Rootstock
Restaurant, Wine Bar
Chicago, USA
About Rootstock
A quick stop west of downtown, one of the gems in the Humboldt Park neighborhood is this long-standing wine bar with a massive local following. The vibe is exactly what a cozy neighborhood hole-in-the-wall should be, with dim lighting, low ceilings, and significant kitsch-factor in the decor, but the menu is anything but ordinary.
The wine program leans into the trendy “natural wine” movement but without dogma or pretention. A generous list of crunchy options highlighting the bar’s nerd-chic style - Jura, Basque cider, sherry, orange wine, and ancestral method sparklers all share strong placements among plenty more classic options, plus a nice list of spirits and bottled beer.
One thing’s for sure: Rootstock’s wine program leans unabashedly into high-acid wines across the board, which fortunately compliment the concise food menu of delicious bistro-faire (the lamb tartare and boquerones are favorites).
Great for
- Natural wines
