A stunning location for date night or other special dinners needs to be romantic and beautiful
Exercise your red carpet strut at BLVD {817 West Lake Street; 312.526.3116}. A modern-American, era-evoking restaurant and bar emulating Hollywood’s Sunset “Boulevard” in the ’50s. Upon your first step inside, you’ll feel compelled to don your best finger-wave curls or most dapper-ribboned fedora. If there’s any city that can transport you to the gin-boozy, jazz-loungey days of past, it’s Chicago—right here, in the West Loop.
Like a classic movie, BLVD’s vintage scenery demands the stage, where each curated accessory tells a story—a mood often narrated among many of the great designs by Karen Herold of Studio K. Stairs curve to upper dining, leading to close-ups of show-stopping chandeliers draped with crystals reminiscent of ladies’ pearls and flapper fringe.
Every deliberate detail, from the playful velvet seating down to the delicate table candles, “harken back to the Deco and Regency movements, while more modern fixtures and new-age furniture bring guests back to the here and now,” says BLVD co-owner Kara Callero. The “story arc” peaks with dishes like Oysters Rockefeller doused in absinthe-garlic cream and Cacio e Pepe—global fare that demands a champagne or a BLVDier cocktail with Elijah Craig bourbon, Peychaud’s apertivo, sweet vermouth, and St. George Nola Coffee Liqueur.
Here at BLVD, everything and everyone is the star of the show.
1. Designer Karen Herold is known for blending grandiose fixtures amidst clean geometry, metallic finishes, and playful textures, embracing and perfectly melding the past and present.
2. Catch seafood towers, olive-infused spirits, and moody music within this play of vintage-modern, global-traditional design.
3. Shipped by boat from the Czech Republic by international designer Preciosa, a showpiece chandelier weighs in at more than 1,000 pounds, and dazzles dual dining areas with hundreds of hand-cut crystals.
4. Even BLVD’s bathroom was rated one of “The Most Beautiful Restaurant Bathrooms in the World” by People Magazine.
By Sarah Carpenter | Photos by Anthony Tahlier
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