One of Chicago’s most exciting openings of the year happened on Tuesday, when Crying Tiger had its first service in River North (51 W. Hubbard St.). Helmed by chef Thai Dang (HaiSous), the new Lettuce Entertain You restaurant features Southeast Asian flavors, a superstar cocktail list, and a dazzling interior.

Dang has been impressing Chicago diners at HaiSous for years now, but he actually first came to Chicago to work for Lettuce back in the late aughts. He’s worked on and off with Lettuce for years, including at Ramen San, and now he’s back with the company. “I came to Chicago to work for Laurent [Gras, of L20], and now I’m back as a partner to open a restaurant; it’s an amazing full circle feeling, especially coming from an immigrant family with nine kids,” he says.

Dang describes the culinary influences on Crying Tiger as “countries from the south of China and the east of India,” and toured that part of the world — from Thailand to Australia — for inspiration. Dang is Vietnamese, but he emphasizes the overlap between cultures that you’ll see at Crying Tiger. “We have a common saying — it’s the same but different.” What he means by that is that he’ll be tapping the many flavors and ingredients that the cuisines of these countries have in common, like fish sauce, citrus, chiles, and garlic. “Vietnamese dipping sauce is nuoc cham, but in Thai culture, it’s the same thing, just with a different name.”

Since it’s a downtown restaurant opening in 2025, it’s practically a city ordinance that it have a dry-aged bone-in ribeye on the menu; but at Crying Tiger, it’s grilled and covered in a sauce made of charred chiles and shallots then served with sticky rice infused with coconut cream. That steak sauce also inspired the name of the restaurant. “In Thai culture, the sauce is called ‘tiger cry,’ because it’s so spicy and good it makes the tiger cry; we named the restaurant after it,” explains Dang. The restaurant is sourcing all of its herbs and spices from southeast Asia, many from connections that Dang made on his travels.

Pad Thai is a signature at Crying Tiger; and Dang’s special twist is that it comes off the wok and into a hot clay pot, so that when it reaches the diner, it’s charred on the bottom. Here, it’s served with Maine lobster and tamarind. Dang is known for whole fish dishes at HaiSous and he’s bringing one to Crying Tiger as well, with a whole branzino grilled and served with a lemongrass nuoc cham.

The restaurant was designed by the same firm, David Collins Studio, that created Tre Dita’s award-winning dining room. “You’ll see a southeast Asian restaurant that is unlike anything else; it transports you to somewhere so magical,” says Dang. Given that the space used to be Hub 51, it’s a dramatic transformation. Cocktails are by the acclaimed Kevin Beary of Three Dots and a Dash and Gus’s Sip & Dip; I’m most excited to try a salted plum tequila and soda made with calamansi. (Beary is also opening a still-secret cocktail bar on the lower level later this year, so look out for that.) Desserts are by Juan Gutierrez, who won School of Chocolate on Netflix. It’s an impressive collection of talent.

Crying Tiger is open for dinner seven nights a week. And don’t worry, HaiSous isn’t going anywhere; Dang insists that the Pilsen restaurant is “my baby” and new innovations, including custom coffee imported from Da Nang, are coming later this year.