Great spot downtown with so much variety! The space is so beautiful too. I was downtown and hungry…read moreso I stopped by Sterling for a quick and easy lunch. It was bustling with others doing the same but because it's so big it didn't feel overwhelming. They really have something for everyone here. I decided to go with the Fat Shallot for a BLT. The servers there were super nice and the food came out super quick! The sandwich was fine, but the fries were my favorite. I ate lunch, got some emails sent out, and was on my way. It's a super convenient spot downtown with lots of options. Highly recommend!

Came here over the holidays and it had some simple, cute decor. I was surprised by how empty the…read moreplace was since there's a nice variety of options here. Tried 2 places here: 1 was really good and 1 was not good at all. Multiple stands were closed early for the day, but it could be cuz of the holidays. Not the best food hall I've been to, but also not the worst

I've been to Sila's Mediterranean several times, and the ingredients have always been fresh and…read moreconsistent. My usual make-your-own bowl includes chicken or steak for protein, greens, rice, fried potatoes, hummus, Jerusalem salad, and cucumbers. The fried potatoes are easily my favorites! The counter-service setup is similar to Chipotle or CAVA, making it easy to customize your meal. Service is efficient, and the casual atmosphere is perfect for a quick workday lunch.

Recent price hike. Steak bowl cost $18 in August 2026 and now it's up to $20 in September 2026…read more Nothing different about portioning, a 10% hike outpaces inflation and it's a shame because I do like this place.

I wanted to like this place so much! I am new to this building, and was excited to see the great…read morereviews and the fact that they have a happy hour. I regret to share that after trying them a couple times, I find myself less than impressed. Speaking with others working in the building, they generally share my sentiment. The one thing I want to give them credit for is their pastries. These are of high quality, flaky, fresh tasting, and not sugar bombs. Alas, I then made the mistake of ordering breakfast, and then later an appetizer at happy hour. So... For breakfast, I got a combo which consisted of eggs, meat, bread, and potatoes. The eggs were more of a over-hard than over-medium, but after spending some time in the container, this could have been radiant heat of everything else - in others words, forgivable. What isn't forgivable is that the potatoes had three times the normal amount of salt. Before you say yikes, I have a bigger one for you: the chicken sausage; this was burnt to the point of charcoal! Yikes. Then came a different visit at happy hour. I wanted to order the first item on the drink menu, but they were out of an ingredient. I wanted to order the second, but they were ALSO out of an ingredient. The drink the bartender made me was good, but not what I initially wanted, or the backup I wanted to it. As for an app, I ordered the spiral potato, which failed as bad as the breakfast. First, it was cooked inconsistently, with the inside being underdone. Worse still, it too had an obscene amount of salt. A case when I sent food back. Final verdict: I will give T.G.E.C. credit for great pastries, but that is where I have to stop. While the prices are somewhat reasonable, in exchange one gets WAY oversalted and overdone or underdone food. See a drink you like on the menu... they don't have it. At this rate, I rather go elsewhere, for the area is far from a desert.

This is a wonderful spot for grabbing lunch with coworkers or a quick drink/pastry. The food is…read morefreshly made and the prices are affordable for downtown. I ordered a chicken pesto sandwich, and it came with a side salad. The salad was delicious, and I enjoyed the pesto on the sandwich. However, the chicken was dry and not very flavorful. My coworkers really enjoyed the tortilla soup and the housemade sodas. I also ordered a 77 Fog Latte, which is their version of a london fog and it was solid. The ambiance is clean and open. There is a lot of natural light that comes into the restaurant. I think this would be a great place to study or do work. Service was quick and friendly. I would come again.

Great food! Great ambience! Great service!! I loved this place and will be coming here every time I…read morecome to Chicago!!!

Cute little hole-in-the-wall spot just a few blocks from Willis Tower. I stopped in on a Sunday…read moreafternoon and it had exactly the chill, laid-back vibe I was looking for. The staff was friendly and welcoming. I got the Burrito con Huevos with arrachera steak, and it was incredible. I'm a sucker for a good breakfast burrito, and this one was a solid size, packed with flavor, and honestly stacks up with some of the best I can remember having. The steak especially stood out--super juicy, tender, and actually well cooked. None of that dry, chewy Chipotle steak nonsense Great food, great people, and a relaxed atmosphere. Definitely a spot I'd come back to.

