The fire is the first thing you notice at Brasero Chicago. Steaks sear on a grate over glowing coals in the open kitchen, oysters come off the grill bubbling in garlic butter, and a basket of warm pão de queijo lands on the table before you have finished your caipirinha. Chef John Manion’s South American restaurant at 1709 W. Chicago Ave. in West Town has been cooking this way since February 2024.
It has been a remarkable stretch for the restaurant. Manion was named Chef of the Year at the 2026 Jean Banchet Awards, his partner Alex Cuper took Sommelier of the Year the same night, and Brasero is now a finalist for Restaurant of the Year at the 2027 Banchet Awards. Dinner starts at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.
Why is Brasero Chicago the West Town table to book this fall?
Because it cooks the food you wish you ate on vacation, and it does it over wood. Manion grew up in São Paulo, and Brasero is built from those memories: coastal seafood, cheese bread straight from the oven and picanha dripping over an open fire. The menu leans Brazilian, borrows from across South America and is cooked with the confidence of a chef who has spent a decade feeding Chicago from a hearth.
The room matches the cooking. An open kitchen anchors the dining room, the glow of the fire carries across the tables, and plush booths and low light make it an easy date night. The music runs lively and the layout is open, so a table of eight fits in as comfortably as a couple at the bar.
What should you order at Brasero Chicago?
Start with pão de queijo ($5), Brazil’s chewy cheese bread, crisp outside and molten inside, served with blackberry serrano jam and Catupiry cheese. Add prosciutto for $12 if the table is hungry. Then order grilled oysters ($5 each), dressed with citrus-garlic butter, house hot sauce and a cashew-plantain crumble, and a plate of Brazilian fried chicken ($21) with fennel, chilis and Brasero ranch.
The cold side of the menu is bright and sharp. Yellowfin tuna crudo ($26) comes in papaya leche de tigre with a Marcona almond crunch, hamachi passionfruit aguachile ($23) gets roasted garlic aioli and watermelon radish, and Wagyu beef tartare ($28) is layered with smoked onion, horseradish aioli and cured egg yolk on PQB sourdough. The La Sirena kale salad ($19), with pecorino, poblano-avocado dressing and croutons, is the salad Manion first served at La Sirena Clandestina, his Fulton Market restaurant that opened in 2012.
For the main event, the moqueca ($49) is the dish to share: a Brazilian seafood stew in coconut broth with Brasero nuts and Akahoshi Ramen noodles. The braised pork shank ($49) sits on feijoada risotto with yuzu vinaigrette, radish and fennel slaw and mojo de ajo, and a whole grilled branzino ($59) arrives with salsa verde and spiced peanuts.
Save room on the table for sides, because they are half the reason to come. The coal-roasted sweet potato ($18) with Catupiry, pepitas and peanuts is the one everyone fights over, and the Paulista fried rice ($22) with crispy pork belly and a fried egg is close behind. Dessert runs from a coconut soft serve sundae ($13) to a pumpkin panna cotta ($14) with miso caramel.
Is the steak worth it at Brasero?
Yes, and the fire is why. The 12-ounce Westholme Wagyu picanha ($92), the Brazilian cap cut, comes off the coals with chimichurri and vinaigrette. The 22-ounce Linz Heritage Prime bone-in ribeye ($130), dry-aged 30 days, is the big-night order for two, sliced and finished with mushroom au poivre. For a steak dinner that leaves room for oysters and sides, the 10-ounce Linz Black Angus steak frites ($51) is a bavette with smoked chimichurri butter over fries.
Manion’s steak credentials run deep. His El Che Steakhouse & Bar has been grilling Argentine-style in the West Loop since 2016, and his next room, Palomino, a live-fire American steakhouse at 565 W. Randolph St., is set to open in early 2027.
What is the Leap of Faith menu at Brasero?
It is a personalized chef’s menu, and the easiest way to eat well here. Order Leap of Faith at $90 or $115 per person, sit back with a cocktail and let the kitchen send out its choice of dishes from across the menu. Drinks are not included in either price. It is the move for a first visit, a celebration or a table that cannot agree on what to order.
What to drink: caipirinhas and 100 South American bottles under $100
The cocktails borrow from South American drinking culture. The Prata Pitu caipirinha ($16) is cachaça, muddled limes and the house sugar blend, and the Batida ($17) blends coconut milk, coconut cream and passion fruit with your choice of cachaça or dark rum. The Rhum Old Fashioned ($17) mixes aged agricole rhum and bourbon with coffee demerara and tiki bitters, and the Special O-Queijo ($17) tops a blackberry serrano margarita with Catupiry foam. Spirit-free guests get a grapefruit and yerba mate Refresco de Pomelo ($15) and an N/A Batida ($13).
