The Purple Pig brings ‘a taste of city dining to the suburbs’ with opening of Oak Brook location
A celebrated Chicago restaurant with Michelin and James Beard pedigree will make its much-anticipated suburban debut this weekend when The Purple Pig opens in Oakbrook Center.
The Mediterranean-inspired eatery rooted in classic cooking, seasonal ingredients and shareable dining will hold a soft opening Friday with limited seating throughout the weekend. Reservations will be accepted beginning Monday.
The Oak Brook eatery is owned by Marianna Bannos, her father, Tom Shubalis, James Beard award-winner and Michelin-starred chef Tony Mantuano, and his wife, wine and hospitality pro Cathy Mantuano.
“We are bringing a taste of city dining to the suburbs,” Bannos said. “James Beard award-winning chefs are generally few and far between in suburbia, so having Tony here and the team that he’s cultivated will be amazing.”
Mantuano, the award-winning founding chef of Spiaggia and partner in the original Purple Pig, said that for years people have been asking them to open a restaurant in the suburbs.
“I think there’s a real desire to have downtown-style restaurants out here,” he said. “There are so many restaurants in this (Oakbrook Center) mall, and they’re all really good and really successful, but we have a pedigree that I think a lot of other restaurants don’t have.”
That pedigree includes multiple Michelin Bib Gourmand awards for The Purple Pig, as well as Mantuano’s history as a James Beard award-winner. He most recently served as food and beverage partner at Yolan, an Italian restaurant in Nashville that was voted the No. 1 restaurant in America by Food & Wine readers.
Mantuano said the menu at The Purple Pig’s suburban outpost will be familiar to fans of the Michigan Avenue restaurant, with a focus on flavors influenced by Italy, Greece and Spain and an emphasis on shareable plates, fresh vegetables, seafood and simply prepared meats.
“That simplistic style of cooking is very appealing,” he said. “Every word that’s listed on the menu, you’re going to taste. Everything is done with a purpose.”
At the heart of the kitchen are a high-performance Josper oven and a live hearth, allowing for charcoal-fired cooking that will impart depth, texture and subtle smokiness to meats, seafood and vegetables.
You’ll see the restaurant’s two bestsellers from downtown — the crispy fried pig ears and chicken thigh kebabs — but a bigger kitchen will allow them to do even more.
“We couldn’t have live-fire cooking with the space downtown, plus here we have room for a dedicated pastry kitchen, a pasta room,” he said. “It’s a huge difference.”
The menu starts with a variety of charcuterie and cheeses, served with local honey, preserves, pickles and crackers. House-made breads include a rosemary focaccia and Jerusalem bagel served with sunflower seed hummus and chili crisp.
Fresh pastas include a burrata-stuffed tortelloni, creste di gallo with duck sausage, and risotto with coal-roasted squash.
The seafood menu features octopus ala plancha and charcoal-grilled branzino. Land offerings include roasted bone marrow with beef bacon marmalade, pork neck meatball and picanha served with truffle hollandaise.
The 11,700-square-foot restaurant is located in a former furniture showroom near Macy’s in the shopping center. A centrally located skylight reinforces a sun-washed, coastal European feel in the 200-plus seat main dining room and bar area.
Two private dining areas will provide spaces for celebrations and corporate gatherings, and a 60-seat patio is scheduled to open in May.
The bar is designed as a focal point for aperitivo hour, walk-ins and late-night hangs. The beverage program embraces Mediterranean drinking traditions — vermouths, spritzes, amari and low-ABV cocktails.
The wine list emphasizes Italy, complemented by curated selections from Greece, Spain, France and the U.S.
Adjacent to the dining room is The Purple Pig Marketplace, which features curated grab-and-go offerings such as pizza by the slice, house-made gelato and pastries, as well as retail items and espresso and coffee drinks.
It’s a homecoming for Bannos, who was born in Oak Brook and is raising her two daughters there. She said opening a restaurant in her hometown “was always a dream of mine.”
“Having this dream come to light is magical,” she said. “And to be in it with my dad and my long-term partners in Tony and Cathy has been incredible.”
She said the second restaurant may beget even more Purple Pigs down the road.
“We’ve already had many people express interest in us coming to their town,” she said, citing inquiries from folks in Nashville, Las Vegas and Florida. “Right now our focus is on making the magic here.”
The dining room will be open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Sunday, with the bar staying open an hour later. The market will operate from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week. They’ll offer a daily happy hour from 3-5 p.m. Reservations will be accepted beginning Monday, March 9, on SevenRooms.