Café Atwood

I enjoyed breakfast here. Food was good, waiter was kind and prompt, atmosphere is great with great window views. I would absolutely consider it for breakfast.

Very quaint. The Holiday Afternoon Tea...truly an experience. Would have liked to alter the menu, but they were very accommodating. Expensive, but it's because of the experience. Lovely time and the teas were very hot and very good.

Bacon nachos were amazing!

It's okay for a downtown restaurant, but I feel like it doesn't know what it wants to be. The food and prices are trying to be more upscale, but then the staff is in very casual clothes (jeans/hoodies). We ordered a bottle of champagne and usually at a nice restaurant the first glass is poured for you, but that wasn't the case. The bottle was just set next to our table. The food was okay. I ordered the brie and apple grilled cheese and apple grilled cheese and there was about three slices of apple on the entire thing that were tucked into the cut edge so the apple wasn't even evenly distributed in the sandwhich. The doors to the patio are also very drafty. So it's not the worst place if you're seeing a show downtown.

Bar closes at 9. At least stay open til 10 so you can grab a drink after the stores close at 9. Was disappointing. Food was decent but my grilled cheese was way too salty. We were staying at the hotel this restaurant is connected to, so it was really convenient to go there. Service was terrible, but not the fault of the wait staff. Way understaffed every time we went in there. Waited over an hour Sunday brunch to even get our order in...we were about to go elsewhere when the waiter finally came by. One waiter for the whole place. Tons of bus staff. Saturday we didn't eat there but stopped for a drink at the bar...only got one because the poor bartender had a full bar , plus he had to serve all the tables as well, so service was really slow. Tons of people available to bus tables, just nobody to actually wait.

I want to share a concerning experience I had at your restaurant last night. When my wife, two year old and I arrived last night, the host told us that there were no available tables and that they were only accepting reservations. Since the host was reluctant to accept in person reservations I expressed that I would reserve a table through open table. While standing at the host stand, I checked OpenTable and saw open reservations for 8:00 PM. As I attempted to book one, I noticed the host went to the computer and began quickly navigating through the system — pressing buttons and moving between screens quickly. Immediately after she did that, the 8:00 PM reservation time disappeared, and I was unable to book it anymore. She then told me that I wouldn’t be able to reserve through OpenTable “for whatever reason.” It didn’t make sense. However, after we left, I checked again from another restaurant nearby, and I was able to reserve a table at 8:30 PM time slot with no issue, but we did not go back because of how poorly we were treated and we were able to find something better. From my perspective, it felt as though the host intentionally altered the availability to prevent us from being seated. Whether that was due to poor customer service, a personal decision, or misunderstanding internal procedures, it created a strong impression that our presence was not welcomed. Additionally, the host was very dismissive throughout the interaction. As a Hispanic family in downtown Chicago, I couldn’t help but feel that we were being treated differently, even if I can’t say for certain what her intentions were. What I can say is that the behavior was unprofessional and left my family and me feeling uncomfortable and singled out.

It's a hotel lobby restaurant, so not the best atmosphere, but lots of windows and good food. Nice place for breakfast.

Thanksgiving Dinner was a yummy delight. The Atwood had a unique plate of a very large Turkey Leg/ Sweet Potato/Collard Greens. Our Server, Lennard, was a rare professional who was happy to make us feel welcome and appreciated and we felt the same about him! The Cafe was decorated with warmth and the Holiday Spirit and it deserves a Chicago visit! Happy Holidays!

STORY TIME: One of my first encounters at Atwood was last year, when I stopped in for happy. Upon entering I witnessed a man (not a customer) very close to a woman at the bar, distracting her, while trying to still her wallet out of her purse. I approached the man to tell him to stop. WE were then approached by the bar tender telling us to leave, but I made it clear I wasn’t with the person before successfully detouring him from robbing the young lady. Her father thanked me as they were celebrating her 21st birthday. From that day, I have been frequently coming to Atwood for happy hour, after my 9-5 around the corner. Thursday, I stopped at the bar and requested to be served. Upon sitting down at the bar, Ray asked me if I had ID. I told him I don’t but I’m familiar with the staff, a frequent customer, and of every time I stopped at the bar no matter whom was there, familiar or unfamiliar, I’ve never been carded. He insisted he couldn’t serve me. I then tracked down one of the waiters who I recognized and explained to them what was happening and if I can speak to a manager. The waiter recognized me back and went to speak to manager/ lead Chaise on my behalf. Chaise came over I explain lain to him that I’m a regular and didn’t have my physical ID, but assured 1. I’m usually serviced by Cynthia at the bar, and never have seen Ray & 2. I SHOWED A COPY OF MY PASSPORT on my phone. He says everything thing is all good, and relays the message to Ray. I’m served, and continue to observe no one else get carded the remainder of my time there. Last night, I came in again after work for happy hour. Chaise approaches me, while I’m at the bar and ask do you have a physical copy of your ID today. I told him I didn’t, but once again I have copies on my phone of my passport and ID. He then refuses to serve me and ask to leave. I make the point that literally no one else at the bar was carded. He says because THEY LOOK LIKE THEY ARE 21. He continues saying he can use discretion on when and when not to card people. He then offers to card them in order for me to leave. But didn’t care to card to them before I walked in. I even made the point clear to him that I’m aware that they have a culture of NOT carding especially considering the numerous times I’ve been at the bar, and the they don’t have security. I myself working at sports bar downtown on Hubbard street, where I check IDs. It is absolutely acceptable to take IDs over the phone especially considering the right to use discretion. I was then told to leave in front of an entire restaurant where I’ve spent my hard earned money and am sure to tip well. It also was even more embarrassing considering I was the only black customer at the bar both times, with exception of the person next to me last night who Chaise confirmed was an employee. This was very embarrassing, very uncalled for, and extremely unprofessional.

Terrible service that set the tone. Hire people that know what they’re doing when you’re trying to run a restaurant in the middle of Chicago. Not sure what animal was crawling along the baseboards. Nobody seemed to care. Food wasn't worth the price. Can't recommend.

Food was reasonably priced and food matched. Just solid Americana food place. Service seemed thin and hard to get attention of servers. Waited 10 min our so and then had to wave to get the servers attention to get another beverage. Didn't seem interested ir connected with the job. Ours was not the only table having this go on per my observation.