Inside Downtown’s Beefy New Pan Latin Spot From Celeb Chef Richard Sandoval

Richard Sandoval’s career began in the ‘90s in New York, as the Mexico City-born chef opened a pair of French restaurants. Later, he opened Maya, a contemporary Mexican restaurant on the Upper East Side. Esteemed New York Times critic Ruth Reichl awarded the restaurant two stars.

Sandoval’s star was bright and he opened restaurants all over America and the world. In Chicago, he opened a downtown food hall, Latinicity. He also partnered with several hotels, including the Conrad Chicago where he opened the rooftop restaurant Noyane and Baptiste & Bottle. Those restaurants all closed during the pandemic.

Earlier this year, the celebrity chef returned to the Chicago market with Casa Chi, a Mag Mile restaurant that explores Nikkei cuisine. Now, this month, he opened another restaurant, Toro, a pan-Latin restaurant inside the Fairmont Chicago hotel near Millenium Park — technically it’s located in the Loop.

The first Toro opened in 2014 in Scottsdale, Arizona, and there are similarities with other locations. For example, the Chicago menu shares items with Sandoval’s Houston restaurant, Toro Toro, which opened in November 2021. Smoked guacamole and swordfish dip are two appetizers from both restaurants. There are also sweet corn empanadas and short rib tacos. Picanha, a cut of beef with a thick fat cap that’s popular in Brazil, has been appearing on more menus stateside lately. Chicago diners will find American-raised wagyu versions of the cut at Toro. While absent from the Chicago restaurant’s name, the Houston location is labeled as a steakhouse. With the Picanha, a 52-ounce prime tomahawk ribeye for $220, for five more cuts of beef, Toro Chicago could also be considered a steakhouse. There are various raw bar items including ceviche made with Peruvian red snapper, bison tiradito, and a few sushi rolls including a vegan oyster mushroom selection.

The cocktails also have a pan-Latin influence, and a press release touts the Flaming Coffee, a drink carted tableside via cart and mixed with rum, tequila, or bourbon and served with a flambéed cinnamon and sugar rim.

Walk through the space below and check out some of the seafood dishes below.

Toro Chicago, inside the Fairmont Chicago, 200 N. Columbus Drive, open 6 a.m. to midnight on Sunday through Thursday; 6 a.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday. Reservations via OpenTable.