The Signature Room at the 95th

Made a reservation here instead of doing the Willis Tower/​Skydeck. That was a great decision!
We arrived just as they opened and got an amazing table in the corner that overlooks both downtown Chicago and Lake Michigan. The views are stellar!
The food itself was also fairly impressive. Brunch buffets can tend to have lower food quality, but this was not the case here. The buffet itself included a variety of breads (bagels, croissants, muffins, etc), fruit, cold pasta, oysters, king crab leg, shrimp, cold cuts, and cheeses. There was also a pastry table that had a variety of mini desserts like tiramisu, crème brûlée, chocolate cake, etc.
There were two action stations, one was an omletry where you could get eggs prepared in a variety of ways (and obviously omelets). The other was a root beer float station.
Both my husband and I ordered the eggs benedict off of the entrée menu, which were delicious. The sun-​dried tomato sauce was a tasty and fun change of pace, as were the potato pancakes instead of the typical English muffin.
Nothing was earth shattering, but everything was very fresh and well prepared.
This is a bit on the pricey side ($ 50 pp) and alcohol not included, but the overall experience was relaxing and enjoyable. I got my $$$ worth with all the oysters and king crab that I ate.
Favorite items: east coast oysters and mini crème brûlée.
Least favorite: oatmeal raisin cookie (first cookie in my life that I didn’t like. I think there was cardamom in it, and it was weird).
Tldr: pricey, but worth the $$$ for a tourist trying to see the best of Chicago all while having a very pleasant dining experience.

Great food great service and best for you of any restaurant had ever been we ordered a seafood tower for $ 95 that was worth every penny I also got for my main dish scallops that were heavenly and finish my dinner with the crème brûlée Anna berries

This was such a great restaurant. We came after 2pm (without a reservation) hoping to get in. They sat us within 10 minutes and then offered to move us to a window without us even asking. The food was delicious, the view was fantastic and the service was superb! Highly recommend! We even went up to the lounge afterwards to check out the views. The views are just as great up there. You can order drinks and appetizers.

The Signature Room really warrants two separate reviews: one for the views and one for the food.
The Views:
Of course, I would give the Sig Room five stars if it were just for the views alone. Whether you go to the bar or restaurant side, if you’re lucky enough to get a table by the windows you will be awed by the amazing views of Chicago from all sides of the room. How could you not be, really? This city is gorgeous! Even if you can’t get right next to a window, you can still have some pretty stunning views, especially if you can see south. The bar area had an elevated seating area so we could see past people sitting at the windows and still enjoy the views without being in other peoples’ ways.
The food/​drinks:
Way. Too. Expensive. A beer was $ 9-​$ 12. C’mon, those are baseball prices. I get that there’s some price associated with the «experience» of the Signature Room, but c’mon. Beer that expensive? And cocktails that are $ 15 minimum? Please. Booze doesn’t cost that much, 95^th floor of a building or not.
The food is good but, again, super expensive. You can get great shrimp cocktail, steaks, chicken, and whatever else at other restaurants for at least half as much as Signature Room. They’re definitely not doing anything special or unique up there, so it’s so irritating that the prices are so high.
An insider’s tip:
If you come up for the buffet lunch, you’ll only pay like $ 25 a person, the food is good and unlimited, AND you can usually sit right by the windows since a lot of people aren’t up there, especially during the week (even in summer). Then you don’t have to pay to just visit the observation deck and you get lunch with it.

The view is simply spectacular! 95^th floor can only be, right?
If you have a party of more than 4, it is highly unlikely you will have a window table. But the elevations still permit a view.
You can also go to the 96^th floor lounge and sit directly by the window. Lighter fare rather than dinner entrees.
Ya. And ladies… the restroom has the very best srlfie view all by yourself, just not on the toilet!
So we ordered four 7oz filets and a seafood risotto. Sides of mixed beans w/​almonds, whipped potatoes and burgundy mushroins. Everything came out room temp and unappealing. Made mention to the server Javier and in seconds, the Manager made it all right!
I will continue to come here when in Chicago!

