Larger Artango Will Bring Steaks & Tango Dancing To Lincoln Square This Month

Ravenswood's loss is Lincoln Square's gain, as Artango Bar and Steakhouse, will open on April 15, according to a restaurant rep. They've also tapped Dudley Nieto (Roja Gusano) as consulting executive chef and former Labriola executive chef Fred Ramos as sous chef.

Hiring Nieto for his experience with Latin cuisine and Ramos for his work in Italian kitchens made sense for restaurant owners Maria Alferov and Sebastian Casanova. They tout how Argentinian food melds flavors from both. The pair shuttered their old 80-seat BYO location on March 25, which was known as ARTango South American Bistro. They initially opened the restaurant in 2013 at 4217 N. Ravenswood Ave. The husband-and-wife team then announced their intentions to move to Lincoln Square back in November.

This new space at 4767 N. Lincoln Ave. has room for 180 seats. The owners promise live music, utilizing the additional room to transform the space into a milonga for Tango dancing, keeping with the 1920s Buenos Aires theme.

Ojo de Bife [Photo: Artango]

Alferov graduated from the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago and was born in the Ukraine. She told Chicago magazine about how she created a meaty menu, tapping into her husband's Argentinian heritage. Check out the new menu for Artango here. Dishes include a 20-ounce ojo de bife, a prime beef ribeye available with three types of chimichurri (medium spicy, cumin, spicy). There's also the paiche exotico (fish, roasted plantains, kale, avocado sauce, crunchy quinoa).

Check back for more as opening date approaches. Lincoln Square continues to get beefy, as the neighborhood is also getting Knife. That steakhouse should open later this year.