Chicago diners have just a few weeks left to grab a table at Bavette's Bar & Boeuf before the River North steakhouse goes dark. The restaurant's last night of service is set for Saturday, September 19, with an expected reopening in mid-November — leaving roughly two months of downtime for the acclaimed steakhouse at 218 W. Kinzie St.
The closure was first reported by Time Out, which noted that Bavette's has not given a specific reason for the temporary closure and has not announced an exact reopening date. Local outlet Secret Chicago reports that, despite the lack of an official statement from the restaurant detailing the cause, local reporting suggests the autumn hiatus is intended for routine interior maintenance and renovations rather than any operational trouble.
Bavette's opened in 2012 and has built a reputation for a French-inflected take on the classic steakhouse, per Time Out's reporting. The menu includes classic steak cuts and steak frites with béarnaise, alongside longtime favorites like crab cakes, roasted bone marrow, wedge salad, sourdough with cultured butter, short rib stroganoff, and chocolate cream pie. The restaurant has also earned recognition from the Michelin Guide, the outlet notes.
A Hogsalt Hospitality Flagship With Global Acclaim
Bavette's is operated by Hogsalt Hospitality, the Chicago restaurant group founded by executive chef Brendan Sodikoff, whose local portfolio includes Au Cheval, Gilt Bar, Ciccio Mio, and Armitage Alehouse, according to WTTW Chicago. In May 2025, London-based Upper Cut Media House named Bavette's to its World's 101 Best Steak Restaurants list, ranking it among three Chicago dining spots alongside Asador Bastian and Swift & Sons, as reported by Time Out. Hoodline previously covered River North's steakhouse rise to the top of that same global rankings conversation.
The restaurant has also picked up pop culture cachet. At the 2025 Screen Actors Guild Awards, actor Jeremy Allen White, star of the Chicago-set series The Bear, publicly named Bavette's as one of his top two favorite restaurants in the city, according to Secret Chicago. Bavette's sits within River North, an area recognized as a core hub of Chicago's steakhouse culture alongside historic landmarks like Gene & Georgetti, which was founded in 1941.
Hogsalt's Track Record of Reinventing Its Restaurant Spaces
Hogsalt has a history of evolving its footprint around this stretch of Kinzie Street. The space next door to Bavette's previously housed the short-lived Japanese concept Radio Anago, which closed in May 2019 before being re-concepted into the Italian spot Ciccio Mio that October, according to a report cited by Hogsalt-focused outlet Understanding Hospitality. The group has also exported the Bavette's model beyond Chicago, opening Bavette's Steakhouse & Bar inside the Park MGM resort on the Las Vegas Strip in late 2017, per Desired Tastes, and duplicating much of the same French-influenced menu and dark-wood aesthetic at the 10-table 4 Charles Prime Rib in New York's West Village that same year, according to Restaurant Girl.
Hogsalt's expansion has continued well beyond steak. Hoodline has reported on the group's national push for Au Cheval into Nashville, as well as its plan to revive the classic ice cream stand The Freeze. The Las Vegas outpost of Bavette's has also drawn attention for its price tag, having previously been included in Hoodline's roundup of pricey Las Vegas steakhouses.
Planning a Last Visit Before the Hiatus
For diners hoping to squeeze in a visit before September 19, Bavette's is open Mondays through Thursdays from 4pm to 10:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays from 3pm to 11pm, and Sundays from 3pm to 10:30pm. Reservations are released 21 days ahead daily at 9am, though walk-ins are accepted at the bar, which also offers a full menu.
Guests should also note that Bavette's adds an automatic 3.25% surcharge to all checks to offset rising operating costs, though the fee can be removed upon request, according to the restaurant's own posted menu information. For those driving in, dinner valet parking is available down the block at 230 W. Kinzie Street — a useful detail given how limited street parking can be along this stretch of the River North dining corridor.
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