We made reservations for the Signature Room for dinner for 4 on a weekend. The only reservation times available were 5pm or 10pm, so we went with 5pm deciding to do drinks and appetizers then a dinner elsewhere due to the timing. My group and I sat down and ordered some wine. When our waiter came back with our drinks he asked what we wanted to eat. We ordered several appetizers, and he told us he needed to place the order for our whole meal right away. We were confused, and he explained the the policy for the Signature Room is that each person has to order a full meal.
We told him our intentions and he said we would have to leave and go to the «Lounge Side».
We were pretty upset because we had no idea about this policy. When we called to make a reservation no one informed us of this policy.
It was pretty embarrassing to be escorted holding our drinks to basically another restaurant crowded with tourists and people in jeans and sneakers when we had dressed up for the special occasion we were celebrating. The positive side was that they got us a table in the lounge right away.
Our experience was: the view was breathtaking but the service was less than excellent, the food was extremely expensive, the focus was on a financial policy vs accommodating guests.
We didn’t stay long in the lounge as we were turned off, but that is definitely the place to be (over the restaurant side).We just wish we had been informed before we had to take the walk of shame.

The Signature Room suffers from a fundamentally flawed reservation system. Despite having made one through AMEX concierge specifically for a window table, we were given a middle table only and curtly told that window tables were given on a first-​come first-​serve basis only. Of course, this not only defeats the purpose of making a reservation in the first place, but also the entire premise of visiting this restaurant (which is the view — I doubt that any patron actually chooses this restaurant primarily for the food).
The view itself is admittedly quite breathtaking, but not unexpectedly, the food is mediocre. The crab cakes we shared as an appetizer were drenched in a spicy sauce that overwhelmed the dish. They also arrived at the table lukewarm, and the crispy exterior had gone soggy — indications that they had been sitting out for some time. The seared salmon I got for my main course was passable, but once again the skin had gone soggy and the fillet was overcooked.
Our server was friendly and approachable, but overall service here is rather casual. Dishes are wheeled out on industrial-​looking carts in full view of diners to be unloaded table-​side, and there was an abundance of shorts and sneakers despite the dress code. The elevators and décor are also showing their age, and indeed the entire restaurant (from food, to service, to design) could use some sprucing up.

The Signature Lounge on the 95^th Floor of the John Hancock building offers the most beautiful views of the entire city. Aside from the phenomenal sights, the restaurant is also wonderful. The Lobster Bisque was fresh and light on the cream side, which made the real flavors more prevalent. The Seafood Risotto with Scallops, Rock Shrimp and Crab was very delicious and balanced nicely with each bite of the rice. The Crusted Lamb was also presented well with Au Gratian Potatoes and Carrots. The service was excellent and the atmosphere romantic and sweet. Thank you Signature for a great dining experience on our visit.

Excellent customer service. I should have asked the waiter his name.
My friend reserved a table for us at the restaurant, but we had only planned on getting drinks and maybe some appetizers. Upon arrival, we realized that each person was required to order an entrée. This was not stated in the email confirmation my friend received. We had all already had dinner, so I spoke to the waiter. FYI: cancellations are $ 20 per person. He informed us that we could move our reservation from the restaurant to the bar without a fee. Thank god! We were so incredibly grateful that he was so accommodating. He even gave us birthday girls (there were 2 of us) a discount card. So sweet.
I ordered the root beer float cocktail and it was amazing. Tasted just like ice cream with a bit of a kick.
The restaurant is pretty elegant and the bar/​lounge is upscale but more laid back than the restaurant. All the staff were kind and helpful. The only downside was the view. It was a foggy night and there was nothing to view. Pretty disappointing as that was the only reason for our reservation. So check the weather first next time!

