Kumiko

Kumiko is a Japanese dining bar at 630 W Lake Street in the West Loop, opened on New Year's Eve 2018 and led by Julia Momosé, who was born and raised in Japan, studied at Cornell, and has become the single most influential figure in American non-alcoholic bartending. It is named for the Japanese woodworking technique of assembling wood without nails, and the drinks are built on the same principle of precision without obvious fixings. In July 2025 Kumiko was named World's Best Bar at the Spirited Awards, having already taken the James Beard Foundation's Outstanding Bar award that year, held a Michelin star since 2019, and been named Best Bar in the Midwest by North America's 50 Best every year from 2022. Momosé became executive chef in December 2024. Andrew Mainor, raised on the South Side and cooking since he was fifteen, runs the kitchen; Mai Pham, who was born in Hanoi and trained at Kendall College, manages the room.

The reason Kumiko matters here more than any other bar in Chicago is that Momosé coined the term "spiritfree" and built the category's template: drinks constructed from tisanes, vinegars, cordials and spices to have the length and bitterness of a cocktail, rather than a cocktail with the alcohol removed. The spiritfrees sit on the same menu as everything else at $15 to $16, within a couple of dollars of the alcoholic list. Uméboshi Swizzle ($15) works shiso-pickled umé with brown rice vinegar, lemon, sesame and Japanese seven spice over crushed ice. Bianco ($16) layers mint, fennel seed, chamomile and white peppercorn with lavender honey and verjus blanc. Saved by the Bell ($16) is the most elaborate, combining sanshō, yarrow flower, cubeb pepper, yellow mustard seed and kinmokusei with sparkling Fuji apple juice and ginger beer. Hōji-Hi ($16) pairs roasted hōjicha tea with concord grape and pomegranate molasses; Maple Blues ($16) uses a roasted barley mugicha tisane with a seven-spice lemon cordial and amber maple syrup. Bright One ($15) and Protea ($16) both use Seedlip Spice 94, and Pepperberry Tonic ($15) builds Tasmanian pepperberry and angelica root into an elderflower tonic. Spiritfree pairings are offered alongside the seasonal tasting menu. The bar runs Wednesday to Sunday from 5.30pm, with Café Kumiko open Friday to Sunday mornings.