Cuper’s wine list is devoted to South America, with 100 bottles under $100. Glasses run $13 to $16, from a Brazilian sparkling Familia Salton Brut to Chilean País from the Itata Valley and a Diamandes Malbec from Argentina’s Uco Valley. On Wednesdays every bottle is half off, which makes midweek the smartest night to explore the list. The program earned Brasero a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist nod for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program.
Where you will sit: an open hearth on Chicago Avenue
Look for the tall red Brasero sign on a terra cotta storefront on Chicago Avenue, just west of Ashland Avenue. Inside, the dining room wraps around the open kitchen and the wood-fired grill, so most seats have a view of the cooks and the flames. The bar is the best seat for a solo dinner or a happy hour stop, and the booths are where you want to be for a long night.
When to go: happy hour, Wine Wednesday and all-night Sunday
Happy hour runs at the bar from 5 to 7 p.m. every night Brasero is open and all night on Sundays. The bar menu is one of the best deals in West Town: grilled oysters for $3, head-on prawns for $5, crispy papas for $8, a $13 caipirinha, $11 sangria and a new Pork Sammy ($17) with smoked pork, provolone, watercress and pepper relish on a toasted French roll with fries.
Wednesday is for wine, with half-off bottles all night. Friday and Saturday are the liveliest, and the kitchen stays open an hour later, until about 10 p.m. Brasero is closed on Mondays.
How do I get a table at Brasero Chicago?
Reservations for parties of two or more are on OpenTable, and walk-ins are seated whenever space allows. Note dietary restrictions in the reservation or call ahead at (872) 342-2079. Groups of seven or more book by emailing info@braserochicago.com, and parties of eight or more choose one of two family-style large-party menus: four courses at $95 or $130 per person, before drinks, tax and gratuity.
- Where: 1709 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL 60622 (West Town)
- Hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 5 p.m.; closed Monday
- Happy hour: 5 to 7 p.m. at the bar, all night Sunday; half-off wine bottles Wednesday
- Price: starters $5 to $28, plates $39 to $59, steaks $51 to $130; Leap of Faith $90 or $115 per person
- Reservations: OpenTable for two or more; walk-ins welcome; groups of 7+ email info@braserochicago.com
- Phone: (872) 342-2079
Brasero Chicago FAQ
Where is Brasero Chicago and what kind of food does it serve?
Brasero Chicago is at 1709 W. Chicago Ave. in West Town. Chef John Manion cooks wood-fired South American food rooted in his childhood in São Paulo: pão de queijo, grilled oysters, moqueca, Wagyu picanha and dry-aged ribeye, with caipirinhas and an all South American wine list.
How much does dinner at Brasero Chicago cost?
At Brasero Chicago, starters cost $5 to $28, plates $39 to $59 and steaks $51 to $130 for the 22-ounce ribeye. The Leap of Faith chef’s menu is $90 or $115 per person, with beverages extra.
Does Brasero Chicago take reservations or walk-ins?
Both. Brasero Chicago takes reservations on OpenTable for parties of two or more and seats walk-ins when there is room. Groups of seven or more email info@braserochicago.com, and parties of eight or more choose a $95 or $130 four-course large-party menu.
When is happy hour at Brasero Chicago?
Happy hour at Brasero Chicago runs at the bar from 5 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and all night on Sunday, with $3 grilled oysters, $5 head-on prawns and $13 caipirinhas. On Wednesdays, every bottle of wine is half off.
What awards has Brasero Chicago won?
Brasero Chicago is a finalist for Restaurant of the Year at the 2027 Jean Banchet Awards and was a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program. At the 2026 Banchets, John Manion won Chef of the Year and Alex Cuper won Sommelier of the Year.
Further reading
- Brasero official site and menus
- Brasero reservations on OpenTable
- Brasero Lights up West Town With Brazilian Live-Fire Cooking, Time Out Chicago (Nov. 2, 2026)
- The 2027 Finalists for Chicago’s Local Food Awards, the Banchets, WTTW (Sept. 30, 2026)
- The 2026 Winners of the Banchets, WTTW (Jan. 25, 2026)
- Chicago’s 2026 James Beard Award Semifinalists, WTTW (Jan. 21, 2026)
- Side Dishes Have Main Character Energy at This West Town South American Spot, Eater Chicago (Jan. 12, 2026)
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