What can I say, I was by the fountain on a really blisteringly hot day and so the tantalizingness…read moreof gelato too over and I just plain had to have some gelato at Franco's at the Fountain, which is what the place was named when I went here. I had Superman gelato which was pretty decent though it melted very messily in the heat.

6/30/13@2:36pm Dear…read moreWashburne Culinary Institute @ Buckingham Fountain Café, 1] The $2.21 blueberry muffin I decided to go/w was DELISH; I wish I had purchased more than one! 2] The FC staff were cordial. 3] The outdoor seating [w/a view of Buckingham Fountain] is marvelous, esp. since I needed to give a rest to my back, knees, hips, legs & feetS :D 4] P.S....We make-UP words around my parts! :D Sincerely, a Fan that will be back for a few more blueBARRaY muffs [when in the area]!

I just got home from a lovely afternoon walking through the city. We wanted to hit the beer garden…read moreat Navy Pier, but walked all the way to it only to discover that it is under construction. This was the next closest place. OK beer selection. OK service. Pretty bad food. OK, really bad food. I had the shrimp plate and my boyfriend had the jerk chicken wrap. We both walked away saying it was the worst meal we'd had in a long time. Way overpriced as well. Two stars for the great view and people watching.

Would give 2 1/2 stars if an option but had to round down over one major item. Metal hard chairs…read morethat leave ugly waffle marks on the back of your legs if you're wearing shorts. Went here for dinner yesterday after an amazing day in Chicago. They were pretty busy but our waitress was right on us for drink orders. One friend couldn't make up her mind & I think that irritated our waitress. She was short & snappy the rest of our meal. All servers seem young & unpolished. I imagine there is a high turnover there. Smallish but adequate menu with very good prices for a touristy location. Good prices on everything except water. No free tap water here. You must buy a $2 small bottle of water. There excuse is that there are water fountains inside the pier. That excuse doesn't "hold water" for me. Anyhoo... I had the Italian Beef sandwich with the beer sampler. ($16.99) It was a ginormous sandwich with a pile of tasty waffle fries. I asked for a side of ranch for fries & didn't receive with my meal. Another friend asked for a side of blue cheese dressing & didn't get it either. Instead they put blue cheese crumbles on her sandwich and charger her $1.00. (subtracted from server tip) Blue cheese friend had the steak sandwich and was unimpressed. Too "bready". She asked to sub fries for onion rings for $1.99 and when her food came out there were no onion rings. When they did come out it was a very small portion for $1.99. Hello people! One onion costs 50 cents max! 3rd friend had a panini that was unremarkable. She did have the Dreamsicle drink & it was too strong for her so they do put booze in their drinks. Great location & the price is right, just buyer beware & wear pants. ;)

This is a really great spot. First of all, it's right on the water where all the boats come and…read morego. Second, there is an awesome little stage here for live music. Third, they serve both okay snack foods like burgers and hotdogs, as well as a pretty descent selection of craft beers (be sure to visit both the west and east side bars). The servers are really friendly as well. And if you take care of them, they will do all they can to take care of you. So why am I not giving this 5 stars? A few reasons. First, there is no full bar here. Yes, you can wander 100 yards down the pier to get to a full bar. But it just seem like a lost opportunity here. Second, the food is just meh. Not that I'm expecting Michelin starred food, but it's quite basic. The price for food is sorta reasonable though. Lastly is the cost. A beer is like $14. Crazy! Do yourself a favor and bring your own booze.

I had not been to the Navy Pier until last night for the Sixteen Candles Band and Saturday night…read morefireworks. Ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri and it was ONLY $10 at Billy Goat kiosk. I wish they'd stop asking people do we want to tip. Walked over early to go see the band. The Beer Garden is by the Sable Hotel, so closer to the end of the Pier. It's outdoors, dress appropriately for weather. Lots of casual seating with tables & Adirondack-type chairs. Bathrooms clean, food choices were so INEXPENSIVE, grounds clean, friendly employees. The band was awesome and although their sound system could improve, it was doable. I'm looking forward to returning. Love the outdoor space!

Perfect spot for a group lunch. Pretty quiet for a Wednesday lunch rush. The food was good and…read morethere was something for everyone.

