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    Forum 55

    3.5 (33 reviews)
    Open 7:00 am - 2:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Forum 55 Photos

    FORUM 55 ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Buddha's Best Bowl from Bibimbap
    Emily W.

    The Loop food hall business has some new competition. Look out because Forum 55 was awesoem. There are 9 different stations to choose from and everything looks delicious. What's different about Forum 55 is that you order from a kiosk. You can walk around and scope out the different stations' menus or view them at the kiosk. When you are ready, you place your order and pay all from there. Or if you picked up a salad from the bar it can be weighed at the kiosk. Then you can enter your phone number and you will receive a text when your food is done or you can view the many TV screens around the hall that will let you know when your order is ready. Orders are picked up at the stations that the food is made from. There seems to be plenty of seating and the vibes are good. I ordered the "Buddha's Best Bowl" and "House Made Kimchi" from Bibimbap. Everything was super fresh and delicious. Happy Loop Lunching!

    Salad from the salad bar
    Zeina E.

    I work in the same building as Forum 55 and I only come down here when it's too cold to go outside or when I need a quick cup of coffee. The place consists of several restaurants of different cuisines. You can find anything from Mexican, American, Japanese and what not. They also have a salad bar or - "Garden Bar" which is basically a buffet of veggies, soup and a few hot food options like fried chicken, salmon, rice, and cooked veggies. They have a mini market too where you can get coffee (regular and decaf only, no other flavors), tea, and quick snacks. The large or 16oz coffee is priced at 2.50$, which isn't too bad compared to what you pay at Starbucks or all other coffee shops around the loop. They also have pre-packaged cold cut sandwiches for about 5$ if you're looking for a quick and cheap lunch. There are several soft drinks or juice options to also choose from. The only way to order is through a kiosk and they do not accept cash, however, they accept Apple Pay. My company normally gives out 11$ lunch cards from this place and honestly if they didn't do that, I wouldn't really want to eat here for lunch. Don't get me wrong, this place gets packed during lunch and a lot of people even come down here from surrounding buildings, but it's never my first choice to eat here unless my company is paying for it or hell has frozen over outside. When I do eat here however, it's always from the salad bar. It's 0.56$/oz, but it can easily add up. I once ended up paying 15$ because I stacked it with lettuce thinking that it wouldn't weigh as much. It's not the best thing I've eaten, but it keeps me full for the rest of the day. The complaints about the manager are true. She's somewhat of a character. I haven't had any bad experiences with her, but my coworker got yelled at because she forgot to add the dressing to her salad while weighing it. I can understand why she can be like this. The place gets overwhelming packed, and I guess she needs to keep her eyes on everyone because there are no cashiers and she's just making sure no one is stealing from them. She also has to go around each restaurant and make sure they have everything they need or that the salad bar is refilled, so maybe cut her a break you guys, it's really a stressful position. Till next time!

    Grant A.

    I like the food hall concept. This location doesn't have many restaurants, has a good location though. Went with a bowl of Ramen. It was pork and chicken based with miso broth. This bowl of Ramen did not spark joy. I'm used to Ramen being savory and creamy and this didn't meet that standard. Small portion of meat as well.

    Fly in my salad

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    1 day ago

    Great selection at the salad bar. Hot meal was amazing. Friendly service! Good espresso.

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    8 years ago

    Probably the worst ramen in the city. No green vegetables in my spicy veggie and the noodles were spaghetti!

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    Ask the Community - Forum 55

    Review Highlights - Forum 55

    I am not just talking about a great salad bar, but a gourmet "hotel brunch buffet" quality salad bar.

    Mentioned in 10 reviews

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    Washington Hall - All Too Well, Coming Soon

    Washington Hall

    3.6(9 reviews)
    0.2 miThe Loop

    Fantastic Find! I feel lucky. I was nearby at the Sec of State Business affairs office, and I…read morewalked Past this on my way to Primark! Wow. Across The street from Morningstar. Excellent find. Stans Donuts and Coffee, who doesn't love Stan's. They make creative and a wonderfully tasting donuts. It's about $3.50 for a gourmet Donut, ok, not bad. Their logo is the best ! So friendly . Over to get a Delicious Roti! It's an Indian Taco, for those whom don't know. You must try it! Bhomi modern Indian grill. Scrumptious beef with a cabbage mix and a lovely chutney with olive oil herb/garlic mix. $8. So good so good. What a wonderful place for a nice lunch. Stan's Donuts and Coffee is open 7a-5p, Closed Sun. The Bhomi , 11-7 basically. Verify hours please to make sure. There was a bar at the entrance to entertain people. Great potential for other businesses. A bbq spot , a traditional taco spot, Don Javi's would fit here well. Maybe a Chi-SHACK and a Happy Chef. Maybe a classy Mr Sub! These are really Chicago classics. It would be great to see these open more now Covid is over ! Get people out to enjoy more and see what life is like .

