Ever since Mrs. O’Leary’s cow attempted to burn the city down in the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, Chicagoans have loved eating beef. It’s evident from the Vienna Beef hot dog stands on every corner to the slice of ribeye that proudly graces our city’s flag. (Okay, that’s a joke, but with the Illinois flag currently undergoing a redesign, it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility.) So it only makes sense that when it comes to high-end restaurants, Chicagoans were ready for a place that takes traditional steakhouses to the next level.
Enter Bonyeon, Chicago’s very first omakase steakhouse. Opened in 2023 by culinary power couple Sangtae Park and Kate Park, the executive chef and CEO, respectively, and also own the Michelin-starred sushi restaurant Omakase Yume, the restaurant celebrates Korean culinary traditions.
“Many people are very familiar with the concept of ‘omakase,’ which means ‘chef’s choice,’” Kate explained. “The Bonyeon experience brings a fresh twist by blending traditional Korean flavors and ingredients with the omakase format. It’s similar to sushi omakase, but guests can expect carefully curated dishes through our meal with each course showcasing seasonal ingredients and the chef’s craftsmanship.”
Both Kate and Chef Sangtae are from Korea, and the couple loves getting to share the food and preparations of their home country with Chicago.
“People have been very excited and intrigued by the Korean flavors we’ve been able to show them,” Kate said. “They love the history behind our culture and are able to experience a little of Korea without actually living there. This is just the beginning for us and we have many more ideas to further share our culture with Chicago.”
I recently dined at Bonyeon with my husband on one of those record-setting cold nights that seem to happen every couple of weeks or so in the winter, and the restaurant’s warm and welcoming atmosphere made me almost forget about the level 10 wind tunnel we had just experienced after leaving our Uber.
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Seven perfect spots, from casual to classyBonyeon’s interior is chic and dark but still comfortable, with a large marble omakase counter surrounded by 12 plush chairs. The restaurant has two seatings per night, one at 5 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. We were seated at the chef’s counter in front of a large glass case filled with raw cuts of steak and a barrage of edible flowers, like something out of an MCA exhibit. To my right was an affable gentleman in town from New York who had visited Bonyeon multiple times.
“It’s one of my very favorite restaurants in Chicago,” he said. “I come here whenever I visit.”
Our conversation turned to one of my very favorite topics on earth: all of the ways that Chicago is superior to New York. (I love you, New York, I really do! I just love Chicago the most.) Using Bonyeon as an example, he explained that Chicago restaurants have nailed the ability to offer an upscale experience without being pretentious — even with the restaurant’s $255 price tag, the spot feels cozy and friendly.
The team of chefs welcomed us for the evening, and we were joined by Master Sommelier Kyungmoon Kim, an expert on premium Korean beverages, who presented a sool pairing alongside the meal (sool is a general term that encompasses a wide range of alcoholic beverages produced in Korea). Kim’s expertise was only on offer for a one-night-only event, but Bonyeon is planning on hosting more special events in the near future.
A standard evening at the steakhouse features a whopping 14-courses, each aiming to highlight the “original essence” of beef.
“We offer a diverse range of Korean dishes, from luxury grilled meat, cured meat and braised meat to delicate banchan, prepared with modern technique and artistic presentation too,” Kate said. “It’s a lot of different cooking methods along with Korean culture.”
During my meal, each course was better than the last. As the dishes progressed, it was illuminating to witness the vastly different ways that steak can be prepared — from a refreshing, raw carpaccio (topped with ponzu pearls, nori and cubed radish kimchi) to a hearty bibimbap with spicy wagyu gochujang.
Despite being a steakhouse, Bonyeon shakes it up every few courses with options beyond beef, like a miniature seafood tower featuring an oyster laced with a sauce so delicious that I’m going to petition Mariano’s to sell it by the gallon. All the while, Kyungmoon offered thoughtful pairings of sool in the form of cocktails, flights and even an Old Fashioned made with soju.
Other menu highlights included a marinated honeycomb cut of galbi steak that our chef warned us is one of the best bites on the menu (he was right); three bites of New York Strip, each topped with an unusual house-made powder — one in smoked milk powder, one in nori powder and one in kimchi powder (every single thing at Bonyeon, sans the salt, is made in house); a small cup of Korean bone broth, which the chefs cooked for three days and tastes like it will prevent anything bad from ever happening to me again — like the flu, sure, but also traffic jams and slow CTA buses; and goguma cake, a dessert made of bruleed pumpkin and topped with spicy-yet-sweet gochujang caramel.
Just in case anyone was left craving a little more steak, at the end of the meal, the incredible team thanked us and handed us each a small bag carrying a piece of homemade beef jerky.
It’s the best parting gift a Chicagoan could receive.
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