Goosefoot Chicago: Lincoln Square’s Intimate French Comeback
Goosefoot Chicago is back in the neighborhood that raised it — not as a museum piece of its Michelin years, but as a living Lincoln Square dining room where Chris and Nina Nugent still cook and host like you walked into their home. The grand opening is set for October 10 at 4520 N. Lincoln Ave., and if you have been waiting for French fine dining that feels personal instead of performative, this is the night (and the address) to put on your calendar.
Why does Goosefoot Chicago feel like a homecoming?
Because it is one. Nina and Chris have lived in Lincoln Square for a quarter century. They closed the original Lawrence Avenue room in 2024 after twelve years — a run that brought Chicago Magazine’s Best New Restaurant, a Michelin star they held for a decade, and a Tribune Chef of the Year nod for Chris. The quiet version of the story is that guests never stopped calling. The louder version, which Block Club Chicago reported on September 30, is that the couple bought a building on Lincoln Avenue, remodeled it with as much of the old soul as they could carry, and have been refining service since a soft March return before inviting the neighborhood to celebrate for real.
You feel that history when Nina greets the door like a hostess who actually lives upstairs — because she does. You feel it when Chris steps out of the kitchen to hug a regular. Goosefoot Chicago was always less about spectacle and more about being treated like family at a table that still takes French technique seriously. The new room keeps that promise and adds something the old BYOB chapter never had: a full wine program built to travel with the menu.
What does the Goosefoot Chicago dining room feel like?
Think mustard velvet banquettes, slate-gray chairs, gold table lamps, and a quiet gray-and-gold palette that reads modern without going cold. The official site describes an artful blend of French technique and modern vision; in person, the room feels like a neighborhood fine-dining salon — intimate, set, ready for a long evening. Flowers on the tables. Soft light. The kind of space where conversation can drop when a plate lands and nobody minds.
The old Lawrence address was a destination people drove across the city to find. The Lincoln Avenue room still pulls anniversary travelers from Michigan and die-hard regulars who would have followed the Nugents out of state — but it also catches walkable Lincoln Square nights. There is an outdoor patio when weather cooperates. Inside, the dining room is the main event: small enough that hospitality is not a script, big enough that a celebration does not feel like a private chef’s table you have to whisper through.
What is on the Goosefoot Chicago tasting menus right now?
Goosefoot Chicago runs two paths. The signature surprise chef’s tasting is $225 per person (service and tax on top). The loosefoot four-course tasting is $135. Wine pairings land around $140 with the full surprise menu and $80 with loosefoot, and the cellar is no longer a bring-your-own story — bottles and glasses from around the world sit ready to meet the plate.
Fall’s surprise menu reads like a love letter to truffle season and market produce: foie gras truffle mousse with lingonberry gastrique; zucchini blossom with crab soufflé, Burgundy truffle, and yuzu; autumn market soup; roasted duck breast with kabocha squash, gooseberry-pickled mustard seed mostarda, fig, and more Burgundy truffle; Angus beef with parsnip, aigre-doux, and beurre noisette; Roquefort with quince and mulled-wine spice; citrus and berry desserts; mignardises; and the house chocolates Chris has been tinkering with for years. That is not a frozen “greatest hits” board — the kitchen rotates with the seasons, and the surprise format means the night stays choreographed without feeling locked to a laminated card.
If you have ever wanted a Chicago tasting menu that still believes in flavor over garnish theater, this is the lane. Nina has said Chris believes in creativity and that you have to have flavor. That sentence is the whole brand.
Who are Chris and Nina Nugent behind Goosefoot Chicago?
Chris Nugent came up through kitchens the hard way — upstate New York, early years helping at a French fine-dining inn after family loss, Johnson & Wales, then a Chicago path that included Prairie, mk, Betise, and Les Nomades. Nina was working at the old DoubleTree on the Mag Mile when Chris arrived as executive sous chef at Park Avenue Cafe. She has said he talked about opening his own place from the day they met. After another family tragedy in 2009, she told him it was time. Goosefoot opened December 11, 2011 — his brother’s birthday.
