Steadfast brings an innovative, ultra seasonal, chef-driven restaurant concept from The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group to The Kimpton Gray Hotel, opening this summer. Through a collaboration between Executive Chef Christopher Davies and Executive Pastry Chef Christopher Teixeira, an adventurous menu blends seasonality and creativity with balanced characteristics of the two chefs’ approach. New American cuisine with Mediterranean and Portuguese influences reflects the cultural diversity of the partners, offering beautifully composed dishes to food savvy hotel guests as well as Chicago’s passionate dining community.
Eyes are drawn to Steadfast’s focal point—the exhibition kitchen—which invites guests from every seat in the house to personally connect with the culinary team. Housing a wood-fired rotisserie and charcuterie room with windows to peek in, diners receive a behind-the-scenes look into the back of the house operations. The culinary program showcases food done by no one else in the city at this price point, with elegant, vibrant salads, small plates, and entrées at a value.
Menu highlights, served on custom, locally-made plateware, include agnolotti with apples and cheddar, tender smoked sweetbreads with English pea puree, rabbit and grits with shrimp croquettes, butter-poached lobster in uni-lobster broth, and a sliced 24-ounce ribeye presentation served with Robuchon potatoes and a spoonful of caviar. The unexpected combinations continue through lunch service, which also offers a prix fixe option. An inventive dessert menu features innovative plays on well-known items like crème brûlée with yuzu gelée, elevated s’mores with coconut cream, and a violet, blueberry, lemongrass macaron with lemongrass and blueberry marshmallows. At the bar, guests may order full lunch or dinner, or opt for a separate bar snack menu where each item is designed to feel like a course on a tasting menu.
The Fifty/50 Restaurant Group’s Beverage Director Benjamin Schiller, one of Chicago’s most respected mixologists, incorporates the regional flavors of the cuisine throughout an exciting cocktail program. Bar Manager Tomasz Sas, a protégé of Schiller’s most recently from The Berkshire Room, oversees the cocktail program onsite, setting the tone of progressive drinks with big, bright flavors and remarkable presentation. Steadfast also features a customized, tableside drink option presenting vintage bourbons and modifiers. Shannon Hill-Sanchez, previously at Nico Osteria, takes the role as sommelier, helming a global wine program.
The intimate restaurant showcases a bold design, welcoming diners to a comfortably rustic, yet gracefully styled dining room. Reflecting the historical building’s classic revival style architecture, Steadfast integrates restoration of original elements with custom-built components. Housed within the former New York Life Insurance Building, built in 1894, the opulent space includes separated dining areas each boasting its own vibe. Bespoke furniture includes plush banquets, regal chairs and stools, and sleek marble tables, accompanying rich woods, dark blue lacquer and mirrored ceilings, and gold lighting and accents. A zinc bar with quartz backsplash features eight taps for beer and cold brew coffee.
The dining room totals approximately 100 seats, including a series of chef’s tables, along with 22 seats at the bar and a 16-seat patio. A tasting room boasting a 14-seat pre-ticketed table allows for a personalized, interactive adventure and can be reserved in its entirety or shared for a communal experience. Steadfast will be open for lunch and dinner, with breakfast launching later this summer.
