Built in 1883 and known on Erie Street as the Flair House, the brick townhouse that holds Asador Bastian glows from the inside out. Downstairs the Bar Room fills from 4 p.m.; upstairs the Dining Room sits beneath 1930s Murano glass; and at the back of the house a white oak charcoal fire burns under a steel hood stamped BASTIAN, where thick bone-in steaks blister and smoke.
This week the River North steakhouse turns that fire toward two of the most anticipated tables of the Chicago fall. On Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, Carlos López de Lacalle, head winemaker of the Rioja estate Artadi, pours six courses of single-vineyard wine with chef Doug Psaltis. Three nights later, on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Osteria delle Tre Panche arrives from Florence for one white truffle dinner.
A Victorian townhouse built around the fire
Psaltis and chef Hsing Chen opened Asador Bastian in 2023 and modeled it on the asadors of San Sebastián, the Basque grill houses where meat and fish go over live coals and very little else gets in the way. Psaltis trained in the kitchens of Alain Ducasse, Chen leads the pastry side, and their Eat Well Hospitality group also runs Andros Taverna and Mano a Mano. This month Psaltis also cooks a game dinner at Boka with butcher Rob Levitt.
Every steak is cut txuleton style, thick and on the bone, from a rotating roster of boutique breeds: Galician rubia gallega, Wagyu from Japan and Australia, dry-aged Holstein and French Simmental, many from animals 35 months and older and aged further in the house butcher room, which glows by candlelight. Servers walk you through the breeds the way a sommelier walks you through a list.
The awards have come every year since the doors opened. Esquire put Asador Bastian on its Best New Restaurants in America list in 2023. The New York Times named it to its 2024 Restaurant List of the 50 best restaurants in America, the only Chicago room on that year’s list. The World’s Best Steak Restaurants ranking placed it No. 14 in the world in 2024 and named it the No. 1 steak restaurant in North America in 2025. In September 2026 the Banchet Awards named it one of four finalists for Restaurant of the Year 2027, with winners announced Jan. 31, 2027.
Sunday, Nov. 15: Artadi’s single vineyards at the table
Artadi is a family-run estate based in Laguardia, in Rioja Alavesa, with vineyards in Laguardia and neighboring Elvillar. Its wines are built around individual sites, and at the end of 2015 the family left the Rioja DOCa so the vineyard name could come first on every bottle. Since then the family has added Izar-Leku, a traditional-method sparkling wine from the Basque coast made with Champagne grower Raphaël Bérêche, and Artazu, old-vine Garnacha from Navarra.
Carlos López de Lacalle hosts the evening, and the menu moves from the Basque coast to Rioja’s most coveted plots, course by course, against the fire:
- Collection of pintxos
- Scallop with truffle, with 2019 Izar-Leku, Hondarribi Zuri
- Wild mushroom tart, with 2023 Artazu Santa Cruz de Artazu Tinto, Navarra
- Sweet potato with dry-aged duck, with 2022 Artadi La Hoya
- Charolais beef with chestnut mushrooms, with 2022 Artadi Morera San Lázaro and 2022 Artadi El Carretil
- Dessert
Seatings run from 4 to 8:45 p.m. The dinner is $410 per person plus tax and gratuity, booked on SevenRooms, and the menu may still change. Reservations are limited, so this is the table to claim first.
Wednesday, Nov. 18: White truffles from Florence’s Tre Panche
Andrea and Vieri opened Osteria delle Tre Panche in Florence in 1986, in a tiny room with just three benches, which is where the name comes from. It has since become one of the city’s best-known addresses for truffles, and its signature is tagliolini with white truffle, fragrant with shaved white truffle.
For one night the Tre Panche team travels to River North and cooks a set menu built on white truffles, exceptional ingredients and the Asador Bastian fire, alongside the kitchen of Psaltis and Chen. The meal closes with the osteria’s famous cheesecake, made from a recipe the family has kept secret since 1986.
The prix-fixe dinner is served in the Main Dining Room from 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations are through Dorsia with a $375 per person minimum spend, and no Dorsia membership is required for this dinner.
What to order on any other night
Start in the Bar Room with Cantabrian anchovies, pan con tomate and slices of 5J jamón, then the black truffle beef tartare seasoned with salt-cured foie gras. The Txuleton Burger, an 8-ounce blend topped with Mahón cheese on a garlic and piquillo-brushed brioche bun, is served only downstairs, and the coldest martini in town comes in small, very cold pours.
Upstairs, choose a steak by breed and age, then add the sea. Fish arrives from the markets of Barcelona, carabineros appear when the scarlet prawns are in season, the besugo is grilled over the open fire, and the spider crab arroz cremoso is a fine reason to bring a crowd. The wine list is all Spanish, from Rioja Gran Reservas to Galician whites.
