Celeste, the multilevel cocktail bar that opened in River North in February, has a new bartender running the show. Michael Simon, whom we last saw manning Charcoal Bar, took over the bar program from Freddie Sarkis and Sterling Field a month ago.
Other changes at Celeste are in the works as well. When the bar opened, the first and second floors had two very distinct menus, a shorter list downstairs and a cocktail book upstairs. Simon told us he’s “refining the menus on the first and second floor” and “further defining/galvanizing their identities.” Menu changes haven’t been released yet.
Plus, the bar’s third floor will be opening later this fall.
“It's a surrealist, psychedelic reinvention of the cocktail lounge,” Simon says. “Imagine Stanley Kubrick and Marie Antoinette invited you over for drinks. It's going to be something transformative, something where time...stops. Expect an entirely different name, menu and expect to have a blast.”