    Have any of you amazing, wonderful, and lovely humans seen my review for Sterling Food Hall…read more(formerly Revival). In said review, I docked them a star for a disproportionate number of spots having sandwiches by any other name. I even went into Excel and made a pie-chart (true to form as a man in finance!) With Washington Hall, I could create a pie chart, but I don't see a reason to. Their offerings are still growing, but even with what's available now, the selection is awesome. Just going from memory, there is Indian, pizza, wings, hot dogs, Latin-American, Greek, and a Stan's Donuts (and probably a few I missed). The hall, including the restrooms are clean, and there is ample seating, plus more upstairs. The vibe is open and airy. Not as pretty or unique as Sterling, but I'm not really complaining - as long as it's clean and not depressing, I don't care that much. I am looking forward to making my way through trying all the spots within, and giving the bar a go when it opens. Hopefully most of the food vendors will be open in the evening.

    Photos
    Washington Hall - Vitasana restaurant

    Vitasana restaurant

    Washington Hall - All Too Well, Coming Soon

    All Too Well, Coming Soon

    Washington Hall

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    The Market - Cob salad and chips.

    The Market

    3.9(7 reviews)
    0.2 miThe Loop

    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.

    Photos
    The Market - Seat yourself

    Seat yourself

    The Market - Curry chicken salad sandwich and an iced tea

    Curry chicken salad sandwich and an iced tea

    The Market - Seating

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    Seating

    Hayden Hall - Yo' Mamma's from Budlong. Great ambiance and decor!

    Hayden Hall

    4.1(15 reviews)
    0.2 miThe Loop
    $$

    Didn't think the Loop needed another food hall but Hayden Hall is worth a visit. Less crowded than…read moreother Loop food halls, more affordable and with a nicer, more comfortable interior. Great spot for lunch, dinner or drinks. I've already gone twice (it just opened last week) and I plan to return soon.

    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!

    Photos
    Hayden Hall - Dining Area

    Dining Area

    Hayden Hall - Deli slicer

    Deli slicer

    Hayden Hall - Spicy Tuna Bowl

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    Spicy Tuna Bowl

    Time Out Market Chicago

    Time Out Market Chicago

    4.1(654 reviews)
    1.3 miFulton Market, West Loop, Near West Side
    $$

    Coming from Boston, I had heard the news that Time Out Market is closing its doors (in both…read morelocations!) in the next week, and I was looking forward to seeing what the Chicago food hall looked like. I was surprised to see that the website does allow reservations for large groups, so we booked through Resy a few days before coming. When we arrived at Fulton Market, it took a few tries but we happily found street parking. It was a little bit overwhelming when we first walked in. It feels "bigger" than the original food hall in Lisboa or the one in Boston - not necessarily in square footage, but primarily in energy. It was very busy and especially loud, and there was a DJ booth in the corner that felt closer to a club than a restaurant. I'm guessing part of this might be because it was a Friday night, but curious if it's been busier than normal since the announcement of the market's impending closure. The "reservation" system felt nominal at best, as there weren't any tables set up when we got there - by the time I was able to flag down staff for the food hall, it would have taken quite a while for them to find seats and move them together. In the end we were able to find a corner that worked out pretty well. Similar to the Boston location, you can order online. It didn't feel prominently advertised, as the food stalls themselves all had long lines and were pretty understaffed. In addition, after ordering online, there was no notification that the order was ready for pick-up (for several of the stalls). And while TOM is in a pretty central part of Chicago, the food felt spectacularly expensive for what you were getting. Pretty much everything was over $20 (before tax + tip) for an okay amount of food. On top of that, in our large 15+ person group, the vast majority of us felt that the food was definitively below average quality. Mine in particular was Bill Kim Ramen Bowl's tofu rice bowl. It was a depressing mix of unseasoned tofu cubes, dry arugula, kimchi, plain white rice with no sauce, a handful of pickled veggies, and a half-avocado that wasn't even sliced. It tasted about how it looks. None of that surprises me, but it felt like a far cry from the Lisboa concept, where I was a repeat customer for the high-quality food by distinguished chefs at extremely affordable prices. I'm glad I went, but won't be especially sad to see it go.

    It was great! Been to their location in Barcelona, New York, and Boston. Love the local food…read moreoptions they have. Tried the dumplings and cupcakes. Both were delicious! The ambiance is nice per usual. Highly recommend!

    Photos
    Time Out Market Chicago
    Time Out Market Chicago
    Time Out Market Chicago - Time Out: Negroni

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    Time Out: Negroni

    Forum 55 - food_court - Updated May 2026

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