The Walnut Room

Took my girlfriend here tonight for her birthday dinner. The service was excellent and so was the food. It’s hard to beat this legendary restaurant.

I came here with my friend’s mom and sad to say, my experience was not good. The waitress (older lady with the dark hair), said me and her looked like sisters. I am in my late 30s and she is in her mid 70s. I guess instead of spending my money here, I should buy some serious Anti-​aging cream. LOL~ Of course, things went downhill from there.
We ordered the Chicken potpie and the Mandarin Salad. Chicken potpie was very bland, gravy was doughy and the crust was chewy. It tasted like canned chicken soup. The salad didn’t look fresh either. We had a few bites and decided to go somewhere else for lunch.
There are better potpies out there, people! You can stay away from this ONE!

How often can you say you dined in a restaurant that had a fountain in it? This place is the antithesis of California dining, with its dark wood walls, large portions, reasonable prices and history. I was reminded of a time when women wore hats and lunched, perhaps with a cigarette or two and a martini. I highly recommend the chicken pot pie. It is made with a puff pastry crust which is the only way one should ever eat a pot pie. And each bite has plenty of gravy so there is never a dry mouthful.

I downright really enjoy this place. It is one of the few restaurants in the area that I enjoy going back to,
The only downside is the live music or dj on the weekends, but I try to avoid that and it works out well. When there are lots of sport son it’s a good place to hang out.
I have’t had a bad meal. I always enjoy ordering the buffalo chicken wrap as an entrée. For appetizers we always get wings, nachos and fried pickles.
Keep up the good work and please don’t change.

Walnut Room is a great place to grab food when your at Macy’s or shopping on state street. The food is good, extensive wine selection, nice liquor selection and the prices are very reasonable. I really like this place. It the best during the holidays the Christmas tree and their whole set up for the holidays is probably the top in Chicago.

I went to The Walnut Room with my parents, who were visiting from out of town. The service – from making the reservation to the hostess to the server – was all top notch. The food was definitely above average and all three of us enjoyed the meal. My favorite part, though, is that they don’t overcharge for the meal, even though it’s a great view and it’s in the Loop. (It was honestly half of what we pay at many other restaurants in Chicagoland and the food was just as good.) in summary: If you’re looking for a unique fine dining experience, don’t go here. If you’re looking for good service, good (fairly basic American) food, and reasonable prices, you will definitely be happy.

I still won’t go here for the holidays, but enjoy it the rest of the year.
The pot pie, which was temporarily messed up a few years ago, is good again, especially the flaky circle of crust they pop on top.
Foodies probably won’t be excited by this place, but the food is good here and reasonably priced for Downtown. The atmosphere is old school in a good way. The waitstaff is excellent.
In case anyone from Macy’s is reading this, in general I’m happy, but why did you take that wonderful salad with the goat cheese off the menu? It was really good, and I miss it.

Dining at the walnut room is listed as one of the top experiences during Christmas so I had to check it out. It was a bit of a disappointment. I order the chicken pot pie because that is their specialty. the crust was flaky crispy and buttery and that was the best part of the meal. The gravy, chicken and vegetable was bland. The side salad that came with it was dry. the bisque had a strange taste. And the meatloaf that my friend ordered was just ok.
We came here on a Sunday afternoon so it was not very busy but it was still a 10 minute wait. we had to ask for a refill on our water a few times and we never got that bread that we ask for. Now that I have been I don’t know if I will go back. I may give them another chance if I was in the area and felt like a cocktail or snack because I do feel that Marshall field’s is an institution in Chicago.

My friends and I had dinner here last night before our showing of the Lion King. I’ve been here once before, never at Christmas, so maybe that’s why I wasn’t impressed. The top floor of Macy’s looked totally abandoned after the holiday season. My friend was already seated and the hostess was no help at all when I mentioned it to her so I went to look for him myself. The restaurant itself is old and very bare and plain. I felt like I was in a large drafty mansion honestly.
Our server was nice but either wasn’t all there or was on something. He never brought us bread. He was very zoned out reading the specials and then he gave my food to my friend and vice versa and then asked us if we had switched seats which obviously we hadn’t. He did separate the checks but put my drink on my friend’s bill and didn’t offer to fix it so we had to take care of that ourselves.
Food was ok, reasonably priced and tastes decent. I had the French onion soup and the harvest salad. My friend enjoyed his chicken pot pie and our other friend liked her chicken salad. I wouldn’t wait hours to eat here even if it was Christmas, but that’s just me.

