Beatnik on the River
AN EXOTIC NEIGHBORHOOD ESCAPE WITH GLOBETROTTING CUISINE, TROPICAL COCKTAILS AND BOHEMIAN INTERIORS IN CHICAGO’S LOOP.
NAMED AFTER THE BOHEMIAN FREETHINKERS OF THE 1950S AND ’60S, BEATNIK ON THE RIVER CHANNELS THE BEATNIK GENERATION’S SENSE OF STYLE, ASPIRATION AND REBELLION TO CREATE AN EXOTIC ESCAPE WITH MAXIMALIST INTERIORS AND LUSH GARDENS.
Mirroring our design-through-storytelling whimsy, Beatnik’s culinary team takes guests on a globetrotting journey that starts in the Eastern Mediterranean, moves westward across Northern Africa and finishes across the Atlantic with the flavors of Mexico.
Beatnik’s beverage team makes tropical cocktails that are savory and fresh, with inventive recipes that follow a no-waste sensibility. Our wine list is a compact attaché that contains the story of winemakers who make wine in lesser-known regions of the Mediterranean and the Americas.
Beatnik’s aesthetic is driven by a triumphant fusion of three destinations close to our heart: Morocco for its opulent combinations of color and artistic passion, the Mediterranean countryside for its bucolic splendor and Italy for a healthy dose of polish and panache to sex it all up.
Concepted and designed by Maison Bonhomme, the contrasting styles and textures of Beatnik On The River feature antique pieces from around the world and more than 600 living plants throughout the 8,000-square-foot, 200-seat space. Expanding on the definition of what a Chicago restaurant should and could look like, one of our most dazzling design features is an antique jewelry store from Nashville (circa 1913). The entire 20-by-20-foot store — including massive crystal chandeliers, crystal sconces and bird’s eye maple interiors — was restored and put back together by a local master carpenter piece by piece and furnished with a 19th century 16-foot French draper’s table with eight turned legs, three drawers and a lower shelf down the middle to create a one-of-a-kind private dining room.