Void Is Having Fun. You Will Too.
A 15-foot Last Supper, zero-proof Malört, and Spaghetti Uh-O’s poured from a can. Avondale’s weirdest Italian spot is also one of its most fun.
Avondale’s stock keeps going up. Time Out ranked it the fifth coolest neighborhood in the world last year, higher than any other neighborhood in the country, and this stretch of Milwaukee Avenue makes the case on its own. Bakeries that command a line. Coffee shops with impeccable vibes and DJs on weekend mornings. Local boutiques and thrift shops. And nestled right in the middle of it is Void, which might be the whole neighborhood distilled into one restaurant.
Void opened in August 2024 in the old Moe’s Tavern space, run by front-of-house lead Pat Ray and co-chefs Dani Kaplan and Tyler Hudec. It’s decorated in a very intentional, haphazard way, with a wild, almost thrift-store-art-gallery vibe. The space is big and open, and everything centers on a 15-foot rendition of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper, towering over the tables along the wall. Jesus and the apostles practically bless every plate that comes out of the kitchen.
And yes, those plates are familiar Italian American food. But familiar isn’t boring. Like the decor, the menu has a wink, a little smirk. Void looks at a classic Italian menu and decides to have a really fun time in the kitchen, and you can see it everywhere.
It starts at the cocktail menu.
I’m rolling up on 12 years sober. I had a lot of fun in my twenties, and some of that fun I figured I’d never get to have again. And that’s okay! But one tradition I always miss, especially when friends are in town, is introducing out-of-towners to the displeasure of Malört, Chicago’s most beloved mascot, and not being able to join in. Whether that’s a lucky loophole or a real loss depends on your views, and I think most people would call it lucky.
At Void, you don’t have to choose.
There’s a solid selection of N/A options, and the best one happened by accident. While working on a wormwood tincture, the team stumbled onto a recipe for a zero-proof Malört, and No-Lört was born. You can get it in their cocktails, or you can get a beer and a shot for a paltry $7. Choose your poison. Either way, you’ll make the Malört face: the wince, the contortion, the full-body regret.
But honestly? It wasn’t that bad. Back when I drank, I loved a little Fernet, and No-Lört tastes like Fernet with a very filthy potty mouth.
The food menu is just as cheeky.
There are handmade classics made with real care and craft. The lasagna was very good. The house-made focaccia comes with butter and pickled cherries. Then there are classics with a more worldly update: agnolotti filled with Korean sweet potato and kimchi, and a Caesar salad built on seared cabbage.
The steak comes with a house-made giardiniera, which is exactly the kind of move that makes Void so fun. It fuses Chicago pride with a genuinely well-cooked piece of meat, and the acid in the giardiniera cuts right through the fat. It’s a tasty dish and one worth sharing with the table.
But the best-tasting thing on the table, and easily the most fun, is the headliner: Spaghetti Uh-O’s.
It’s a vodka sauce dish with handmade O-shaped pasta and tiny house-made meatballs. Flavorful, bold, balanced and addictive. It arrives in a branded Spaghetti Uh-O’s can, your server pours it into your bowl, and then grates a generous snowfall of Parmesan over the top, with a bit of drama. Order it. You’ll want to.
Save room for the PB&J tiramisu, too. It tastes like the Crustable from your childhood lunchbox grew up and went to culinary school.
The servers match the menu. Everyone was nice, casual and quick with a smile or a joke, and they seemed to be having as much fun as the food and decor. It all felt inviting and never took itself too seriously, but nobody slipped on attentiveness, either.
That’s Void. A neighborhood restaurant in the coolest neighborhood in the country, serving the food you grew up on with a smirk on its face and a 15-foot Jesus watching over the table.
Order the Uh-O’s. Take the No-Lört shot. Make the face.
Stay up-to-date
