SHŌ Debuts Shōjin, a Fully Plant-Based Omakase + New Summer Menu

As SHŌ approaches its one-year milestone, the Old Town omakase counter enters a new season with the debut of two new tasting experiences: Shōjin, an entirely plant-based omakase inspired by the ancient foodways of Japanese Buddhist monks, and Summer Menu Vol. 4, the latest evolution of SHŌ’s seasonal tasting menu.

Launching simultaneously, the two menus reflect parallel expressions of Executive Chef Mari Katsumura's culinary philosophy. One celebrates the fleeting abundance of late summer through seafood and seasonal produce. The other explores the depth and nuance of vegetables, grains and mountain ingredients through mindfulness, restraint and technique.

"These menus are very different in ingredients, but they come from the same place," said Chef Katsumura. "Whether working with pristine seafood or a single vegetable at its peak, my goal is always to honor the ingredient, respect the season and create a meal that feels balanced from beginning to end."

Shōjin: The Vegan Tasting Menu

For Shōjin, Katsumura looks to a culinary tradition more than a thousand years old. Born from Buddhist teachings and shaped in Japan’s temple kitchens, Shōjin Ryōri is more than a way of cooking without animal products; it is a philosophy grounded in mindfulness, gratitude and reverence for the natural world. Seasonal vegetables, grains and tofu are approached with care, allowing each ingredient to express its essential character.

Balance is fundamental. The traditional “Rule of Five” brings together five tastes, five colors and five methods of preparation to create harmony across the meal.

Katsumura brings that centuries-old philosophy into the language of SHŌ, translating its balance, seasonality and intention into a contemporary omakase where vegetables are not substitutes, but the centerpiece.

“Shōjin Ryōri has always fascinated me because the limitation is the point,” said Katsumura. “You take away meat, you take away fish, and what’s left has to be exact. That kind of discipline is its own kind of creativity. For me, the more interesting challenge isn’t making plants taste like meat. It’s making plants taste like themselves, at their best.”

That philosophy carries through the menu, with highlights including:

• A trio of opening bites set the pace. A shatter-crisp nori cone holds a cool, silky potato salad of Nichols Farm fingerlings bound in SHŌ's house-pressed soymilk mayonnaise, finished with tonburi-pearled “caviar.” An okara tofu fritter transforms the soya curd into a crisp, savory bite — a nod to Shōjin’s respect for the whole ingredient — while corn kakiage with green yuzu kosho mayonnaise and pickled watermelon rind captures the height of a Midwestern summer.
• Reimagined signatures take SHŌ's familiar formats vegetable-first. A farm beet “crudo” features beets braised in kombu stock and shio koji, then chilled and compressed with rose vinegar and rose water, paired with cultured coconut cream and fresh nama wasabi — what Katsumura calls a Japanese take on borscht. Sweet corn velouté follows with grilled Seedling Farm peach and peach agrodolce, bringing together two ingredients at their fleeting summer peak.
• The hand roll progression trades traditional proteins with compressed tofu, crisp artichoke, charred broccolini, eggplant lacquered in glossy plum "unagi" sauce and kasu-glazed mushrooms torched to order. Each is built to concentrate its own flavor, texture and richness rather than to imitate fish or meat.
• The final savory notes begin with a delicate summer pea soufflé beneath a thin, brûléed sugar crust, followed by hot somen in a deeply caramelized miso-soy milk broth.
• For dessert, cocoa-hojicha soft serve meets Okinawa sugar gel and red bean paste in a restrained interplay of roasted, earthy and sweet notes.

Menu Vol. 4: A Summer Symphony

Alongside Shōjin, SHŌ introduces Summer Menu Vol. 4, built around the height of the summer harvest and the ingredients Katsumura finds most compelling at this moment, among them sweet corn, heirloom tomatoes, green beans, potatoes, local stone fruit and pristine seafood.

This season, those ingredients lead Katsumura toward France. Drawing on the French cooking she grew up with and the legacy of her family’s Chicago restaurant, Yoshi’s Café, she brings those formative flavors into the present, reinterpreting them through her own Japanese culinary perspective.

Highlights include:

• Opening bites strike a bright first note. A corn kakiage comes lacy and crisp, sparked with green yuzu kosho, pickled watermelon rind and lime. SHŌ's milk bread grilled cheese turns into Katsumura's BLT, molten smoked Gouda and Gruyère pressed against sun-dried and fresh Nichols Farm heirloom tomato, pickled red onion and mizuna.
• Niçoise-inspired tataki reimagines the French classic through the lens of SHŌ. Sesame-crusted, lightly seared Balfegó bluefin tuna is paired with potato terrine, Niçoise olive purée, Dijon vinaigrette, anchovy, quail egg and caviar, distilling its familiar components into a composed tasting course.
• The chawanmushi takes on a distinctly Provençal character. Silken custard sits over bouillabaisse dashi with cauliflower-potato espuma, poached shellfish, charred fennel and fresh orange, accompanied by baguette and garlicky rouille for dipping.
• Oshizushi-style hand rolls continue the dialogue between Japanese and French influences. Unagi meets black garlic miso and local plums, while A5 wagyu is paired with grilled asparagus, pickled shishito béarnaise and wasabi sesame — a one-bite homage to the French-influenced steak dishes that were a hallmark of Yoshi’s Café.
• A high-summer finale layers summer blueberry soft serve with housemade cornbread, koji-sweetened condensed milk and buttermilk ice, finished with fresh herbs and candied lemon.

Both tasting experiences are available beginning August 12. Reservations are open at www.sho-chicago.com and via OpenTable.