The new restaurant at SOPHY Hyde Park is called Mesler Kitchen | Bar | Lounge, which means “to mix and mingle,” an apt reflection of the surrounding neighborhood, one of the most racially and culturally diverse areas of Chicago.
That definition extends to its menus. Mesler will offer Brunch seven days a week instead of a traditional Breakfast and Lunch service. There will be a daily “Hyde Park Social” period between 2:00pm and 5:00pm, followed by Dinner and then a late-night lounge menu seven day a week, as well as room service. Menus are still being finalized and will include items ranging from chicken & waffles, house-made pastas to a signature burger and various cuts of sustainably-raised beef served at dinner.
Mesler Bar & Lounge
The cocktail program at Mesler is inspired by Hyde Park’s legacy for innovation, art, mathematics, science and astronomy. Mesler’s Bar will mix the aura of a mad scientist’s lab and the World’s Columbian Exposition, a sort of chemistry show and tell experience.
Chicago Restaurant Veteran Bradford Shovlin Named Executive Chef
Chef Bradford Shovlin, the newly appointed Executive Chef of Mesler, is a veteran of some of Chicago’s finest kitchens. A Detroit native and a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, Chef Shovlin previously worked in Chicago at the Michelin-starred North Pond under Bruce Sherman and with Suzy Crofton at Crofton on Wells. Chef Shovlin later moved on to become the chef at Iron Horse in Milwaukee.
“Mesler will reflect the local melting pot and encourage this diversity through our menus and relaxed dining times,” says Chef Bradford Shovlin, Executive Chef of Mesler. “We’re offering an approachable mix of casual and upscale dining options, with reasonable price points that are in keeping with the South Side.”
Interior Designs with a Neighborhood Vibe
Mesler was designed for mingling, with multiple designated dining and drinking areas. Local 20th century literary figures have influenced the decor of the 60-seat dining space, which has been imagined as an author’s dining room, with bookshelves carved into columns to partition seating areas. Walls feature a gallery of book covers and original pieces by local artists inspired by the literature of Hyde Park. Selected art works from Hyde Park Academy High School that express the inspiring intellectual, artistic and cultural innovations that are part of Hyde Park’s rich history have also been chosen to be displayed in Mesler.
There will be a 15-foot, double-sided fireplace that will connect and separate the hotel reception area from the 40 seat Mesler lounge. The décor is inspired by the scientific discoveries that Hyde Park has witnessed over the last century, manifested in metals, geometric motifs and orbital light fixtures. An outdoor lounge area will accommodate 24 guests and there will be an indoor private dining room for up to 14 with its own outdoor patio and fire pit.
Think of Mesler as Hyde Park’s meeting place for both business and causal encounters, a convivial space that also has quiet corners to get some work done, as well as a relaxing location to hang out with friends and colleagues throughout the day and into the evening.