Come here for the view. But if you’re expecting exceptional food, I’d recommend going somewhere else.
The view is breathtaking from the 95^th floor. Even though we had a reservation, we had to wait an extra hour to get a seat by the window. So, we went up to the lounge and ordered a cocktail and an appetizer while we waited.
I ordered a salad, the rack of lamb, and the apple cobbler for dessert. The lamb was seasoned well, but the lamb itself was not good quality. It had many parts that weren’t edible. There was lots of tendon and fat near the sides. So, eating it was hard since I had to cut around.
The apple cobbler was also just mediore. It was delicious because it’s a dessert (which is the best part of a meal), but it is honestly something that I can even make myself. It was a scoop of ice cream paired with cookie-​like crumbles.
Nevertheless, the view made it worth it. Because this building is located fairly north of all the other skyscrapers, you can get a nice view of Chicago’s skyline from here.

Overrated. We had guests from Europe visiting, so we wanted to take them to a nice restaurant downtown. When we made the reservation we told them we wanted a table with a nice view and they said that was not a problem. In Europe they don’t have skyscrapers like they do here in Chicago, so this would be something unique for our guests. When we got there we were seated close to the elevator, far away from the windows. The whole allure of this place is the amazing views of Chicago. So it was super disappointing that all we could see was a distant lake Michigan. The food itself was good, but nothing extraordinary. The bread they brought out was warm and fresh. We shared the seafood tower. It was huge and had cute little Tabasco sauce bottles on the top. We all had the filet and some sides. The service was good on a Thursday night– the servers were attentive and friendly.
I thought that it would look different in person but the décor is very outdated and 90’s. I was surprised by how blah the bathroom was for such an expensive restaurant.
Because of the bad seating we went upstairs to walk around and take a couple pictures before we left, but the guy working there was rude and wouldn’t let us without him getting us a table and drinks. We just ate a lot and drank downstairs and didn’t want to consume anything anymore, plus we just spent $ 800 there. So we left disappointed.

Where to start?.. The view: Spectacular! We were 95 stories up overlooking most of the city of Chicago and the lake. My wife absolutely loved spending mothers day here. She had her camera out the entire time. This was the best decision we could’ve made.
The food: There was a upscale buffet paired with specific entrees from a reduced mothers day menu. My wife opted for the lamb chops while I went for the bacon wrapped pork loin. There was not a single thing to complain about.
The service: The staff exceeded expectation, the food was spot on and the ambiance was perfect. there was a live piano player during the entire experience which added another layer of sophistication. All of the moms received flowers and sparkling wine as part of the brunch and it really was just a lovely experience. I’m surprised I had never been here before but I’m quite sure I will be back!
Not so humbly submitted,
King Michael C.

Came here for a work dinner in a private room. I’d eaten here once before during Restaurant Week, and been in the lounge a few times, but this was by far my best experience.
The private room was great, we had a south-​facing view and all of the out-​of-​town committee members oohed and aahed. Heck I live here and I was impressed.
We had a pre-​set menu, and I think I remember the server saying that they had just switched to a new menu so I don’t know how that compares to what’s come before. I was a bit disappointed when the server mentioned a pear martini that I wanted to try, then he had to retract that as it was part of the previous menu. I had a pomegranate cosmo instead that was good.
We had a full pasta appetizer, which was surprising as most places that do appetizers with a group dinner do shared plates or something smaller. But this was full-​on linguine, and it was delicious. I then had a salad, which was good but not remarkable. I was pretty full from the pasta and wanting to save room for the main course so I didn’t eat all of it.
For the main course I had the Scottish salmon which was cooked perfectly, and the server was nice enough to let me ‘swap’ the sides from another dish to replace the ones offered with the salmon (I know at some places the chefs don’t do substitutions, so that was nice). I selected the crème brûlée for dessert, which was good but not exceptional. Many others in my party raved about the blueberry cheesecake, so I wish I had ordered that instead, but what I had wasn’t terrible.
My one complaint is that the service was a bit slow. I realize it was a large group, and there’s a bit of pacing that needs to happen between courses, etc., but there was a lot of time sitting around, especially at the beginning and then waiting for the check, as well as between some courses. It wasn’t terrible, but it probably could have moved a little bit more quickly. Overall though a great experience.

