Katie Renshaw

At a Glance The bar program at Bambi in Chicago, Illinois, shows Katie Renshaw working in a register that balances modern technique with an easier touch. As owner/operator in 2026, she has set a room that reads as deliberate without feeling rigid: polished service, but not stiff; craft, but without overstatement. The effect is a bar built with intent and left open enough to feel lived in. Renshaw’s own framing of Bambi’s aim points to that balance. She describes a bar that uses modern techniques while staying “a little more laid back,” and gives the name “whimsical, wide-eyed optimism.” Those lines map the house style clearly: exacting, but not fussy; imaginative, but not precious. The work sits in the space between precision and ease, where a drink can be technically exact and still carry a relaxed kind of charm.

Signature

The signatures at Bambi are Skinny Dip and Repeat Offender, and together they show how Katie Renshaw uses naming and format to create range on a single menu. Skinny Dip brings a lighter, more playful register, while Repeat Offender is a slightly bitter gin highball that leans into clarity with a bit of edge. In Renshaw’s hands, the menu does not rely on volume or drama; it uses contrast—softness against sharpness, familiarity against surprise—to keep the room engaged. Repeat Offender, in particular, reflects the broader shape of the bar. The drink’s title carries a wry note, and suggests something cool, bright, and restrained enough to invite another round. It is the kind of signature that does not need to announce itself; it simply holds its line.

In Their Words “I felt there was this need for a bar that used modern techniques, but in an environment that is a little more laid back.” “The name reflects that—whimsical, wide-eyed optimism.” Read as a craft statement, the quotes are direct about the bar’s priorities: technique without stiffness, and a tone that stays approachable. Renshaw’s language points to a room where precision is present but not foregrounded as theatre. The phrase “whimsical, wide-eyed optimism” is useful because it locates the identity of Bambi in mood as much as method—open, composed, and willing to keep some air in the room.