Claridge House Chicago (1244 N Dearborn Pkwy), which opened in May 2018, announces the opening of the boutique, lifestyle hotel’s new ground-floor restaurant Juniper Spirits & Oysters, which provides guests with a sophisticated, yet approachable menu of seafood-centric fare. A place to sip, savor, and relax, either at the lobby bar and lounge, main dining room, or on the patio, Juniper provides a neighborhood spot for both locals and travelers, greeting guests with a mantra inspired by Ernest Hemingway: Be Happy, Make Plans. |
Guests not in the mood for seafood can try dishes such as Filet Sliders with an optional quail egg topper, Angel Hair Zucchini with roasted cherry tomatoes, sweet peppers, asparagus, and sunflower milk, Pot-au-Feu, and Duck Breast with
potato purée, hen of the woods, and seasonal fruit.
The Sunday brunch menu, launching in the summer, treats guests to breakfast classics, such as a Ham & Cheese Omelet, French Toast, and Avocado Toast, while also providing creative brunch items like Lobster Benedict with poached lobster, smashed avocado, mizuna, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce.
Juniper Spirits & Oysters’ cocktail program spotlights its namesake spirit, gin, complemented by botanical ingredients and flavors. Juniper’s bar will rotate two draft cocktails seasonally, currently tapping Papa’s Daiquiri made with Bacardi Superior Rum, Luxardo Maraschino Liqueur, and fresh lime and grapefruit juice, as well as a house Gin & Tonicwith Bombay Sapphire gin, Chartreuse, and house-made grapefruit bitters.
A menu of chef-crafted cocktails made in the kitchen is also available to guests, with drinks named after notable Chicagoans. The Jack Benny Goodman is made with Tanqueray gin infused with yuzu peel, Cointreau, lemon, and house-made meyer lemon bitters, shaken with a egg white. Straying from the gin focus, the Don Cornelius contains coffee-infused Courvoisier Cognac, maple simple syrup, orange, and coffee with pecan bitters.
Fans of the classic martini may choose from a list of four of the gin-based drinks, and a section of other classic cocktails is available as well, including an Old Fashioned, French 75, and Side Car.
Juniper Spirits & Oysters’ bar will also offer guests a variety of craft Dry Cocktails, containing no alcohol. The menu of mocktails, also named for iconic Chicago natives, includesMr. Cub―a combination of house-made blackberry and pineapple shrub, vanilla syrup, and sparkling water. Uncle Buck is crafted with house lemon-lime soda, house-made grenadine, and maraschino cherries, while the herbal Orpah? (alluding to Oprah’s actual name on her birth certificate) is made of pear juice, ginger shrub, rosemary, nutmeg, and honey.
Juniper Spirits & Oysters is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. Breakfast is served 7-11 a.m., the all-day lunch and dinner menu is served 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and the bar is open from 11 a.m. until late. Sunday brunch will debut later in June and will be available 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To make a reservation, visit www.juniperchicago.com. Juniper Spirits & Oysters is available for private events. To inquire about hosting a group celebration or business gathering at the restaurant, please email juniper@claridgehouse.com.
About Claridge House Chicago
After $9 million in renovations, Claridge House Chicago opened in 2018, replacing the former Hotel Indigo of Chicago’s Gold Coast with a contemporary oasis to complement a world-class city. While remaining approachable, the sophisticated re-imagination of the 1923 property results in a refined lifestyle hotel with a welcoming neighborhood feel. The property features 165 guestrooms, a state-of-the-art fitness center, spa, and a meeting room that can accommodate up to 60 guests. In addition, the property offers Juniper Spirits & Oysters, which provides guests with a sophisticated, yet approachable menu of seafood-centric fare. Learn more about the hotel by visiting Claridge House Chicago’s Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
About Oxford Capital Group, LLC and Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC
Oxford Capital Group, LLC is a national real estate investment, development and management firm specializing in high value-added acquisitions, developments and redevelopments, with an emphasis on hospitality, mixed-use, senior housing and other operationally intensive real estate. Oxford Hotels & Resorts, LLC is Oxford’s wholly owned hotel management company specializing in operating, managing, and branding distinctive high-design lifestyle hotels. Oxford focuses on the nation’s top 50 MSA’s including Chicago, New York City, metro Washington D.C., Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Portland, Phoenix, Minneapolis and other select markets with unique attributes including Charleston, New Orleans and several markets in Florida. Oxford’s national developments have included Hotel Lexington NYC, Metropolitan Hotel NYC, National Conference Center in Northern Virginia, the Godfrey Hotel’s Boston, Tampa and Hollywood. Claridge House Chicago is Oxford’s 13th Chicago hotel project, others include: The Langham, LondonHouse, The Godfrey, Hotel Julian, Hotel Essex, Hotel Felix, Hyatt Magnificent Mile, Hotel Cass, Renaissance North Shore, Doubletree North Shore, Hyatt House Northwest, and The Versey. It is also currently developing a 56-story, nearly 500-unit, luxury apartment building on Michigan Avenue, next to its Hotel Essex, overlooking Grant Park called Essex on the Park. For more information, visit www.oxford-capital.com & www.ohrllc.com