GT Fish & Oyster Set to Open in Mid March; Will Have a Boomerang Table

Grid View

• This will be an actual table in the bar area.
• Giuseppe Tentori will expedite from the open kitchen
• Imagine a 12-foot-tall, floor-to-ceiling glass-enclosed vestibule to get into the restaurant
• New walls where it was once all brick
• The front room will have the main bar and various seating
• An arched wall will enclose banquette seating
• New mosaic floor in the bar

We thought GT Fish & Oyster would shuck its first set of oysters mid February, but it looks like it's now going to be closer to six weeks from now (apparently chef Giuseppe Tentori went outside this morning and didn't see his shadow). We popped into the space this morning and got a good idea of what it'll look like, even though it's still definitely in the construction phase.

The restaurant will have two sides, both with ample seating. In fact, the restaurant will have 100 seats, plus 20 at the bar and eventually another 30 on sidewalk patios. You walk in through a glass vestibule with 12-foot-high floor-to-ceiling windows looking into the restaurant. Just on the other side of the glass wall, guests will be able to peer upon a lounge-style 10-seat table with cozy, low seats.

The front room will get flooded with light from new windows along the south wall that were punched out where brick used to be. The large oak-topped bar, which will be fronted with black glass, will serve 20 seated with an oyster-shucking station right in the middle (behind a glass wall). Behind the bar, there will be two back bars, one that will be shared with Tentori, who will expedite the food from the open kitchen behind the bar.

A large boomerang-shaped table created by the Boka Group's design team, 555 International, and a surfboard company, will be just in front of the bar and will include the GT Fish logo. There people waiting for tables can have drinks and appetizers.

The back room will have a teak floor and cream-colored wood, giving it a feeling of being on a yacht. Two eight-person captain's tables will sit in the middle of the room and booths will sit against the far wall, inside an alcove of sorts. Overall, the room will have a brown/black/cream color palate, which will translate throughout many design elements, including a Japanese buoy-like glass ball hanging in the front room, held to the ceiling by thick, black rope; and a stuffed tarpon that will hang over the entrance to the bathrooms.

But what will make GT Fish & Oyster stand out, other than Tentori's menu (which is still in testing phases), will be the cream-colored wood exterior that will give the restaurant a New England cottage feel.

In related news, anyone seeking to apply for front-of-the-house positions at the restaurant should swing by the open call taking place this Wednesday at Landmark (1633 N. Halsted) between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. and bring a resume—assuming it doesn't get lost in the blizzard.
· All GT Fish & Oyster Coverage on Eater Chicago