Inn Ernest
Your First Look Inside Hubbard Inn

Hemingway.

Just thinking about his staggering achievements makes you want to catch up on his finest work.

Particularly in the field of daiquiris.

So welcome to Hubbard Inn, a warm sanctuary of booze, stylish European-inspired cuisine and Hemingway-inspired vibes, now open in River North.

This is where you’d bring a Hemingway type out for dinner on a cold Valentine’s Day weekend. We’re thinking a Margaux, but whatever type you have available is fine.

You’ll feel like you’ve entered the study of an eccentric world traveler who’s obsessed by oil paintings of monkeys wearing business suits. He also insists on mixing you a potent little chartreuse cocktail he picked up in the Netherlands called the Dutch Daisy, which might explain the whole monkey thing.

The most romantic tables are in the back. Walls of antique books, leather club chairs and a roaring fire offer all the exposition the evening needs before you’re heavy into plates of short ribs, sheep’s milk ravioli and tuna tartar.

There’s also a communal table made from the door of a Balinese monastery and an entire upstairs lounge at your disposal for bigger gatherings. Tuck into oysters Rockefeller and housemade pickles before raising your Valeir Blond, a rare breed of Belgian beer.

We hear Ernest preferred blondes.