Where is bellyQ: bellyQ is located in Chicago’s West Loop area, a very live exciting, sceny part of town. During my recent month in Chicago I dined in the West Loop almost daily. As a result I got quite familiar with the various options and was thrilled to have a chance to experience bellyQ.

The Restaurant Design: Cornerstone Restaurant Group, collaborating with Dwayne MacEwen, principle of DMAC Architecture and Yasmina Cadiz of Downtown Design League, set out to elevate the bellyQ experience to accentuate Chef Bill Kim’s unique personality and style. You can read more about Chef Bill Kim here as I interviewed hi for this piece.  Together, they created an experience that was an extension of Chef Kim’s private home: calm, luxuriously understated, natural and modern. What they ultimately achieved with bellyQ is a space that flawlessly accentuates the real star of the show – Chef Kim’s food. Among bellyQ’s many highlights are a full bar lounge, built-in hibachi table grills, a spacious dining room, and separate private areas, including a karaoke room.

The Team behind bellyQ: Award-winning Chef Bill Kim got his start in the restaurant industry honing his culinary skills at world-renowned establishments Charlie Trotter’s and Le Lan. After spending years perfecting his skills alongside the best in the industry, Chef Kim would eventually venture out on his own in 2008, bringing his imaginative Asian inspired cuisine to his highly acclaimed Chicago restaurants Urbanbelly, bellyQ and Belly Shack.

The very large open, loft like feeling of this cool restaurant

Our incredible first round of dishes experienced during brunch

The Kimchi Pancakes these were very interesting, I loved the fried kimchi pancake with the fresh greens and vegetables. Very flavorful and super inventive

This was the vegan belly bowl which was probably my favorite dish. I’m not a vegan but love eating vegetarian at times as the flavors really get a chance to stand out and this was a perfect example of that. I highly recommend this when brunching at bellyQ!

This was another flavorful egg dish (a special for the day)

My fabulous Valentine’s Date… my mom Linda. Yes we visited on Valentine’s Day!

Thanks again bellyQ for the incredible meal it was fabulous visiting and partnering with you on sharing this post and my interview with Chef Kim. This is a brunch not to be missed in Chicago’s West Loop. See more of my West Loop favorite’s on my Top 10 West Loop list (including Belly Q of course!) coming soon….