Pedersen Room

Irene and I would never have had dinner at the Sarah and Peer Pederson Room had we not been planning to attend a performance of Werther at the Lyric Opera of Chicago Friday night. In fact, we wouldn’t have been _​allowed_​to dine there if that hadn’t been our plan. Only people with tickets can get reservations there, as it exists so that those who want to eat before a performance without having to worry about getting to the theater through Chicago traffic before the curtain goes up can do so with no worries.
But that worry was replaced by a different one. Instead, I worried that there was a Catch-​22 — because of the nature of the clientele, with the restaurant only serving people who _​had_​to eat there, I feared the quality of the food wouldn’t be all that. However, my wife and I were pleasantly surprised.
We arrived for a 5:00 p.m. seating, and were assured that we’d easily make it to the 6:30 pre-​performance lecture. It turns out that In order to speed you on your way, they serve all courses from the pre-​fixe meal — save the dessert — at once. So we received four small square plates delivered 2×2 on a larger square serving dish. We were unaware of this serving decision, and though it sounded off-​putting at first, when the food came, it all somehow didn’t seem as odd as it had seemed. It felt proper for the venue, and at the same time, we in no way felt rushed, even though we had a self-​imposed deadline for ending the meal.
I ordered Carrot Ginger Soup (garnished with a miso touille), Panzanella Salad (heirloom tomatoes, chopped cucumber, red onions, and basil on toasted croutons), and Bistro Beef Persillade (roasted fingerling potatoes, petite green beans, red wine sauce), plus was given a complimentary house salad. There was only one dessert, which was Donizetti’s Sweet Ending (Pot de Crème, Cookie, and Rhubarb Compote).
The courses were all well-​prepared, and while nothing was mind-​blowing, there was nothing to complain about either. It was surprisingly good.
The servers were friendly, and attention was paid — we never had to lift a finger to get our water glasses refilled, for example.
In order to take advantage of the convenience of the location, we’d visited the Pederson Room again … though hopefully next time it will be before a much-​better production than the ill-​conceived Werther.

We looked forward to this restaurant after the opera. Quaint, very lovely when you walk in.
Prix fix menu sounds good then you get your food which is all on one plate, and it is a small plate, The food is the size of chicken mcnuggets! Food was cool, not hot, coffee was cold, probably instant. Pricey, but great location, good ambiance. Save your money, if you have a MAN MAN with you he will have to stop to eat after you have eaten here. I ordered the short ribs and they were the size of a quarter, and sliced very thin. More like a tapas size. We just looked at each other and laughed. Had a good time but will eat, I mean snack, elsewhere next time.
Disappointing, glad we tried but will not do this eatery again. Great location, good service, but I was at a loss for words, and the coffee which was cold, was a couple of dollars!!!

After sitting through what could be the worst written opera ever performed on the Lyric stage the evening was redeemed by dinner at the Sarah and Peer Pederson Room.
It’s a small restaurant, accordingly, it fills up awful fast. It’s only open to Lyric patrons with a ticket for that evenings show. There are a couple seatings, depending on the opera timing (matinée or evening performance). There are always cancellations, so if you couldn’t get a reservation it’s worth asking if they are open when you’re walking past.
They serve a prix-​fixe dinner with 4 options for you to choose and a side salad with every meal. Four of the courses are served at the same time, two starters, the side salad, and an entrée are each situated on 4 small plates, served together on one large plate. I was a little put off by this at first, since warm items will go cold before you get to them, but it works well. They know what they are doing. The 4^th choice you have to make, dessert, is served alone after your meal. I chose the option to upgrade to the lemon soufflé (left over from the intermission dessert menu) for $ 8. It was all very good.
For $ 30 (not including drinks) it was a very good meal. I’m looking forward to another dinner at the Pederson Room next season.

We dined at Pedersen tonight. On the coldest day of the year, people had to dine in their coat as there was no heat when they opened the restaurant after the performance. There was a guy who was «fixing the heat» but in the meantime, people sat there in their fur coats. The food portions are extremely small. The soup comes in an espresso cup half full. The fish is 2 –3 oz of fish and the beef is three thin slices. You don’t get a choice as to how you want your steak cooked. The food doesn’t taste like food that was cooked to order –everything was lukewarm. We ordered cappuccino and even the coffee was cold like it had been sitting there. I’m a season subscriber to the Lyric and frankly I expected a better dining experience. Certainly I didn’t expect that diners would have to sit there in their fur coats because the heater wasn’t working on the coldest day of the year.

