It’s all about southern comfort food at this Hyde Park establishment, thanks to southern-born chef Erick Williams. Here, diners often start with an order of coffee cake, billowing with brown sugar streusel, before moving onto savory fare: chicken and waffles, fried green tomatoes and shrimp, and biscuits and smoked salmon. Cocktails are your run-of-the-mill sippers, but the alcohol-free drinks prove far more interesting; the Duke of Earl, for instance, is a base of Earl Gray tea stirred with nutmeg, lemon and egg white.

Hyde ParkChef Erick Williams won a James Beard Award for his work at this Southern American restaurant, located in the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood. Enter and feel instantly welcomed—warm lighting, inviting banquettes, and local artwork beckon guests to linger inside, while a patio does the trick in warmer months. As if you needed any more reason to visit, chef de cuisine Damarr Brown was a finalist on a recent season of Top Chef, only adding to the creativity coming out of this kitchen.

Located in Hyde Park on the South Side, this Black-owned, dinner-only restaurant debuted in 2019 from chef-owner Erick Williams and is focused on Southern cuisine. This includes starters (like biscuits with sides of pimento cheese and local honey, gumbo, and green tomatoes with Gulf shrimp) before easing into heartier entrees, including shrimp and crawfish or blackened catfish. In 2022, Erick Williams nabbed a James Beard Award.

When: Tues-Fri 4-5:30pm Exclusively At The Bar The Deal: $4 Beer, $9 Wine, $10 Cocktails, $5-$13 Snacks. This bright and airy Southern restaurant is one of our favorite upscale dinner spots in Hyde Park, but there’s also a separate, dimly lit bar area that’s great for just grabbing drinks and snacks. There, you can get $9 glasses of wine and share small plates like catfish sliders and mac and cheese fritters.

The interior dining room at Virtue is a special place, thanks in no small part to the art chef-owner Erick Williams has curated for the space. But come summertime, the sidewalk patio offers diners some fresh air while they feast on chicken- and sausage-studded gumbo, blackened catfish atop Carolina gold rice, and banana pudding with Nilla wafers and cool whip.

In the words of Chicago Magazine writer Jeff Ruby, “When Virtue opened in November 2018, it sounded like a long shot in a long-shot neighborhood.” And yet, more than three years later, it continues defying the odds while bringing hearty southern cooking to the South Side. Its website uses floral patterns and various photography styles to evoke its homestyle brand — but it also drives revenue with commerce features like an online merchandise store, which sells t-shirts, totes and sweatshirts to its loyal audience.

Located in East Hyde Park, a few blocks from the Lake Michigan waterfront and Harold Washington Park, Virtue Restaurant offers delicious southern comfort food with classic southern hospitality. Rooted in honoring southern heritage, culture, and cooking techniques, Virtue Restaurant also stands for the continued struggle for civil rights. Virtue’s menu has all the best and most authentic southern favorites, starting with buttermilk biscuits and pimento cheese.

Although the Chicago dining orbit feels the tourism gravity in River North, you'd do yourself a favor by giving the south side some love. Virtue is an American southern restaurant in Hyde Park oozing hospitality, gratefulness and just great food. Chef Erick Williams, formerly Executive Chef of lauded restaurant MK and partner of Michelin rated County Barbeque, combines all that celebrated experience with his passion for southern culture.

Hyde Park's Virtue is a refined tribute to Southern cuisine helmed by chef Erick Williams, winner of the 2022 James Beard Award for Best Chef, Great Lakes. The honor is well-deserved for the stalwart Chicago industry veteran: he's paid his dues in triplicate over a nearly three-decade career in some of the city's most notable kitchens. Virtue is his first solo project, and it's one you can tell he's been plotting for a long, long time.

For a sweet treat you’ll be dreaming of for days, visit Virtue Restaurant, a lauded Hyde Park restaurant serving Southern American fare. Try the beloved Millie’s puddin’, a sweet banana pudding with wafers and freshly made whipped cream. If you’re in the mood for something sweet and tangy, consider the lemon pound cake, which blends lemon and marshmallow flavors for a richly refreshing experience.

Dining at Virtue Restaurant was more than just a meal for me. On a most recent trip to Chicago, it was the first restaurant I chose, and on a travel day, I think the first thing that is always on my mind is what I’m going to eat when I land. Reflecting on the experience, it felt like coming home in an entirely different city than where I live, and that is maybe what I loved most about it.

Chef Erick Williams credits his heritage and southern cuisine as the inspiration behind the use of crispy pig ears in his salads at Virtue in Hyde Park. An asparagus version ($11) recently replaced the winter kale, with long slender stalks of charred asparagus topped with egg salad, midnight moon cheese, and fried crunchy pig ears. “It’s a pork potato chip,” Williams proclaims.

Chicago is known for its amazing food scene, and Virtue is one of the best bars in Hyde Park. Chef Erick Williams’s rigorous Southern cooking is paired with wines and cocktails in a chic and funky setting. The restaurant is located in Hyde Park within view of the University of Chicago, and it is an inviting retreat with a welcoming atmosphere.

Whenever you are in the mood of trying out new and unique styles of cooking, this is the place to be. Virtue is well-known for the fantastic Southern Cuisines with various meals like pork chops in barbecue and seafood. The quality of the shrimps and other kinds of seafood made will make you come back for more.

This Hyde Park spot is all about southern cooking, with an open kitchen that just lures you in. Think chicken liver toast, mac and cheese, shrimp and crawfish, and short rib, all made to perfection. While the food and service are laid back, that’s taking nothing away from the beaming quality on display.

If you’re searching for hearty Southern cooking in a warm, welcoming environment, look no further than Virtue Restaurant in Hyde Park. The owners and chefs here strive to create a culture of hospitality and kindness with their space. They serve familiar, comfort flavors with a few unexpected surprises!

🍽️ Southern | $$$ | Website | 📍 Google Maps | 📞 (773) 947-8831 | Neighborhood: Hyde Park. Virtue is a Hyde Park restaurant serving up elevated Southern classics with an occasional twist. The restaurant has a cozy, contemporary dining room and the atmosphere is welcoming.

If you are a loyal fan of hearty southern cooking, the Virtue restaurant in Hyde Park should be on your list. It offers you genuine flavour punches that keep customers coming back for more. Be it the Beef Short Ribs, Blackened Catfish, or Collard Greens & Smoked Turkey.

This restaurant in Hyde Park dishes out some major eats from Walleye and Catfish to Buttered Grits and Collards with Smoked Turkey. After all that amazing food, you might forget you’re still in the Midwest. Read More:8 Best Bars to Attend Near You in Orland Park, IL

Discover the soulful flavors of Southern cuisine at Virtue in Hyde Park. Known for its hearty dishes and impeccable hospitality, Virtue blends tradition with innovation, making it a cherished spot in Chicago for enjoying comforting and flavorful meals.

Find out why Virtue continues to be named as one of the best new restaurants in Chicago, even if you're enjoying the food at home!. Try Southern-inspired classics including a fried chicken "Shoebox Meal" for pickup or delivery.

Located in Hyde Park, Virtue is a Southern American restaurant run by Chef Erick Williams. Virtue has a wrap-around patio that lines the corner of 53rd St. and Harper Avenue. Virtue's outdoor patio can serve 48 guests.

Virtue: The Hyde Park eatery has a wrap-around patio where you can choose from chef Erick Williams’s Southern-influenced menu, which includes blackened catfish, lemon chicken, pork steak and more.

Virtue is a restaurant that concentrates on Southern-based dishes. The recipes used here have been passed down from generation to generation. Proves the saying the saying that old is gold.