Carlyle Club serves up steaks, sushi and a glamorous riverfront setting

There’s plenty to look at, and a lot to choose from, at Carlyle Club, River North’s new riverfront dining destination. Located in the historic Reid Murdoch Building at 316 N. Clark St., the restaurant combines a glamorous setting with a menu that moves from prime steaks and Japanese A5 Wagyu to handmade pasta, sushi and seafood.

We recently visited and found the food delicious, with a great variety of offerings. The setting is equally appealing, although a few early service glitches kept the experience from being entirely seamless.

The restaurant opened Oct. 1 and occupies approximately 100 seats on the ground floor of the landmark building, which has stood along the Chicago River since 1914. The interior mixes original concrete columns and Chicago brick with Italian marble, multiple chandeliers and expansive windows overlooking the water. Glass doors open onto a spacious Riverwalk patio, where umbrellas, planters, passing boats and the city skyline provide a particularly lovely backdrop.

Inside, the atmosphere is decidedly glamorous. The multiple chandeliers lend an elegant touch, while the long marble bar, globe lighting and sushi counter give the space a lively, contemporary feel. It’s a restaurant that can work for a business lunch, dinner with friends or a special night out, with the mood becoming livelier later in the evening.

The menu is ambitious without being confined to one style of cooking. The kitchen, led by chef Jakob Peterson, draws on classic American steakhouse traditions, Japanese techniques and global flavors. Sushi chef Chris In brings his Korean heritage to a selection of specialty rolls, while the broader menu encompasses a raw bar, handmade pastas, premium steaks and seafood.

For starters, diners can choose from roasted oysters with charred tomato butter and yuzu, jumbo lump crab cakes with grilled corn relish, chilled oysters, tuna tartare cannoli, beef carpaccio and yellowtail crudo. There’s also a chilled seafood platter featuring Maine lobster, king crab, poached wild blue prawn, oysters and tuna tartare cannoli. For a more indulgent beginning, the caviar service features Petrossian Royal Ossetra.

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The sushi selection includes nigiri and sashimi, along with rolls such as hamachi with miso reduction and avocado, snow crab with brown butter ponzu and caviar, and tempura shrimp with shiso and yuzu kosho aioli. Those who prefer something warm can explore the handmade pasta offerings, including ricotta pillows with truffle and pecorino, lobster tagliatelle and orecchiette with spicy pork sugo.

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Steak lovers have plenty of reasons to visit. Options include an eight-ounce center-cut filet, a 12-ounce New York strip, a 22-ounce, 40-day dry-aged prime bone-in ribeye and a 42-ounce Australian Wagyu tomahawk. Japanese A5 Wagyu is available in four-ounce portions, with selections from different Japanese prefectures. Other entrées include a double-cut pork chop, roasted half chicken, New Zealand king salmon and a lobster pie with bone marrow potato purée and lobster bisque.

The restaurant also offers a more casual bar menu. The Carlyle Burger, made with two Wagyu patties, smoked beef tallow aioli and Cooper sharp American cheese, sounds like a worthy contender in Chicago’s burger conversation. Other choices include a French dip with thinly sliced ribeye, pizza pockets with pepperoni and ’nduja, and a selection of sushi hand rolls.

On this night, we ordered crab cakes, crispy chicken bites and a Caesar salad for starters for a table of five. I had a delicious salmon/avocado roll with 8 pieces. Orrechiette and a strip steak were ordered for entrees. All delicious!  My husband, a beer drinker was disappointed in the limited beer choices but settled for a Millier High Life. Tito martinis and a nice Pinot Grigio topped off our choices. Desserts looked appealing too, but wisely, we passed on these.

The restaurant has a wine cellar of more than 2,000 bottles, with a program guided by Master Sommeliers Ken Fredrickson and Fernando Beteta, alongside wine director Amy Lutchen. Champagne and sake are also part of the offerings.

Specialty drinks include the signature CC Martini that combines olive oil-infused vodka, house olive brine, fino sherry and olive distillate. The cocktail menu also includes The Bronzeville, made with grapefruit-infused tequila, grapefruit cordial, lavender honey syrup and prosecco foam, and The Murdoch, featuring butter-washed whiskey and coconut demerara syrup. The program draws inspiration from classic cocktails and different eras of drinking culture.

The long marble bar is a destination in its own right, with the sushi counter at one end and a DJ booth nearby. Happy hour runs from 3 to 6 p.m. in the bar area, making it an option for an after-work drink and a bite before dinner. Later in the evening, the lighting dims and the atmosphere becomes more energetic.

Outdoor dining is another strong selling point. The waterfront patio accommodates up to 72 seated guests or 150 standing, according to the restaurant’s private-events information. The main dining room can accommodate 92 seated guests or 150 standing, while the bar area can host 32 seated or 75 standing. The entire venue can be booked for larger events, with published capacities of up to 220 seated guests or 400 standing.

For smaller gatherings, the private dining room is particularly attractive. I found it intimate and gorgeous, with a long marble table, a glass chandelier and its own door for privacy. The room seats up to 20 guests or can accommodate 40 standing, according to the restaurant. It would be a lovely choice for a birthday, business dinner or special celebration.

Even the restrooms make an impression. Inspired by Coco Chanel, they carry the same stylish sensibility found throughout the restaurant, demonstrating an attention to detail that extends beyond the dining room. The sign inside offers a quote by Coco, "Dress shabbily and they remember the dress; dress impeccably and they remember the woman.

There was, however, one drawback to our visit: a few glitches in service. Given that the restaurant had been open for only three weeks at the time, some growing pains were understandable. What mattered was how the situation was handled. The owners and management went out of their way to apologize and more than made up for the problems, leaving me with a positive overall impression.

Carlyle Club has an appealing combination of delicious food, an expansive menu, a striking riverfront location and plenty of options for everything from cocktails at the bar to a celebratory dinner. It is still finding its rhythm, but the foundation is there. I recommend this glamorous new spot and look forward to returning.

(For menus, reservations and private-event information, visit carlyle.club. There are no menu prices online, which was a bit frustrating. I would say it’s moderate to high pricing.)  

Additional details for publication

• Address: 316 N. Clark St., in the historic Reid Murdoch Building, River North.
• Lunch: Daily, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Happy hour: 3 to 6 p.m. in the bar area.
• Dinner: Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m.
• Reservations and information: Official website.