Best Spicy Food Restaurants In Chicago

Have a hankering for a super spicy dish? Lucky for you, restaurants all over the city know how to kick the heat up a notch with just about any dish. Whether you're looking for some good old fashioned spicy Asian cuisine or bar food with a kick, these restaurants will have you covered. And in some cases, you can even pick the level of spiciness you want!

Leghorn Chicken
959 N. Western Ave.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 394-4444
www.leghornchicken.com

Forget KFC. When you have a hankering for a chicken sandwich, this Ukrainian Village restaurant should be at the top of your list. While the restaurant has a mild version of the chicken sandwich, if you want it spicy hot, opt for the "Nashville Hot," and hot it is. The spice and heat is a wonderful kick, which is only slightly tamed by the delicious biscuit bun (buttermilk buns are also available). Fried chicken tenders are also available in a hot spicy variety as well.

Pho's Thai Cuisine
3332 N. Lincoln Ave.
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 755-1995
www.phothaicuisine.com

While many Asian restaurants have a certain amount of spice and kick to their dishes, Pho's Thai Cuisine in Lakeview takes their spice game to a whole new level. With authentic ingredients like oyster sauce, sea salt and soy sauce, it's also quite traditional. Everything is made to order and just about everything is designed to be hot and spicy. With that said, take your pick on the heat/spice scale. You literally can tell them what level of spice you want. But don't say we didn't warn you: even medium at Pho's is incredibly spicy.

Jake Melnick's
41 E. Superior St.
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 266-0400
www.jakemelnicks.com

This Near North bar offers all sorts of bar food on theimenu, and chicken wings are a big part of that. While the bar has got mild and hot for the general population palate, its takes its wings to a whole new game with its XXX wings. To order these, you need to have a strong stomach, and you need to sign a waiver. That's because the wings are made with not just habanero and ghost pepper but also the recently deemed hottest pepper in the world, trinidad scorpion pepper. But if you can stomach these wings, you'll find yourself immortalized on the Wall of Flame.

Related: Best Thai Food In Chicago

The Fifty/50
2047 W. Division St.
Chicago, IL 60622
(773) 489-5050
www.thefifty50.com

Lots of places in Chicago serve burgers, but only one serves "The Hell" burger, and that's the Fifty/50 in Chicago's Wicker Park. Among the restaurant's range of tame (although just as delicious with fabulous toppings) burgers, you'll find one burger that tops them all in the spice/heat factor. Toppings are what make this burger burning hot; it comes with habanero salsa, as well as roasted jalapenos with seeds, and Fifty/50 sauce made in house. As if that wasn't enough heat, the pepperjack cheese adds even more kick. While it's somewhat tamed by the brioche bun, it's crazy hot, and as the menu says, there's no refunds if you think it's too hot!

High Five Ramen
112 N. Green St.
Chicago, IL 60607
(312) 754-0431
highfiveramen.com

This isn't your college dorm room ramen; after all it comes from the same guys who started Au Cheval. High Five Ramen is a popular spot with little seating and no takeout, so do expect to wait when you go. But it's worth whatever wait there is for this salty and spicy ramen dish. Help beat the heat with a sip or two of their slushie cocktails too.

Related: Best Bar Food In Chicago

Liz SanFilippo Hall is a freelance writer, who enjoys trying new foods from all over the world. But her favorite city for culinary treats will always be Chicago. When not blogging about food, she's working part-time at a culinary vacation company, The International Kitchen, based in the Windy City, as well as repping Younique cosmetics and skincare products. Some of her writing can be found at Examiner.com.