‘The epitome of elegance’: West Loop bar with intimate Japanese cocktails named among best in the world

There is no need to purchase a plane ticket to sip in one of the best bars in the world; look no further than Chicago’s West Loop.

Kumiko, a Japanese American bar helmed by one of Chicago’s premier bar directors, landed a spot on The World’s 50 Best Bars list last week. Since 2009, the annual list has highlighted the best of the international drinks industry, voted by 650 drink experts around the world.

The list recognized Kumiko, which jumped from ranking No. 61 to No. 25 on the expanded list of 100 bars in just one year, as being the “epitome of elegance.” Mixologist Julia Momosé, owner and creative director of Kumiko, was also praised for her nuanced menu, “channeling the flavors of her Japanese American heritage.”

Momosé said she was caught off-guard by the 2022 ranking.

“It’s a really big honor, and I’m a little surprised and shocked that we went from 61 to 25,” Momosé said Wednesday. “We have been in survival mode for so long, so it’s a testament to the team.”

Momosé, who has a staff of 16 and is fresh off winning a James Beard Foundation Media Award earlier this year for her book “The Way of the Cocktail,” said some of the biggest challenges since opening in 2018 were navigating the pandemic and making significant changes in response, such as offering seating outside or selling carryout cocktails while bars and restaurants were closed — a financial lifeline Momosé championed in the early months of the shutdown.

“As trying and difficult as it was, I’m so incredibly grateful that we had a chance to stay open,” Momosé said. “Over the last year or two, we have been able to welcome in more guests and get to know our neighborhood more.”

[ Chicago cocktail legend Julia Momosé shows you how to make drinks from her native Japan in new book ]

Kumiko’s specialties range from nonalcoholic Spiritfrees to Component Flights. For the latter, Momosé decomposes a cocktail, such as a Sazerac made with Japanese saké-based vermouth, and offers customers pours of the drink’s components — Suntory Toki whisky and Macvin du Jura wine for the Sazerac — so they can experience how each ingredient plays into the completed drink.

Kumiko’s nonalcoholic cocktails, called Spiritfrees, also have distinct and nuanced flavors. The Umeboshi Swizzle, for instance, is a tart drink with mild salinity made with shiso-pickled ume (a Japanese fruit often compared to plums and apricots), brown rice vinegar, lemon and Japanese seven spice over crushed ice.

Equal care is given to Kumiko’s intimate food menu, studded with high-minded renditions of craveable bites like a wagyu katsu sando, and a truffle-flecked milk toast served with fermented honey ice cream.

Kumiko was recognized earlier this year by the North American version of the 50 Best Bars list. Described as an “upscale respite,” Kumiko ranked fifth on the continental list, which, like its World’s Best counterparts, is produced by the global food media outlet William Reed.

When it comes to the global accolade, it’s the first time a Chicago bar has graced the list since 2018, when the now-closed Lost Lake placed at No. 50. Three Dots and a Dash, which appeared in 2014, and The Aviary, an Alinea Group bar on the list from 2014-2017, are the only other Chicago bars to make the list over its 13 years.

Alinea, meanwhile, was the most recent Chicago restaurant to grace The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2019, although Oriole currently ranks at No. 91 on the expanded list of 100 best restaurants.

In 2022, other U.S. bars to make the global bars list include Café La Trova in Miami (No. 21) and six New York bars: Double Chicken Please (No. 6), Katana Kitten (No. 9), Atta Boy (No. 22), Overstory (No. 34), Dante (No. 36) and Employees Only (No. 47).

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Other cities to receive the most nods include London, with five bars on the list; Mexico City with four; and Barcelona, with three bars including No. 1 Paradiso and No. 3 Sips. Buenos Aires, Athens and Dubai each had three of the World’s Best Bars, as well.

“When we get these awards, I see them more as recognitions of what we do,” Momosé said. “We’re going to keep doing what we do, but on the back of this recognition, my focus is now going to be going to be entirely inward of how to put better systems in place for the team.”

Kumiko, 630 W. Lake St., 312-285-2912, barkumiko.com

tatturner@chicagotribune.com

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