Eater Inside

Tour Smyth, A Fancy & Farm Fresh Refuge In The West Loop

John & Karen Urie Shields finally open their restaurant on Friday

by Ashok Selvam@Shokdiesel Aug 25, 2016, 3:01pm CDT

Photography by Marc Much

Ashok Selvam is the editor of Eater Chicago and a native Chicagoan armed with more than two decades of award-winning journalism. Now covering the world of restaurants and food, his nut graphs are super nutty.

When patrons enter Smyth when it debuts on Friday, a small garden growing herbs and edible flowers will greet them outside the doors. The garden and ivy-covered walls coincide with the restaurant’s ethos of serving locally-sourced ingredients with fine-dining techniques. Guests will first eye the Smyth's laid-back sibling The Loyalist on the first floor, before ascending to the second-floor dining room, a space that chef/owner John Shields describes as feeling like a friend’s home.

Upstairs, Shields and his staff will serve guests an 8-course tasting menu from an open-kitchen flanked by a wood-fire hearth. The chef’s joined by wife and pastry chef Karen Urie-Shields, and diners can watch her work her wares creating vibrant selection of savory and sweet desserts for the tasting. The space features exposed brick, oriental rugs and warm lighting created by the same ceramics artist who created the restaurant’s bowls and plates.

View the photos below for the first look inside Smyth, located on the second floor at 177 N. Ada St. Reservations are available on Tock.