{"id":202394,"date":"2025-09-05T13:23:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T13:23:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202394\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T13:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T13:23:11","slug":"midosuji-an-8-seat-omakase-bar-opens-at-chicago-athletic-association-hotel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202394\/","title":{"rendered":"Mid\u014dsuji, An 8-Seat Omakase Bar, Opens At Chicago Athletic Association Hotel"},"content":{"rendered":"

DOWNTOWN \u2014 An eight-seat omakase restaurant has opened inside the Chicago Athletic Association hotel, replacing the eight-seat Milk Room bar.<\/p>\n

Mid\u014dsuji is the first significant addition from Boka Restaurant Group since taking over management of the Downtown hotel\u2019s restaurants and bars<\/a>. The hotel at 12 S. Michigan Ave. also houses the now-closed Cherry Circle Room and Cindy\u2019s Rooftop.<\/p>\n

Named after a famous gingko-lined street in Osaka, Japan, Mid\u014dsuji offer only two daily seatings of eight guests: at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

The restaurant is designed to emulate the feel of eating in an intimate alleyway in Japan, where omakase restaurants flourish. It features a 1930s bar with restored original tiles, wood-beamed ceilings and fabric lanterns and Japanese influences throughout: a hand-carved naguri-edge walnut bar, cherry blossom wall coverings and seaweed-green velvet stools.<\/p>\n

\"\"Midosuji is now open inside the Chicago Athletic Association. The omakase restaurant features an 8-person bar with only two seatings a night. Credit: Nick_Podraza<\/p>\n

\"\"Credit: Nick_Podraza<\/p>\n

Chef Brian Lockwood, who previously served as chef de cuisine at New York\u2019s three-Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park, leads the kitchen. Mid\u014dsuji\u2019s $195 tasting menu features 11 courses that change seasonally. Dishes aim to blend Japanese ingredients with classical French technique, creating what the restaurant calls nouvelle omakase.<\/p>\n

Staff guide diners through the meal, introducing each dish and explaining how it is best enjoyed. <\/p>\n

At a media preview ahead of Friday\u2019s grand opening, Block Club Chicago experienced the full tasting menu, which Lockwood said will likely run through September. The lineup included omakase staples, such as hand rolls with spicy tuna and tempura rock shrimp, alongside courses that depart from convention: Parmesan risotto made with sushi rice, corn and black truffles, and a dry-aged sansho pepper duck breast with fresh huckleberry and citrus jus.<\/p>\n

Other seasonal highlights included a tomato-focused course paired with a tomato gin martini \u2014 described by Lockwood as a celebration of all things tomato \u2014 and a crab salad served with daikon, miso egg yolk and cantaloupe. <\/p>\n

Before dessert, there was a palate cleanser of honeydew shaved ice over a jelly-like shiso, which tastes like a combination of mint, basil and anise. The meal concluded with a dessert described as a play on a Twix bar, featuring cookie crumble, honey and sobacha cream.<\/p>\n

\"\"Crab salad with daikon and miso egg yolk. Credit: Nick_Podraza<\/p>\n

\"\"Chawanmushi with chickpea, caviar, and buttermilk-mussel sauce. Credit: Nick_Podraza<\/p>\n

Diners can add a beverage pairing for an additional $105 per person. Mid\u014dsuji\u2019s bar program includes Japanese spirits infused with ingredients like shiso, lemongrass and sesame. Wine, sake and cocktails are also available.<\/p>\n

Omakase restaurants, where diners leave the menu to the chef, have become popular in Chicago in recent years, with high-end counters like Ky\u014dten<\/a> in Logan Square and The Omakase Room<\/a> at Sushi-san in River North drawing national attention.<\/p>\n

Mid\u014dsuji is open Tuesday-Saturday. To make a reservation, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DOWNTOWN \u2014 An eight-seat omakase restaurant has opened inside the Chicago Athletic Association hotel, replacing the eight-seat Milk…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":202395,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[64,960,5386,1818,988],"class_list":{"0":"post-202394","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-illinois","12":"tag-restaurants"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115151910273917683","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=202394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/202394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/202395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=202394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=202394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=202394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}