Kitsune Restaurant and Pub
Permanently Closed
Upscale Japanese plates with Midwestern ingredients, sake cocktails
Upscale Japanese plates with Midwestern ingredients, sake cocktails
"Lacey ran another of Regan’s restaurants, Kitsune, a Japanese-style spot in North Center, until it closed in summer 2019." - Ashok Selvam
"GQ called Kitsune a best new restaurant for 2018; Chicago magazine named it one of the city’s 50 best, period, that year. In the Reader, Mike Sula characterized the entire thing as Man in the High Castle fic, “what it would be like to open a restaurant if the Japanese had occupied Chicago for the last 70 years.”" - Rachel P. Kreiter
"My best friend growing up in Detroit was a guy whose dad had been born and raised there, and whose mom is from Japan. We both had uneventful suburban childhoods. We TP’d houses in high school before drinking too many Natty Lights in college while rooting for mediocre Big 10 football teams. But then he studied abroad in Tokyo, got serious about his Japanese, and decided to move there after graduation to become a “salaryman” and spend time with his Japanese family. He still lives there today. And if you metaphorically turned him into a restaurant, Kitsune would be the result. Kitsune describes itself as a Midwestern restaurant and pub influenced by homestyle Japanese cuisine. It’s a little American, a little Japanese, and a little bit of a combination of the two. But they’re not shoving a Chicago-style hot dog ramen down your throat here - Kitsune mixes American ingredients into traditional Japanese dishes in a subtle way. Take the sashimi with rice and miso broth, where they use Carolina gold rice, rather than the Japanese white rice you’d most typically see with sashimi. It’s a small but noticeable difference that gives the whole dish a new texture, and these types of little wildcards will pop up throughout your meal. The Japanese-Midwestern thing is also part of the ambience at Kitsune. The restaurant is small with only about four bar seats and ten tables, all within earshot of an open kitchen. It all makes this a very welcoming place with a combination of North Center neighborhood pub meets traditional Japanese izakaya vibes. Overall, we’re into Kitsune - the food and atmosphere are both enjoyable, and even more importantly, there isn’t anything else in Chicago like it right now." - Sam Faye
"She plans to transform a portion of her North Center restaurant, Kitsune, to the bakery for breakfast and lunch hours." - Ashok Selvam
"Chef-owner Iliana Regan is changing the format of her more casual Japanese-inspired restaurant Kitsune on Wednesday. Regan, who once again garnered a Michelin star last week for Elizabeth, will only serve three, five, or nine-course kaiseki tasting menus for $35, $65, and $110 Wednesdays through Sundays at Kitsune beginning October 3. A la carte menus will still be available Mondays and Tuesdays starting next week." - Daniel Gerzina
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