It’s only eight letters, but Bar Tutto’s name says it all — literally.
Scheduled to open Tuesday, December 9, Bar Tutto is the newest spot from chef Joe Flamm of Day Off Group, the team behind nearby restaurants Rose Mary, BLVD Steakhouse, and Il Carciofo. Located in Fulton Market on the ground floor of a new high-rise apartment building, the restaurant’s ethos is reflected in its name; “Tutto” means “all” in Italian and speaks to the restaurant’s all-day approach, inclusive attitude, and the country that inspired it.
The cafe and restaurant will open in the morning with coffee drinks, pastries, and egg sandwiches before moving on to panini, homemade pastas, and salads for lunch, with the addition of heartier mains at dinner. There will be Italian-centric cocktails and wine on the beverage side.
Flamm draws on his early career experience staging at restaurants in Italy for the restaurants he’s created back home in Chicago. Rose Mary leans toward Italy’s Adriatic coast, while Il Carciofo is Rome through and through. At Bar Tutto, Flamm looks to Italy’s classic cafes and the communities that sustain them.
Sandwiches will feature cured Italian meats like mortadella. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
“Italians are so good at hanging out,” he says. “In Italy, you see these great neighborhood spots, and what I love about them is it’ll be 21-year-old kids and 70-year-olds at the same place hanging out together. That’s so special and beautiful. This area’s got tons of great restaurants, but I felt it still needed that more neighborhood-type spot.”
When it opens at 7 a.m. (8 a.m. on weekends), Bar Tutto will offer counter service. The restaurant is working with Caffé Umbria, which also supplies Rose Mary and Il Carciofo. Breakfast will feature classic Italian pastries like chocolate-filled bombolini, pistachio cornetti, and sfogliatelle (shell-shaped multi-layered pastry). There’ll be egg sandwiches, too but here they could include culatello or homemade prosciutto. Brunch on the weekends will see the addition of pancakes and omelets. Sausages accompanying egg dishes will be made in house.
“Italians are so good at hanging out.”
At 11:30 a.m., Tutto will offer sit-down lunch with optional counter service will still be available until 4 p.m. The menu will include apertivi like cured meats and cheeses, including made-in-house mozzarella, along with a selection of seasonal crostini. Sandwiches come filled with porchetta or mortadella, along with spinach and artichoke panini. Soups skew traditional with tortellini en brodo and Tuscan white bean. An opening kale salad will feature smoked grilled chicken thighs, farro, and grapes with a creamy Pecorino dressing. “I’m a proper Midwesterner, so for me a salad needs to have some substance to it,” says Flamm.
Dinner service begins at 4:30 p.m. and that’s when the custom wood-fired grill from Wayward Machine Co. will do its heaviest lifting with the addition of heartier dishes. Think grilled dorade with fennel salsa verde and pork collar with peaches and polenta. Steak will be on the menu, this is Chicago, after all. But Flamm will serve his— a bavette cut that’s been marinated in red wine and herbs — with a peperonata sauce. A few pastas, a specialty of Flamm’s since his days at Spiaggia, will be offered as well starting with rigatoni pesto and fusilli with guanciale and Pecorino.
Cocktails include a riff on the classic spritz. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
“Everything will have an Italian edge and bistro mindset but feature the Midwest ingredients around us,” says Flamm. “That’s the lens I’m focusing the food through.”
Kyle Davidson, who also oversees the beverage programs for all Day Off Group restaurants, has crafted a menu that features signature Italian cocktails with Aperol and Campari making regular appearances. The wine list will expand beyond Italy’s border with an emphasis on Old World styles. “In the true sense of those fun neighborhood wine bars in Italy, it’s just great wines we love and enjoy,” says Flamm.
In keeping with its overall relaxed approach, Bar Tutto’s interior design leans cozy with exposed brick, vintage rugs, and walnut millwork. It will seat about 100 — “It’s the smallest of our restaurants,” says Flamm — with 16 seats at the bar.
Like at Il Carciofo and Rose Mary, Bar Tutto features an open kitchen. “The energy of a kitchen is so special, so anytime you have the opportunity to open up that energy to the space, it makes it more engaging,” says Flamm, for both the guests and kitchen team. “It’s a lot easier to cook fast and high energy when you feel and see that the restaurant’s full and bumping.”
Bar Tutto is located at 1110 W. Carroll Avenue; open 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.Saturday and Sunday; (Bar closed daily from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; brunch runs from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; Lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday).
Customers can order coffee in the morning and cocktails at night. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
The space features vintage rugs and exposed brick. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
Guests can peer into the open kitchen while they dine. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
Bar Tutto is aiming to be a neighborhood spot. Garrett Sweet/Eater Chicago
Dining and Cooking