A polished River North steakhouse, and the perfect place to catch up with family over dinner
Every great Chicago itinerary needs at least one proper steakhouse evening — and this one came courtesy of our Chicago cousins, who gave us several possibilities to choose from. We landed on RPM Steak, tucked into River North near the river and the Magnificent Mile, for an evening that turned out to be every bit as polished and cosmopolitan as its reputation suggests.
It was also a reminder of one of the pleasures of having people who know a city well: sometimes the best way to experience a place is simply to ask someone who lives there where they would take you.
A Restaurant Empire With Hollywood Roots
RPM Steak is the product of a genuinely Chicago-specific collaboration: restaurateurs R.J., Jerrod, and Molly Melman of Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, partnered with television personalities Bill and Giuliana Rancic. It’s the sister concept to RPM Italian, marking the second project between the two camps, and has since been joined by RPM Seafood, which opened on the Chicago riverfront in 2020. Together, the RPM restaurants and the adjacent RPM Events riverfront venue have become one of the more recognizable hospitality groups in the city, with RPM Italian locations having since expanded to Washington, D.C. and Las Vegas as well.
What distinguishes RPM Steak from a more traditional, clubby steakhouse is the deliberate update to the format: a contemporary, chef-driven approach to the classic steakhouse menu, paired with a sleek, glamorous dining room that reads more cosmopolitan lounge than old-school chophouse. It’s a combination that’s clearly resonated, given how firmly the restaurant has established itself among the city’s top steak destinations.
A Genuinely Global Lineup of Beef
The menu’s real differentiator is its sourcing. RPM Steak offers close to two dozen different cuts, each pulled from a specific, handpicked purveyor rather than a generic supply chain: a 20-ounce grass-fed ribeye from Slagel Farm downstate, dry-aged cote de boeuf and New York strip aged 28 to 60 days from some of the country’s most respected dry-age houses, and a five-ounce Japanese Kobe A5 strip steak for anyone wanting the full luxury experience in miniature. We also noticed Sendai beef on offer, sourced from one of only two farms in Japan’s Miyagi prefecture dedicated exclusively to that designation — the kind of detail that signals real intent behind the menu rather than simply trading on the steakhouse format.
Beyond the cuts themselves, the table favorites lived up to their reputation: the truffle bread and the tableside beef tartare, finished with Westholme Wagyu, black truffle, and a quail egg, were particular highlights, and the chilled seafood tower made for an excellent shared starter before the main event arrived. The wine list, which has earned its own share of recognition, leans toward smaller, distinctive producers rather than the obvious big names — a nice surprise for a room this polished.
The Setting
RPM Steak’s River North address puts it within easy reach of downtown hotels, the Magnificent Mile, and the theater district, making it a natural fit for an evening already built around a show or a stroll through the neighborhood’s gallery scene. The room itself leans into the group’s signature aesthetic: sleek, a little glossy, and clearly designed with celebration in mind, with mezzanine seating and private rooms available for larger groups.
Lisa’s Take
Some restaurants are about the food; others are about the people you’re sitting with. This dinner was a little of both. We were joined by cousins who know Chicago far better than we ever could after a single visit, and RPM Steak gave us exactly the kind of setting we wanted for an evening of catching up — polished without being stuffy, indulgent without taking itself too seriously.
I also loved the opportunity to approach a steakhouse from a slightly different perspective. Rather than simply choosing between a ribeye and a filet, the menu invites you to think about the beef itself — where it came from, how it was aged, and what makes one cut or producer different from another. That’s the kind of detail I appreciate when a restaurant is asking you to spend a little more.
Why It Belongs on the List
RPM Steak isn’t trying to be a quiet, old-guard chophouse, and it doesn’t pretend otherwise — this is a steakhouse built for an evening with a bit of occasion to it, backed by genuinely serious sourcing once you look past the glamour. For a celebratory dinner in River North, it’s a confident, satisfying choice.
For the rest of where we stayed, ate, and explored on this trip, look for the complete Chicago guide coming soon to The Insider’s Guide. In the meantime, stay tuned for the next post in this Chicago series.
