Although you can't always count on the fickle Chicago weather, you can always expect Spring to deliver freshness in food, service, and style. The upscale restaurant showcases chef Shawn McClain’s talent with seafood, a light approach often inflected with an Asian accent. Though they change to reflect the seasons, dishes such as tuna tartare with quail egg, cod in crab and sweet pea sauce, and diver scallops with braised oxtail are artistic but unfussy. In a nod to carnivores, the menu also lists several meat options. Lodged in a former Russian bathhouse and still sporting vintage white ceramic tile walls from the 1920s, Spring faces east for inspiration, drawing on Zen principles of design in a foyer rock garden, cleverly angled banquettes, warm lighting, and minimalist flower arrangements. Chicago’s bohemian Wicker Park area is an unlikely host for a restaurant of such acclaim, but the neighborhood locale helps defrost any potential fine dining chill.

Spring Information:

• American, seafood menu. Dinner. Closed Monday; Holidays. Bar. Business casual attire. Reservations recommended. Valet parking. Credit cards accepted.