The Windy City is a restaurant-rich town. Here are a few places to check out that are brand new and (mostly) ready to be discovered.

The National Restaurant Show in Chicago is not just about eating random bites and sips in McCormick Place. Chicago offers a wealth of fabulous dining and drinking opportunities.

So save some room in your belly and take a look at what’s new in restaurants across the Windy City.

Gingie

Boka Restaurant Group opened the long-awaited new Gingie in March, a restaurant by chef Brian Lockwood, in River North. Sadly, later that month the restaurant had a minor kitchen fire, which has closed the location temporarily. Happily, no one was injured.

The restaurant, meanwhile, has a menu built around live-fire cooking, with oysters cooked in embers, rotisserie chicken with sansho pepper, daikon, yuzu yogurt and shiso; and grilled lobster with sushi rice risotto, kale, carrots and vadouvan curry.

Formerly of Eleven Madison Park in New York, Lockwood is also known as a consulting chef for “The Bear” on Hulu.

Leñasada

This wood-fired Mexican street food concept is a new category for the folks behind Slice Factory, the Chicago-based pizza franchise. Leñasada debuted in April inside Slice Factory’s River Grove location (8800 Grand Ave.), and it’s the first to be co-branded.

Leñasada menu is centered on wood-fired proteins, like arrachera skirt stea, chicken, al pastor and shrimp, as well as house-made salsas and, of course, street corn.

Slice Factory founder and CEO Dom DiDiana partnered with Mexican chef Juan Alcauter to develop the new concept. It’s something the company plans to grow with franchising, alongside the original pizza brand, both as co-branded and standalone restaurants.

The Hand & The Eye

This new concept from Levy Restaurant opened in Chicago’s historic McCormick Mansion in April. Magic is on the menu in an immersive space on the Magnificent Mile that requires a ticket (starting at $225, which includes a $75 dining credit), except for one dining room that is open to the public.

Magicians perform throughout the five-story venue, from intimate shows to grand salons. The mansion includes a restaurant and six bars, which are all run by Levy Restaurants (Jake Melnick’s, Michael Jordan’s Steakhouse, Paddlefish). Levy CEO Andy Lansing, apparently, is a magician himself.

The Hand & The Eye was created by Glen Tullman, also a magic enthusiast and venture capitalist, who attempted to preserve the mansion’s history after a $50 million renovation.

Motel Bar

Episcope Hospitality has a new concept coming to River North designed to feel like a step back in time. The group known for concepts like Layla & Ringo’s, DJ’s Great Room and Marshall’s Landing has recreated Motel Bar to evoke a Wisconsin supper club.

The walls are lined with Midwest photography and memorabilia from hunting lodges and lake houses. The menu will feature supper club classics, like slow-roasted prime rib, “garbage salad,” relish trays and Friday fish fries. And, of course, there will be Brandy Old Fashioned cocktails and ice cream drinks like the Grasshopper and Brandy Alexander.

But Motel Bar isn’t expected to open until the end of the month. However, the concept also includes an all-day café called Monty’s with a walk-up counter and deli classics, and Monty’s has opened.

Fatback

New from chef Charlie McKenna (Lillie’s Q, Roux) is this sandwich shop/market/butcher shop on Wacker Drive.

McKenna collaborated with the Fifty/50 Group (Kindling, The Alston, The Berkshire Room) on Fatback, where fine dining techniques are applied to sandwiches, like an Italian meatball with vodka sauce; a porchetta with raclette and spicy mustard; and ‘nduja grilled cheese.

There are 50 seats and a walk-up counter for to-go orders.

The Secret Kitchen

Out in the Chicago suburbs of Schaumburg, a celebrity chef from India, Aanal Kotak, opened The Secret Kitchen in April. It’s the first U.S. iteration of the concept, which has locations in India, Australia and Canada. (Kotak also has other restaurant brands, including Akshada, Southak and a retail baking line.)

Expect to find among the signature dishes crispy puri shells filled with avocado, yogurt and house-made chutneys; Thecha Paneer Tikka (cottage cheese in green chili with garlic, peanut and fresh-coriander marinade and finished in the tandoor); and Kotak’s refined take on classic Butter Chicken Delhi Style.

The Ives

This new concept by Boka Restaurant Group was expected to open this month in the Chicago Athletic Association. In the space formerly known as the Cherry Circle Room, it’s named for Henry Ives Cobb, who was an architect and a founder of the club.

The Ives will be a modern grill room celebrating American classics, with a menu led by chef/partner Chris Pandel (Swift & Sons, Cira, Zarella Pizzeria & Taverna) that promises to be contemporary yet familiar, with tableside theatrics, from the champagne cart to desserts.

Meanwhile, BRG has also recently opened the Drawing Room on the second floor, offering all-day dining.

Urbanbelly

This is not a new restaurant, but it does have a new location. Bill Kim’s popular Asian concept Urbanbelly has moved to Fulton Market.

The former location in Wicker Park has closed, and the restaurant has partnered with Cornerstone Restaurant Group and Taratsa Hospitality Partners to relocate. Chef Kim previously had the BellyQ and Ramen Bar concepts in the Fulton Market neighborhood.

The new Urbanbelly will feature the concept’s signature items, like bao buns, ramen, Korean fried chicken and coconut curry pho, as well as other hits from the past.

Arla

Coming later this summer is Arla in Chicago’s Gold Coast, though, sadly, not in time for the Show.

Arla will be an open-air destination by the group behind Adalina Prime in Fulton Market (2025) and Adalina Italian, which opened in 2021. With the debut of Arla, all three concepts will be under the restaurant collective Hospitality Included.

Moving into a former Barneys New York Fred’s space, Arla’s menu will be Mediterranean with refined Japanese influences. It will be created by chef/partner Soo Ahn.

The restaurant will have a multi-level interior and two outdoor terraces with views of Lake Michigan.

Source https://www.nrn.com/independent-restaurants/new-chicago-restaurants-to-try-during-the-national-restaurant-show