EXPLORE DOWNTOWN CHICAGO’S LUXURIOUS NEW KOREAN STEAKHOUSE
While it’s not as rare for a Chicago hotel to provide a memorable dining experience anymore, there’s still a status quo. But as hotels and real estate change hands, new owners are more apt to take risks, departing from the tired troupe of a serviceable restaurant that may offer a menu that caters to a wide variety of tastes without serving up anything exceptional.
An opportunity popped up in 2022 when Seoul-based Lotte Group purchased the 13-story former Kimpton Hotel Monaco Chicago. They needed restaurant operators and picked Andrew Lim and Thomas Oh of Perilla Korean American Fare, one of the city’s best Korean spots, a restaurant known for Korean barbecue and its contemporary vision. In turn, the new Perilla Korean American Steakhouse hopes to upset that status quo, leading with items like wagyu bavette — perhaps chef Andrew Lim’s answer to LA kalbi; Chicago is known for butcher’s cuts.
Though every table at the 111-seat restaurant inside the newly opened L7 Chicago hotel — near the corner of Wacker Drive and Wabash — is outfitted with a grill top, this new endeavor is different from the Korean barbecues that Chicagoans would expect in Koreatown in Albany Park. Partner Thomas Oh admits there is some overlapping between his River West restaurant — they’re “honoring and showcasing” a few traditional items. Oh and Lim see this as a Korean-infused spin on Gold Coast steakhouses like Morton’s or Gibsons.
Oh senses America has an appetite “for something new and exciting.” Places like Cote in New York have proven that, and Bonyeon in West Loop — while not 100 percent Korean — showcases plenty of aspects of a Korean steakhouse. Oh is eager to see folks walk away blown away after their first bite of marinated meat or exploring the various permutations that can enjoy their meal using different sauces and ssam. A prix-fixe menu is on its way, too.
Still, steaks can be finished with au poivre, bone marrow butter, or bordelaise sauces. Grilled mushrooms and broccolini would fit in at those iconic steakhouses. But there’s also a tteokbokki (Korean rice cake) cooked in the style of cacio e pepe. Kimchi fried rice is made with guanciale. Look for a mac and cheese with a little bit of heat and smoked cheddar. Lim calls those items “playful and exciting.” And they complement a la carte chops, including a 60-day dry-aged ribeye or a 30-ounce A5 Miyazaki New York strip. Of course, diners could pick a steakhouse set that includes a variety of meats served with banchan. They’re also swapping out traditional blinis with Korean crepes to be served with caviar.
The noodles will be made in the kitchen, which is a rarity at Korean restaurants in Chicago. While Parachute, the lauded Michelin-starred Korean restaurant, searches for a new home, fans who miss the restaurant’s monkey bread may find solace in Perilla’s version.
“We are very much Korean as much as we are American,” Lim says. “I think you know, our upbringing, we were exposed to, ironically, a lot of Italian dishes growing up — just because my dad really loved pasta. I’ve always grown up eating noodles, spaghetti, and things like that at home, and it’s just something I’ve always loved.”
The restaurant will also be open in the morning and afternoon, serving hotel guests, tourists, and office workers: “I live down here. I live downtown, and finding breakfast and lunch in some of these areas can be quite a challenge,” Oh says.
There are both traditional American options, like pancakes, omelets, and breakfast sandwiches. A Korean option includes rice, soup, white kimchi, and omelet and a choice of skirt steak, chicken thigh, grilled mackerel, or roasted veggies.
The space was designed in conjunction with AvroKo, and Oh says observant customers will spot plenty of nods to traditional Korean architecture. Oh and Lim are again partnering with Alvin Kang, their collaborator at their River West restaurant. The biggest party involved is Lotte and the company is a household name in the Korean community.
“It was an immense amount of pressure, not just for how our excitement at being able to expand this brand and what we’re doing here in Chicago, but the fact that it was for a company of this magnitude,” Oh says, adding how excited they are to bridge South Korea with Chicago: “This is something that we’re incredibly passionate about.”
Check out the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch menus in the links, and look at the photos below.
Perilla Korean American Steakhouse, inside the L7 Chicago Hotel, 225 N. Wabash, opening Wednesday, July 3, reservations available via OpenTable.
