Morning light pours across the long dining room at 660 N. Orleans St., and starting Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, it comes with the smell of cardamom and fresh espresso. Sifr, the wood-fired Middle Eastern restaurant from Sujan Sarkar, its chef and co-owner, and Sahil Sethi, opens Sifr Café inside its River North room, serving baklava croissants, carrot halwa babka, focaccia sandwiches and sticky date lattes from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
It gives River North a new breakfast stop from the team behind Indienne, the Michelin-starred Indian tasting room that won Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 Banchet Awards. Order at the counter, take a seat or carry it out, and come back after dark, when the same room turns into one of the city’s best-value wood-fired dinners.
Sifr Café opens Nov. 11 with a pastry case worth the detour
The pastry case is where to start. Sarkar and Sethi fold Middle Eastern and Indian sweets into French and Viennese shapes: a Carrot Halwa Babka swirled with the spiced carrot pudding, a Baklava Croissant, a Mahalabia Custard Croissant filled with the milky, rose-scented pudding, and a Cardamom Canelé with a dark, caramelized shell. There is a Date & Chocolate Tea Cake, a syrup-soaked semolina basbousa, and tahini and nankhatai cookies for the walk back to the office.
On the savory side, the Breakfast Sandwich stacks an egg soufflé with cheese and harissa mayo, and you can add a hash brown or a lamb adana patty. The bakers also turn out an Olive & Harissa Focaccia Slice, a Lamb Keema Focaccia and a Chicken Musakhan Croissant Ring, which wraps sumac chicken and caramelized onions in laminated dough.
Falafel on focaccia, hummus at the counter
Late-morning hunger gets real sandwiches on house-made focaccia. The Falafel Sandwich comes with harissa tahini yogurt, and the Chicken Sandwich layers cilantro labneh, roasted peppers and pickles. Two of Sifr’s signature spreads cross over from dinner: the Classic Hummus with extra-virgin olive oil and za’atar, and Whipped Ricotta with Urfa chili crunch, each served with warm focaccia.
Seating is in the sunny dining room, so a coffee meeting can stretch into an early lunch. The café closes at 1 p.m., and the room resets for dinner service at 5.
Sticky date lattes, smoked tahini and Sulaimani chai
The drinks lean into the region’s flavors. Espresso comes from Chicago roaster Metric Coffee, and the signature lattes include a Date Caramel Latte, a Smoked Tahini Latte and a Sticky Date Latte made with Medjool dates, maple syrup and warming spices. For a gentler start, order the Sulaimani Masala Chai, a dairy-free spiced black tea with ginger and cardamom, or a pot from the curated list of Chicago’s Spirit Tea.
After dark, the wood fire runs the room
Dinner is why Sifr has a following. Most of the menu cooks over a charcoal and wood-fired hearth and lands as mezze and larger plates for sharing. Start with the Classic Hummus ($17), crowned with charred sweet corn and green zhoug, and tear into the sesame and nigella pita ($3). The Beef Short Rib Hummus ($24) piles birista and pine nuts on top, and the Mezze Tower ($48) brings hummus, eggplant, ezme, muhammara, smoked labneh, lavash and pita for the table.
From the grill, the lamb kebab ($26) arrives with tzatziki and sumac onions, scallops ($34) sit in zaitoon and a fermented pepper beurre blanc, and the tiger prawns ($40) come with toum and harissa emulsion. The Roasted Cauliflower in qorma sauce ($30) follows a rich Mughal-era recipe, and the lamb shank ($52) rests on saffron rice with sumac onions and pine nuts. All meat is halal. Save room for grilled strawberries and cream with rose and black pepper meringue ($14), or the chocolate date cake with sesame caramel ($14).
The $45 express tasting and a happy hour with $8 cocktails
Sifr makes a weeknight dinner easy to say yes to. The Chef’s Tasting Menu is $60 a person for four courses, from hummus to share through a choice of kebab, a large plate and dessert, and the whole table orders it together. Sunday through Thursday, the Express Tasting Menu is $45 for three courses in one hour, with seatings between 5 and 5:15 p.m., a smart move before a show at the Lyric or a game downtown.
Happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the bar, with $8 cocktails, $6 herb falafel, hummus and manoushe, and a $14 lamb kebab burger. Mondays bring half-price bottles of wine, and Tuesday through Thursday the bar pours $35 wine flights.
Seven numbered cocktails and an all-seasons rooftop
Sifr means zero, and the cocktail list counts up from there. Each $16 drink carries an Arabic number: Wahid (No. 1) mixes bourbon, chocolate, fig and aromatic bitters; Talata (No. 3) brings gin, arak, melon, basil and cucumber and also comes without alcohol; Sitta (No. 6) shakes mezcal with Aperol, sake and citrus. The wine list reaches from the Loire to Lebanon’s Beqaa Valley, with Mersel’s Jaffa Crush skin-contact white and Dar Richi red by the glass.
