After working in New York wine bars for the last 20 years, Lauras Grigaliulas decided that he wanted to bring a cozy neighborhood wine bar to Chicago, and thus, Lago Wine Bar was born. The rustic Italian restaurant in Lakeview features “cicchetti,” or Venetian tapas, small-plate dining meant to be enjoyed with a glass of Italian wine.

“We have small plates, so people can share different things and tastes, good wine, and basically, we want it to become a neighborhood kitchen, so people don’t have to cook,” he said.  Lago Wine Bar will be serving up items like a focaccia bread with sauteed mushrooms and Montasio cheese, crabcakes, eggplant with goat cheese and tomato sauce, and assorted pastas, some of which will change on a daily basis.