Julia Momosé is a bartender, writer, business owner, and the creative force behind Kumiko, the acclaimed Japanese dining bar in Chicago. Momosé’s approach to cocktails and spiritfree beverages has garnered her international renown, from Time magazine to Food & Wine and a spot on The World’s 50 Best Bars. In 2022, Momosé won the Chicago Exceptional Cocktails Award from the Michelin Guide. 

Born and raised in Japan, Momosé fell in love with hospitality while watching her mother entertain house guests. She later in life had a pivotal moment at a cocktail bar, becoming  mesmerized by bartenders chipping blocks of ice into perfect spheres. It was a level of precision and care that would inform Momosé’s approach to drinks, business, and life.

After moving to America for university, Momosé supported herself by working in restaurants and bars. Momosé studied Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University, and she would apply her designer’s eye to beverages she’d concoct. She rose through the ranks in bars from New York to Baltimore, eventually landing in Chicago where she now calls home. 

A chance birthday dinner at Senza introduced Momosé to restaurateur and chef Noah Sandoval. Before long, the two partnered to open Kumiko in December 2018. The dining bar evoked the sensibilities that Momosé sought and cherished: Elegance, simplicity, sophistication. Within a year, Kumiko (and its subterranean omakase concept, Kikko) had won accolades from Chicago magazine (Best New Bar, 2019), Time magazine (World’s Greatest Places), Esquire (Best Bars in America, 2020), and many others. Momosé also curates the spiritfree and cocktail pairings at Noah Sandoval’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Oriole.

Momosé has been on the vanguard of leading industry change, from women in hospitality to legislative change helping bars during the pandemic. 

She authored The Spiritfree Manifesto, a widely circulated call-to-action to change public perception of non-alcoholic drinks. In addition, Momosé’s advocacy for her industry during the pandemic led to Illinois governor J.B. Pritzker signing HB2682, a bill allowing cocktails and mixed drinks to be sold for off-site consumption. Momosé also serves as a mentor for Speed-Rack, a national women’s bartending competition.

Throughout, Momosé continues to be an internationally sought-after consultant on beverages. She developed the cocktails and spiritfree programs for Starbucks Roastery Reserve, where her drinks appear on menu in New York, Tokyo, Milan, Seattle, and Chicago. Her much-anticipated debut book The Way of the Cocktail (co-authored with Emma Janzen) was named one of the Best Cookbooks of 2021 from Vanity Fair, Boston Globe, and WIRED, and received a James Beard Award in 2022.