If yesterday was my first time at The Walnut Room, my rating would be 3 stars. It was my first not so great experience there, sadly.
My husband and I come once a year to see the Macy’s windows, the tree and have lunch at Walnut Room. The atmosphere is always pleasant and in the past, the food had always been very tasty. I suppose the hubby and I should stick with the food we know, you can’t go wrong with the delicious pot pie and short rib. In the past I have had the crusted chicken and it was cooked well and tasted good, but not this time…
But first, I should say that I enjoy the speciatly beverages and the cute holiday mug that comes with it. Also, i always get the lobster bisque which never disappoints. Hubby got the white chili and he really liked it.
Now for the main courses: On this trip, my husband for the first time in the history of our visits here, ordered something other than the chicken pot pie. He ordered the pasta special which was penne pasta in a light tomato cream sauce with chicken. Sounds delicious doesn’t it? Well, it was just ok. The chicken was hard as a rock, clearly overcooked. I ordered the asiago crusted chicken, which I have ordered a variation of in the past and enjoyed. This time, after a very long wait, it came out undercooked. The breading was mushy, like raw dough and the chicken in the center was pink. There was no way I was sending it back b/​c it took so long, so I ate the cooked edge and the mashed potatoes (very yummy) and green beans and took the rest home. Hopefully when I reheat it tonight it will be cooked and taste ok. So yeah, we weren’t very pleased this time around. Sad.

Walnut Room is 108 years old, the oldest Resturant in continuous operation in the USA. The walnut room is made of beautiful walnut wood paneling and is located on the seventh floor. We were seated without a reservation in less than ten minutes on the Saturday on a New Years weekend. We were asked to leave our baby stroller outside and were provided a baby high chair. A 45′ grand Christmas tree is on display in the center of the room. I understand that many of the Christmas Ornaments are as old as the Resturant. There are lots great opportunities for group photos.
Frances (Pack ID 71 215) was our server and she provided us with an excellent experience. Frances has worked at Walnut Room since 1978 and knows the menu.
My group ordered; Lobster bisque, Chicken pot Pie, Pasta of the day, «The Days Special» Beef Tenderloin (made to order, and cooked perfectly) and Asiago chicken. Additionally, we ordered Frango hot chocolate, coffee and eggnog which came with collector walnut room mugs.
All the food was tasty and presented beautifully.
I recommend that anyone go to the walnut room with friends and or family.

A wonderful holiday tradition!
It was my first time going to the Walnut Room with my family. We anticipated a long wait, but luckily were seated right away! We sat at a table with a great view of the Christmas tree.
I started with the Poinsettia Cocktail which was a mix of champagne and cranberry juice. For my mail meal, I shared the meatloaf and squash tortellini. Both were good, but I especially liked the tortellini. It was very hearty and flavorful for a vegetarian dish. During dinner, fairy princesses would come to our table and talk to us. They were so charming and friendly. We were also treated to a complimentary glass mug to commemorate our experience.
While I thought the food was good, the reason to come to the Walnut Room is definitely for the holiday ambiance. It’s a great place to go to during the Christmas season.

Go to the Walnut Room every year to eat under the tree. Can’t beat the tradition or the atmosphere. That being said, don’t go expecting great food or great service. The breakfast buffet is generic, somewhat tolerable breakfast fare.

I’ve been coming here before Christmas with my family for as long as I can remember. This year, we came today (the Sunday before Christmas), and put our name in and received a buzzer at 3:30. We were told that our table would likely be ready around 8:00 or 8:30. We knew it would be a long wait so close to the holiday, and I understand that the place fills up, but I wish they would consider some other type of system. (I remember coming here a few years ago with my 87-​year-​old grandpa and having a similar wait time. Kind of ridiculous).
The tree is always gorgeous, and the ambiance is nice but nothing super fancy. The food is fairly-​priced and decent as well. I was disappointed by the service, though – my boyfriend finally received his Coke after about 20 minutes and two reminders to our waiter.
This place is certainly sentimental to my family, but if you’re just looking for a good dinner in Chicago, I would suggest going elsewhere.

After making reservations for 12 in advance for The Walnut Room, we still had to wait in line for 45 minutes — actually three separate lines in particular. No joke.
While waiting in three separate lines, I couldn’t help but feel like I was at an amusement park for a new popular roller coaster or a late night bourgeois dance club. Was it all for show just to hype up the place? No, it’s for real. This place gets really packed and all for a view of a 30 ft. tall Christmas tree and faeries who visit your table to grant you dessert wishes. The food itself wasn’t memorable but it’s really about enjoying the time with the people who you are with at that point.
This place is clearly for the kids, families, and those who are just too festive at heart that it’s almost a problem. If you don’t happen to fall into one of these categories, then you might want to save yourself the heartache and avoid peak times or go elsewhere. Otherwise, be prepared to wait and exercise patience with the staff.

