Old-style American tavern fare by chefs Tony Mantuano and John Hogan strikes warm, comforting chords at this riverside favorite with a vantage on the city’s watery center and architectural grandeur.

Website: riverroastchicago.com

Number of seats: 120

Average per-person check: $30

Popular dishes: Wood-smoked whole chicken (pictured) with RR potatoes (house-style cottage fries with vinegar); Hogan’s Peas with pearl onions, bacon and bibb lettuce; Golden Gobbets: Seasoned fried chicken with honey.

What people come for: The large riverfront patio with 120 outdoor seats, and the “Blues & Brews Brunch” with live music on weekends.

Address: 315 N. LaSalle St.

Phone number: 312-822-0100

On Restaurant Row in the West Loop, this refined rustic spot by the team behind the celebrated restaurant Wood pays tribute to Spanish Basque fare.

Website: salerochicago.com

Number of seats: 48

Average per-person check: $35

Popular dishes: Confit potatoes a la plancha with chanterelles, sunny side up egg, morels, grilled kale and queso tetilla (pictured); grilled whole Maine lobster with chorizo, bomba rice, Manila clams, tomato, grilled peppers and lemon aïoli; flan de queso fresco: soft custard infused with fresh cheese and annatto seed with blood orange gel and saba caramel.

What people come for: The pintxo menu, extensive selection of Spanish wines and sherries as well as varieties of Spanish gin and tonics.

Address: 621 W. Randolph St.

Phone number: 312-466-1000

A former meatpacking facility in the West Loop provides the setting for this spacious, enterprising lab for the meat-treating arts, with charcuterie sharing the spotlight with other fare that is no less smart and inventive.

Website: tetechicago.com

Number of seats: 82

Average per-person check: $58

Popular dishes: Summer Garden: Cocotte of summer vegetables, fruits and herbs; Philippines: Longanisa sausage with green-garlic-dried shrimp fried rice, Fresno chile marmalade and Swan Creek Farm egg confit; pickled beef cheek salad with Vidalia onion, capers and parsley.

What people come for: The open kitchen and the glass-encased production room for charcuterie.

Address: 1114 West Randolph St.

Phone number: 312-733-1178