When Chicago gets cold outside, head inside to these two northside eateries offering warm interiors for both body and belly, featuring Midwestern regional fare and curated cocktails.
Ox Bar & Hearth
Ox Bar & Hearth spent most of 2025 revamping the former Golden Ox restaurant space with architectural firm Knauer, Inc., interior designer Gil Melott, and restaurateur Alain Uy. The new space is located near the Newcity entertainment complex with a view of Lincoln Park’s Apple Store, down Halsted from Steppenwolf Theatre and its Michelin star-rated neighbors, Boka and Alinea, who are supportive of this new venture. The Golden Ox stood on that corner since the 1920s, before becoming a retail space and a burger bar in recent years.
This iteration, whose new name pays homage to the historic venue, offers 120 seats inside, including a private 10-12-seat room, and space for 48 on the outside patio, which should open in May 2026. Some of the 42-member team noted that area residents regularly clocked the construction progress leading up to the Dec. 3 opening and have been visiting ever since.
During my visit, the cozy space featured light brick walls, brown banquettes, and black spindle chairs, plus an 80s and 90s-era playlist. White pillar candles and soft lamp light illuminated the interior, as well as the live hearth fire in the kitchen, which turns out meals that are smoked, seared, braised, and/or slow-roasted.
The bar book listed cocktails with fresh house-made syrups, including alcohol-free “free spirited” drinks, beer, and 50 wine selections by the glass and the bottle, with local domestic labels as well as those from elsewhere in the US. I started with a glass of Mawby sparkling from French and German grapes in Suttons Bay, Michigan—“distance to your glass 333 miles,” said the clever documentation.
General Manager and sommelier Cherish Varley prefers “funky, earthy, not too fruit-forward” wine selections, and said that her sourcing rules include supporting local purveyors, as well as interesting growers from all over the country, including New York, Oregon, Washington, and California. Ox Bar is the first in the city to offer Tres Sabores (three flavors) wine, a women-owned and led organic grower that is also dog-friendly.
Chef John Asbaty’s curated menu offers seasonal regional plates, with a half dozen starters to share, four cold and five warm vegetable dishes, six main protein dishes, and four desserts. Fish options include a smoked tangy whitefish dip served with radishes and seeded rye crackers. The light and bright rainbow trout was covered with fried garlic polka dots (that look like almonds at first glance) and parsley in caramelized onion oil. The nutty grain salad included brussels sprouts with roasted squash vinaigrette. Meaty trumpet and oyster mushrooms were prepared in brown butter and maple vinaigrette, and the salt-roasted carrots looked like sausages in a paste of spicy harissa chilis and pickled cherries. The substantial pork collar cut came with a rutabaga mostarda (a creative applesauce replacement) and black walnut cider jus. The delightfully airy pavlova came with raspberry sorbet and sage cream, like a snowbank mix of crisp and creamy.
Butcher and the Bear
Steakhouse Butcher and the Bear is not named after Jeremy Allen White’s hit Hulu series, but for founder Kosti Demos (who also co-opened Ithaki in September 2025) and the owners of Second City Prime, Chris and Susie Maloyan. Executive Chef Saul Ramos curates the hand-cut steaks, including ribeyes, filet mignons, and New York strips.
Located across the street from another Chicago-based TV show-looking location, a large Chicago Fire Department station (Battalion 12, Truck Company 44, Engine Company 55, thank you for your service), this eatery is also snug and low-lit with diffused lamps hung from a tin ceiling. The restaurant will celebrate its second anniversary on Jan. 24.
The wine selections are organized into old and new world sections, and I started with a flute of bright Drapier Champagne. In addition to beef offerings, starters include several seafood plates, featuring oysters and octopus. The Wagyu steak tartare is mixed tableside, stirring in shallots, chives, and smoked egg yolk, with sides of cornichons and lightly crispy fingerling potato skins for scooping.
Main plates include chicken and pasta, plus more seafood, like salmon, cod, and Hokkaido scallops, firm yet tender bites topped with fried chicken skins over red mole, raisin salsa verde, and chicharron. But the main event for this steakhouse is the Wagyu beef offerings. The main tasting board features 2.5 ounces each of four types: Stone Axe Picanha, Stone Axe Full Blood Flat Iron, and NY Strip from Australia, and a silky, melt-in-your-mouth Teres Major from Satsuma, Japan. The plate is served with big capers called grusas as a palate cleanser between precious bites.
Another memorable moment was the delicate rosemary focaccia bread, served with herb butter as well as an edible beef tallow candle, making for a whimsical, colonial presentation. The desserts were delightful, especially the luscious crème brûlée with caramel glass on top.
Ox Bar & Hearth is cashless and is located at 1578 N. Clybourn (paid valet parking out front), open Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 5-10 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 5-11 pm. Brunch service is slated to start in late winter or early spring. Ox Bar will participate in the 19th Annual Restaurant Week, running Jan. 23 to Feb. 8, offering a special three-course meal highlighting wood-fired dishes and fan favorites, like potato pierogies and pavlova.
Butcher and the Bear is located at 2721 N. Halsted, and open Tuesdays-Thursdays 4-9 pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 4-10 pm, and Sundays from 4-8 pm. Both restaurants offer private dining and special event options.
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