Hooligan Chicago: Christian Hunter’s Neo-Midwestern Bistro Is Now Open in Logan Square

Hooligan Chicago is open, and it tastes like Christian Hunter’s whole life on one plate. The former Atelier chef’s first solo restaurant opened on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 2528 N. California Ave. in Logan Square, with partner and general manager Tyrone Redic Jr. running the room. Hunter calls it a neo-Midwestern bistro: French technique, Great Lakes ingredients and the Kentucky cooking he grew up on, served in a 50-seat room with dark blue walls and a bar that hums from the first seating.

Dinner starts with a free seasonal amuse-bouche for every table, and from there you can build your own night from snacks, small plates and two big mains, or hand the decisions over with the $199 Hooligan for Two.

What should you order at Hooligan Chicago?

Start with the chicken liver parfait ($19), the dish Hunter says best captures the restaurant. Hot water cornbread, the pan-fried corn cake of his Kentucky childhood, comes out as golden hush puppies alongside pimento cheese and a seasonal jam. The dressed oysters ($19 or $29) arrive already finished with rutabaga, barbecue spice and crisp potato, and vidalia à la vinaigrette ($18) piles roasted alliums under tarragon mustard and egg mimosa, with shaved Périgord truffle as an add-on.

Small plates are where the Great Lakes come in. Perch boudin ($27) turns freshwater perch and pork into a sausage with gumbo z’herbes and potato gribiche. Poisson cru ($26) presses raw fish with micro-ratatouille and summer squash purée, and crevettes au vadouvan ($28) are head-on shrimp in curried butter with charred lime and sourdough for mopping.

Two mains, both built for sharing

The large plates keep it simple. Poulet rôti ($42), a half chicken from Crazy Cluckers Farm in Missouri, comes with sauce persillade or jus, a bistro salad and pommes grand-mère. The butcher’s steak ($56) is a 400-gram cut with sauce bordelaise and the same sides. Petite bucatini with charred corn, heirloom tomato and crème fraîche ($22 or $33) and a bubbling chou gratiné ($21) round out a table nicely.

For a splurge, the Kentucky caviar service ($89) pairs 30 grams of paddlefish caviar, from a producer near Hunter’s Lexington hometown, with a soft scramble, crème fraîche, chives and sourdough chips.

Is the Hooligan for Two worth it?

For a first visit, yes. The Hooligan for Two is $199 and covers two dressed oysters, two small plates of your choice, one large plate, half pours of wine and a shared dessert. It works like a choose-your-own tasting menu, and it is the easiest way to taste the range of the kitchen in one sitting.

Hunter is also the pastry chef, so save room. Toasted rice butter pecan ice cream ($14) uses Cahokia rice grown in southern Illinois, a nod to the butter pecan that filled so many Black family freezers. Profiteroles ($16) get warm chocolate sauce, and there is a local cheese plate ($24) with house pickles and mustard.

The cocktails and the room

Beverage manager Aaron Michael Wells, whose résumé includes Maxwell’s Trading, Coquette and Celeste, built a list around Southern and Midwestern flavors. The Hooligan ($18) stirs brown butter rye with China-China, amontillado, burnt honey and tarragon, somewhere between a Manhattan and an Old Fashioned. The Burnt Harvest ($16) mixes bourbon, apple brandy, grits, chicory and bay leaf, and the Last Call ($16) blends cognac, Bénédictine, coffee, toasted buckwheat and cultured cream. Zero-proof drinkers get the Ember & Orchard ($10), smoky with roasted apple, black tea and ginger. The wine list runs about a dozen by the glass, including two pours from Middle Brow in Chicago.

Hooligan took over the former Good Fortune space, and the team leaned into its moodiness: dark blue walls, a royal-blue velvet banquette, blond hardwood floors and tan leather stools at an eight-seat bar. Custom light fixtures glow over the front room, and the open kitchen anchors the back. The soundtrack pulls from the early-1990s music of Hunter’s childhood, and Redic, who worked at Charlie Trotter’s, Grace and Celeste, sets a warm, unfussy tone at the door.

Who is Christian Hunter?

Hunter grew up in Lexington, Kentucky, and cooked in the Hudson Valley, coastal Rhode Island, Charleston and rural Connecticut, where he was a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Northeast at Community Table. In Chicago he led Atelier in Lincoln Square, which earned a Michelin star, and he won the MICHELIN Guide Young Chef Award in 2023. The name Hooligan is his pushback against narrow ideas of fine dining. “I was always kind of feeling like a hooligan, like an outcast,” he told the Chicago Tribune.

Hooligan was first planned for Time Out Market Chicago, which closed in January 2026 before the stall could open. The Logan Square room gives the idea space to grow, and it pairs nicely with a nightcap down the street at The Logan Inn.

How to get a table at Hooligan

Book on OpenTable through the Hooligan website. Dinner runs Thursday through Monday from 5 PM to 10 PM, and the eight bar seats are the best bet for a last-minute night. Hooligan adds an 18 percent service charge to every check in place of tipping, which covers both the kitchen and the floor, and additional tipping is not expected.

Know before you go

• Address: 2528 N. California Ave., Chicago, IL 60647 (Logan Square)
• Hours: Thursday through Monday, 5 PM to 10 PM; closed Tuesday and Wednesday
• Price: snacks $14 to $22, small plates $24 to $28, mains $42 to $56; Hooligan for Two $199
• Service: 18 percent service charge in place of tipping
• Reservations: OpenTable
• Instagram: @hooligan.chicago

Hooligan Chicago FAQ

When did Hooligan open in Chicago?

Hooligan Chicago opened on Thursday, October 1, 2026, at 2528 N. California Ave. in Logan Square. It is chef Christian Hunter’s first solo restaurant, run with partner and general manager Tyrone Redic Jr., and it serves dinner Thursday through Monday from 5 PM to 10 PM.

How much does dinner at Hooligan Chicago cost?

At Hooligan Chicago, snacks run $14 to $22, small plates $24 to $28 and the two mains $42 and $56. The Hooligan for Two costs $199 and includes oysters, two small plates, a large plate, half pours of wine and a shared dessert. An 18 percent service charge replaces tipping.

How do I make a reservation at Hooligan Chicago?

Reserve Hooligan Chicago on OpenTable, linked from hooliganchicago.com. The Logan Square bistro seats about 50, with eight seats at the bar, and serves dinner Thursday through Monday from 5 PM to 10 PM. Weekend tables go first, so book a few days ahead or try the bar.

What kind of food does Hooligan Chicago serve?

Hooligan Chicago serves what chef Christian Hunter calls neo-Midwestern bistro food: French technique with Great Lakes and Southern ingredients. Signatures include chicken liver parfait with hot water cornbread and pimento cheese, perch boudin with potato gribiche, roast half chicken with pommes grand-mère and Kentucky paddlefish caviar.

Does Hooligan Chicago have a Michelin star?

Hooligan Chicago opened in October 2026 and has not yet been reviewed by the MICHELIN Guide. Chef Christian Hunter previously led Michelin-starred Atelier in Lincoln Square and won the MICHELIN Guide Young Chef Award in 2023. He was also a James Beard Award finalist for Best Chef: Northeast.

Further reading

• Hooligan official website
• Hooligan food and drink menus
• Hooligan on Instagram
• Eater Chicago: With Chef Christian Hunter’s Hooligan, Fine Dining Gets Personal
• Chicago Tribune: Hooligan, by Michelin award winning chef Christian Hunter, opens in Chicago
• Crain’s Chicago Business: Christian Hunter to open Logan Square restaurant Hooligan (September 3, 2026)

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