Beaumont’s American Tavern
Lincoln Park · Plan ahead 2/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
The book opens 14 days out. What is left a day or two ahead tends to be 4:30pm or 9pm. The large bar in the middle of the room takes walk-ins.
Chicago · Walk-ins
Walk-in friendly restaurants in Chicago
Restaurants you can get into without a reservation. 17 open rooms in Chicago already have a walk-in, bar-seat, or same-day note in this directory.
Difficulty is Midnight Table's own estimate, not official Resy data. Rooms with no walk-in note on file are left off, including score 2 when that is the only fact we have.
How drops work · Chicago release times · Hardest reservations in Chicago · Chicago restaurants · Where Chicago restaurants book
Walk-in friendly
The easier end of Midnight Table's scale, and only where a walk-in, bar, or same-day note is already on file. A score of 1 is Walk-in friendly. A score of 2 is Plan ahead, which means sellout speed was not measured, so it is listed here only with that note. The score is Midnight Table's own estimate, not official Resy data.
Brasero
West Town · Plan ahead 2/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Walk-ins are always welcome. The reservation book is there if you want to check availability for two or more.
Eden
Avondale · Plan ahead 2/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Walk-ins are taken at brunch, lunch, and dinner, and a reservation is still the safer plan. The room is closed Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday run 11am to 3pm and 5pm to 9pm.
Hard to book, but try walking in
Difficulty 3 or higher on Midnight Table's scale. Each note is a sourced tip already stored on the restaurant, quoted with its source, or the walk-in line on that record. Nothing here is official Resy data, and a tip is not a promise of a table.
West Loop
Monteverde
West Loop · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Bar first-come; lunch Tue-Sat easier
Dinner is booked out for months. Lunch, Tuesday through Saturday, is the opening. The bar is first come, first served, and it is an easier seat alone.
Alla Vita
West Loop · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Bar + patio
OpenTable opens 60 days out at 12:01am, and prime dinner is scarce, so a month ahead is the realistic book. The bar and the patio are first come, first served right at opening.
Au Cheval
West Loop · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Yes
Lincoln Park
Armitage Alehouse
Lincoln Park · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Bar + patio walk-in
Reservations open 21 days out at 9am. The bar and the patio are walk-in. Show up near opening: 4pm Monday and Tuesday, 11am Wednesday through Friday, 10am Saturday and Sunday.
Esmé
Lincoln Park · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Tickets open 60 days out, and changing one costs $150 or more per person, so committed guests rarely let go. The easier door is Bar Esmé, which takes walk-ins as space allows.
Logan Square
Daisies
Logan Square · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Walk in early, around 5 PM, or late, around 9 PM, and leave your number; diners often land bar seats. Quoted waits tend to run long, so cocktails at Easy Does It across the street are the usual holding pattern.
Lula Cafe
Logan Square · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Daytime is first come, first served, and names go on the waitlist only in person, never by phone. Dinner takes reservations, but tables are always saved for walk-ins.
Arrive at the weekend open for about a 20-minute wait; by mid-morning Saturday, quotes can top an hour. Weekdays around noon often seat immediately, walking in at 4:30 PM for early dinner works for late-lunch types, and note it's closed Tuesdays.
River North
Ciccio Mio
River North · Very tough 4/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: A couple of tables
Reservations open 21 days out at 9am and go quickly. A couple of tables are held for walk-ins. The waitlist is the safer backup.
Walk-ins go to the tiny front lounge: two window counters for two and one low four-person table by the host stand. Arrive just before the 4 PM open to claim one.
Kitty's Cosmopolitan Club
River North · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Reservations drop 30 days out and go fast. A late table, around 10pm, sometimes appears a few days ahead. There is a small amount of walk-in room if you can linger in River North.
Other neighborhoods
Galit
Sheffield & DePaul · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Walk-ins are welcome: when the dining room is full, a nine-seat communal table is held first come, first served. The bar is only for guests waiting on reservations.
Kasama
Ukrainian Village / West Town · Near impossible 5/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
On file: Daytime counter service is walk-in only; dinner reservation only
Dinner is reservation only, Thursday through Sunday, on OpenTable, for parties up to six. Those seats open on a six-week rolling calendar at 12pm CT. Daytime is a different restaurant: counter service, no reservations, open until 2pm. The tasting menu is $325. A wine pairing is $195 and a non-alcoholic pairing is $95. Corkage is $50 a bottle up to 750ml, two bottles max.
Mirra
Bucktown · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
The book opens two months out. A day or two ahead, the leftovers are times like 4:30pm or 9pm. Some high-tops are walk-in until 10pm, though a recent try at those seats did not work.
Pizz’amici
West Town · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
Reservations release a month out and disappear. They open at 4pm and keep a few seats for walk-ins, so that is the time to be at the door.
Virtue Restaurant
Hyde Park · Tough 3/5 · Midnight Table estimate, not official Resy data
The bar takes no reservations: the host seats walk-ins 21 and over for full dinner service and starts a waitlist once it's full. Weekday happy hour, 4 to 5:30 PM, has bar-only appetizers you can't get otherwise.
The newsletter
The Guestlist
Every Thursday: what's dropping next week, new rooms worth chasing, and the walk-in tricks the regulars use. Free.