Galit

Galit is a Michelin-starred restaurant in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood led by Chef Zachary Engel — a James Beard Award winner for Rising Star Chef of the Year — and celebrating the bold, generous, and deeply culturally resonant flavors of modern Middle Eastern cuisine. The restaurant takes its name from a Hebrew word meaning both ‘my wave’ and a common Israeli name, and Engel’s cooking is shaped by his deep engagement with the food cultures of Israel, Lebanon, Turkey, Egypt, and the broader Eastern Mediterranean and Levantine world — absorbed through extensive travel and personal research as well as professional experience. The menu is built around the extraordinary depth and diversity of Middle Eastern cooking traditions: housemade pita and laffa breads of exceptional quality, whole-animal preparations roasted over wood and charcoal, mezze selections that range from finely crafted hummus and baba ghanoush to more adventurous and inventive preparations, and larger dishes that demonstrate Engel’s ability to bring serious fine dining technique to bear on flavors and traditions that demand authenticity rather than refinement for its own sake. The warm, welcoming dining room creates a genuinely hospitable atmosphere that reflects the generosity of the cuisine’s cultural origins. Service is warm and genuinely engaged. Galit is one of the most joyful and culturally generous Michelin-starred restaurants in America.