Chicago’s favorite fire cook is building a steakhouse around the flames. John Manion, the chef behind El Che Steakhouse & Bar and Brasero and the 2026 Jean Banchet Chef of the Year, is opening Palomino at 565 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop in early 2027. Picture boutique American beef and farm-raised game birds coming off live coals, a Gulf Coast raw bar with smoke worked into the seafood, and a wine list poured entirely from North American bottles.
Palomino takes over the corner of Randolph and Jefferson that Proxi held for eight years. Its first message to Chicago is short and to the point: Feed the fire.
Live fire, American style, from Chicago’s Chef of the Year
Manion has cooked for nearly three decades, and his Chicago restaurants have been built on fire and South American flavor. La Sirena Clandestina brought Brazilian cooking to Fulton Market in 2012. El Che Steakhouse & Bar opened in 2016 at 845 W. Washington Blvd. and turned ten in August 2026, built around a long wood-fired hearth where steaks get salt, fire and a finishing brush of beef tallow. Brasero followed on Feb. 6, 2024, at 1709 W. Chicago Ave. in West Town, an homage to the São Paulo of his childhood: pão de queijo, coastal seafood and picanha dripping over the coals.
That fire habit started early. Manion’s family moved from the Midwest to São Paulo when he was eight, and the smell of picanha over an open fire from those years still runs through his cooking. El Che marked its tenth birthday this August by handing out free steak sandwiches to the neighborhood, a thank-you for a decade around the fire.
Palomino turns the compass north. Manion has spent the last few years cooking at fire and barbecue gatherings across the country, and the new restaurant draws on the regional grilling traditions he met along the way. In September he was back at Campfire Jamboree, the Stock Mfg. Co. weekend at Camp Wandawega in Wisconsin, hanging tomahawks over the coals and smoking salmon by the rack. He calls Palomino a reflection of this nation’s culinary heritage and promises to push the boundaries of what a live-fire kitchen can be.
The timing is good. At the 2026 Jean Banchet Awards in January, Manion won Chef of the Year and his partner Alex Cuper won Sommelier of the Year, on the same night Feld took Best New Restaurant and Best Hospitality. Brasero was a 2026 James Beard Award semifinalist for Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program, and it is now a finalist for Restaurant of the Year at the 2027 Banchet Awards, which crown their winners on Jan. 31, 2027.
What comes off the grill: boutique beef and game birds
The kitchen belongs to Manion and chef de cuisine Carlos Cruz, formerly executive chef of John’s Food & Wine in Lincoln Park. Their opening menu centers on provenance: boutique American beef, farm-raised game birds and produce from local growers.
Game birds are the part to get excited about, since birds take beautifully to wood smoke and few Chicago steakhouses give them a real spot on the menu. On the beef side, Manion’s recent outdoor cooks show the scale he likes: whole tomahawks hung from a steel rig over open flame.
A raw bar with smoke in it
Palomino’s raw bar looks to the Gulf Coast, with smoke folded into the seafood. Manion already knows his way around shellfish and fire: Brasero’s hot grilled oysters ($5 each) come with citrus garlic butter, house hot sauce and a cashew plantain crumble, and his outdoor cooks routinely put whole sides of salmon into the smoke.
An all North American wine list from the Sommelier of the Year
Alex Cuper, who runs Hey Che Hospitality with Manion and oversees wine at El Che and Brasero, is building the Palomino list from 100% North American bottles. The focus is small, independent producers. Cuper made his name pouring South American wine: El Che’s list runs from 200-year-old vines on volcanic soil to vineyards on mountaintops, and Brasero’s runs to 100 South American bottles under $100.
At Palomino that curiosity shifts to this continent, and North America gives him a big map to work with, from California and Oregon to New York, Mexico and Canada. Cocktails follow the same map, built on American spirits and fresh, ingredient-driven recipes.
The corner at Randolph and Jefferson
565 W. Randolph St. sits on the eastern edge of Restaurant Row, a few blocks from Union Station and steps from Sepia. Proxi, which shared team members with Sepia, served coastal Asian dishes there for eight years and closed after New Year’s Eve 2025. Hey Che signed the lease in March 2026.
