Bar Siena

"When we first created Siena Tavern, much of our inspiration came from a quaint, casual and energetic bar and restaurant called La Taverna in Siena, Italy. That inspiration led us to create a more polished and expansive version better suited for River North,” says DineAmic Group partner Lucas Stoioff. “Bar Siena will be closer to our original inspiration in size, style and energy.”The rustic, two-story space offers casual seating throughout the restaurant including the ground floor bar area and a dining room on the second floor, with a 25-foot-by-25- foot opening in the center, uniting the two levels. While seated at the bar, guests will have a straight view into the open kitchen where a dome shaped, red mosaic tile pizza oven bearing the name “Bella” is a notable attraction. Handmade, imported from Italy, and reaching temperatures of over 600 degrees, Bella will be "the hottest girl in town." Overhead is a wooden, steel-braced frame that serves as the armature and suspends flat screen televisions, liquor bottles and antique kitchen paraphernalia. The bar room is encompassed by whitewashed brick walls, pipe and filament bulb deck lamps and square tufted leather booths. Antique mirrors wrap corners and provide a surface for hand-lettered menu items. A DJ booth, complete with a collection of vinyl records, will be situated off the stairs. The room will be unique, energized and inviting, capable of being a casual eatery or a bustling bar. Upstairs, a palette of spice tones enriches the space. Large windows punctuate the perimeter brick walls and offer sweeping views of the Chicago skyline. Linking the two stories is an arresting illuminated sculpture inspired by Siena Tavern’s olive tree icon. The sculpture, composed of dozens of curvilinear iron “branches,” will begin as small wires entwined in the TV and pot rack feature that hovers over the ground-floor bar and then rises up through a large opening in the second floor, sprawling and winding its way up to the second-floor ceiling. Custom-made by local ironworkers, the sculpture will be peppered with hundreds of LED lights, which allow it to double as an organic, one-of-a-kind chandelier. It will provide the right dose of glitz and glamour to the otherwise understated design.