Big Changes At Fat Rice As Bakery Opens Wednesday, Lounge Next Friday

Fat Rice aficionados already know about Abe Conlon and Adrienne Lo’s expansion plans for a bakery and lounge neighboring their acclaimed Logan Square restaurant. The long-awaited The Bakery at Fat Rice will open on Wednesday while The Ladies Room opens on Friday, July 8, according to a spokeswoman. But that’s not the only news, as Fat Rice will also next week formally unveil three new dinner tasting menus and they’ll finally accommodate groups of six or more.

Conlon’s calling the new menus a rebirth, Fat Rice 2.0. The 24-seat bakery will transform into a dining room for larger groups at night while offering two tasting menus exclusive to that part of the restaurant. The first menu is called "The Voyage" ($45) and features Fat Rice staples, such as the pot stickers all with a Eurasian focus. They’re calling the second menu "The Venture" ($45-$50). It’s a rotating menu, giving Conlon a chance to experiment and is based on travels to Macau, the initial inspiration for Fat Rice. The regular menu will remain unchanged.

Meanwhile, the bakery, which will close at 2 p.m. daily, will also add a bar element at night. Inspired by European markets, the bakery will open up as a stand-up bar called Petisco, featuring Portuguese-inspired small bites, a sort of sibling to Spanish tapas. It will open at 5:30 p.m. along with the rest of the restaurant for dinner.

Larger groups learned to avoid Fat Rice, but not anymore. The bakery area is reserved for parties six or more, but would also seat smaller groups if there’s any spillover from the main dining area. Fat Rice is also ditching OpenTable, switching reservations over to Reserve. Groups six or larger will require a reservation. No reason was given for the switch, but they’ll still welcome walk-ins.

But, no, that’s not all the news. Fat Rice’s main dining room will now officially offer a third chef’s tasting menu which will also rotate. Meanwhile, Fat Rice’s Sunday brunch will now have an emphasis on seafood, with breakfast dishes traditional to Macau, Malacca and Singapore.

That’s it from Fat Rice’s battery of announcements. Come back next week for a glimpse insides The Ladies' Room and The Bakery at Fat Rice. Meanwhile, check out the sample tasting menus below.