We arrived at eight pm without a reservation. The staff in the lobby got us a reservation on the spot. Upstairs we were told that a window seat facing the city could take up to two hours of waiting. So we put our names on the list and walked up to the lounge. Sat one hour in the lounge enjoying cocktails and views when we were paged that our table was ready!
Fortunately, you can take your drinks downstairs. The table was excellent. We could see the full moon glittering off the lake on one side and the brilliantly lighted high-​rises on the other. The city looked like an infinity light pool.
Things only got better. Later in the night there were fireworks down at the Navy docks! Holy cow. Apparently, every Saturday evening during summer months. There were young romantic couples all around us. One gentleman (definitely older than me) went down on one knee to propose to his date. People awed all around. Before the proposal, the waiter had got his lady a small bouquet of roses and a cheesecake (or pastry?) as a surprise (he seemed to have planned in advance).
The food. Was good. Not extraordinary but easily enjoyable. I ordered the duck and Mrs got the ravioli. Duck was better looking and tasting than the ravioli. We made it within two digits but barely (and then there was the happy tip). Service was excellent. Friendly staff.

Amazing view. Dinner is definitely on the pricier side, so save it for a special occasion. Case in point: a guy proposed to his girlfriend at a table behind us. He got the staff to throw rose petals all over the table and surrounding area and surprised his girlfriend (now fiancée cuz she said yes) at the end of the meal. If you come here, reserve a table in the part of the restaurant that faces the city. If you only ask for a window seat, they might place you on the side that faces the water, and at night when it’s foggy you can’t see anything, so it’s not worth it.
If you don’t want to pay through the nose for dinner, you can also go to the lounge, which is one floor up for drinks and bar bites. I probably should have just done that, although dinner was still pretty good. I got the duck and it was juicy and tender and delicious although I felt pretty saturated from all the fat afterwards. The women’s restroom at the lounge has floor to ceiling windows so you can get a great view from there as well.

As it unfortunately happens with many restaurants and lounges on top of landmark buildings, the view ends up being the only thing you are really enjoying about it. The Signature Room is no exception:
— Dated Interior: whoever the donkey is that designed this interior needs to be put in a time machine, transported into a 80s strip joint and left there to show off design talents. Absolutely horrible design.
— Gorgeous view, as expected. Worth the wait? Absolutely not, but if you make a reservation, good spot for cocktails and view. Make sure to get a table right by the window. The wait on a Saturday night was almost 2 hours if you don’t have a reservation. Worst part is, they had plenty of open tables, just not enough waiters to service them.
— Slow Service: on both occasions, waitresses were nice, but they clearly had way too many tables to handle. Result? I had to run around chasing them and everything would get processed by them with the delay of booting up a Windows 95 computer.
So, you are in Chicago, is it worth going here? Well, if you can deal with the inconveniences above, I’d say yes, just once. Strictly go for the view.

I went to this resteraunt during resteraunt week. You should definitely make a reservation if you want to eat there. I was pleasantly suprised that since we had a reservation we did not have to wait in line for the elevator.
When we got to the resteraunt, the atmosphere was gorgeous and very romantic. It is a very tight space.
What I was disappointed most about is roughly 2/​3rds of the windows are tinted and you can’t see out of them!!! What is the point of eating there if you don’t even get the view. Shockingly the best view is from the bathroom!!! I should of just ate in there!
For $ 44 we got a three course menu. This was definitely a good deal compared to their regular prices. I had an artichoke salad, the brandy ravioli, and apple pie. The salad barely had any artichokes in it which was weird and it was soooo spicey! Nothing like your nose running before dinner! The brandy ravioli was delicious and definitely unique. It has a small salad on top of it which was actually pretty good. The dessert wasn’t that special but it wasn’t bad either.
My friends got the lobster bisque and were disappointed. They said they only had 3 pieces of sea food in it and it was very fishy tasting.
Overall my recommendation is either go to the bar in the middle of the day or just go to the restroom, enjoy the view, and head back down!

