Oriole Soars To Two Michelin Stars After Only 7 Months [UPDATED]

It’s only been seven months since Oriole, Noah and Cara Sandoval’s critically-acclaimed West Loop gem, has opened. Today, they found out that they’d scored two Michelin stars, confirming what Chicago critics already knew. They were coy about the announcement. Michelin will make all their star announcements for Chicago later today, and this list will be updated.

Oriole’s 15 courses and top-notch service wowed locals. The whimsical and thoughtful presentation of dishes like a chilled Alaska king crab with Thai flavors stood out, as did pastry chef Genie Kwon’s wizardry. Kwon even packs pie for guests to take home after their meals.

Roister, Alinea Group’s boisterous, new Fulton Market restaurant also debuted this year. Despite the more casual approach—compared to Next and Alinea—they received one star. Chef Andrew Brochu beamed, as diners took to dishes like their unique fried chicken.

The two Alinea alums who founded Band of Bohemia are also celebrating. The culinary brewpub pairing house-brewed beers with small plates, also earned a star. They opened a year ago in Ravenswood. Chef Matt DuBois is excited.

GreenRiver, the craft cocktail spot in Streeterville from the Danny Meyer and the DeadRabbit team, also scored a star.

Iliana Regan’s Elizabeth, and her creative foraging cuisine in Lincoln Square, retained their star. So did North Pond in Lincoln Park. North Pond’s Bruce Sherman tied his success to the Cubs, gunning tonight for their first World Series championship in 108 years.

Meanwhile, Sepia, for the seventh year in a row, retained their star. Philip Foss and EL ideas also Tweeted out the announcement that they’ve scored a star for the fourth consecutive year. Boka also retained its star. 16” Dusek’s in Pilsen retained its star, as did Longman & Eagle in Logan Square.

Also, the crew from Grace, and chef Curtis Duffy with pumped after notification of their three stars.

Tony Mantuano, who recently cooked for Vice President Joe Biden, also shared the news the Spiaggia retained their star:

UPDATE: Michelin guide director Michael Ellis talked to Eater about this year’s selections, including Oriole and Roister. Here’s what he said about each.

On Roister: “For us it was very clear — it was (Roister) using raw, open flames as a cooking technique. That is something you don’t see very often with star-level food. It’s extremely difficult, in our experience, to cook over open flame and come up with something that has that animal, earthy quality to it, but also something that’s very refined with technical finesse.”

On Oriole: “We’ve known Noah Sandoval for a long time. He’s young — he’s only 35 years old — but he really impressed (us) with Senza. At Senza he had, to my knowledge, the first and only gluten-free restaurant to have a star in the world of Michelin. We were sorry to see (Senza) close in early 2015 but he came out strong (with Oriole). Noah has shown all the things that he’s been experimenting with and learning — the product, the technique. I think this is what makes Chicago unique is that you have these chefs that have unique signatures — you have this product that’s in the farmland — and I really think that Noah Sandoval really impressed us.”

Watch: What Is the Michelin Guide?