Back when restaurateur Michael Chen and his partners opened Kyuramen in River North in 2023, he started getting into Thai food. Chen would often ask the restaurant’s team for restaurant recommendations, and the predominantly Thai staff tended to suggest
a lot of Thai restaurants. As Chen dug deeper into Thai food as well as its culture and hospitality, he fell in love with it. On trips to New York City, visits to refined, modern Thai restaurants made him realize that something was missing from Chicago’s dining scene. So, as any restaurateur would do, he set out to create the Thai dining experience himself.
On Wednesday, August 19, Chen, along with executive chef Namo Chowcharoen, opened Tarra & Sura in River North. The dual concept features a design-forward, contemporary Thai restaurant on the ground floor focusing on traditional regional Thai dishes called Tarra, and Sura, an elegant lower-level lounge with inventive cocktails and, soon, a Thai snack menu.
When Chen reached out two-and-a-half years ago about the role at Tarra & Sura, Chowcharoen, who was born and raised in the Thai countryside near Bangkok, wasn’t initially interested. His four-year hospitality education in Thailand focused on Western cuisines with an emphasis on French techniques. (Fun fact: Chowcharoen did a short stint at the rooftop fine-dining lounge featured in the opening scene of Hangover II.) Chowcharoen arrived in Chicago 12 years ago, primarily to learn English, and stuck around. He was previously was a chef and partner at Union Hospitality Group’s the Franklin Room, Union Sushi, and the shuttered Madison Bar & Kitchen.
But Chowcharoen reflected on his journey; during and after the COVID-19 lockdowns, he had begun diving into Thai cuisine, teaching himself to cook intricate dishes at home. Friends, after eating his “research,” encouraged him to open his own Thai restaurant.
“I want to introduce Thai food to this city beyond pad Thai and street food,” he says. “I feel it’s time for me to introduce myself in a different way.”
Tarra’s opening menu is divided into six sections. The Amuse Bouche section highlights so-called Royal Thai cuisine, which often features elaborate presentations. Here that means khao tang (rice cracker topped with beef tartare, crispy garlic, makrut lime leaf chiffonade, caviar, mint, and gold leaf) and kra thong tong (squid ink tartlet with salted egg cream and tamarind-roasted chile paste). “We might spend two days to just make a bite,” says Chowcharoen.
Cold and hot appetizers include pla goong (herbal shrimp salad), tang mho pla heng (watermelon with dried fish powder, crispy candied shallot, and watermelon granita), and sai uah (curry pork and shrimp sausage with lemongrass). Skewers range from kor moo yang (pork jowl) and nuea ping (beef) to gai gor lae (chicken thigh) each with its own deeply flavorful marinade.
Entrees further travel the country. Nam yap u is a Southern Thai crab curry with a turmeric coconut broth, betel leaf, and rice noodles. Hoi lai pad prik pow features stir-fried short-neck clams in a roasted chile cream sauce topped with crispy sweet basil. Massaman nuea, braised short rib red curry, was one of Chowcharoen’s dishes that first impressed Chen.
Chowcharoen enlisted the help of his Chicago Thai friends to taste test the menu. “Every single thing we serve here is going to be the same taste as if you’re eating it in Thailand,” he says. “I don’t want to change the flavor. I want this place to honor my country.”
As the kitchen and front-of-the-house teams master the current offerings, plans are in place to gradually expand the menu, including introducing a tasting menu experience in the intimate dining area next to the open kitchen. Tableside service is also something Chowcharoen wants to start soon. “It’s a journey for me and my team, and we’re going to grow together,” he says.
With three drink menus under his supervision, beverage director Robert Shamblin, formerly of BLVD, Willow Room, and the now-closed Parkside, has his work cut out for him. At Tarra, the focus is on cocktails, wine, and low-ABV drinks that pair with the food. “Let’s not make the drinks the star of the show,” says Shamblin. “Let’s make them something that adds to the experience.” Wines lean towards lighter, Old World varietals. White wines dominate the offerings, which include hard-to-find blends and vintage rieslings and gewürztraminers. “With the food, you’re going to go from tart to spicy to maybe numbing, and I want the wines by the glass [to] allow your palate to relax.”
Downstairs at Sura, Shamblin uses a mix of modern and traditional techniques, including dehydration, fat-washing, and a variety of clarification methods, for a 16-drink-deep cocktail menu. Coco Noir, a riff on a Boulevardier, includes dehydrated coconut milk powder strained through coffee grounds, adding a toasty brown butter note. “They’re all super high-prep and could be considered intense and nerdy,” he says. “But the idea is not to make people feel intimidated. We want to blow people’s minds with something they’ve never tasted before.” Sura’s tightly curated spirit list includes selections from Asia and an expanded collection of rums. For now, both Tarra and Sura offer the same wines by the glass, but Shamblin plans on adding high-end Champagnes by the glass downstairs.
For the interior design of Tarra, Chen found inspiration in its name. In Thai, “Tarra” means river or water. It’s also a play on the restaurant’s location in River North. Water elements and earth tones can be found throughout the 95-seat space, which also includes a small bar. Near the host stand, a water wall hints at the design touches to come. In the dining room, a large tile mosaic, created in Thailand and shipped in sections to Chicago, depicts a gentle wave. On the ceiling, the movement motif continues with thin wood slabs crafted to resemble the ripple effect of a drop of water in a pond. Metal mesh pieces hint at fishing nets while adding texture. The curved wood backs of the booths further the flow mindset of the room. Handcrafted light fixtures resemble coconuts.
Head downstairs to Sura and it’s a completely different vibe. The 80-seat open space features grey velvet couches and low swivel chairs accessorized with jewel-toned pillows. Carpet underfoot softens noise, while the muted lighting throughout creates a sultry ambiance. The strings of crystal rocks overhead add to the calm energy of the room. A large LED wall provides different scenic backgrounds from around the world.
“When people go out to eat, it’s not only the food and service, but the environment you sit in that plays a big part in the experience,” says Chen. “Every sense has to be there, and we hope we can do that here.”
Tarra & Sura, 121 W. Hubbard Street; currently open 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday. Reservations for Tarra and Sura are available on OpenTable.
