About Cabra
Cabra sits atop The Hoxton hotel at 200 North Green Street in Fulton Market, commanding a rooftop terrace with views across the Chicago skyline that, on a clear summer evening, provide one of the best reasons to be in this city. The restaurant is the creation of Stephanie Izard — the first woman to win Top Chef, a James Beard Award winner, and the chef behind Girl & the Goat, the West Loop institution that has operated at near-permanent capacity since its opening. At Cabra, Izard applies her instinct for bold, vibrant flavour to the cuisines of Peru: ceviche, causa, anticuchos, and the kind of cocktail list built around pisco that could convert any group to its pleasures inside of one round.
The menu is designed for sharing, built around bright, acidic, herb-forward preparations that thrive in outdoor warm-weather settings. Duck ceviche with aji amarillo, cucumber, and leche de tigre. Goat empanadas with salsa verde. Shawarma-spiced skirt steak with chimichurri and fried sweet potato. The cooking references Peru's position as one of the world's genuinely great culinary crossroads — a cuisine shaped by Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, and Andean influences, producing a vocabulary of flavour that is immediately accessible and endlessly interesting.
The cocktail program centres on pisco in all its forms — sours, spritzes, punches, and long drinks that keep the evening moving without the heaviness that wine-heavy menus can accumulate. Brunch service on weekends extends Cabra's calendar significantly: the combination of fresh ceviches, excellent cocktails, and a rooftop terrace makes it one of Chicago's most sought-after weekend morning reservations.
The Izard Philosophy at Cabra
Izard has always cooked for pleasure and generosity rather than for critical approval. Her restaurants are not destinations for people seeking technique demonstrations or philosophical statements about cuisine — they are places where people eat well, drink thoughtfully, and leave feeling that the evening was exactly what they needed it to be. Cabra exemplifies this philosophy in a setting specifically designed to maximise the pleasure quotient: a rooftop, summer produce, Peruvian acidity and heat, and a view of the city that reminds everyone present why Chicago is worth coming to.
The partnership with Rob Katz and Kevin Boehm of Boka Restaurant Group ensures that the operational standards match the culinary ambition. The service team at Cabra is trained to the standard of the group's best restaurants — knowledgeable about the menu and cocktail list, warm without being obsequious, and capable of pacing a large-group celebration and an intimate dinner with equal facility.
Why Cabra for Birthdays
Cabra is the birthday restaurant for the summer evening you've been planning since February. The rooftop setting provides the celebratory atmosphere that a birthday should have without requiring the birthday person to sit in a closed private room. The menu's sharing format means a large party moves through the evening as a collective — everyone eating the same plates, everyone sharing the same reactions. The cocktail program keeps the energy exactly where it needs to be for a celebration. And the views at the moment the sun sets over the Chicago skyline provide a backdrop that photographs better than any designed restaurant interior.
Why Cabra for Team Dinners
The shared-plate Peruvian format is purpose-built for team dynamics. Ordering communally requires the small negotiations and discoveries that build team cohesion — this is why group meals work when the format is designed for sharing rather than individual choice. Cabra's price point makes it accessible for team budgets that would struggle with Chicago's Michelin-starred tasting menus. The rooftop setting provides an atmosphere that is markedly different from the hotel dining rooms and corporate private spaces where team dinners typically happen, which is precisely the point: the event should feel like an occasion, not a meeting with food.