Tag: sandoval

It’s not like celebrated international chef Richard Sandoval planned to open two Chicago restaurants back-to-back. But when the opportunity to launch Toro Chicago inside Streeterville’s Fairmont Chicago, Millennium Park came about, he couldn’t refuse.

In May, Sandoval opened Casa Chi in the InterContinental Chicago Magnificent Mile. It replaced Eno Wine Bar with a focus on Nikkei cuisine that interprets Peruvian ingredients through a Japanese lens — a reflection of the Japanese immigrants who moved to the South American country.

Set to open this fall, Toro Chicago will take a pan-Latin approach to its food and beverage, drawing inspiration from Central and South American countries including Colombia, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Venezuela.

“You take off running and you never know what’s going to happen,” says Sandoval of the dual restaurant timelines.

There are some 60 restaurants, including several Toro locations, under the Richard Sandoval Hospitality umbrella around the world. While there is plenty of overlap between the menus there are differences too.

“With this brand, we always leave about 30 percent of the menu to localize it,” says Sandoval, adding that everybody looks at Latin American cuisine differently depending on their location. “For example, Mexican food in New York is different than Mexican food in LA It’s understanding these things and creating menu items that reflect that.” At Toro Chicago, that will involve a strong meat component, he says.

Signature Toro dishes that will be on the Chicago menu include Nikkei-inspired angry scorpion Toro roll (crab, cucumber, avocado, and spicy tuna topped with eel sauce), corn- and ají amarillo-filled empanadas garnished with a chimichurri sauce, and lomo saltado, a Peruvian-style dish of beef tenderloin served on a bed of creamy rice topped with crispy potato and spicy rocoto pepper aioli.

Cocktails at Toro Chicago will follow a similar Latin approach. “It’s a lot of playing with South and Central American ingredients,” says Sandoval. “Our mixologists are very creative, so you can expect a cocktail program that is very engaging and visual.” Toro’s Mercado Margarita includes jalapeño-infused El Jimador Blanco tequila topped with a pink hibiscus rosemary foam that slowly melts into the yellow passion fruit in the cocktail.

Like other Toro locations, the Chicago restaurant’s interior design will be colorful with a mix of bold Latin American textiles. The space will seat about 260 guests with two private rooms for 14 and 50.

After closing his previous Chicago restaurants — Latinicity in Block 37 and Noyane and Baptiste & Bottle inside the Conrad Chicago — Sandoval is more than ready to have a presence here again.

“I really enjoyed being in Chicago, so when I got the opportunity to come back, I jumped at it,” he says. “I like big cities, but Chicago, to me, is a little calmer. Plus, I think there’s a great food scene here that over the last 15 years or so has really come around.”

Toro Chicago, 200 N. Columbus Drive.