Kasama

Kasama made history in 2022 as the world's first Michelin-starred Filipino restaurant, a groundbreaking achievement that elevated Filipino cuisine onto the global stage. Founded by husband-and-wife team Tim Flores and Genie Kwon in Chicago's Ukrainian Village during the pandemic in July 2020, Kasama-Tagalog for 'together'-perfectly embodies their combined culinary vision. The restaurant operates as a dual concept: by day, it's a casual caf and bakery serving Filipino breakfast dishes like longanisa sandwiches, mushroom adobo, and tocilog alongside Kwon's exceptional French pastries including the bestselling Ube Basque Cake. By night, Kasama transforms into an elegant fine dining destination offering a 13-course tasting menu ($285) that showcases Flores's Filipino heritage with contemporary techniques. The restaurant has earned extraordinary acclaim beyond its Michelin star: James Beard Award finalist for Best New Restaurant 2022, New York Times' 50 Places Most Excited About 2021, Eater's Best New Restaurants in America 2021, and Food & Wine's Top Restaurant 2024. Chef Flores draws from his Cavite roots and fine dining training at Oriole to create inventive dishes like maitake mushroom adobo with mussel emulsion, squid ink pancit with scallop conserva and Serrano ham, and the famous cassava cake with crab fat and trout roe. Kwon's pastry expertise shines in sophisticated desserts like halo-halo with Asian pear granita and pandan ice cream using Flores's mother's leche flan recipe. With over 1,800 reviews and exceptional ratings, Kasama books 45 days in advance for dinner service, though the caf operates first-come-first-serve starting at 9am with lines forming by 8:15am. The restaurant represents not just culinary excellence but Filipino pride worldwide, making traditional Filipino flavors accessible while maintaining authentic soul-warming comfort.