That origin story still shapes the room. Guests talk about Nina’s warmth as much as Chris’s plates. Andersonville regulars save menus. North Park diners come back three times in a month. The couple used the 2024–2025 pause to travel through Ireland, Spain, France, Denmark, and Portugal, then came home with a clearer wine vision and a building that finally put them on Lincoln Avenue — the street they always wanted.
How do you book Goosefoot Chicago for October?
Reservations are required. Book through OpenTable or call 773-754-0368, and confirm current seatings on goosefoot.net. Dinner runs Wednesday through Saturday; the house has talked about adding Sundays. Recent public notes put Wednesday on the loosefoot four-course path with earlier seatings, and Thursday–Saturday on the full surprise experience with 5:30 and 8:30 seatings — always double-check before you plan a birthday or anniversary, because soft-open months still fine-tune the clock.
Dress is business casual. Cancellation windows and dietary rules are spelled out on the reservations page: the kitchen can work with no-shellfish, pescatarian, and mild nut allergies, but the surprise and four-course formats are not built for vegetarian, vegan, low- or no-dairy, severe nut, or fully gluten-free diets (gluten-sensitive guests may be able to eat around certain items — ask when you book). None of that is a lecture; it is how a small, composed tasting kitchen stays honest.
Why is the October 10 grand opening the moment for Goosefoot Chicago?
Because the restaurant has already been quietly open since March — and the Nugents waited on purpose. They wanted the service sharp, the patio known, the wine list settled, and the neighborhood to feel the welcome before the wider city piled in. Block Club’s September 30 feature is the public cue that the soft chapter is ending. A formal grand opening on October 10 is the ribbon-cutting energy for a room that has already proven it can feed regulars like family.
For ChiVibe readers, that timing matters. You are not chasing a vaporware opening date. You are catching a beloved Lincoln Square restaurant as it steps fully back into the light — with truffles on the plate, tulips on the pass, and a wine program that finally matches the cooking. Follow @goosefootchi for seasonal menu drops and last-minute patio or loosefoot seats when they open.
Spend a little time with the house Instagram and you will see why plates from this kitchen photograph the way they do: black truffles piled on white porcelain like a dare, a zucchini blossom under thin truffle shaves in a quiet cream, duck and mustard-seed mostarda that still look like autumn even under restaurant light. Those stills are not lifestyle filler. They are the same language Block Club captured in late September — foie gras mousse, duck, kabocha, house chocolates — the sensory trailer for a night you actually want to eat.
If you are building a Lincoln Square evening around Goosefoot Chicago, leave room for the pace. This is not a sprint of small plates and a shared dessert. It is a composed tasting with a host who remembers faces and a chef who still believes a course should taste like something specific. Pair it with a walk on Lincoln Avenue before or after if the weather holds. Or simply sit, order the pairing, and let the room do what it was rebuilt to do: make you feel welcome for a long time.
FAQ
Is Goosefoot Chicago open now or only after October 10?
Goosefoot Chicago has been serving dinner at 4520 N. Lincoln since a March soft return; October 10 is the public grand-opening celebration after months of quiet refinement.
How much does Goosefoot Chicago cost?
The surprise chef’s tasting is $225 per person before the 22% service charge and tax; the loosefoot four-course path is $135. Wine pairings are about $140 and $80 respectively.
Does Goosefoot Chicago still do BYOB?
No. The new Lincoln Square room has a curated wine program by the glass and bottle, plus optional pairings with each tasting path.
Where is Goosefoot Chicago located?
4520 N. Lincoln Ave. in the heart of Lincoln Square — the Nugents’ longtime neighborhood, a few blocks of walkable energy away from the old Lawrence Avenue address.
Who should book Goosefoot Chicago right now?
Anyone who wants intimate French-American tasting-menu cooking for an anniversary, a serious date night, or a “welcome back” meal with the chefs who never really left Lincoln Square.
