A Peek Behind The Scenes At Reservoir

A reader sent in these photos and this description of what's going on at Reservoir, currently projected to open in July.  While it's clearly still a work in progress, what we see and read in her report make us very eager to give it a try.

"Door going up! When I walked by the front of Reservoir today on Montrose, the newly installed retractable overhead door was open, and it revealed the rich interior being outfitted for the restaurant and bar's anticipated grand opening. After months of seeing super-sized question marks dotting the front door, I was curious to see what's behind that door. And I was in for a treat.

Reservoir is going to be a family-owned place, in a family-owned apartment and retail building located at 844 West Montrose. Right now, you can spot it by its striped awning. But, soon you'll know the place by an illuminated mural which will soon be painted on the west wall of the building.

While his younger brothers mopped the gleaming black tile floor, which runs from the front door to the back of the kitchen, I was given a tour around the place by Sam, the family's junior spokesperson. He showed me the dining room, with its black tufted high-back bench seating running the length of the restaurant and facing rows of neatly placed dining room chairs -- their legs still wrapped in shipping paper. Atop each pair of seats rested wooden table tops.

Could this be an Asian restaurant? Well, no, the pedestals for the tables just haven’t arrived yet. I was told to come by tomorrow to see the tables fully assembled, though no one could say when they’d reveal their cuisine or say who their chef is.

In what will be a full kitchen, the only hint of what the cuisine might be is a brand new, free-standing convection pizza oven. No matter. Given how pretty the back of the house is, with its black tile floor and floor-to-ceiling classic white-and-black subway tiling, I said I’d take a table in the kitchen and watch whatever is being prepared.

Then, just after Sam got through telling me how they’d gutted the whole place, and decided to use the original brick wall as a design element of the new bar, the family elders returned to complete the tour for me. He introduced me to his dad and two uncles, including the proprietor, Robert.

Robert showed me renderings of the bar's arched back wall, which will have flat screen TVs above understated mirrors. And, he confirmed everything Sam had told me, except, maybe, for the Prohibition bar part. He said he's looking forward to the grand opening, and hopes to invite the alderman to attend once he knows the date. I had only one recommendation for Robert: Go meet the alderman, who could be a font of information for this new Reservoir in Uptown."

UU Note:  A larger version of each photo can be seen by clicking on it.