Celebrity chef José Andrés will launch his contemporary Spanish restaurant Jaleo in July. The chef, who will launch the first Chicago restaurant with the opening of Jaleo, announced that he will open a total of five concepts in Chicago by the end of 2021.
While the menu for José Andrés’ new restaurant in Chicago, Jaleo, has not yet been announced, the food is expected to be similar to existing locations in Washington DC, Las Vegas, and Orlando. Bespoke cocktails will also be served at the restaurant, which is expected to feature sangria, tapas, paella, and Spanish wines.
Andrés’s next salvo of Chicago concepts are set to open in late 2021 inside the Bank of America Tower, a relatively new building along the Chicago River that began welcoming tenants last fall. The trio of restaurants and bars includes the meat- and seafood-focused Bazaar Meat (which already boasts locations in Las Vegas and South Beach), a new cocktail destination called Bar Mar that will draw inspiration from Andrés’s Barmini concept in Washington D.C., and Café By The River, which will bring a “classic American coffee shop and gathering space” to the lower level of the building. All three of these concepts are being launched in partnership with Chicago-based Gibsons Restaurant Group, best known for running the Gibsons Steakhouse and Hugo’s Frog Bar & Fish House chains.