Upstairs, the all-seasons rooftop terrace takes reservations Thursday through Saturday, and it is the room to book for a birthday or a group of up to nine. The ground floor carries the café by day and the hearth by night, a few doors down Orleans Street from Mr. Beef.
The Indienne family, and a Diwali dinner on Nov. 8
Sifr opened in 2023 and has held a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the 2024 and 2025 Michelin Guides, the guide’s nod to excellent cooking at a good price. It is part of a growing family: Sarkar’s Indienne at 217 W. Huron St. holds one Michelin star, won Best New Restaurant at the Banchet Awards in 2024 and took Restaurant of the Year in 2026, and its sommelier Chris Farrell is a finalist for Sommelier of the Year at the 2027 Banchet Awards. Sethi was also on the chef lineup for this fall’s Celebrity Chef Ball benefiting Meals on Wheels Chicago.
If the café puts you in a festive mood, Indienne opens for a Diwali dinner on Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, the night of the festival of lights. The restaurant is normally closed on Sundays, so this is a special opening. A per-person price has not been announced, and reservations are on SevenRooms.
The same night, Sarkar’s Lincoln Park restaurant Nadu hosts its own one-night Diwali tasting menu: four courses from $75 a person, with seatings from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on OpenTable.
Plan your visit
- Address: 660 N. Orleans St., Chicago, IL 60654 (River North)
- Sifr Café: opens Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026; Wednesday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; order at the counter for dine-in or takeaway
- Dinner: Sunday to Thursday 5 to 9:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 10:30 p.m.
- Happy hour: Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m. at the bar
- Tastings: Chef’s Tasting Menu $60 per person (whole table); Express Tasting Menu $45, Sunday to Thursday, 5 to 5:15 p.m. seatings, one hour
- Reservations: dinner on OpenTable and SevenRooms; rooftop Thursday to Saturday; parties of 10 or more email the restaurant
- Good to know: all meat is halal; guests 4 and older; corkage $35 a bottle, up to two; 4% surcharge on checks that you can ask to remove
Sifr Chicago FAQ
When does Sifr Café open in Chicago?
Sifr Café opens on Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2026, inside Sifr at 660 N. Orleans St. in River North. It serves Wednesday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., with counter ordering for dine-in or takeaway, before the room switches to Sifr’s wood-fired dinner service at 5 p.m.
What should I order at Sifr Café?
Start with a Baklava Croissant or the Carrot Halwa Babka and a Sticky Date Latte made with Medjool dates and maple syrup. For something savory, Sifr Café makes a Breakfast Sandwich with egg soufflé and harissa mayo, a Lamb Keema Focaccia and a Chicken Musakhan Croissant Ring with sumac chicken.
How much is dinner at Sifr Chicago?
Dinner at Sifr Chicago runs about $17 to $24 for spreads, $22 to $52 for grilled plates and $30 to $52 for large shareables. The Chef’s Tasting Menu is $60 per person for the whole table, and the Express Tasting Menu is $45 for three courses Sunday through Thursday between 5 and 5:15 p.m.
Does Sifr Chicago have a Michelin star?
Sifr Chicago holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand, awarded in the 2024 and 2025 Michelin Guides for excellent cooking at a good value. Its sister restaurant Indienne, also from Sifr’s chef and co-owner Sujan Sarkar, holds one Michelin star and was named Restaurant of the Year at the 2026 Banchet Awards.
How do I book a table at Sifr Chicago?
Book dinner at Sifr Chicago on OpenTable or SevenRooms for parties of up to nine, or call the restaurant. Rooftop tables are reserved Thursday through Saturday, and groups of 10 or more email the restaurant. Sifr Café takes no reservations; order at the counter from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday.
Is there a happy hour at Sifr Chicago?
Yes. Sifr Chicago’s happy hour runs Monday through Friday from 5 to 6 p.m. at the bar, with $8 cocktails, $10 house wine, $6 herb falafel, hummus and manoushe, and a $14 lamb kebab burger. Mondays bring half-price wine bottles, and $35 wine flights pour Tuesday through Thursday.
Further reading
- Sifr official site, menus and hours
- Sifr on OpenTable
- Chicago Food Magazine: Sifr Café opening November 11
- Crain’s Chicago Business: Michelin-recognized Sifr is opening a cafe in River North
- Michelin Guide: Chicago’s Best Value Restaurants (Bib Gourmands)
- WTTW: The 2026 winners of the Banchet Awards
- Indienne official site
Published by ChiVibe. See our editorial standards and contact us about corrections or collaboration.