As much as I loathe the need to use this phrase, I suspect Hayden Hall, at the time of this…read morewriting, is a case of wasted potential. This situation is not entirely their fault, but they can take steps to usher in the change that will stop this wasting of potential. But why? Well: I've found there's a new BC/AC when it comes to time: Before COVID & After COVID. There are some AC changes that come with the territory, in this case I am referring to The Loop. While I've been in the city barely a year (as of this writing), I am told the Loop used to be much more vibrant BC. Now, locals come to the Loop to work, tourists come to see The Bean, and as night falls, the area becomes quiet, save for the El rumbling above. There is a light at the end of the tunnel, though! While there have been some mainstays that remained, the Loop seems to be slowly rebounding! Momento Cantina, for example. It is more gathering, eating, "third" places, if you will, that can help revitalize the area. Hayden Hall has a bar that looks like it hasn't seen a drop of liquor in five years, and there's also a deli-slicer pristine enough to be a museum piece and very unlikely to have seen a single slice of cheese. All of these are going unused, and HH closes at 3pm... People buy their food at lunch, and right back to work. Meanwhile, if the bar, deli-whatever-have-you, not to mention the hall itself were open late, people would have more incentive to not flee the Loop when the clock strikes five! It's a situation where it seems as though everyone is waiting for the area's nightlife to come back, but also waiting for someone else to extend their opening hours. If it's everyone's responsibility, it's no one's, a story going back to Biblical times, at least. As for the current state: The selection of restaurants isn't great, with six-ish restaurants plus a salad bar almost hidden, tucked away in the corner (with an outdoor patio behind it, to boot). It would be immensely helpful to have some website or at least social media page with a listing, and maybe online ordering, but that is apparently asking too much in 2025. Given the small selection, I do like how they are presented, where you can walk by in a straight line, see the menus, make a decision, loop around what your stomach or heart craves Nothing is cheap at present day, but I find the prices are comparable, if not a little less than some of the competition in the immediate surrounding area. My favorite part of the hall though is the vibe. I think the best way to describe it is to say it reminds me of Bioshock (without the being of underwater, decay, or splicers). Shall we say, a quirky, vintage, art deco, if that makes sense? The space is also very open, comfortable, and immaculately clean. Final Verdict: I know I spent a long time waxing poetic about the possibilities for Hayden Hall, and the disappointment that it isn't yet living into them. At the same time, I appreciate the need to judge a place by what it is, not what it was or could be. With that said, though the selection is limited, Hayden Hall is an excellent choice for a workday lunch, especially given the beautiful scenery and how welcoming the space is to individuals or groups!

The Market is a café connected to the Art Institute of Chicago. I'm sure they get great foot…read moretraffic from museum visitors who get hungry midday and haven't finished up their tour yet. The set up is self service where you go to the kiosk and make a digital payment. There was one staff member directing everyone around. What annoyed me is that there was clearly a line and everyone was waiting and some ladies just cut the line and the staff member didn't say anything. Like why are you event there then? The kiosk was decently user friendly but you weren't able to substitute ingredients. You can omit them if you'd like. I ended up ordering a Curried Chicken Salad Sandwich ($14) and an Iced Tea ($5). I was directed to a line to get my drink. It was confusing because they were asking some people for their name, but some people for the number on their receipt, and then just being like never mind what drink did you get. The Iced Tea was on the small side and there was no sweeteners in sight. I just drank it as is. You are able to seat yourself and they call you when your food is ready. To their credit the food was prepared quite quickly. It looks like they mass produce a lot of these items, which is why customization is unavailable. The curried chicken salad sandwich was really tasty. I just wish it came with chips or something. Had I known I would have bought some chips. The curried chicken salad portion was unique and I could eat this all day. The bread was too much so halfway through I just ate the filling. A nice café to grab lunch while visiting the museum. Not too much customer service, but the meal sustains visitors for a bit longer to enjoy more of the museum.

New food hall in the basement of the Art Institute of Chicago. La Patinette concept has French…read morebaguette sandwiches. The ham was basic but very good with Dijon butter. Salads, French onion soup. Other food concepts are supposed to pop up shortly: when we were here for soft opening a fried chicken menu was visible but not available. Touch screen ordering is a nice touch. This is the same space as the former basement restaurants but clearly going to be all new vendors and staff. Staff we met were very friendly. Good start.

I only deducted one star from here because the food took f o r e v e r to come out. But the…read moreservice was otherwise good and the options had flavor. My sister ordered a southwest salad with grilled chicken, I had the roasted vegetable sandwich, my husband had the mango basil beef sandwich special, and my son had the chicken tenders entree. Convenient for inside the museum. Make sure you plan ahead when you order if it's cutting it close to a movie time.

The food was just fine, considering it is an aquarium. It is self serve, but you can order…read morehamburgers and desserts. Ambiance is aquarium-like. Cute

When making a reservation at The Drake Hotel I made one with Breakfast included. Upon check in we…read morewere told the breakfast could be done at any of the restaurants in the hotel taking 15$ off each of our bills. We went to Cafe on Oak for our breakfast because they had what was pretty basic American fare. I ordered the Belgian Waffle and Iced tea. The Belgian Waffle was four small waffles. They were over cooked and dense. Husband got an omelette with ham, bacon and cheddar and a side of potatoes. His omelette was also over cooked and dry. Our breakfast with tip was 79$ So our reservation with breakfast included, cost an extra 50$ and the food was mediocre at best. The young man running around clearing tables and filling coffee was more than earning his pay. Our server never came back to check on us. Never got a tea refill once plates were dropped.

The best part about this place is how unique it is inside. It's got a bit of an old time feel, but…read moreit's clean and well-lit. It's inside the Drake Hotel. Depending where you sit, you can see a bit of the water. The menu is a bit pricey. $7 for coffee?! I am not a big eater so I opted for the breakfast sandwich at $12. The MM x JD Benedict dish was pretty amazing. Loved the two options and my husband said it tasted good. Our server was attentive and helpful, even filling my reusable water bottle with ice and water before we left.

Perfect place to get some work done! The coffee was inexpensive ($4.50 latte!) and customers were…read morequiet and respectful. The gorgeous dining area was an unexpected highlight with historic flair and a lot to leer at. The cherry on top was the excellent people watching with the abundance of large windows. So glad I saw this place on Maps as the cafe is very easy to miss if you aren't looking for it.

This is one of the nicer cafes I've been to for a quite morning to do some work!…read more I got a cinnamon dulce de leche latte and it was very nice. The huge windows and the fountain view is so pleasant. And the WiFi was super fast so I got a lot of work done as well. Definitely loved the place and would love to come back!