A two-year-old neighborhood restuarant in Lincoln Park was just named Food & Wine magazine’s 2026 Restaurant of the Year.
John’s Food & Wine, at 2114 N. Halsted St., was selected for the honor after a nationwide search by editors, a Tuesday announcement said. According to organizers, the annual award is given to a “standout restaurant shaping the future of American dining through exceptional food, hospitality and impact.”
Editors described the restaurant, from chef-owners Tom Rogers and Adam McFarland as “a groundbreaking approach to building a sustainable restaurant business.” Employees earn at least $25 per hour, and there’s no tipping — instead, every guest pays a 20% hospitality charge split among non-managers who worked that day. Customers place orders at the host stand before being seated, and the person that brings you your meal may be the chef, sommelier or even the owners.
Employees can also earn a greater share of the hospitality charge if the pick up additional duties, like placing product orders or arranging flowers, the magazine said.
“The result is a profitable restaurant where dishwashers can earn roughly $70,000 annually and line cooks around $90,000—among the highest wages for those roles in Chicago,” the announcement said.
Rogers and McFarland said their vision for the restaurant was a spot where they themselves would have wanted to work as young cooks.
“We wanted to create a place that felt like us, cook the food we wanted to cook, take care of people in a way that felt genuine, and build a restaurant where incredibly talented people could do their best work,” Rogers said in the announcement.
The restaurant accepts reservations and frequently goes viral on TikTok and Instagram, with diners frequently highlighting their wine list, seasonal salads and pastas and beef fat fries.