Naperville Restaurant – Two Brothers
Recently I got a chance to hang out with my little sister and her main squeeze. Although we don’t live too far away from each other we don’t spend nearly enough time together so I was super pumped.
They picked me up and we headed over to The Craftsman by Two Brothers in downtown Naperville. The restaurant recently opened and due to my schedule I didn’t get a chance to attend the grand opening. My sis and I were both excited to try some of the cocktails that we’d read about and her boyfriend was ready to eat.
We went for brunch, so parking was easy to find. Our reservation was at noon and after checking in with the hostess we took a seat in the lobby area on the first level while they prepped our table upstairs.
Market Café – Coffee
The first floor is gorgeous, rich wood and leather everywhere, perfect setting for the coffee bar and café. They serve a good selection of light bites and desserts as well as a selection of specialty coffees from Two Brothers Coffee Roasters. I also took a peek at their charcuterie selection and the glass encased Himalayan salt aging room that they use to dry age and cure meats for all three floors. We didn’t get to spend as much time on the first floor as I wanted but I’ll definitely be back to experience the menu down there.
Modern Tavern – Naperville Brunch
The hostess let us know that our table was ready on the second floor and we headed upstairs where we were seated near the window. The second floor is airy with wood furnishings and exposed brick walls. I was really impressed with the open kitchen; there’s just something about seeing the team put together dish after dish that gets me excited. Although the restaurant has only been open a few short months it appeared to me that the opening hiccups that restaurants usually experience aren’t an issue at The Craftsman. It’s a true testament to the hard working and experienced team that co-owners and brothers Jim and Jason Ebel have put together.
We enjoyed everything we tried, the brunch menu is set up with a variety of small plates and shareable entrées. This was perfect for the three of us, we all love to try new things so we ordered quite a few dishes.
My absolute favorite dish was the Cuban Eggs Benedict, it was so friggin’ good.
Now mind you, I don’t typically eat eggs so for me to say that that dish was good is a tribute to how amazing it is. They source as much as possible locally so I was able to ask what farms they worked with for the eggs so that I can buy some for home.
Getting Married?
As the three of us gushed over how delicious the food was my sister let the cat out of the bag that they are discussing getting married. My jaw dropped, equally due to my excitement for them and my overwhelming realization that my baby sister isn’t a baby anymore. Ha, she’s been trying to get me to get over the baby sister thing for a long time. I’ve annoyed her since her teen years with asking invasive questions and giving my unasked opinions on her decisions but until about the last 5 years or so I couldn’t help myself. We lost our mother when my sister and brother were teens and since then I’ve been a helicopter sister to the both of them. Luckily, they still love me.
I had to order a couple of cocktails to celebrate after hearing the news. My mind was swirling with ideas about how he will propose and what her dress will look like, but the cocktails I had were definitely stiff enough to calm me down.
The Speakeasy
After brunch, with my head still spinning our server, Sean, took us on a quick tour of the third floor. It’s only open in the evenings but I was dying to just get a peek. The floor was clearly designed to highlight the bar. There were a ton of Two Brothers beers on tap and a Wine Tap system as well! The cocktail menu was also impressive with accompanying small plates to compliment the drink selection.
We had a memorable time at The Craftsmen by Two Brothers. So memorable in fact that my husband and I have already made plans to go there on one of our date nights this spring so that we can hang out on the third floor patio.
What about you, have you visited The Craftsman by Two Brothers yet? What’d you think? What’d you order? What floor did you check out? Let me know in the comments.
The Craftsman by Two Brothers
Address: 16 W Jefferson Ave, Naperville, IL 60540
Hours: Open today · 7AM–11PM (Different Hours for each Floor)
Phone: (630) 615-7100
*my meal was provided in order to facilitate this post. All opinions expressed herein are my own.
