A Nordic Japanese Experience Is Headed to West Town

Eater

30-07-2025

is the Associate Editor for Eater's Midwest region, and has been covering Chicago's dining scene for over a decade.
A Nordic Japanese fine dining restaurant is set to open in West Town in September. Atsumeru will be a tasting menu experience from chef Devin Denzer located inside the former Temporis space at 933 N. Ashland Avenue.
The menu will showcase Nordic techniques with Japanese ingredients. Denzer says the inspiration came from his time cooking under a former Noma chef, as well as Inua — the Nordic Japanese restaurant in Tokyo that earned two Michelin stars before shutting down during the pandemic. Expect dishes that highlight seafood and seasonal produce, like a rich sturgeon course that pairs the fish with crispy puffed rice, ginger-scallion paste, and tom kha broth. The tasting experience will span 10 to 12 courses and cost $165 per person. There will be three seatings a night, with up to eight guests in each time slot.
Atsumeru is taking over a space that has been completely renovated. A fire caused extensive damages to the building in 2023, resulting in the closure of Michelin-starred Temporis. Similar to Atsumeru, Temporis was a fine dining restaurant that accommodated a limited number of guests each night. Denzer says that with the remodel, everything has been rebuilt, including new HVAC and plumbing systems. Denzer and his wife Paola, an architectural designer, have crafted an interior that emphasizes earthy tones, gold accents, and subtle nods to Japanese aesthetics.
The basement floor below the main dining area was also lowered by two feet. This allowed the team to add a downstairs lounge and chef's counter, where diners can linger for a pre- or post-meal drink. The moody subterranean level adds another element to the experience, too: Patrons will start dinner off in the new space — either at the counter or a table — with some opening bites before heading upstairs. Denzer would like to eventually offer a simplified menu downstairs for a more leisurely dining option.
Atsumeru will be an evolution of Devin Denzer's pop-up dinner series, Loon. Atsumeru
While Atsumeru will be Denzer's first Chicago restaurant, he's been cooking locally for years. After working in kitchens across Minneapolis and Madison, Wisconsin, Denzer moved to Chicago right around the time the pandemic started. With restaurants shuttered, he began hosting pop-up dinners out of a friend's apartment. It soon evolved into a monthly series called Loon, and Denzer describes Atsumeru as a natural progression of the pop-up. Guests who have dined at Loon may recognize some of the offerings, such as chawanmushi, a Japanese steamed egg dish, and the palate-cleansing Milk and Pine, which features milk ice cream rolled in white chocolate and served with a broth of fermented pine needle juice and pine needle oil.
Denzer has brought on Willow Waling to run the beverage program. Waling, who oversaw front-of-house operations with Loon, is now curating the wine pairings. Her cocktails will highlight Nordic and Japanese spirits and include concoctions like a barley soju martini with basil, and an Old Fashioned layered with brown butter and Okinawan black sugar. Vegetable-forward juice pairings and teas will be available as well.
The fine dining scene is highly competitive right now, but Denzer is hoping that the combination of Nordic Japanese cuisine and the restaurant's intimate, bi-level setting will help Atsumeru stand out. The restaurant's name translates to 'collect' in Japanese, and Denzer says it's perfect for what he's trying to accomplish.
'I took [the word] to mean 'to come together,' like share a common meal and just gather memories,' Denzer says. 'It's like a cheesy way to put it but … I'm pretty excited for it.'
Atsumeru, 933 N. Ashland Avenue, planned for a September opening