New fine dining restaurant Atsumeru is opening this week—but it’s actually been in development for years. During the pandemic, chef Devin Denzer launched his pop-up dinner series Loon, serving Nordic-Japanese tasting menus in private homes across Chicago. Since then, the Minnesota native has honed his craft—and diners can finally get a taste of it at the newly minted brick-and-mortar.
Located in the former Michelin-starred Temporis space in West Town, Atsumeru offers a 10- to 12-course Nordic-Japanese tasting experience with seafood-forward fare like sablefish, monkfish and oysters sourced from Scandinavia and Japan. Showcasing the simplicity of both cuisines and drawing from Denzer's time spent training in Tokyo, Copenhagen and across the U.S., the evolving menu features constants like imami-laced seaweed used as seasoning and Japanese citrus like yuzu and sudachi in place of standard acids.
“Atsumeru’s menu is a reflection of the places and flavors that have shaped me and my culinary journey,” Denzer says. “I’m bringing together the clean, natural elements of Nordic cuisine with the depth and precision of Japanese ingredients and techniques. I like to focus on simplicity and balance, letting each ingredient speak for itself while exploring unexpected flavor combinations.”
Each of the three seatings per night will begin and end with drinks and bites in the first-floor lounge, while the main attraction happens at the eight-seat dining area upstairs. Denzer is so serious about the sanctity of the culinary experience that cocktail service is limited to the lounge, but wine pairings are available throughout the tasting.
“Atsumeru’s name means ‘to gather’ in Japanese,” Denzer says. “It’s about the intimacy and transparency of seeing how dishes come together and connecting directly with the people behind them. Because the chefs are also your servers, they’re able to share the story behind each dish, which creates a more personal and memorable experience for every guest.”
Atsumeru is located at 933 N. Ashland Avenue. Reservations are available through OpenTable on the first day of each month. With only 24 seats available across three seatings from Wednesday through Saturday, you’d be wise to act fast.