5 new restaurants to try in Chicago

Sushi-san The Omakase Room

Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises in February opened a 10-seat, 18-course omakase restaurant within Sushi-san, an experience created by Master Sushi Chef Kaze Chan and his team.

Guests enter through Sushi-san in River North and go upstairs to the Omakase Room, where they dine around the sushi bar to watch the chefs in action. Seafood is delivered daily in a partnership with the Toyosu Fish Market.

The beverage menu was developed with Kevin Beary (Three Dots and a Dash and The Bamboo Room), sake sommelier Daniel Bennett and wine director Richard Hanauer (RPM Restaurants), and includes more than 100 bottles of whisky, an extensive sake list and hand-chipped ice.

The Omakase Room offers two seatings Thursdays through Saturdays at 5:30 pm and 8:30 p.m. for parties ranging from one to four. Prices start at $250 per person, plus tax and not including tip, with the option of adding beverage pairings.

Obélix

The French restaurant Obélix opened in River North earlier this month, the latest offering from brothers Oliver and Nicolas Poilevey, who also operate Le Bouchon.

Named for the French comic series Asterix, Obélix is the menhir-sculpting, larger (but don’t call him fat) strongman of the Roman-battling Gauloise duo. In the books, Obélix loves eating wild boar, which appears on the restaurant menu in a pâté en croute.

The menu also features classics such as steak frites, a Moroccan-spiced lamb shank and beef Wellington, but also duck every which way, including a seared foie gras “taco” with salsa macha and grape jam.

Obelixchicago.com

Alpana

Alpana Singh, who made a name for herself as one of the youngest women and first woman of color to earn the designation of master sommelier at age 26, opened the restaurant Alpana in April.

With about 90 seats inside and a large heated patio, this Gold Coast bistro is very wine friendly with pastas and entrees like braised short ribs, steak au poivre and striped sea bass with fennel, olives, saffron nage and herb pistou.

Alpanachicago.com

Café Sophie

Chef Danny Grant of the multiconcept group What If Syndicate opened Café Sophie in April in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

Designed to be a comforting retreat offering breakfast, lunch and dinner, the 2,500-square-foot venue seats about 20 inside, with another 46 on the patio. The café also has a small market offering pantry staples, wine and imported items.

Thecafesophie.com

Five Iron Golf

Need to work on your swing while at the show? Five Iron Golf opened its third Chicago-area location in April in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. This is a 13,150-square-foot indoor golf and entertainment venue with a full bar and restaurant. Guests can play virtual rounds and use one of 11 TrackMan simulators that provide video analysis. The local chain also has locations in River North and the Loop.

Fiveirongolf.com