West Loop's Japanese-Inspired Cocktail Tasting
Kumiko on Lake Street is Julia Momose's small West Loop bar — a Japanese-inspired cocktail tasting room where the drinks programme is treated with the same level of discipline a Michelin tasting kitchen applies to food. The format is unusual in American bar culture and quietly reset what cocktail tasting could mean.
The drinks programme is Japanese-inspired with seasonal ingredient discipline: shochu and sake-based cocktails, careful citrus and herb work, considered glassware, bites that pair with each drink.
What to Expect
Order the cocktail tasting menu — that is what the room is for. Expect a curated sequence of drinks moving through different bases, with bites between each course. The à-la-carte cocktail list rewards a careful order; the by-the-glass sake selection is one of the most serious in the country.
The Format
The dining room is small and intimate. Counter seating handles the closest interaction with the bartenders; the booth seating handles slightly larger parties. The pacing is unhurried.
Best Occasion: First Date
Kumiko is one of Chicago's best first-date rooms. The cocktail-tasting structure provides natural conversation through the entire evening; the room is intimate without being intimidating; the format means neither diner has to negotiate the menu.