Gabino Sotelino
Ambria
2300 N. Lincoln Park West
773-472-5959
French
Mon Ami Gabi
2300 N. Lincoln Park West
773-348-8886
French bistro dining
Café Ba-Ba-Reeba!
2024 N. Halsted St.
773-935-5000
Tapas and Spanish
specialties
When Gabino Sotelino was 9 years old, he was sent by his mother, a recent widow, to a seminary in Madrid. He lasted three years, then left - as he says with a laugh - by the back door. I was such a rebel.- Working as a bellhop at the posh Hotel Ritz in Madrid, he segued to the kitchen. From there, he landed in other top kitchens in Europe, including Plaza Athenée in Paris and Koons Hotel in Saint Moritz.
Eventually, he joined Hilton International as part of a team opening hotels in such places as Hong Kong, Istanbul, the Canary Islands and Montreal, where he stayed. In 1968 he and his Swiss wife moved to Boston, then Washington, and seven years later arrived in Chicago to work at Le Perroquet. Later he joined Rich Melman of Lettuce Entertain You, opening Ambria (1980), Un Grand Café (now Mon Ami Gabi) and Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba! (He is partner and part-owner in all three.)
Winner of many prestigious international awards, Sotelino says he wants Ambria to “last like a legacy.” He describes the fare as “cuisine légere — flavors, but no indulgence. You shouldn’t feel overwhelmed at the end.
“There’s no city in this country I would change for Chicago,” he adds. “I’m so proud of it. I feel at home. Even in Europe, I say the same thing.”