Save room for dessert. Chen’s burnt Basque cheesecake is the house signature, and the Black Swan, a choux pastry filled with banana cream and salted caramel, is as theatrical as anything that leaves the grill.
How to get a table at Asador Bastian
The Dining Room is reservation-only and books 30 days ahead on SevenRooms. The ten-seat chef’s table looks straight into the flames, with seatings at 5 and 8 p.m. The Bar Room opens daily at 4 p.m. and welcomes walk-ins for the full menu, the easiest way in on short notice.
Lunch happens once a month. The First of the Harvest Pintxo Sunday on Nov. 22, 2026, starts with a Basque-style pintxo reception, then moves to the Main Dining Room for a seated lunch with a preview of the kitchen’s Thanksgiving dishes, at $125 per person with seatings at noon and 1:30 p.m. On Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, the house serves a $180 prix-fixe menu from noon to 6 p.m.
Asador Bastian Chicago at a glance
- Where: 214 West Erie Street, Chicago, IL 60654 (River North, the Flair House)
- Bar Room: daily, 4 p.m. to midnight, walk-ins welcome
- Dining Room: Sunday to Wednesday 4 to 10 p.m.; Thursday to Saturday 4 to 10:30 p.m.; reservations 30 days ahead on SevenRooms
- Artadi winemaker dinner: Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, seatings 4 to 8:45 p.m., six courses, $410 per person plus tax and gratuity, book on SevenRooms
- Osteria delle Tre Panche white truffle dinner: Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, 5 to 10 p.m., $375 per person minimum spend, book on Dorsia (no membership required)
- Phone: (312) 800-8935
Asador Bastian Chicago FAQ
What is Asador Bastian Chicago known for?
Asador Bastian is a Basque-inspired steakhouse in River North’s 1883 Flair House, known for thick bone-in txuleton steaks from boutique breeds grilled over white oak charcoal. The World’s Best Steak Restaurants ranking named it the No. 1 steak restaurant in North America in 2025, and it is a 2027 Banchet Restaurant of the Year finalist.
When is the Artadi winemaker dinner at Asador Bastian Chicago?
The Artadi winemaker dinner is Sunday, Nov. 15, 2026, with seatings from 4 to 8:45 p.m. at Asador Bastian, 214 West Erie Street. Head winemaker Carlos López de Lacalle pours Artadi wines with six courses from chef Doug Psaltis. It costs $410 per person plus tax and gratuity, booked on SevenRooms.
How do I book the Tre Panche white truffle dinner at Asador Bastian?
Book the Osteria delle Tre Panche white truffle dinner through Dorsia, with no membership required. The prix-fixe dinner is Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2026, from 5 to 10 p.m. in Asador Bastian’s Main Dining Room in River North, with a minimum spend of $375 per person, and it ends with the Florence osteria’s famous cheesecake.
How do I get a reservation at Asador Bastian Chicago?
Asador Bastian’s upstairs Dining Room takes reservations 30 days ahead on SevenRooms, and tables go quickly once each date opens. The ten-seat chef’s table, facing the River North kitchen’s fire, seats at 5 and 8 p.m. For a same-day visit, the ground-floor Bar Room takes walk-ins daily from 4 p.m.
Can you walk in to the Bar Room at Asador Bastian Chicago?
Yes. The Bar Room on the ground floor of Asador Bastian at 214 West Erie Street opens daily at 4 p.m. and welcomes walk-ins for the full menu. It is also the only place in the River North steakhouse to order the Txuleton Burger, topped with Mahón cheese on a toasted brioche bun.
Does Asador Bastian Chicago serve lunch?
Asador Bastian serves lunch only at its monthly Pintxo Sunday. The next one, First of the Harvest Pintxo Sunday on Nov. 22, 2026, pairs a pintxo reception with a seated lunch and a preview of Thanksgiving dishes for $125 per person, with seatings at noon and 1:30 p.m. in River North.
Further reading
- Asador Bastian, official site
- Asador Bastian: Winemaker Dinner, Artadi x Asador Bastian, Nov. 15, 2026
- Asador Bastian: Asador Bastian x Osteria delle Tre Panche, a White Truffle Dinner, Nov. 18, 2026
- Dorsia: Tre Panche dinner reservations
- Asador Bastian: First of the Harvest Pintxo Sunday, Nov. 22, 2026
- Asador Bastian on Instagram: the Artadi dinner announcement, Nov. 9, 2026
- ABC7 Chicago: Asador Bastian named best steak restaurant in North America, Dec. 2, 2025
- Time Out Chicago: The New York Times names Asador Bastian one of the best in America, Sept. 24, 2024
- WGN Radio: Asador Bastian nominated for Restaurant of the Year at the Banchet Awards, Oct. 2026
- Esquire: Best New Restaurants in America 2023
- Chicago Tribune: Asador Bastian review, May 8, 2023
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