When Bacchus – the 16-year-old Bartolotta-owned restaurant inside Cudahy Tower (925 E. Wells St.) – reopens on Wednesday, Nov. 11, it will be with two menu options for diners and with the same Safety Plan in place at the other reopened properties (Ristorante Bartolotta, Harbor House and Mr. B’s – A Bartolotta Steakhouse). Reservations will be available for dinner Tuesday-Saturday. Bartolotta Restaurants has been slowly reopening its restaurants, one property at a time.
The menus, created by executive chef Nick Wirth and company owner/co-founder Paul Bartolotta, feature one that features three customizable courses and one that is a five-course tasting menu. The three-course menu ($65) includes options such as yellowfin tuna tartare, grilled Spanish octopus, Strauss veal ravioli, Wagyu beef short rib, grilled venison, and petit filet medallions.
Desserts range from salted caramel mousse to a Wisconsin cheese trio. The five-course tasting menu ($80) will offer some of the same dishes, plus an amuse bouche, chocolates and petit fours, and complimentary sparking or still mineral water. Diners can add on to the courses with a wine pairing.
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“With so few activities still available, restaurants remain integral to our social fabric and especially the ones that guests can rely on for a standard of excellence in food, hospitality, and even more so for health and hygiene,” Paul Bartolotta said by press release. “In this new era, we are elevating the experience once more; broadening our palate with inspiration from global cultures and cuisine, while applying new standards of safety that allow guests to dine comfortably with confidence.”
The Safety Plan in place at Bacchus includes the following:
- Face masks are required to be worn by staff members at all times
- Face coverings are required for all guests during the following instances: when walking inside any of the restaurants, when ordering or addressing a Bartolotta employee, when walking in common areas
- Reservations are required (reservations will be held for 15 minutes and will be limited to 1.5 hours) and temperature checks will be taken upon entry
- Touchless payment options and QR codes available to view menus on smartphones
- Rearranged dining rooms that offer distance and privacy between tables; as well as custom-made safety partitions where applicable
- UV-C technology that destroys microorganisms in the air and on hard surfaces
- Meticulously and deliberately cleaned tables with every new reservation
“We have taken a cautiously optimistic approach to our reopening strategy, based on our safety standards and the level of excellence we can provide, as well as local guidelines, and overall consumer confidence,” Bartolotta added. “We are staying on a longterm plan to reopen our fine dining restaurants, one at a time, fine tuning its relaunch. Regardless of the headwinds, we are thoughtfully moving forward.”
