most serious tasting menu rooms. If that format suits you, it is worth the effort to secure a table.

The Room and the Experience

Valhalla's room works in its favour for the right occasion. The space is described as cool and dark, with a single counter running the length of the kitchen — every seat is a front-row view of the cooking. That setup means the atmosphere is focused and intimate rather than buzzy or loud. If you are coming for a birthday dinner, an anniversary, or a business meal where the setting needs to do some work, the counter format delivers. It is not a place for a large group wanting private conversation; it is a place for two or four people who want to be absorbed into a kitchen's rhythm for an evening.

The noise question matters here. Counter restaurants at this price point tend to run quieter than open dining rooms, and Valhalla's layout supports conversation — the long single counter and dark room create a contained, low-distraction environment. Compare that with somewhere like Boka, which has a more conventional dining room energy, or Alinea, where the theatrical format can tip into spectacle. Valhalla sits closer to focused and immersive.

The Menu

The tasting menu at Valhalla is ambitious in scope. Gillanders draws on Filipino, Mexican, Chinese, and Indian reference points across the same meal , dishes like white curry noodles with grilled mussels and lobster tsukune with smoked pimentón butter are documented in Opinionated About Dining's notes. Dessert has been called a highlight, with a marbled pavlova incorporating black sesame, lychee, and hibiscus. The beverage program runs cocktail and wine pairings alongside the food; OAD's notes specifically flag these as worth adding. Whether you take the pairing is a cost consideration, but at this price tier the incremental spend is usually worth it for the full experience the kitchen is building toward.

Multi-cultural range of influences is not fusion for its own sake , it is the defining characteristic of the menu and either the reason you book or the reason you do not. If you want a single-cuisine focus, Kasama delivers a tighter Filipino lens at the same price tier. If the range of references appeals, Valhalla is building one of the more distinctive tasting menus in the city.

Timing and the Brunch Question

Valhalla does not serve lunch or brunch. The restaurant opens Wednesday through Sunday at 5 pm and closes at 10 pm; Monday and Tuesday are closed. There is no daytime service listed. If your preference is a long weekend lunch format, this is not the right choice , look at Kasama, which runs a daytime pastry counter alongside its dinner tasting menu, for something that gives you a lower-commitment entry point. For Valhalla, your visit is an evening commitment by design.

Within the dinner service window, Wednesday and Thursday evenings will generally be easier to book than Friday and Saturday. If you have flexibility, a mid-week booking gives you a slightly less pressured room and a better chance of securing a reservation on shorter notice. That said, Valhalla's OAD ranking and Michelin recognition mean demand is consistent across the week , do not assume a Thursday is straightforwardly available.

How Hard Is It to Book?

Booking difficulty here is rated hard. Valhalla runs a counter format with limited seats, earned national recognition, and a consistent Google rating of 4.8 across 111 reviews. Plan for at least four to six weeks of lead time for a weekend booking. Mid-week slots open up somewhat, but even Wednesday and Thursday evenings at a ranked tasting menu counter in Wicker Park are not reliably available on short notice. No phone number is listed publicly; check the restaurant's reservation platform directly. If you cannot get a near-term table, Next Restaurant uses a ticketed model that can sometimes surface availability when conventional booking windows are closed.

How It Compares

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Tasting Menus Worth Comparing Elsewhere

• Atomix in New York City , Korean-influenced tasting menu with comparable counter format and national recognition
• Lazy Bear in San Francisco , multi-course counter experience with a similarly intimate setup
• Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg , for a longer, more rural tasting menu commitment
• The French Laundry in Napa , the benchmark for US tasting menu ambition at higher price points
• Le Bernardin in New York City , if you want serious seafood technique at the tasting menu level
• Providence in Los Angeles , West Coast seafood-forward tasting menu for cross-city comparison
• Emeril's in New Orleans
• Alain Ducasse – Louis XV in Monte Carlo , the international reference point for what a serious tasting menu room can be

Frequently Asked Questions

Is lunch or dinner better at Valhalla?

Dinner only , Valhalla does not offer lunch or brunch service. The restaurant opens at 5 pm Wednesday through Sunday. If you want a daytime tasting menu experience in Chicago, Kasama runs a pastry counter during the day and a tasting menu at dinner, giving you more flexibility. For Valhalla specifically, plan for an evening booking.

Can I eat at the bar at Valhalla?

Valhalla's format is a single chef's counter , the counter IS the seating. There is no separate bar area where you can drop in for individual dishes. Every seat at the counter is part of the full tasting menu experience. If you want a drop-in counter experience in Chicago's $$$$ tier, Smyth has a separate downstairs bar (The Loyalist) that operates more casually alongside the main tasting menu room upstairs.

What should I wear to Valhalla?

No dress code is listed publicly, but at the $$$$ price tier with a Michelin Plate and OAD recognition, smart casual is the right call. Think of it like any serious tasting menu counter in Chicago: you will not be turned away for a nice shirt and dark trousers, but showing up in athleisure at a 12-seat counter will feel out of place. When in doubt, dress as you would for Oriole or Smyth.

Can Valhalla accommodate groups?

The single chef's counter format makes large groups impractical. For parties of two or four, the counter works well and is arguably better for those group sizes than a conventional dining room. If you are planning a group of six or more for a special occasion, contact the restaurant directly to understand capacity , but be prepared to consider alternatives. Next Restaurant and Alinea have more conventional dining room setups that handle larger parties more easily within the Chicago $$$$ tasting menu tier.

How far ahead should I book Valhalla?

Four to six weeks minimum for a Friday or Saturday. Wednesday and Thursday evenings are more accessible, but do not assume mid-week slots are freely available , Valhalla's OAD ranking and consistent 4.8 Google rating drive steady demand. If your dates are fixed and important (anniversary, birthday), book the moment the reservation window opens. No phone is listed; use the restaurant's online booking platform and set a reminder for when new dates release.