Dearly Beloved

Dearly Beloved opened in 2024 at 900 N Franklin Street in River North, in the space that was Kiki's Bistro for decades, and calls itself a cocktail restaurant rather than a bar or a restaurant — co-owner Chireal Jordan has explained the label plainly, saying the drinks are the star of the show. It comes from Machine Hospitality Group, with beverage director Aneka Saxon running the drinks and chef Kristofer Lohraff the food, which is vegetable-forward and carries vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options through the menu rather than in a separate corner of it, including carrot mochi with coconut curry and an okonomiyaki. The room keeps genuinely late hours — 4pm to 1am midweek and to 2am on Friday and Saturday, closed Monday and Tuesday — with happy hour from 4pm to 6pm Wednesday through Sunday. Walk-ins are welcome and reservations preferred.

The zero-proof drinks are a permanent section of the standing menu headed "Zero Proof Cocktails", not a seasonal guest appearance, and they are among the most technically ambitious in the city. Clearly Cultured ($15) is the showpiece: Seedlip Grove clarified with probiotic yogurt, then built out with lime, Mallorca melon, hibiscus, ginger and rose water — milk-clarification technique applied to a non-alcoholic base, which is a genuinely difficult thing to get right. Understory ($14) is the one to order after dinner, combining espresso and cream with Giffard gingembre syrup over a Heywell lime adaptogen sparkling water. Fresh Cut Grass ($13) does what its name promises with dandelion honey, grasshopper syrup, liquid chlorophyll, lime and soda. Soda Pop ($13) is the softest, layering dragonfruit, almond and coconut milk with coconut soda, orange flower and rose water. During happy hour a fifth appears — Zeal Without the Rest at $10, built on Crodino, the Italian non-alcoholic aperitif, with adaptogen soda and sunflower honey. The bar also programmes around the category: in January 2026 it hosted a Spirit-Free Cocktail Fest featuring eight zero-proof drinks from visiting Chicago bartenders.