The team behind HOLU, a refined Asian steakhouse and seafood destination in Chicago’s Chinatown neighborhood (2101 S. Jefferson St.), has announced plans for a significant expansion and redesign early 2024.
HOLU opened in 2020 with an exquisite proposition for culinary enthusiasts.
Featuring an expansive menu of rarefied meat selections cooked tabletop on smokeless, ceramic charcoal grills imported from Nagoya, Japan; a lavish offering of live and fresh seafood; and a substantive wine, spirits and coffee and tea portfolio, HOLU rapidly became one of the city’s “best kept secrets” – even during the height of the pandemic – as hushed, buzzy conversations swirled among Chicago’s food lovers.
The restaurant has continued to attract an audience seeking a world-class, sensory dining experience rooted in the world’s finest ingredients.
As guest demand for the HOLU experience continues to build, and with contiguous space to grow, Song recognized an opportunity to amplify both HOLU’s design and physical footprint and brought on Yongmi Park of MIW Architects LLC to guide the project.
With phased construction beginning January 2024, guests can expect a re-imagined environment that expresses the intersection of Asian hospitality, flavor and tradition with upscale, modern dining culture.
In addition to an expansive dining room, guests will take in a newly added Sushi & Omakase Bar, a Meat Bar, a Wine & Cocktail Bar, a private dining room and a serene outdoor terrace.
Once complete, HOLU will include almost 200 seats (nearly double its current capacity) that foster remarkable, memorable dinners.
Dining at HOLU
HOLU presents a rich dining experience intricately woven by show-stopping, globally sourced ingredients, each of which become the star of the plate.
With a robust menu categorized primarily by meat and seafood, guests delight in the immense knowledge and tabletop cooking techniques employed by the restaurant’s skilled culinary team. Specialty items include:
Meat
HOLU only serves USDA Prime Dry-Aged Beef (minimum 45 days), American Domestic and Australian Wagyu (M9-M12), Japanese Miyazake Kobe (A5) and Spanish Iberico Pork (Bellota Level). Cuts on offer are expansive, and include Ribeye, New York Strip, Filet Mignon, Short Rib, Zabuton, Culotte, Skirt Steak, Hanger Steak, Flat Iron Steak, Wagyu Beef Tongue and others.
Most American steakhouses rely on recipes and sauces and/or marinades for meat preparation. By contrast, once guests make their selection at HOLU, all meats are cut and trimmed in the kitchen and cooked without any marinades on the Japanese grills, which are built into each dining room table. HOLU is the first in Chicago to venture into preparation of these exquisite selections on the tabletop grill. This technique relies on making only the highest quality meats available while allowing their natural flavors to be extracted during the grilling process. Diners can enjoy watching the meats cooked precisely to their desired temperature by an expert from start to finish.
The ceramic charcoal in the Japanese import performs similarly to real charcoal by using heat radiation instead of naked flame. Controlling meat temperature and humidity can be challenging with real charcoal; however, ceramic charcoal covers the shortage. This aids the meat in finishing perfectly browned on the outside, and tender on the inside. It is a healthy, clean and delicious way to prepare meat of the highest quality.
Another point of differentiation, meats at HOLU are sold by the ounce. While some may opt to enjoy one cut in entirety for their meal, those coming from a place of curiosity can order a minimum of one ounce of as many cuts as they wish, invoking a “Choose Your Own Adventure” effect. Not unlike wine tasting, this flight-style approach to meat provides ultimate latitude for sampling and experiencing the unique flavor profiles of cuts from around the world.
Seafood
Those who wish to counterbalance their meat tasting with a few seafood selections – or make an entire meal out of marine delicacies – are in luck at HOLU. Thoughtfully sourced live and fresh seafood options abound.
Fresh Spanish Bluefin Tuna, sometimes reaching up to a meaty 500 pounds, is butchered and dry-aged onsite. It is expressed during service as a Bluefin Tuna Omakase for Two that includes Tataki, Otoro Sashimi, Wagyu Sushi topped with Otoro, Uni, Caviar and Otoro Tostadas.
Diners will also revel in Japanese Hokkaido Hadate A-Class Uni served on its own or gently placed with caviar atop oysters; Live Eel cooked tabletop; Alaskan King Crab Legs (U6/9); Jumbo Tiger Prawns (U-4); Australian Deep Cold Water Lobster Tail (12 ounces) Jumbo Scallops (U-10); Colossal Stone Crab Claws (seasonally); and more.
A fun twist on “surf and turf”, the Dry Aged Ribeye and Uni and Caviar Tataki will not disappoint. Additionally, there is no shortage of indulgent starters, sides and accoutrements at HOLU, which range from Black Truffles and Foie Gras to Imperial Osetra/Beluga Caviar and organic, locally farmed produce.
