2 weeks Ago By Patrick Filbin
LINCOLN PARK — Sitting down for dinner at Michelin-starred Galit is a singular dining experience. The Lincoln Park restaurant, inspired by the cuisines of Israel and the Middle East and tying them together with Midwestern ingredients, offers a very specific dinner menu that has been celebrated with awards and accolades since it opened in 2019. This winter, the team behind Galit — led by chef Zach Engel and General Manager Andrés Clavero — will flex new culinary muscles with Cafe Yaya, an all-day cafe with pastries, lunch and counter-service coffee at 2431 N.
Lincoln Ave., next door to the flagship restaurant. “Since we opened, Galit has evolved so much,” Engel said.
“We’ve gotten to a place where we could only do exactly what we were doing, which is the six-course, prix-fixe, choose-your-own-adventure menu, with an extensive Middle Eastern wine list, and dinner only. We’ve cultivated a strong connection with our neighborhood and regulars, but a lot of conversations ended with people saying, ‘We love you guys, but we can’t do the whole thing all the time.’” A post shared by Galit Restaurant (@galit_restaurant) The Galit team bought the building next door to its restaurant a few years ago and has been considering what to do with the space.
After early success with takeout orders during the pandemic, Galit became a staple in Lincoln Park, earning a Michelin star in 2022 . This year, Galit was named Restaurant of the Year at the 2024 Jean Banchet Awards. Engel, who won a James Beard Award for his work at Shaya in New Orleans, wanted to offer the community a complement to Galit that gave him and the staff more flexibility and room for creativity.
“We wanted to give some of them the opportunity to shine,” Engel said of the staff. “For example, chef Mary Eder-McClure, our pastry chef, is incredibly talented, and she and I are on a great creative wavelength. She’s somewhat limited at Galit, so I wanted to give her a chance to show Chicago her talent and creativity.
” There’s no definitive timeline for an opening date yet, but the staff is aiming for this winter. A post shared by Galit Restaurant (@galit_restaurant) Cafe Yaya will offer a selection of morning pastries and an a la carte dinner menu to start. The cafe will expand to serve lunch, brunch and takeout in the future.
The pastry menu will include treats like savory bourekas, crispy sweet baklava and challah, and they will be paired with coffee selections from Sparrow Coffee Roastery. The dinner menu will feature elements of French, Jewish, Southern, Middle Eastern and Midwestern cooking, a reflection of Engel’s travels and upbringing. Cafe Yaya’s beverage program, led by Scott Stroemer, will take a different approach from Galit’s well-known Middle Eastern wine focus.
Stroemer plans to showcase wines from independent winemakers in often-overlooked regions like Chinon, Sonoma and parts of South America. A post shared by Mary Mikaela (@notasweetsperson) Many of Galit’s team members have been with the restaurant from the start, Clavero said. Cafe Yaya will give the staff room to grow while giving neighbors something they have repeatedly asked for.
“We asked ourselves, ‘How do we continue to foster them and give them more opportunities?’” Clavero said. “We’re in the Lincoln Park neighborhood for a reason. This is us doubling down on being that neighborhood restaurant.
” The second floor of the new Cafe Yaya space will also be available for private gatherings, workshops, classes and other events. “With that additional space, we’re able to host friends, winemakers, charitable organizations and hold meetings for different groups in the restaurant community,” Engel said. “Especially those focused on hospitality or staff well-being.
The whole idea kept evolving as we thought about what people need from us and what they’re asking for.” Engel is romantic about restaurants. To him, they are physical places where community happens naturally, a space “for people with commonalities coming together.
” “Since the beginning of restaurants, they’ve been places for artists, musicians, friends, family, neighbors and colleagues to come together,” he said. “When we created this new space, we wanted it to feel connected to Galit — like a sister restaurant — but also distinct.” The menu will focus on familiar dishes, but with a Galit twist.
There will be a grill for cooking half-chickens from Slagel Family Farm, steaks over the coals, lighter fare like salads and oysters and even a lamb burger that was very popular during the original takeout days, Engel said. The menu will change on a regular basis. “It’s a bit like how we operate at Galit but with a little less at stake,” Engel said.
“In this smaller space, we get to be a bit more creative. If the team wants to try something like pizza as a special, we can go for it. My message has been, ‘Let’s just have fun and cook good food for people.
’” Cafe Yaya will be available for walk-ins and is first come, first served. Reservations can be made for parties of four or more on Resy. Support Local News! All tax-deductible donations made to Block Club today will be doubled as part of the annual NewsMatch program to support independent, nonprofit newsrooms.
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