“My ethos is take what we do seriously, but don’t take ourselves seriously.” That’s how bartender and owner Katie Renshaw describes Bar Bambi, her whimsical new spot in West Town (1703 W. Chicago Ave.) with craft cocktails and high-end bar snacks.
Renshaw earned her stripes at some of the best bars in town, including Moneygun, GreenRiver, The Aviary, and Billy Sunday, but she didn’t start her career in the culinary world. In a twist that may cause some cubicle-dwelling foodies to rethink their life choices, she actually started out as a software developer. “I’m an enthusiast turned bartender,” she laughs. She’s always dreamed of opening her own spot, though watching bars and restaurants close during the pandemic gave her a bit of pause. But the post-pandemic recovery, especially in the bar space, inspires her. “I’m watching my friends open bars and start to build up Chicago again to its glory in the mid-2000s, when Chicago was the place for craft cocktails,” she explains. “That inspired me to take the leap.”
Bar Bambi is a colorful, lighthearted bar. A giant tubular light installation dominates the bar (Renshaw refers to it as the “sexy spaghetti”), and a variety of textures (from the leather seating to the glass bricks that make up the bar) keep your eyes moving. “Warm, whimsical, and fun are my three key words,” says Renshaw. “It’s not a high-concept bar.”
She may say that, but some of the cocktails have some pretty high-concept techniques. The Three Decibel Rule, her version of a lychee martini, involves a base of clarified lychee and bell pepper, crème-fraiche washed vodka, and Cocchi Americano. The Skinny Dip, which Renshaw describes as a take on a cream soda, features fig leaf–infused Havana Club rum and Thai banana, and is force carbonated for a refreshing, silky sip. While these may sound complex, each drink has a subtitle on the menu that equates it to one of your favorite classic cocktails, so it’s easier to figure out what to order. “I don’t want people to be intimidated, even though our techniques are fairly advanced,” she says.
While the drinks at Bar Bambi have gotten most of the pre-opening attention, I suspect the food is going to be a sleeper hit. Chef Nicklus Byrns has serious fine dining chops from time cooking at Elske, as well as the lauded Pineapple & Pearls in Washington, D.C. He’s curated a small but mighty menu with just the right amount of snacks to keep you at Bar Bambi the entire evening. This includes “naughty eggs” (his take on deviled eggs, which are topped with confit garlic and Calabrian chiles), beef tartare with pickled shiitakes, and a tempura halibut sandwich with triple pickle sauce, white American cheese, and iceberg lettuce. It’s Renshaw’s favorite dish on the menu, and she calls it a “really sexy Filet-O-Fish.”
If you’re a bit rules-minded, as I am, you might think “How can she open a bar named after a famous Disney character without serious trouble?” Well, Bambi is now in the public domain, and for slightly embarrassing reasons that don’t need to be printed here, it was also Renshaw’s college nickname. The bar has a few nods to the theme without being over the top (clock the deer skull by the kitchen), but don’t expect too much woodland theming.
Bar Bambi opened last weekend and had lines down the block on its first night. The bar is open from 5 to 11 p.m. on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays, and 5 p.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.