Inside Boka and Stephanie Izard’s Rooftop Restaurant, Opening Today in Fulton Market

One of Chicago’s most successful hospitality companies, Boka Restaurant Group, on Thursday officially opens two new restaurants and a basement bar inside the Hoxton hotel Chicago. Headlined by Cabra, a new 12th floor rooftop restaurant with food from celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, Boka continues to invest in Fulton Market where it has Momotaro around the corner as well as Swift & Sons and Duck Duck Goat. The Hoxton also houses Cira, an all-day Mediterranean restaurant on the ground floor and Lazy Bird, a dimly lit piano lounge in the hotel’s lower bowels. There’s a coffee station in the lobby, as well.

Here’s a rundown on what to expect from each of the three spaces which were designed by AvroKO in conjunction with Ennismore Design Studio.

Cabra

Visitors will ride the hotel’s elevators up to the 12th floor and walk south to Cabra’s entrance. To the east, they’ll find one of two open-air decks. There’s a fire pit and views of the Willis Tower. There’s also a swimming pool. The southern views, through windows that stretch from ceiling to floor, show off the West Loop where customers will see quite a view construction sites as developers gobble up property. Walking down the corridor, there’s a bar where guests can saddle up an order a pisco sour. On the opposite walls, there’s a six-seat kitchen counter where customers could order ceviche and other Peruvian-style snacks. The western side of the rooftop includes another open-air space and fire pit where guests can escape if it’s too stuffy inside.

Cira

Hotel dining is a mixed bag, and Boka wants to continue to shatter those negative connotations with Cira. They’ve brought over a proven chef. Chris Pandel’s pastas at Balena in Lincoln Park gave him a solid following. Pastas are on the menu here too, as Pandel is exploring the whole region. A Turkish-style breakfast plate includes marinated goat cheese, sujuk, and simit bread. And there’s shakshuka. For lunch, there are snacks like falafel, lentil soup, and lamb tartare. There’s a burger, lamb shawarma, and a warm curried chicken sandwich that leaps several borders (it uses butter chicken — an example of Anglo-Indian food). The dinner menu includes bigger plates like lamb tangine and grilled cornish hen. Read Cira’s full menus below.

The Hoxton, Chicago [Official Photo]

Lazy Bird

Head down the stairs or be lazy and take the elevator to the basement to check out Lazy Bird. Boka beverage director Lee Zaremba is featuring classics. There’s a book of 52 drinks with some fun illustrations. Each week, Lazy Bird will highlight one of them as a special.

The space is dark with a piano to the left of the 65-seat bar. They’ll have periodic live performances inside. Lazy Bird is the most laid back of the three spaces and a few Boka officials begrudgingly admitted that the basement space may be their favorite. It’s the first cocktail lounge they’ve designed from the ground up. As customers walk in, the atmosphere instantly hits them, evoking old-school Blues bars combined with modern design.

The Hoxton, Chicago [Official Photo]

Read the menus for Cira below. Thursday is a big day for Boka as it opens a trio of Fulton Market venues. They’re among the most anticipated openings of the 2019.

The Hoxton, 220 N. Green Street, Cabra, on the 12th floor, will be open seven days a week week and offer weekend brunch at 11 a.m.; Reservations via OpenTable; Cira, in the lobby, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week. Reservations via OpenTable. Lazy Bird, in the basement, is open 5 p.m. daily.

Cira Breakfast 3.26.19.pdf

Cira Lunch Menu 3.29.19.pdf

Cira Menu Dinner 3.27.19.pdf

Cira Dessert Menu 3.29.19.pdf

Cira Brunch Menus 3.23.19 (1).pdf