Beverage
HOLU’s beverage program is one for the explorer, with more than two-dozen, from-scratch selections reflecting both classic and ever-changing seasonal cocktails. Whether it’s a deluxe Smoke & Moon (Arte NOM 1146 and Don Fulano Tequila Añejo, Del Maguey Chichicapa Single Village Mezcal, Tempus Fugit Crème de Cacao and Sichuan Bitters); a refreshing Ginza 75 (Roku Japanese Gin, Ume Plum Syrup, Lemmon, Fennel Bitters, Ninki Ichi Jinmai Ginjo Natural Sparkling Sake); or the not-for-the-faint-of heart Gozu Old Fashioned (A5 Wagyu Fat Washed Angel’s Envy Bourbon, Cabernet Reduction Syrup and Togarashi 7-Spice Bitters), layers of flavor abound at every turn.
A beverage enthusiast, Song has spared no effort in sourcing in bringing hundreds of fine Scotch, Bourbon and Rye whisky selections from the U.S. and Japan to HOLU. Upon completion of its phased buildout, the restaurant will also house nearly 2,000 bottles of wine in a multi-story, glass-ensconsed cellar. Beverage selections don’t stop there. HOLU also offers Chinese and Japanese prime-level Oolong tea, freshly brewed and served hot or cold upon request. Coffee is Whole Bean Kopi Luwak, sourced from wild Asian Palm Civets in Indonesia.
Guests will enjoy exclusive wine and spirits dinners featuring rare producers on a regular basis beginning 2024.
Naturally Designed Spaces
HOLU’s new visual experience will be rooted in the allure of the East matched with a sophisticated embrace that calls upon nature’s most stunning elements. Earthy mochas, emerald greens, dark and light marble stone, clean structured tiling, and hand-carved wood throughout lend a warm, yet open canvas that allow the guests themselves – and the ingredients on their plate – to take center stage as the real art.
Expanding upon the restaurant’s signature categories – meat and seafood – Designer Yongmi Park has added three bars to the space. Designed for the ultimate tasting experience, the Sushi and Omakase Bar will have eight seats lending to course after course of unforgettable chef selections. The Meat Bar will serve as a visual feast, providing a birds-eye view to the dozens of dry-aged cuts available by the ounce, as well as HOLU’s meat specialists delicately slicing and preparing each for tableside grilling. These areas are in addition to an intimate Wine & Cocktail Bar, also with seating for eight guests. All feature thick, marble bar tops – a deep black stone for the Sushi and Omakase area, and snowy white for the Meat and Wine & Cocktail sections.
The new, 3,500 square foot dining room will seat 60, each table inclusive of HOLU’s signature built-in Japanese grill. Chocolate wood and leather benches and chairs have been custom designed to complement the sleek, black marble dining tables. A newly added private dining room for 30 – slightly elevated on its own mezzanine – will be an ideal destination for both corporate and social functions designed to impress. The private dining space will breathe warmth with an artistic, wave-shaped bamboo installation that spans the full length of its back wall.
As guests take in HOLU’s main dining room spaces from floor to ceiling, they will marvel at the natural rock walls behind each bar area and two majestic tree structures in full bloom, which anchor the dining room. Craft, bamboo woodwork paneling establishes grounding as it dramatically enhances the room’s support beams, while elegant tallgrass and flowers bring the outside in. A mix of delicate hanging light fixtures ranging in size provide an ethereal, starry sky under which guests dine.
A two-story, temperature-controlled wine cellar, measuring 20 feet in height, draws the eyes upwards. Flanked by a spiral ladder on one side and a metal grate dividing the first and second floors, nearly 2,000 bottles of rare selections will be on hand.
An additional 80 seats will come from an idyllic, 1,000 square foot outdoor terrace that opens summer 2024.
An Eye for Growth
With intent to scale and bring an even more refined HOLU experience to Chicago and beyond, Song has strategically partnered with leading industry experts to help guide an exciting new stage of development and growth for the brand. In addition to his alignment with MIW Architects LLC, he has engaged John Parrino, Co-Founder of Isabelli Partners, as Advisor and Fractional CMO. Parrino is working with Song to develop HOLU in Chicago and nationally, spearheading consultation and overseeing delivery in Rebranding; Operations and Location Selection; Design by Carla Siegel of Agentsie; Digital Marketing by Xiao Faria daCunha of Westerlund; Social Media by Erin Byrne of 312 Food; Public Relations by Janet Isabelli of Isabelli Partners; and Photography by Neil Burger of Neil Burger Photography.
HOLU will reveal its new indoor spaces spring 2024, with the outdoor oasis opening summer 2024.
The restaurant will remain open for full dinner service as the project is completed in phases.
For more information, visit holuchicago.com and follow at @holuchicago.