Palm Restaurant

The Palm restaurant in the Swissotel Chicago has been around for generations. I have been going there for over 20 years. The lobster is outstanding! I love the casual atmosphere with upscale dining.

Both the service and food were amazing, just like the food from any Palm restaurant. Best wedge salad in the city.

Ok food, but not worth the price point.
Date of Visit: 11÷1÷15
While staying in the Swissotel for a business trip, a group of us visited The Palm for dinner, mostly out of convenience. We had a broad spectrum of drinks and dishes; my order consisted of the Crispy Calamari Fritti, Sesame Seared Ahi Tuna Steak, and a couple Old Fashioned’s to wash it down. The tuna dish was done well, but the calamari was quite greasy/​bland, and a few of my colleagues’ dishes looked comparable. Overall the meal was not bad, but for the price, I would consider it below average.
In a food-​centric city such as Chicago, there are dozens of places with higher quality fare at a much better value.

This is the hotel restaurant of the Swissotel, which is where we were staying for a couple of nights. While staying there we explored the pedway and it’s stops, experiencing several other surrounding hotel restaurants and the verdict is that this place doesn’t compare to any of them.
First off, the walls were covered in caricatures, something that you wouldn’t be surprised to find in a pub or a place with good burgers. The menu here however, totally didn’t match the décor and totally wasn’t my cup of tea. Not a burger or pub food in sight. The closest thing was fries and charging $ 13 for an order of fries and $ 78 for a lobster platter… get that crap off of the wall! Whose idea was that anyway?!
The waiter/​bartender was ok. He gave odd expressions though, like he was trying hard not to roll his eyes. He did give us partially correct directions to our next destination though.

Twas the night after Halloween… all was quiet in the BAR, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. Seriously, this place was DEAD.
We walked in and decided to have dinner at the bar. Mike, the bartender, came over and greeted us right away. He made recommendations accordingly for both food and drinks, he was really friendly, very attentive to our needs, and, most importantly, very knowledgeable about the items on the menu. He also mentioned that he’s been working there for over 7 years! This tells me that the Palm must really value their employees and treat them well — impressive.
We ordered some drinks (one was an EXCELLENT red wine recommended by Mike) and the other was an Oktoberfest beer. No mixed cocktails for us that night so, unfortunately, I cannot speak to the quality of his mixologist skills.
We ordered the Prime New York Strip, charred, and the Three Cheese Potatoes Au Gratin. Wow, the steak was amazing. It was cooked to perfection just like we ordered, medium rare in the middle and charred on the outside. I was told that this is hard to perfect by my friend who wanted to order it this way. I had never had steak like that but I’m certainly a fan now. The potatoes were equally tasty! Cheesy, carb-​y goodness.
Though I do not think this is the BEST steak I’ve had at a Chicago restaurant, it’s definitely the best in this specific neighborhood. Overall, a great meal indeed! Kudos, Palm, Kudos.

Amazing dinner. Medallions were fantastic as was the lobster.
Donut holes finished the meal off in delicious style.
Great meal and FANTASTIC waiter Thomas (17 years experience and it shows !!)
Definitely worth a stop.

Came here for lunch and it was excellent. Very friendly waitress and the food was very good.

Superb service, a choreographed affair when lobster is served and the steaks were superb. The manager stopped by the table and the other guests were an eclectic cross section of society. It could not have been a more pleasant evening.

Great food. They handle special request very well. Our waiter Tomas was attentive without being annoying.
We didn’t want steak so we ordered burgers. They weren’t on the menu but Tomas assured us it was no problem. They were the biggest best burgers we ever tasted.

Nothing much to rave or complain about. Very standard menu, food and service.
The minor complain would be the service was extremely slow for our Bostonian standards. Took 45 minutes to get our entrée. We were hungry and bored waiting for food. They were a bit surprised when we complained about it but fixed it anyways by apologizing and carrot cake! :)

Just do yourself a big favor and dine a little further! Go to a nicer steak place or Cheesecake Factory for pasta. This place gives out really small portions and it was not good. I had about 7 – 10 cloves of garlic with my «diced» calms. Is it really necessary to have that much??! It was bit difficult separating the garlic & clams… The crab cake was small & way overpriced. However, I do give it to the restaurant for using fresh crab. The dinner roll was hard and not tasty. For about $ 50, I can get 2 good meals elsewhere.

This is the second Palm restaurant visit. The first one was in Denver, which we ordered the Power lunch. This time we are staying at Swissotel and again we ordered the Power lunch. The food was great, we were too full to enjoy our desert (cheesecake) we had it wrapped to go instead. I will visit another Palm restaurant in another city and I know and I hope it will not disappoint. Great food and service.

The bar is like any other, although this is downtown Chicago across from the river and Lake Michigan. Friendly bar hostess. Good menu. Some world traveling regulars that obviously like the place. Good stop in the early evening.