My husband and I went for the 6:15pm dinner. Good thing we arrived early and signed in. They seat people in the order of sign in, so we got seated at 6:20 and got the full time before the show to eat and relax. Other people got seated much later. Note that you get a side salad in addition to the 4 courses listed on the menu so I regret having picked a salad for the second course. Portions are small but all in all ok for us. I guess you shouldn’t be too full sitting for so many hours afterwards. The soup was good but it was a size of double-​shot espresso. Green papaya salad had mostly red peppers. My lambchops came as one normal size piece and one tiny piece. The non-​dessert courses coming out together on one plate did remind me of an airplane meal. There’s also bread and raw cauliflower on the table. Why cauliflower, I don’t know! Fresh flowers would have been better to look at — hehe. The best part of the meal was dessert! Small but sooo good. It included the best macaroon I’ve ever had. Bread pudding was great too but would be better if it was warm. My café latte however was awful but the dessert kept me nice and distracted. The servers and the atmosphere were nice and not stuffy. I’m glad we went making our first opera experience lovely.

Dining at the Pedersen Room is all about convenience. It’s quick and you can’t beat the location– on the first floor of the beautiful opera house, in an intimate room decorated with tapestries and with opera music playing softly over the speakers.
This and the bistro are the two new opera restaurants. The Pedersen Room is supposedly the «fine dining» option. You can be seated either at 5 PM, to make the pre-​opera lecture, or 6:15, and you must have tickets to a show that evening to eat here. The prix-​fixe dining is $ 28 per person and includes a small salad, three small courses of your choosing, and a petite dessert. Yes, there is not a lot of food here despite the way it is billed. The four savory courses come out all at once on a divided square plate, and your dessert comes out on a separate plate afterwards with the opera house’s signature macaroons.
The food is fine but nothing outstanding. There are three or four options to choose from per course, including at least one vegetarian option for each, which is appreciated. There is a decent selection of wine but Miller Genuine Draft is still the only (strange) option for beer. Service was quick but not entirely accurate, and certainly not in keeping with a restaurant that calls itself a fine dining experience.
A note– you do not have to pre-​order your food anymore when making a reservation. The menu changes frequently and you choose when you are seated.
I much prefer the bistro upstairs at the opera house. I liked the food there better and it was cheaper for the same amount of food. Dining at the Pedersen Room is an experience, though, and a nice precursor to a night of wonderful opera.

The Sara and Peer Pedersen Room is one of two restaurants that have opened in the Civic Opera House for the ²⁰⁰⁹⁄₂₀₁₀ season.
This is the finer dining of the two restaurants located on the 1^st floor of the building. Through a generous donation of one of the Opera board members (thus the name), they have transformed what used to be a hallway, into a lovely space with seating for 50 and a small circular bar. You must have a ticket to that night’s performance at the Opera to eat here and you will need a reservation.
Operated by George Jewell catering– there are two seatings each night– at 5pm and at 6pm. Meals are a $ 28 5 course prix fixe dinner, with a variety of starters and entrees to choose from. Entrees on the night I was there ranged from salmon, chicken and steak to a vegetarian offering of polenta. While there is a good variety of wines– they only carry one type of beer, MGD.
Don’t expect this to be your typical dining experience. Four of the five courses come out together on a tray prepped in the kitchen for you, with the dessert not long behind. This is done to expedite the prepping at the catering company as well as to move you along to get you to the show. So don’t expect a leisurely dining experience– this is all about convenience in a lovely setting.
Service was friendly, especially the host who went out of his way to explain the process to us. Know that when you make your reservation– you will need to pre-​order your food at that time so be prepared.
George Jewell catering does a great job with other events– so I am optimistic that this latest venture will also be successful. Next time you are headed to the opera– stop in for a glass of wine or dinner. You’ll be pleasantly surprised even though it is a little different than a «regular» restaurant.