Our Story
Bambola is a restaurant and cocktail bar inspired by the allure of the legendary Silk Road in Chicago’s Fulton Market District. Our multiple spaces and menus are bursting with our favorite dishes, drinks and furnishings sourced from Italy to Turkey and beyond.
Chefs Marcos Campos, Shannah Primiano and Erwin Mallet’s prepare quality versions of well-known dishes from Italy to Turkey and beyond, balancing nostalgia and modern cooking techniques. From the wood-fired open kitchen, they pair the freshest local ingredients with prime dry-aged beef, artisanal pastas, and flavorsome spices to create delicious, familiar dishes.
Led by industry vanguard Brian Sturgulewski, Bambola’s bar celebrates modern beverages inspired by timeless ingredients from the historic Silk Road. Inspired by the amalgamation of cultures along the trade routes, our creative craft cocktails combine local drinking traditions, global spirits, complementary spices and ingredients. Non-alcoholic drinks have also been a mainstay of the beverage program since day one with spirit-free cocktails that share the same flavorful, colorful and fun originality as our spirit-friendly creations. Bambola’s wine list transports you to some of the most exciting regions of the planet through the lens of our favorite iconoclastic & natural winemakers of the moment.
Culture, travel and style are at the heart of everything we do at Bonhomme. Designed by Maison Bonhomme, Bambola is a romantic voyage along the Silk Road as imagined through the travels of a bon vivant and connoisseur where one city, Istanbul — as a historic gateway between East and West, Asia and Europe — acted as our touchstone due to its peerless mix of influences and cultures, textiles and objects, highly decorative details, and a culture of hospitality.
Bambola’s rare, imaginative and jaw-droppingly diverse array of artistic elements is a testament to the crossroads of Eastern and Western civilizations. Bambola is filled with Italy’s finest textiles, furniture by some of the most exciting designers of the 20th and 21st centuries, and Popham Design’s dramatic handmade cement tiles juxtaposed with museum-quality 18th and 19th century antiquities and rare furnishings collected from China, Thailand, Burma, Pakistan and India in collaboration with Doug Van Tress and Chauwarin Tuntisak of The Golden Triangle. Bambola is warmly illuminated with one-of-a-kind chandeliers from the masters of hand-blown glass in Milan and Venice to elevate the standard for restaurant lighting.
To bring Bambola’s colorful, collaged vision to life, Maison Bonhomme collaborated closely with an incredible design team starring Luca Lanzetta Group, Popham Design, Molteni&Co, Viabizzuno, Sogni Di Cristallo, Viccarbe and Antoniolupi. Some of the most dazzling design elements of their extravagantly appointed interiors include handmade cement and zellige tiles by Popham Design; a monumental Coppibartali Light by Viabizzuno; a 40’ dining table by Foster + Partners; handblown glass chandeliers & lamps by Sogni Di Cristallo; dining chairs and cocktail tables by Rodolfo Dordoni; sofas by Yabu Pushelberg; dining tables and chairs by Patricia Urquiola; handmade “Beni” rugs by Soufiane Zarib; and bathroom vanities and taps by Antoniolupi.