On the sixth of April, Old Town meat-lovers will high-five when the four-level SteakBar (1500 N. Wells St.) opens. (Three cheers for more steak!) This collaboration between two powerhouse restaurant groups is one you should probably know about.
The players are Four Corners Tavern Group, whose roster of popular nightspots includes Kirkwood and SteakBar’s two-doors-down neighbor Benchmark, and Hogsalt, of Bavette’s/Au Cheval/Gilt Bar fame.
Matt Menna, co-founder of Four Corners, is primed to partner with Brendan Sodikoff and company on the 270-seat meat market. He says that while his group excels at operating casual bars and late-night venues, when coupled with Hogsalt’s culinary chops, “We are raising the bar, accomplishing something that hasn’t been done well in the city.” He stresses that unlike Four Corners’s other drink-focused spots, this is a restaurant first.
Manning the kitchen will be James Keane (Harry Caray’s Italian Steakhouse) and you’ll see a few Hogsalt classics, including a shaved prime beef sandwich à la Bavette’s and the steak tartare you’ve tasted at Gilt Bar. But largely the menu is unique to SteakBar, and Menna hopes the cowboy cut bone-in will become a culinary legend in its own right.
Menna says the design will take cues from Bavette’s and Benchmark, and that they’re currently “finding the perfect medium” between the two.
As for the issue of noise in the 9,000 square-foot space: “We do a great job with sound panels and curtains and things to mitigate sound, but we hope it’s so crowded that noise is an issue,” he says.