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Trump Tower’s Two-Michelin-Starred Chicago Restaurant Sixteen To Close

A more-casual replacement restaurant from the same chef is coming

Sixteen
Sixteen’s dining room
Sixteen [Official]
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.

Sixteen, the acclaimed restaurant inside the Trump International Tower and Hotel, is closing after a decade to make room for a new restaurant. The two-Michelin-starred restaurant, which opened in February 2008, will close on April 28. One of the city’s most luxurious restaurants will become accessible with chef Nick Dostal remaining onboard. Expect lower check totals as the decadent spot will now have a burger on its menu to better appeal to the masses.

Dostal described the menu to Chicago as “American New Fine Dining.” He’ll continue to dice French and Italian cuisine with Asian flavors. They’ll add a bar and better integrate the restaurant’s terrace. They’ll also have more affordable wines from reining Jean Banchet best sommelier Parag Lalit.

Changes have been in the works for a while. At first publishing, Chicago avoided the polarizing controversy surrounding the Trump name — especially in Chicago, a city that often finds itself a target for criticism from the president. But it appears the name has affected business with former employees telling Eater Chicago that sales dropped as low as 40 percent during weekdays in recent months. Bias was a topic in the nation’s capital, as the Washington Post recently published an article about how food writers were supposedly ignoring the David Burke-helmed steakhouse inside D.C.’s Trump International Hotel.

Dostal is the restaurant’s third chef, as Thomas Lents departed for Detroit last year. Michelin inspectors were still impressed with Dostal’s cooking and allowed Sixteen to retain its two-star status last year. Sixteen’s last day is April 28, and it’ll offer a greatest hits tasting menu for $220 that include dishes for Lents and former chef Frank Brunacci starting March 28.

It’s another blow to Chicago’s fine dining scene with Grace, 42 Grams, and Tru examples of recent Michelin-starred shutters.

Sixteen

401 North Wabash Avenue, , IL 60611 (312) 588-8030 Visit Website

Terrace 16

401 North Wabash Avenue, , IL 60611 (312) 588-8030 Visit Website