Review is for lunch only.
The Palm is an old-​time steakhouse that is intent on mixing the traditional steakhouse feel with a chummy vibe. To that end, they have waiters in white jackets juxtaposed against caricatures of clients of the restaurants (more on this in a moment).
Lunch here is great. The burgers are thick and substantial, with a generous helping of fries. At $ 15 it offers good value for the size/​quality. The salads are also good. The ahi tuna salad ($ 20) was great — the fish is sliced thinly (like smoked salmon) and a generous portion is layered on top of the salad. A nice change from the standard piece of grilled tuna that is usually a bit dry. They also offer a 3-​course meal for $ 24 which is a nice value for those with big appetites.
Service is professional, as befitting a steakhouse of this quality.
What didn’t I like? I’m not a fan of soft drinks served out of small glass bottles. While I understand that they can charge more for refills, it is also environmentally unfriendly. Also, back to the caricatures… it was a little unnerving to have Bill Cosby smiling on the wall. The dude is alleged to have raped about 30 women… time for his portrait to come down.

Not a bad place for a late dinner after wandering the Magnificent Mile and Millennium Park — a short walk from both with a view of Navy Pier from second floor. Located in the Swisshotel triangular building.
The food solid, but will not change your life. Shrimp in the shrimp cocktail huge and juicy. Appreciate a side of pure horse radish in case you want to spice up the sauce a bit. Fried calamari quite good. Bacon wrapped scallops — impressively savory.
A good selection of prime steaks, but fillet not prime and a bit over-​charred on the outside for rare. Veal martini smothered with mushrooms and sun dried tomatoes. Good feedback from company on Chilean Sea Bass. Goat cheese potatoes very mild, go for hash browns in you are craving heartier potato taste.
A pleasant surprise — layered chocolate cake very light and not overwhelming.
The service was good and prompt, except for our multiple attempts to turn off the overhead fan which was closely replicating lake effect wind conditions.

Bone-​in NY Strip — 4 stars
Came for dinner with a coworker while at a conference. The steaks are aged 24 days and seasoned with light Kosher salt and pepper. The seasoning is perfect with aged steak and even though I asked for steak sauce as a backup I did not use it.
A little more pricey than I expected for just a NY Strip a la carte but still a great place for a steak.

When we made the reservation at The Palm, nation-​widely known steakhouse, I expected the classic, elegant gourmet experience. This place looks very distant from your classic upscale steakhouse.
The restaurant, located at the Swissotel, reminded me more like the looks of a Red Lobster or Chili’s: large wooden tables, wooden walls with caricatures, wooden chairs/​booths. None of that classic elegant steakhouse experience I was expecting. This was my first time at The Palm, so I might’ve misinterpreted the whole concept to begin with.
The food was just ok. For what we had, I think it was overpriced. Steak was pretty average, we did not like our side orders and cheesecake seemed a little industrial: no love in it.
I had a truly disappointing experience. It was so underwhelming that I think it was probably a bad day and I should go again because a place with such a name is rarely so non-​special.

My filet was absolutely perfect. Best I’ve had in a long time. Marinated wild mushrooms were also stellar. The other sides were average to bad, including the brussel sprouts I ordered for myself. They were undercooked and bland.
The place itself is old school and a bit tired. Service was acceptable but nothing special. Also note that the bathrooms are a hike upstairs.

What a letdown. For $ 64, we got a tough and flavorless steak salad, a chicken sandwich that was dry and so overfilled it had to be dissected with a knife and fork, mushy Brussels sprouts, and the house specialty,“Half and Half”. What on earth is special about home made potato chips and French’s onions dumped on a plate is a mystery to me, other than a special brand of bullcrap.
The heart of the matter was the steak salad. This is a red meat establishment. LEARN TO COOK STEAK. I could’ve had a better steak at the airport Marriott. There was no flavor and it was tough.
Also the waiter was clueless and could not take the hint when he should take a hike. Finally, the rewards program is silly. Quit trying to sell this to me like Best Buy sells me protection on a TV. Do I really want my picture on the wall at a crummy red meat joint where dentists from Arlington Heights take their wives to impress them? No!
I am not happy at all. I could’ve had a better meal at TGI Fridays, and let’s face it, I’d rather eat a lunchable than go to Fridays.

We visited with a group from work the other night and were seriously wowed. Sixteen of us in a private room got great service, great food and a surprisingly fantastic steak!
We made reservations far in advance and I think it’s needed. The restaurant located in the Swissotel had a warm friendly feeling and being named one of the «Top Steakhouses» in Chicago by Chicago magazine had a nice touch of the city.
The GM Steven Farrahi stopped by to welcome us and the rest of the evening stayed at a consistent high quality.
After some great apps and nice wine I ordered the Prime New York Strip 18 ounce.
We often eat steak. It’s Chicago. Great steak everywhere. But I’m telling you this was one of the best steaks I’ve ever had! I like my steak done to a medium temperature. Not medium well or medium rare. And mine was served perfectly.
I didn’t see a baked potato on the menu which I though was odd so we got all the other choices. They were fine.
For dessert we got a sampler tray and I thought the donut holes were great.
As we left I made a reservation to return with my family during Christmas break.
Great job guys!