The Palm - Chicago

Wonderful experience at The Palm. Came with a group for a friend's birthday last weekend and we all had such a great time. The confetti on the table and happy Birthday card vwas such a sweet touch. Our server was Mike and he did phenomenal with our group (which honestly can be a bit like herding cats sometimes, so major props to Mike and everyone else who assisted in taking care of us.) We had a great time and would definitely recommend this place to anyone looking for an upscale dining experience in Chicago.

EDIT: I was pleasantly shocked to receive a call from mgmt today. Great discussion and empathy for my concerns. I have modified my overall ratings based on our discussion and information shared but would need to return and have a few different menu items to truly change my perspective on the kitchen. Thank you, and I hope to revisit in the future. Original post: I stayed at the Swissotel for a few days while in Chicago. Stopped by the Palm for a couple of cocktails and a snack. The drinks were great the first night, but the calamari dish was overcooked and pretty bland. The bartender was very friendly and helpful on the first visit. 2nd night, we stopped for a couple of drinks, and the gal that checked us in told us to ask about happy hour, so we did. Big mistake as the same bartender from first night was now visibly annoyed that we asked for HH menu. Ordered a martini and Manhattan from the menu as well as waygu burger. The drinks were pretty much a glass of vermouth, and the burger was not anywhere close to medium rare and nothing to get excited about for $20. Possibly ordered the wrong items for the kitchen to prepare. Loved the hotel but wouldn't waste my time at the Palms, especially with the moody bartender and average food.

Dinner was delicious - had a great Hazy IPA on tap, followed with perfect appetizers, a Tomahawk steak cooked to perfection, and some of the richest chocolate cake I've ever had. The lobster gnocchi in particular was superb. Service was top notch - I drink a ton of water and my glass was never under half.

Checked in at the Swissotel and went for dinner at The Palm on Monday (03/20/2023). Beautiful place but not a beautiful experience - you may have a different experience so encourage you to give it try. Dinner - unfortunately our server wasn’t very good at all. She wasn’t genuinely nice, and was kind of short wit with us and she was extremely cold. It was apparent that our mentioning errors was a big inconvenience to her. For example - they forgot to deliver our appetizer(it wasn’t busy and when we mentioned it she huffed at us and walked away). Odd, but ok! Then my steak was under cooked and cold (ask for med-well got almost blue. My friends lamb was cold as well and over cooked (not terribly, but overcooked all the same). The flavour was good so if the temps were good it would have been fine. Additionally, they made a mistake on our al la cart option so we had to eat our meat first, while we waited for our sides. Again, it wasn’t busy so i’m not sure… The manager did remove the steak - as it should be, and took the appetizer of the bill. They offered us fresh fruit and cream as a gesture of apology. When actually and apology would have worked-for the record we declined the dessert. I would have given dinner a second try except I was afraid i’d get the same server and I wanted to enjoy my evenings in Chicago. Breakfast - fantastic! Good food, great service. Definitely have your breakfast here. Loved it. Thanks Adrian for welcoming us in the morning, you are so kind and helpful.

Was down just a couple weeks ago for an International Convention and it was such a great decision to dine-in. The food was absolutely delicious and the service was impeccable. Our group was coming in from Toronto and our server was eager to give us recommendations on food and complimenting beverages. Would highly recommend if you’re visiting. Also wanted to note that the hash browns were extremely good and are shareable for 3-4 guests. That surprised me the most because we don’t have anything like that over in hockey-land.

It’s restaurant week time and my husband and I tried this lovely place. Hostess was VERY polite and courteous. Our waiter Tomas INCREDIBLE very knowledgeable, funny, attentive, has great views of the menu and you can tell he enjoys his job. The food I had The Palm Caesar, Shrimp Sauté, Garlic green beans, garlic mash potatoes and for desert I had The Palm Zeppoles and the Junior’s cheesecake. (my husband had the 8 oz filet w/ Brandy peppercorn that he said was delicious) The Palm has a life supply of wine as well, you can’t go wrong. We will be back!