“I love cooking, but the thing that really drives me is the idea that people from all walks of life are getting to meet each other and have a sense of connection because of this dinner party.” That sentence, from chef Nicolai Mlodinow, could be a mission statement for Class Act, his new tasting menu restaurant in Bucktown (1737 N. Damen Ave.) that builds its concept around the idea of bringing people together.

I’ll be honest; lots of chefs have told me over the years that they want to create “the perfect dinner party” or are committed to the idea of “bringing people together through food.” But when you look at what was being offered, it wasn’t all that different from any other restaurant. At Class Act, Mlodinow has designed the entire experience, including the space, menu, and arrangement of the dishes, to encourage social interactions between guests.

Mlodinow doesn’t have a traditional culinary resume for a restaurant aiming this high. The Los Angeles–born chef started cooking in college at San Diego State University, originally for himself and eventually for larger and larger groups of students who decided they’d rather pay him than the school dining hall. After he moved to Chicago, he decided to get more formal experience, and showed up at Chicago’s best restaurants, offering to work for free. “I also appreciate this industry because if you have tenacity — if you knock on the door — and they say no, you can come back the next day,” he says. “If you ask enough times to do free work for a restaurant, eventually they are going to say ‘Fine, come sweep the floor or do the dishes,’ or they will call the cops on you.”

While Mlodinow eventually did get more formal jobs in Chicago restaurants like Temporis, he was always focused on his side gig: running pop-up dinner parties. “Doing those pop-ups is really where I got to see people connect over the food I was cooking,” he says. “Strangers would walk in not knowing each other and leave hugging and exchanging numbers.”

Class Act is designed to replicate this experience. “The whole building looks residential, with as little visible stainless steel as possible,” Mlodinow says. The dining experience begins in a foyer with standing tables and guests are encouraged to mingle as they have their first bites and drinks. Then they move to the dining room, which has one large 16-person table. Some courses are specifically designed to share with a neighbor to encourage interaction. After dinner, guests are led to a reserved space in the restaurant’s bar, where they can share a nightcap and continue the conversation. At the time we talked, Class Act had only been open for two weeks, and Mlodinow reported that multiple groups of new friends had already been overheard making plans to meet again after dinner.

The tasting experience is $230 a person, with a variety of wine, cocktail, and non-alcoholic drink pairings available. The inaugural tasting menu, entitled “Growing Up,” is inspired by the chef’s childhood. An introductory bite is inspired by his mother’s love of flower arranging, and is made with 10 different flowers, including dill flowers, coriander flowers, thyme blossoms, and micro marigold. The pasta course, called “Mama Sauce” is based on his mother’s spaghetti, though obviously a bit jazzed up with cucumber basil pearls, Pleasant Ridge Reserve cheese, and edible gold. He plans to switch up the menu entirely every few months. The bar is open for walk-in guests, and eventually the plan is to also offer a bar food menu.

Even after a long discussion of the intricacies of the menu, Mlodinow keeps coming back to connections. “I genuinely think if you give people good food and good drinks and put them in a happy environment, they will want to talk to each other.”