Of all the places that blur the distinction between restaurant and nightclub, Okno has gone the furthest. This is a 105-seat restaurant with its own deejay booth, blasting everything from reggae to techno-industrial sounds to house music.
From the outside, Okno couldn’t be less conspicuous, sitting quietly on the corner of Milwaukee and Hermitage Avenues. A small sign, installed only recently, identifies the place, but still it’s easy to miss. All the flash is inside.
The entrance, flanked by curved, brushed-aluminum walls, opens directly into the main dining room and bar. It’s certainly lively; visuals include trapezoid-shaped chartreuse tables, hanging orbs in reddish-orange and yellow and hardwood floors washed with a red-wine stain. Waiters sport stretch-knit, long-sleeve, Okno T-shirts, looking like actors playing the role of First Crewman Killed in an old Star Trek episode.
The place is cramped and usually packed. Tables are tightly spaced, with no clear lanes for servers, who weave haphazardly about the tables — as do customers in search of the restrooms. I watched one woman glare as her expensive purse, slung over the back of her chair, was repeatedly knocked to the ground. (People don’t dress extravagantly here as a rule, but for some reason very expensive purses seem to be de rigueur.)
Executive chef Bruce Kalman offers an appropriately unpredictable menu that’s big on sharp flavors and lively presentations. Fun appetizers include the Chinese vegetarian takeout, sort of a hip pu-pu platter. First to the table is a glowing Chinese fire pot and a bowl of fried wonton strips and dipping sauces, followed quickly by a Chinese takeout carton containing two vegetarian potstickers filled with wild mushrooms and bok choy, and a vegetarian eggroll. Atop the carton is a skewer of marinated vegetables, ready to be heated on the fire pot.
Also following an Asian theme is the Mongolian barbecued duck; the duck meat is shredded and wrapped with watercress in a deep-fried spring roll, and it’s served with a cake of sticky rice decorated with black and white sesame seeds and some crispy soba noodles.
Spinach salad is a keeper, thanks to its sensational accompaniments — truffle-oil-marinated, applewood-smoked tomatoes and silky goat-cheese fondue.
One of the wilder entrees is a mushroom-stuffed poussin (spring chicken) with quinoa-pecan waffles and a vinegary garlic-confit sauce; the slightly sweet waffle does battle with the very vinegary sauce and loses. A less-astringent version of the same sauce is a friendlier companion to roast chicken with red cabbage and rosemary-scented spatzel; a savory strudel filled with minced chicken adds textural interest to the dish.
Mustard-crusted lamb shank is hearty and rich-tasting, sturdy eating for the colder weather to come. It’s served with a stew of root vegetables and coarse mashed potatoes.
The most conservative offering on the menu is the applewood-smoked filet, studded with peppercorns and served over good, horseradish-laced mashed potatoes and a stirfry of shredded carrots. The steak was more rare than medium-rare, which is what was requested, but it wasn’t a problem.
Undercooking, however, is a bit of a habit with the kitchen. That’s less of an issue when ordering, say, high-quality tuna (coriander crusted, with a well-balanced soy-honey vinaigrette), but of more concern when ordering fowl; an appetizer of southern-fried quail was undercooked enough to be scary.
Desserts are very good and again bear a slightly whimsical touch. Good bets include caramelized halves of poached pear, served with five-spice ice cream and an orange creme anglaise; bittersweet chocolate tart with sabayon ice cream and candied hazelnuts; and fluffy white chocolate with a serpentine ribbon of honey-almond tuile cookie.
The beverage list is a long accordion-fold sheet that’s tucked into a CD jewel case. Cocktails include goofy martinis and drinks with names like Holly Golightly and Satan’s Whiskers, fun drinks served in playful glassware. Bottled wines are pricier than one might expect, but the predominantly American list includes a good many lesser-known but high-quality producers. There are about five wines available by the glass.
Hip dining spots often have attitude-laden servers, but that’s not the case here. Servers are knowledgeable and unaffectedly friendly.
Creature comforts could use an upgrade. I can deal with the hard chairs, but the zero-depth seating along the banquette is an annoyance. Kalman’s display-sized plates are at odds with Okno’s tiny tables. And somebody needs to tinker with the ventilation system to find a medium setting between “gale-force wind” and “off.”
Offbeat menu, loud music, funky atmosphere, ’70s pop references — more than anything else, Okno reminds me of the defunct Star Top Cafe, another Chicago place that was more disciplined than its play-it-loose atmosphere would have you believe.
So call this place Star Top: The Next Generation.
I loved Star Top Cafe in its day, and someday I may love Okno, though not just yet. But the place does have its moments.
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Restaurant Okno
(one star)
1332 N. Milwaukee Ave.
773-395-1313
Open: Dinner Mon.-Sun.
Entree prices: $11-$19
Credit cards: A, M, V
Reservations: Not accepted
Other: wheelchair accessible; Valet parking available
Rating system
(star) (star) (star) (star) Outstanding
(star) (star) (star) Excellent
(star) (star) Very Good
(star) Good
Satisfactory
Unsatisfactory
Reviews are based on no fewer than two visits. The reviewer makes every effort to remain anonymous. Meals are paid for by the Tribune.
