Sushi|Bar, the unique omakase restaurant based in Austin, Texas, is getting ready to expand to Chicago’s River North, located at 405 N. Wabash Ave.
The new restaurant will sit within another forthcoming River North spot, Lady May, according to Eater Chicago. While the new coastal Southern bar and restaurant is expected to open later this month, the 375-square-foot Sushi|Bar will open in Spring 2023. Customers can expect a high-end 17-course omakase menu from executive chef Ambrely Ouimette, who has worked with sushi since 16. The Connecticut native will serve 30 patrons each night with ten people per seating.
“A lot of the bites I do are about nostalgia from where I’ve traveled, like Italy, Portugal, and Spain,” Ouimette tells Eater. “I still do a lot of traditional things like breaking down the fish and curing, but I just love surprising people. We do a smoked sawara with three types of preserved wasabi. Watching that face people make — there’s nothing better.”
With locations in Texas and Florida, Sushi|Bar specializes in a non-traditional approach to omakase, with a menu that will be influenced by many factors, including local purveyors and Ouimette’s culinary adventures abroad. Chicago’s location will have site-specific courses and signatures, such as aged bluefin akami with dehydrated miso and everything bagel spice. Food aside, the Chicago location’s interior will have mid-century touches like terrazzo floors, brass fixtures, and a marble green backdrop behind the bar.
