Chef José Andrés and Gibsons Restaurant Group opened Bar Mar and Bazaar Meats on Wacker Drive just a couple months ago in December. With Bazaar on the second floor and Bar Mar on the first, Andrés’s offerings anchor Bank of America’s new 57-story Chicago headquarters.
Andrés is a celebrity chef and humanitarian from Spain who is now based in Washington, D.C. Andrés explained at a media preview that opening two restaurants at once was not the original plan. But the pandemic changed things. The Bank of America Tower had opened at the end of 2020, but it was just this summer when workers began populating their new offices. Andrés, his team at Think Food Group, and Gibsons were all hopeful that the global pandemic would soon end and December seemed like the right time to debut.
As soon as you walk in you will notice the atmosphere and amazing decor. The staff was incredibly welcoming and personable. Bar Mar serves mainly seafood where as Bazaar Meats serves mainly, you guessed it, meats. Bar Mar feels open and airy and Bazaar meats feels intimate and cozy. Some of our favorites were the oysters, the fried calamari, the whole red snapper, the lobster roll and you must save room for dessert. The sticky toffee pudding with toffee sauce and vanilla ice cream melts in your mouth and was the chef's grandmother’s personal recipe. As for drinks, the spicy margarita, floral cloud and ultimate G & T were all very good! Bar Mar is located at 120 N. Upper Wacker Dr. and open Mon-Fri 11am-11pm and Saturdays 3pm-11pm. Bazaar Meats is open 5pm-11pm.