DOWNTOWN — A omakase-style speakeasy is opening Friday in River North.
Nestled away within the Lady May Eatery & Cocktail Parlor, 405 N. Wabash Ave., Sushi | Bar is set to offer an “intimate” 17-course omakase experience at $165 a person.
Omakase is a Japanese phrase meaning “I’ll leave it up to you.” This form of dining is an extended sushi dinner that leaves guests in the hands of the chef, who crafts fresh courses.
The 17 courses at Sushi | Bar will showcase the “freshest fish sources and [fish] flown in weekly” from places like Japan, Australia, and California, according to a news release.
Nigiri offerings will be seasonal but will feature signature dishes like aged bluefin akami with dehydrated red miso and everything bagel spice; Hokkaido Scallop with white truffle salt, shaved black truffle and truffle caviar; and A5 Wagyu with brown butter miso.
The River North spot will be Sushi | Bar Hospitality’s third location nationwide and first in Chicago. The company was founded in 2020 with its flagship location in Austin, Texas.
“Making Chicago the home for our third Sushi | Bar feels like a natural progression in our expansion process,” Ryan Stock, CEO of Adept Hospitality, the group behind Sushi | Bar, said in a statement. “The dining experience at Sushi | Bar is executed at the highest level, but fun in spirit. The hope is that a small group of guests walk in for dinner and leave as friends.”
The restaurant seats 12 people inside a 375-square-foot space, which will rotate between two nightly seatings Wednesday-Thursday and three seatings Friday-Sunday.
Chicago-based Kuchar Studio, a women-owned design studio, created the space with a mid-century focus featuring warm woods, curved shelving, stacked tile and terrazzo flooring. A green marble backdrop was created as the main focal point of the restaurant behind the bar to highlight the action of the chefs.
Seatings are 6 and 8:15 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and 5, 7:15 and 9:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Guests can make a reservation with a $50 deposit per person via Tock.
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