I was at The Walnut Room on 12÷12÷15 and our experience was great (aside from the tradition of being herded like cattle from line to line to get a table, which would be very upsetting if you didn’t know about it. However, I am not factoring that into my review because it’s simply part of the experience of going to The Walnut Room and it can actually be fun to have 2 – 3 hours to kill walking around the giant Macy’s while waiting for your buzzer to go off — IF you plan for it.) Once we got in we were seated near the giant tree, so we had a lovely view of it during our lunch. The ambiance and décor of The Walnut Room is historic and it’s really neat if you’re into that sort of thing. Our waitor was very attentive, but I believe he has been our waitor in the past so he was defintely not a holiday temp. He made sure our water glasses were refilled as often as we required, which was impressive given the constant crowdedness of the place.
As far as food, we began with the cheese tray. As someone who enjoys artisan cheeses, I will say that they weren’t very distinct or unusual selections, but they all tasted good and the presentation was very nice. (I would assume they wanted to keep the cheese offerings rather average to appeal to a wider audience.) We were each served warm rolls with a cute little ball of butter. They tasted very good. For my meal I got the chicken pot pie, which had a nice crisp crust topping, almost like a cracker crust hybrid, which was a good idea because it eliminated the possibility of gross, soggy crust. The pot pie filling had large chunks of white meat chicken and plenty of tasty veggies. The broth was very herby, sort-​of peppery, but without the spiciness of pepper. The pot pie meal is served with a side salad of spring greens dressed with a creamy vinigrette, which was also delicious. Every leaf was fresh. It went great with the creamy pot pie. I had a pointsetta to drink, as I always do, which is similar to a mimosa but with cranberry juice instead of orange juice. It wasn’t very strong, but it was refreshing. For dessert we got Frango ice cream pie. It is FANTASTIC. It might just be the best part of the meal! The ice cream is absolutely delicious, rich and minty, and its graham cracker crust gives it a wonderful crunch while the homemade whipped cream topping softens it. On our way out, a hostess at the front of the restaurant patiently took time to take photos of my mom and boyfriend with me by the big tree and made sure they were nice, which was very kind of her. I have nothing bad to say about my experience, and I look forward to heading back to The Walnut Room next Christmas!

Such a fun and unique experience! I was very nervous after all the negative reviews. Boy they were wrong. Mind you it does take a while to get a table. But, part of our group arrived at 10:00 am, received a pager and and time to arrive between 12:30 — 1:00. We arrived on time and were seated before 1:00. We had our drinks within 5 minutes and ordered when our drinks arrived. We had our food within 15 minutes. Our waiter was so fun and sweet! He laughed and joked with us as did the servers who brought our meals. We all got a visit from a fairy and made its wishes which was really cool. The food was PERFECTLY FINE! Chicken pot pie is just that, pot pie. But, it was good! I had a squash filled pasta that was excellent. All in all, I think it is a must at least once in a lifetime! I’m glad my friend talked me into it!!?

It’s a family tradition of ours to come to the Walnut Room once around the holidays, and I’ve been coming here for over twenty years.
This year, we walked right in with no wait, which was outstanding. But I think I may know why. The food was good, the service was good, but the portions were super tiny compared to the inflated (and I think raised) prices from the years prior. I’m not over-​exaggerating. My husband had the $ 21 scallops dinner, and had 3 scallops on his plate. Three. I had the Peach Nest Salad, a favorite of mine, around $ 14, and the salad portion was that of an ice-​cream scoop. Noted, I don’t have huge portions (almost always have a take-​home box), and here I had finished my food and wondered why I came at all. We felt like we had only eaten appetizers by the time our $ 55 check arrived (2 meals, 2 adult drinks).
Needless to say, we stopped by a burger joint on the way home and had our true dinners. It was that disappointing, and we were that hungry. If I had waited the normal wait time to get in there, it would have been infuriating.

