Hand-drawn two-dimensional monochrome imagery covers a new Lakeview restaurant, which is making its mark on social media.
2d Restaurant, located at 3155 N. Halsted St., gave a soft opening on Thursday, whipping up Pon de ring donuts, fried chicken and coffee for Chicagoans.
Hundreds of thousands of people have watched videos of the Parisian-inspired restaurant on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram, with several noting it feels like stepping inside a drawing.
“I just happened to watch ‘Emily in Paris,'” café designer Vanessa Thanh Vu said. “That’s the show that inspired this first theme.”
She designed every piece of architecture inside the restaurant, including a bathtub that customers can step inside to take photos and play with plastic balls meant to mimic bubbles.
2d Restaurant co-owner Kevin Yu said every cup of coffee is “hand-brewed, made to order.” His iconic donuts, which are also called mochi donuts in some parts of the world, are lighter and fluffier than the typical treat.
“Our donut box, which is mimicked to look just like a comic book, was designed by my lovely wife Vanessa,” Yu said. “We’re so thankful to be in the city of Chicago in the neighborhood of Lakeview and we can’t wait to share the joy of the 2d Restaurant with the city of Chicago.”
The new spot is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for walk-ins only at this time. Click here for more information.