All Well Is the Oriole Team’s Version of a Casual Neighborhood Bar
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Chicago prides itself on its neighborhood bars, those casual hangs on random corners and side streets all around the city. Now, a pair of well-pedigreed chefs have opened their take on the genre, albeit one with Michelin-quality food and service.
Stepping into All Well’s dark, stylish space a couple of blocks off Randolph Street’s restaurant row in the buzzy West Loop, you quickly realize it’s actually quite sophisticated yet still relaxed, as a neighborhood bar should be. There’s energy mixed with subtle high-quality touchpoints: the staff refolds napkins when a diner gets up from the table, crumbs between courses, and checks in before your wineglass is empty. It’s a perfect middle ground between casual and high end, where you can come as you are (although you might want to freshen up just a bit).
None of this comes as a surprise, since All Well comes from the same team as two-Michelin-starred Oriole. Chefs Noah Sandoval and Larry Feldmeier worked together there for a number of years, Sandoval as chef-owner and Feldmeier as chef de cuisine. In late 2025, Sandoval approached one of his partners to float the idea of opening a second place where Feldmeier could run the show.
The result is an approachable restaurant that offers two options: a 50-seat dining room with a $120 five-course tasting menu, a walk-in-only 30-seat bar area with offerings a la carte. Here’s everything you need to know before heading in to dine at either.
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The room envelopes you with warm touches
While All Well aims to tone down the fussiness sometimes associated with fine dining, that doesn’t mean attention to detail flies out the window. Wood-topped tables with plush banquettes sit atop a wood floor. Art, including three paintings by Chicago artist Tony Fitzpatrick, adorn the walls. Vintage Pakistani hand-stitched quilts hang from the ceiling to add a comforting-yet-artistic flair and to separate the bar and dining area, while also helping soften the sound in the high-ceilinged space. A series of oversized pendant lamps made from delicate fabric gently lights the dining area, and a golden glow emanates from the back bar across the room. Indie rock softly plays while activity flows from the open kitchen and Feldmeier’s serving station out front.
The return of the casual five-course prix-fixe menu
When Sandoval and Feldmeier started cooking in Chicago 15-plus years ago, you had restaurants like Blackbird and Takashi that offered approachable five-course tasting menus. While many prix-fixe menus today can start at seven courses and hit upwards of 30, at All Well you can still have a special experience, in less time. “I love having great food in an hour and a half,” Sandoval said. And Feldmeier delivers on that promise, with a menu of American fare with French and Japanese influences.
The first course features three one-bite canapes, set atop a floral-shaped wooden rotating platter. When we dined, those included a sunchoke and truffle beignet, trout roe on deviled egg gribiche inside a rye-shelled tart, and a foie gras mousse waffle with Seedling Farm rhubarb jam.
Once again taking a departure from the traditional tasting menu, courses two and four let you choose among a few items: Hokkaido scallop with Virginia ham XO sauce, or a dehydrated candied beet atop sake lees cream with a sea buckthorn vinaigrette. The mid-course is a family-style rich delice de Bourgogne-filled luna mezza pasta served with a stout ceramic pitcher of chicken brodo, and toast spread with buckwheat-honey butter. (Pro tip: taste the creamy pasta before drizzling on the chicken broth — and use the liquid sparingly to ensure optimal melding of both flavors before dredging it all up with the buttery toast).
A fourth course sees a choice between four savory options that could be flaky sablefish, truffle-filled quail with creamy Italian purgatory beans, or a maitake mushroom en croute with a rich bearnaise. A final sweet taste of lemon semifreddo atop olive oil cake closes out the meal.
(Note that many of these details may change as new ingredients come into season.)
A different approach to bar food
The tasting menu starts to book out 30 days in advance, so take your chances at grabbing a spot in the 30-seat bar area. While it offers an a la carte menu, there’s no less attention to detail. You can start with a gem lettuce salad with bonito Caesar and housemade furikake or chilled fruits de mer (baby octopus and prawns) in a ham XO broth before moving on to mafaldine pasta with spring allium or a short rib sandwich with horseradish aioli. The menu is meant to offer higher-quality fare that won’t break the bank, as everything is priced between $15 and $25.
The bar menu also serves as a beacon for area chefs, cooks, and others in the restaurant industry, since it remains available until midnight, offering a late-night option for a quality bite as people get off work. There’s even a special off-menu treat…
You’ve heard of the Chicago Handshake — how about the Hamshake?
A few years ago, Sandoval introduced a late-night bar item at Oriole: a ham sandwich, which he carried over to the bar menu at All Well, with country ham, mortadella, serrano peppers, raclette, and peppery arugula piled on a ciabatta from the local 3D Baking Company. For the late-night menu, they’re offering a play on the Chicago handshake (a shot of wince-inducing Malort with an Old Style beer). Just $15, the Chicago Hamshake is a half sandwich and a drink that will change out, but will always include one of beverage director Maxx Kleiner’s creations, like an icy-cold freezer martini. FYI, this is also available to anyone coming in to eat later at night—no industry pay stub required.
Drinks with a side of Chicago hospitality
Speaking of Maxx Kleiner, his last name might be familiar to anyone who has been around the Chicago restaurant scene in the last 25 years. His father, Jerry Kleiner, is credited with turning the West Loop’s Randolph Street into the dining mecca it is today with groundbreaking restaurants like Vivo, Marché, and Red Light. Maxx, who has worked at Oriole and Brasero, continues the Kleiner legacy with a creative cocktail program. In addition to the freezer martini, he has drinks like the Dirty Daiquiri with white rum, calvados, green olive, and lime; and the Amargorita with Fernet Branca, blanco tequila, allspice, and lime.
The wine list also gets a powerful punch from Oriole wine director Emily Rosenfeld. She handpicked a list from around the world that lands at about 110 bottles, many from small producers she has built relationships with over the years. It’s a selection of high-quality wines like Moncuit Les Grand Blancs Champagne, Radikon friulano, and Pax Sonoma Hillside syrah. There are even some high-roller picks like Petrus, Vega Sicilia, and DRC Grand Cru when you want to go big.
When you’re looking to get out of your own neighborhood, yet still hit a neighborhood spot with a bit of flair, All Well is waiting for you.
All Well: 111 North Carpenter Street, Chicago. Open Wednesday through Sunday 5 p.m. – 12 a.m.