We visited at about 2:00 PM on a Christmas-​season Tuesday afternoon. The room was full, with lots of family groups; but, despite some Unilocal horror stories of hours-​long waits at this time of year, we were in line for only fifteen minutes or so. This was my first visit to this classic department store restaurant since 1996; it’s an attractive space with dark wood (Ooh! Ooh! I’ll bet it’s walnut!), and big windows overlooking State Street from seven stories up. It still looks much the same as I remember from my 1950’s childhood, when my mother would often bring out-​of-​town visitors here during Loop shopping expeditions.
The Walnut Room is home to Macy’s Great Tree. As a holiday treat for the many kids present, the room was being worked by several fairy princesses or something of that sort, going from table to table to offer kids (and the occasional adult) a chance to make a wish. Fulfillment not guaranteed.
Our waitress showed up almost immediately; they seem to have a plethora and a half of servers, their ranks no doubt bolstered by holiday temps.
Lunch consisted of:
— Eggnog brandy Alexander.
— Frango Kahlua hot chocolate.
Drinks included souvenir Walnut Room logo mugs, not the vessels actually used for serving the drinks.
— Hot roll, probably house-​baked.
— Lobster bisque. Thick and rich with sherry; the lobster meat was fresh and tasty, but a bit thin on the ground.
— Salad of mixed greens with creamy balsamic vinaigrette.
— «Mrs. Hering’s 1890 Chicken Pot Pie,» a house signature dish. Flaky crust baked on top of a bowl of a somewhat soupy chicken, pea, and corn filling. Lots of white meat chicken, though it struck me as rather under seasoned.
— Frango Mint chocolate ice cream pie. A chocopalypse: chocolate crust, Frango ice cream, drizzled chocolate sauce, all topped with whipped cream.
Food, three stars; service and ambience, five.

Came here for a weekday lunch. Had NO problem getting in and they were even cool about our baby being with us. Servers were nice but seemed somewhat inattentive considering the lack of people in the place.
I ordered a curry salad which was frankly just terrible. I ordered it because it sounded different and I figured in a place like this they would get the spices correct and it would be delish… it was anything but. Spices were overpowering and it was almost unpalatable.
I think I should have gotten the pot pie, seemed to be the overwhelming favorite, but who knows how it tasted.
I feel bad giving this 2 stars, I really do. The location and view was great. Prices weren’t bad, service was alright… but the food was terrible, at least what I was unfortunate enough to choose.

I have been going to the Walnut Room for 23 out my 23 years alive. That being said, it is a family tradition of ours to either have a meal or appetizers on Black Friday each year under the Christmas tree. This year was no different– the usual mess of getting a pager and waiting 1.5 hours (you should always know you will have to wait at least an hour if you want to eat here. better to be prepared than to sulk about it when you get there!). Anyways, we wanted our favorite server Frances and mentioned that to the employees at the Walnut Room while we were waiting in line (after our beeper went off of course). They screwed that one up by seating another 6 top in her section (which is the only one) and we ended up sitting in another server’s section. My father was not too happy about that, but that’s the Walnut Room. You just can’t expect the best hospitality there during the holiday season, but good service is not what you are going for. You are going to sit near the beautifully decorated tree and to have some cocktails and food.
We were seated with a tree view, but in the outskirts of the restaurant. The manager gave us a round of free mimosas for our troubles, which was very nice. We ended up getting poinsettias afterwards (like a mimosa but with cranberry juice instead of orange), which I recommend if you are at the Walnut Room for the holidays. For my meal, I ordered the Asian Chicken Salad, as we were going to have a big dinner that evening. The salad was decent and filling– just what I needed. In the past, I have had various things here: short ribs, chicken pot pie, lobster bisque. You get the picture. The food is honestly pretty good (well, the things I have had) and you can’t go wrong with any of the dish choices. I would have gotten the lobster bisque but I was holding off until dinner… it’s quite tasty for Chicago bisque!
The service was great during our time at the Walnut Room (most likely because of the mishap before we sat down) and we got to see Frances. We also had the delight of two fairies coming to our table at separate times… The youngest people in our group, my sister and hey boyfriend who are 19, even enjoyed the fairy. For all of you who don’t… Have a little fun! It’s the holiday season. Make a wish under the fairy dust and enjoy your day.
Dining in the Walnut Room is key for the one reason: you must dine near that glorious tree! Sure, you can see the tree from a viewpoint on the floor above, but it’s nothing like having a meal with good company in the same room as the tree. This year’s tree decorations were decent, but pretty and inviting. Bring the Harry Potter décor back! ;)
My reasoning for 4 stars? Because it’s the Walnut Room and you are paying for location! The food is good too. Although the service could be improved. Key point to take away is that you should not expect great service during the holiday season, nor should you expect a short wait time.

