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Allium’s Pork Chop; photography by Lara Kastner

Restaurant Revamp

by Lisa Shames | CS magazine | February 10, 2012

Liquid nitrogen ice cream, chorizo-cheese chips, goose fat-fried onions—this isn’t your parents’ Four Seasons Hotel Chicago dining experience. Rather, as of yesterday, Allium restaurant takes over the lounge and bistro areas of the old Seasons (the main dining space has morphed into an event space) and in the process creates a more accessible, i.e., less expensive, eating experience. The reason for the change was simple, says Executive Chef Kevin Hickey, who fortunately hasn’t gone anywhere. “We noticed a change in what our diners were ordering,” says the six-year vet of the Gold Coast hotel. While the numbers hadn’t changed, it was the way they were eating that had, with more of them opting for the hotel’s laid-back areas rather than the more formal dining room.

In response, a single menu was created that encompasses food for a variety of occasions, ranging from light cocktail-pairing snacks to more splurge-worthy dishes. (Think crab fritters with lobster-caviar dip, and something in between, like a fried egg-topped burger.) Gone, too, is the Old World atmosphere—“Everything’s changed except the four walls around it,” says Hickey—and in its place a brighter and more modern space. For the regional American menu, Hickey’s still tapping into the local-ingredient mentality the hotel’s been known for (Allium, after all, refers to the onion family, a nod to the farm-to-table approach, as well as pays homage to the city’s name, which derives from the Native American word for wild onion). Brunch lovers take note: A new menu combines a signature cocktail, shareable housemade bread and small plates, an entrée and a dessert buffet in one fun concept. Says Hickey, “It’s going to be the most unique brunch deal in town.” 120 E. Delaware Place, 312.799.4900