Free cancellations for 48 hours after booking, unless the booking is within 48 hours of the event.
Kumiko is an award-winning Japanese dining bar in the West Loop, Chicago, that hosts birthday dinners, celebrations and client dinners for small groups. Planners pick it for the drinks: it won the James Beard Award for Outstanding Bar in 2025, and its cocktail, spirit-free and Japanese whisky lists give a group dinner a clear focus.
Kumiko has three rooms: the Dining Room, the Bar and the Whisky Bar, a ten-seat counter beneath the cocktail bar devoted to Japanese whisky and shochu. The Whisky Bar is open Thursday to Sunday. Bar seats are held for parties of up to two, so groups are seated in the dining room or planned as an event.
Food is seasonal Japanese cooking, with an optional tasting menu that takes up to three hours. Gluten-free and pescatarian tasting menus are available with advance notice, but the tasting menu cannot follow vegetarian or vegan diets. Drinks include signature cocktails, spirit-free drinks, Japanese whisky, shochu, sake, wine and beer. The room is intimate and minimalist, upscale but relaxed rather than formal.
Parties of six or more are planned as events with the venue rather than booked as a regular table. The host shares the party size, the occasion and preferred dates, and the details are worked out from there. The dining room is 18 and over, Kumiko is open Wednesday to Sunday from 5 pm to midnight, and dietary requests need more than 24 hours notice.
Groups of six or more at Kumiko are planned as events rather than regular reservations. The host shares the party size, occasion and preferred dates, and the evening centers on seasonal Japanese food and the bar's award-winning drinks in an intimate West Loop dining room.
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Cocktail Lounge
Craft Cocktails
Food
Great Cocktails
Intimate Gathering
Mixology
Seasonal Menu
Zero-proof
Good for: dinner party
630 W Lake St, Chicago, IL 60661