Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises is preparing to open another new restaurant, Oakville Grill & Cellar, in Fulton Market at 163 N. Green St.
The new two-story restaurant will be the group’s first partnership with Max Robbins, the veteran chef that joined LEYE last year after working at Land & Sea Dept. Robbins will oversee culinary operations and will focus on food grilled over an oak-fueled fire with various seafood choices, according to the Chicago Tribune. Some menu items include buttermilk fried chicken and coal-roasted salmon. There will also be an outdoor all-season patio on the second floor. Oakville Grill & Cellar is expected to open in Spring 2023.
While the restaurant’s food is expected to be show-stopping, the upcoming wine selection might be more impressive. Richard Hanauer, LEYE’s wine director, has partnered with multiple vineyards in Napa Valley and plans on bringing 750 different wines to the restaurant. He will team up with a different winery every month to showcase their selections. Ultimately, Hanauer hopes the new restaurant will give customers a taste of California wines and entice them to join their wine clubs or purchase bottles directly from the wineries.
“One of the joys of California is that you can get amazing wine sourced from lesser-known regions,” Hanauer tells the Tribune. “There are all these young, passionate people in places like Paso Robles and the Anderson Valley. There is value absolutely everywhere. We’re going to re-create their wine-tasting experience here in Chicago. For the first month, we are partnering with Robert Sinskey Vineyards. The flight we’ll serve here will be the exact flight they serve there, even down to the price, as well.”