Husband and I went to The Walnut Room to eat under the giant Christmas tree. The tree was really cute and quite impressive. That’s where the good ends.
We made reservations several months ago. Upon getting to The Walnut Room for the Big Day™, we were told that they do not take reservations. After pleading our case, they let us in without having to wait in the line, but only after asking us to wait behind a velvet rope for 15 seconds — maybe it was a covert clean room to get the smog off our clothes? When we got to the table, someone dropped off waters and menus and asked if we were ready to order. We ordered. A different woman approached our table about 5 minutes later and asked if she could take our order. We told her we had already ordered. She left. About 20 minutes later, she came back and asked who took our order. Apparently the person we ordered from was a busser.
Waitress: If your food isn’t out in 5 minutes or so, I’ll come back.
Me: Is there a way you could check to see if someone put an order in for this table? We’ve been waiting for 20 minutes already…
Waitress: Let me check with my manager.
While she was away from the table, the same busser came back and said she would check on our food.
When the waitress got back, we told her the busser had come back and gave her the person’s name. «No, I’m going to put your order in now.»
Our food showed up in about 3 minutes from that point. The food was pretty subpar. I got a BLT and fries. The bacon was soggy and I’ve made better BLTs on my own, at home. The fries were frozen. Husband got the pot pie which tasted bland and mass produced.
While we were eating, a «magical fairy from the North Pole» came to our table to grant us wishes. In fairness, we are in our late 30s and so couldn’t appreciate this. I’m sure kids would have loved it. I suggested that Husband had a wish he’d like granted, and she sang a song and threw (a ton of) glitter over his head. I howled. He did not.
All in all, we probably won’t come back. It seemed a mess and they’ve been doing this for decades. The food isn’t worth the wait or the hassle. But it was a very pretty tree — which you can see even if you don’t eat there. And I’ll never forget the look on Husband’s face when the glitter fell all over him and his food.

*A non-​holiday time review*
The Walnut Room seems like THE place to go during the holidays. It’s always packed. That’s because when all the decorations are up, it’s freaking beautiful. Good luck ever getting a table, though. However, some co-​workers and I recently came here for lunch. In October. Should be a good experience, considering it was during the work week — not prime time. Too bad it was less than stellar.
We got to the Walnut Room around 12:30 for lunch with a group of 7. Keep in mind it was not very busy. The space is very open, with wood on the walls and plenty of light coming in from the outside. We were seated and ordered drinks. Drinks came about 15 min later. We placed our orders and waited close to an hour for our food to arrive. Not once did our waitress come check on us, see if we needed drink refills (which we did), or give us any kind of update. We had great conversation, but at some point you just start to tune it all out and get seriously hangry.
Finally our food came around 1:30. We immediately asked for refills, a dessert (planning ahead!), and the check. The reason the Walnut Room doesn’t get a lower rating is because my meal was really great. I had Asiago Crusted Chicken with mashed potatoes and green beans. The chicken was really thick and juicy (not to be confused with a certain Sir Mix-​a-​Lot song). Potatoes were whipped and nae nae’d perfectly. Other co-​workers’ meals varied a bit, but overall, I think it was a good spread. As for that dessert, we had Apple Strudel, which was very good.
I’m glad I was able to experience the Walnut Room now because I think I would be severely disappointed if I got service like that during the holidays. If you want to see the Walnut Room all decorated, just go to the 8^th floor. You can look down at the tree and all the decorations and save yourself a long meal.

Extremely slow but attentive and warm service, however I didn’t mind because I enjoyed spending time with my grandma here. It forced me to actually talk to her instead of nod at her. I had fun explaining the dining experience and culture differences to her.
The food was delicious. Ordered the asiago breaded chicken, oven-​baked meatloaf, and the soup of the day: an Oktoberfest inspired German potato and tomato soup. The chicken and soup were a bit salty. But the meatloaf was delicious. The portions are extremely generous and filling.
They ran out of the special Riesling on their Oktoberfest menu (priced at $ 7?) so I ordered their Australian Riesling, which was $ 7.95. I admit the price was interesting to me… The green tea is a blend of while green tea leaves with toasted rice. The tea flavor was diluted, but the toasted rice gave it a pleasant aroma.
I came on a Saturday at 3:30pm specifically to avoid any holiday rush.
The women’s restroom stank. I suggest scents to mask the smell of piss.
I would come back here just because I’ve atmosphere was so relaxing and encouraged conversation. There is nothing else to do besides talk while waiting!

This place has really fallen off the deep end.
My napkin had black stains.
We were eating on a garage sale folding table.
We were seated near the kitchen. The mirror was so smudged and dirty it was horrifying to think what else they didn’t have time to wipe down.
Seemed disorganized and chaotic.
The food was at best a C–
No one cleared their plate.
Bleh. I say skip it or just go for drinks.