Beatrix is such a great spot in Chicago! The atmosphere is bright, modern, and welcoming, and it's…read morethe perfect place for brunch, lunch, or a casual dinner. The food is fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented, with plenty of options to choose from. The service was friendly and attentive, and the whole experience felt relaxed and enjoyable. Whether you're meeting friends, having a family meal, or just looking for a great place to eat in Chicago, Beatrix is definitely worth a visit. I'd happily come back again!

Good food with plenty of menu variety despite it being a single page. I enjoyed my enchiladas. The…read moresalsa it came with was just the right amount of spicy. I had a joy (coconut+chocolate) cookie from their bakery case ($2 after 8pm) that was also good. Sitting at the bar is a bit awkward as it's not full height. There is a step down so the bartender can't see if your water or other drink is low. Points for trying but they don't have local TV channels for basic sports watching. It's not that type of place but should be a baseline anywhere if a TV is present. They open early and have a variety of seating options and a solid looking coffee bar if you want to work from there.

Stopped by Eleven City Diner with my wife and my mother yesterday. I haven't been to Eleven City in…read moreyears so we were all excited about the visit. We've always had a great experience there. There was a 15 minute wait when we arrived, but were seated in less than five minutes. We had a nice booth near the front of the restaurant. From the last time I was there, the menu looks the same, except the prices have gone up. Everything has been going up in price everywhere. They also note that they add a three percent surcharge to cover the increasing costs, but you can let your server know if you don't want to pay the charge. We ordered a pickle tray, which is one dill cut into four slices and a sliced pickled tomato. The pickles were good except I wish they had full sour pickles on the tray, too. For our entrees, my wife and mother split the grilled cheese. The sandwich comes with soup and fries. Their fries are cooked in beef tallow so have that extra good taste. The sandwich is large so they didn't even sample the soup. I had the salami sandwich. It's served on sliced challah (yum). When ordering, they asked if I wanted it thick or thin, hot or cold. I asked for sliced thick and hot. When it arrived, there were two slices of salami on each side of the bread. It was about four inches in diameter and about two inches thick - enormous. It also came with their beef tallow fries. My meal was delicious but way too much to eat. We ended taking home the soup and my 1/2 sandwich. I love the ambiance - reminds me of the old Carnegie Deli in New York. Of the Jewish Delis still open in Chicago, Eleven City is my favorite.

Eleven City, I was not familiar with your game! I don't even know how to describe what you'll find…read moreinside this diner - step inside and I promise you'll be transported to a new world lol. The bad a#@! breakfast sandwich was really good with the hash and those house potatoes were so damn crispy! The in-house root beer was amazing and I can't say a single bad word about those shakes. There's so much to do in this diner lol I have to come back!

I've eaten here twice. Once for breakfast while staying at the attached Hilton, and once for lunch…read morewhile staying at the Canopy. Two very different experiences. First of all, it's really a nice hotel lobby (with plenty of comfortable seating), that is also a bar and coffee bar and kind of a cafe type thing that claims to serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is a great option for breakfast for both attached hotels. Food is made to order fresh for you, well seasoned, nice options, good, friendly service. Expensive, but that's expected. Lunch, on the other hand, was a bit less exciting. I was there at around 12:30 pm on a Friday for lunch and all they had available for food were two pre-made sandwiches wrapped in foil in the cooler and a couple of salads. That's more what you might expect at 3:30 pm, not during lunch hour. There are plenty of good lunch options in the area (including the food court across the street), so you might want to leave the hotel if you're looking for lunch variety. I wanted to work in the comfortable lobby, so I snagged one of the sandwiches. Nothing special, but well made. I wasn't really in the mood for chicken avocado BLT, but it was fine. Filling. And expensive.

I was staying at the Hilton Garden Inn which is attached to the Hilton Canopy, around 10pm or so I…read morevisited the Depot 226. Mainly a hotel bar (at this time of night) and full of guests catching a night cap & networking. Paul, my bartender and server was amazing, he served me the Pullman Bees Knees-fantastic! With a crowded bar, I sat window side and Paul went out of is way to check on me and help me order food to go. It's not common to see bartenders work the whole front of the house like Paul did, I appreciate his efforts!

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!