Spanning 28,600 square feet in Chicago’s South Loop neighborhood, Moody Tongue’s flagship brewery supplies its onsite Michelin-starred restaurant, along with its satellite locations in New York City and West Palm Beach, with its perennial and limited-edition beers. The name reflects brewmaster and co-founder Jared Rouben’s approach: crafting beers with a chef’s mindset for those with a discerning palate—a “moody tongue.”
Founded as a brewery in 2014, Moody Tongue later relocated to its current South Loop space to accommodate an onsite restaurant. Moody Tongue Chicago offers two dining experiences led by Executive Chef James Bingham: The Dining Room, featuring a hyper-seasonal 6- or 15-course tasting menu, and The Bar, serving an à la carte menu.
In The Dining Room, every course is paired with a Moody Tongue beer that highlights both the culinary ingredients and Moody Tongue’s chef-inspired brewing techniques (like Bussan crab paired with toasted rice lager or Australian wagyu served with cassis). The 85-seat bar room, including 22 stools at the Nero Marquina black marble bar serves up 16 draft beers to follow the à la carte style of the elevated bar offerings, including tortellini with morel mushrooms and a crispy whole market fish with pickled mango. Draft offerings include six perennial beers, such as the Aperitif Pilsner and Orange Blossom Belgian Blonde, alongside limited-release brews like the Shaved Black Truffle Pilsner and Pressed Asian Pear Saison, plus a rotating selection of small-batch draft-only pours.
Both spaces blend traditional brewery elements—brick walls, polished concrete floors, and exposed wood—with sophisticated touches like blackened oak tables and leather chairs in The Dining Room and a smoked mirrored backdrop and mid-century modern furnishings in The Bar.
Moody Tongue Chicago’s culinary-influenced brews and complementary tasting menu caught the attention of Michelin Guides in 2021, when it became the first Michelin starred brewery in the world.