Palomino puts Manion’s two West Loop rooms a short walk apart, with El Che on Washington Boulevard. The neighborhood is in a strong run for serious dining, from Paul Virant’s Gaijin on Lake Street to the Oriole team’s All Well, and a live-fire American steakhouse fills a lane none of its neighbors occupy.
Longhorns, open range and a name with some swagger
Palomino’s first posts set the mood: longhorn cattle grazing under a big blue sky, a cream-colored logo and the line “There’s smoke on the horizon.” A palomino is the golden horse of Western ranch lore, and the restaurant leans into the romance of the American West, from ranch-raised beef to a bar built on American spirits.
Taste Manion’s fire before Palomino opens
El Che Steakhouse & Bar at 845 W. Washington Blvd. opens at 5 p.m. daily, with happy hour every day from 5 to 6 p.m. Reservations are on OpenTable, and the chef’s counter books separately. Brasero at 1709 W. Chicago Ave. opens at 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and closes Mondays; happy hour runs 5 to 7 p.m. at the bar and all night on Sundays, and walk-ins are welcome.
On Nov. 10, 2026, Manion cooks bistecca alla Fiorentina for a four-course family-style dinner at DeSora, upstairs at Tortello in Wicker Park. That dinner has sold out.
Plan your visit
- Where: Palomino, 565 W. Randolph St., Chicago, IL 60661 (West Loop, at Jefferson Street)
- When: opening early 2027; the exact date has not been announced
- Who: chef and owner John Manion, chef de cuisine Carlos Cruz, beverage director Alex Cuper (Hey Che Hospitality)
- What: live-fire American steakhouse with boutique beef, game birds, a smoked Gulf Coast raw bar, North American wine and American spirits
- Reservations: not open yet
- Website: palominochicago.com
Palomino Chicago FAQ
What is Palomino Chicago?
Palomino Chicago is a live-fire American steakhouse from chef John Manion of El Che and Brasero, opening in early 2027 at 565 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop. The menu centers on boutique American beef, farm-raised game birds and a smoke-infused Gulf Coast raw bar, with an all North American wine list.
When does Palomino open in Chicago?
Palomino is scheduled to open in early 2027 in the former Proxi space at 565 W. Randolph St. in the West Loop. The exact opening date has not been announced, and reservations are not open yet. The restaurant’s website, palominochicago.com, currently shows an Opening Soon page.
Who is the chef at Palomino Chicago?
John Manion, the 2026 Jean Banchet Chef of the Year, leads Palomino Chicago with chef de cuisine Carlos Cruz, formerly executive chef of John’s Food & Wine. Manion also runs El Che Steakhouse & Bar in the West Loop and Brasero in West Town, and he opened La Sirena Clandestina in 2012.
What wine will Palomino Chicago serve?
Palomino Chicago will pour a 100% North American wine list focused on small, independent producers, built by beverage director Alex Cuper, the 2026 Jean Banchet Sommelier of the Year. Cocktails will be made with American spirits and fresh ingredients, a change from the South American lists Cuper runs at El Che and Brasero.
How is Palomino different from El Che Steakhouse in Chicago?
El Che Steakhouse & Bar at 845 W. Washington Blvd. is an Argentine-style asado steakhouse with a South American wine list. Palomino Chicago, opening in early 2027 at 565 W. Randolph St., applies the same live-fire cooking to American regional grilling, with American beef, game birds, a smoked raw bar and North American wine.
Further reading
- Palomino, official site
- Chef John Manion Announces Palomino Steakhouse for Early 2027, Restaurant Hospitality News (Oct. 26, 2026)
- El Che’s John Manion is opening a restaurant in the former Proxi space, Crain’s Chicago Business (March 19, 2026)
- Jean Banchet Award winners announced, Chicago Tribune (Jan. 26, 2026)
- Proxi To Close, Block Club Chicago (Dec. 22, 2025)
- El Che Steakhouse & Bar
- Brasero
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