I am only reviewing the lounge area as we only came for drinks.
The draw here is the view. The view from up here is incredible. So gorgeous, but unless u just come up here snap some photos and leave, the cost of entrance is a drink. I had a mojito. It was almost $ 20. Pretty tasty, but not worth $ 20. Again, you are not really here for the drink as much as the view. One downside is, a lot of the seating isn’t against the window so sometimes you are paying $ 20 to lean over someone else table (or be leaned over) to get some pictures.
The server wasn’t that attentive, but not that inattentive either. Just average.
So why the 4 stars for expensive drinks and average service? Did I mention the Chicago skyline yet? Impressive. Great to come is you are from out of town or to bring guests to or for a date.

We went to the lounge here for cocktails as the menu seemed rather basic and boring after the incredible and creative food we had at other places during our vacation here.
Of course all the window tables were taken it being christmas eve but we did manage a seat and ordered a couple drinks. Our server was very efficient and friendly and when a window table opened up she moved us without us having to ask before anyone else snagged it.
The views are incredible. I mean amazing. Best ones are from the bathroom. Seriously.
It’s also very expensive. Our Manhattens were $ 20 each.

My husband and I decided to celebrate our 5^th anniversary at the signature room and had a great time!
We went for the brunch, figuring that if we pay $ 45 per person, at least we could eat as much as we want. Or could. The Signature room’s website stated that there is a dress code, so we both dressed up, but when we got there we noticed most of the people were dressed more casually, which made sense for a brunch.
The place was packed and we were concerned that even though we had a reservation, we would get some crappy table in the middle where you can’t see the view, but we were pleasantly surprised when it turned out there was a table waiting for us at the most perfect location by the window. The view was insanely beautiful! Already worth it! In addition, it turned out that with the brunch you get 1 mimosa per person on the house, which made the first impression even better.
We started with the buffet of starters, which was pretty awesome, with all kinds of omelets, cheeses, fish, and fruits and at that point we needed to remind ourselves that there are actual courses still to come.
For the main, my husband got vegetable lasagna, then eggs Benedict, and finally Chocolate Belgian waffle. Yes, it is a lot, but first, he is 6“5 tall and second, the waiting time between each order was long. At least half hour. I got the Chef’s selection of fish, which was just ok, and then the steak and eggs which was really good! They also have a very nice dessert buffet, but at that point we were so full there wasn’t any chance.
Overall the experience was great and we both agreed we should come back to taste the rest of the menu! The one negative thing was the long waiting time and slow service, but if you have the day off then it is very nice to sit, relax, and enjoy the view.

Comida de muy mala calidad. Se nota que no es más que una excusa para ver el paisaje. El servicio es malo y son pocas las mezas que están realmente al lado de los ventanales. Pretende ser elegante y es anticuado. No recomiendo.

My boyfriend took me here for our one year, and we were definately impressed. They told us an hour wait for a window seat, but ended up bringing us to a table overlooking Navy Pier 10 minutes later. Our server was a bit strange. He was courteous but he had a very dry personality and sort of ‘looked through us’ while talking to us. A little awkward, but we weren’t really focusing on him anyway.
They had live grand piano music playing in the middle, and it was just an overall very nice experience. They even brought us a complimentary fruit salad with chocolate for our special occasion. I will admit, the food and drinks were definately pretty pricey, and the menu could be improved (not many options, and side orders are a separate from the entrée, which I thought was a little rediculous), but other than that, we would definately recommend it to anyone for a special occasion. All though I do believe that the food was overpriced, it was definately good. We expected the prices obviously, since it is a fine dining eatery in downtown Chicago.
I would recommend this more as a anniversary or valentines dinner setting, it definately has a romantic, dimmed and quiet ambiance. I would not recommend this for a large group of rowdy people with intentions on being loud and drunk. It would definately be frowned upon in there.
By the way, make sure you are dressed to code, because they will ask you to leave. We actually saw a man in khaki shorts and a dress shirt turned away.