CHICAGO — Some of the swankiest restaurants around town still have seats open for New Year's Eve, but if you're set on dining like royalty, it's wise to act quickly.
At the new, 64-seat Grace, 652 W. Randolph St., there are "a handful" of reservations left, spokeswoman Jenn Galdes said. If you snag one, the table is yours for the night, which begins at 7:30 p.m. with a champagne reception. The nine-course menu with wine pairings costs $325.
There also are seats left at moto, 945 W. Fulton Market, where, for $350, you get 13 courses with wine and a champagne toast. Plus, every diner gets two gift certificates, said chef Homaro Cantu — one to be a guest chef for a day with chef de cuisine Richie Farina, and the second for a miracle berry cooking class with Cantu.
Next, 953 W. Fulton Market, arguably the toughest table in town given its ticket-based reservation system, is still the toughest. It has held back two tables for its $350 New Year's Eve blowout, but those will go to "friends" of the restaurant, said partner Nick Kokonas. (Alinea — Chef Grant Achtaz's other restaurant — is all sold out.)
Tru, 676 N. St. Clair St., has just one table left at 9:15 p.m. The eight-course meal costs $275 per person and includes a champagne toast, but not wine.
At Spiaggia, 980 N. Michigan Ave., there are two seats left for the 10 p.m. dinner, and a few more at two earlier seatings. Diners at the last seating can choose between wine or champagne with each of the seven courses. The cost is $425 — but that's not even the priciest.
That distinction goes to Sixteen, the Michelin-starred restaurant in the Trump Hotel Chicago. If you've got the money to dine like the Donald, he has the dinner for you — 10 courses with wine for a whopping $480.
That dinner, however, is sold out.
