Odd... thought I submitted a post but not seeing it... so this may be a duplicate...

HappyTrvlr's exactly right. There is combo bar service/table service, upstairs. The two lunch times I was there, the place was packed. Buzzing so much with conversation, that it felt a bit cafeteria-like. But the place just opened Monday, may die down a bit in a couple weeks.

However, for a shopping-trip, girlfriend's lunch, you may just want to go for an espresso/gelato break, and have a nicer lunch elsewhere.

My favorites for meals with my friends are...
River North: Sable (in the Palomar HOtel) or Paris Club
Loop: Atwood Cafe (combined with a walk through Christkindl Mart) or StateXLake (in the hotel Wit)
Mag Mile: Cafe Nomi (in Park Hyatt Hotel) or Cafe Spiaggia or Bistronomic
Michigan Ave: The Gage
...but there are so many nice places for lunch.

And if you find yourself at Water Tower Place/John Hancock area, maybe pop in to the Raffaelo hotel lobby for a 'Glazed & Infused' doughnut. (Gourmet donuts are a "thing" now. Donut Vault and Do-Rite donuts are very popular, but seem available in the mornings, as they're made in small batches.)

Hope you have a great weekend! Sounds like fun!

Also, barbrn. I just thought about afternoon tea... we did this at the Drake and it was lovely! But a rep I work with just mentioned Tea at the Langham Hotel, which is in the IBM building, with nice views of the river. The place looks SWANK! I have this on my list to go for a drink or tea in the spring.

But tea is also served at The Peninsula and The Ritz. I think The Drake's feels the most "holiday," though.

Have fun!

Perfect information ChgoGal. I am going to check everything out. I think tea would be very lovely, and the doughnut idea is great. We always go to Water Tower Place (although now none of us have little girls to go to American Girl Store for). You are a wealth of information and I am so glad I posted. We will go to Eataly, but probably elsewhere for a nice lunch. Thanks so much. I love Michigan Avenue at Christmas!!

Thanks for the info, ChgoGal. We didn't make it to Eataly--today was super crowded along the Michigan Ave area. We did have brunch at Bistronomic, based on your recommendation. Really enjoyed it!

Oh my! Never though of Bistronomic for brunch. Glad you hear you liked it - I'll try to go some day. Thanks for the info, sunbabe.

I made it to Eataly yesterday. It was crazy there. It is an interesting place that I am sure we missed whole areas of. We stood for quite some time at the railing on the 2nd floor looking down at the activity on the 1st floor. As I said crazy.

We ended up being a group of 7 which is way too big. My friend's two college age sons joined us so all the "lady lunch" activities kind of got changed and we ended up at Lou Malnatis for some good deep dish and beer (and wine). It was great. We also went to the Christkringlmarket which was wall to wall people to try to get the warm mulled wine and the special mugs they come in (have a collection) but that was beyond crazy. Big weekend in Chicago before Christmas. Michigan Avenue was beautiful. I did a bit of shopping, lots of walking and slushing around in the snow, ice and puddles. It was a great day.

So my consensus is Eataly is worth a look, right now it's new and novel and a Saturday right before Christmas was probably not the best time to get the true feel of the place. I will be back. The gelato bar was packed, I really wanted to try that.

Just scored a reservation at Eataly's fine dining restaurant, Baffo! Super excited!!!

I stopped at Eataly to look around and decided to stop for an early dinner on New Year's Eve. Since I was alone I was sat quickly at the bar in front of the pizza makers. Had a margarita pizza and a glass of wine. Both were wonderful. Maybe it is just me but it took 3 people and 2 iPads to seat me. Once at my seat they had to tell me all the pizza makers names and where they came from. I found it a bit weird considering nobody was concerned that I had to fold up my coat and sit on it because the stools did not have backs and place my purse against the bakers window because there was no place for that either.

I took a look around after dinner. It was crowded but still room to roam. Many interesting items and many very ordinary items. I do have to wonder how they can have the name of Eataly and not sell cannolli.

For those of you who have been there - can you buy just a slice of pizza? I'm planning to come in from the 'burbs to check it out and have some gelato.

Hi, SusanM.

There is a focaccia takeaway area (2nd floor), where you can buy a slice and STAND UP to eat it. It will also be just warm, not hot. Today, I had a tomato & mozzarella slice, which was delicious, and only $2.86.

THe other flavors: red onion, zucchini, one with some sort of sausage, one with prosciutto.

If you want thin crust pizza, it's sit-down service. Small pizzas are around $11.

On the first floor, there are hot & cold paninis from $6-9.

Thanks, ChgoGal. I'm looking forward to it. Last year I checked out the French Market and sampled my first-ever pastrami (yum!) I think I'll wait until it warms up a bit, though.

Maybe they don't offer cannoli since EATALY was founded in nothern Italy in Torino and canollis are a southern Italian treat.

L'Appetito down the street (at 30 E Huron) has incredible cookies, tiramisu and canolli. Even more at their John Hancock location.

Also, I should clarify. The "stand up" option for the focaccia stand does offer a "high boy" table, just no stool to sit. Downstairs, there is seating for the gelato, paninis, coffee and nutella bar... but it's likely you could take one of those seats or sit at the bar stool along the windows facing the street.

HappyTrvlr - Thank you. I did not realize that. I thought maybe they did not serve them because they can get soggy if held too long but they did have other pastries. I guess you do learn something new every day.


ChgoGal - L'Appetito is wonderful.

Visited here on Saturday. Was underwhelmed but did get some wine.

Any recent experiences? Visiting the city later this month and now that Fox and Obel is gone, might stop in here.

Yelp reviews are mixed. Does every restaurant in that facility have to be named "La" something? ;)

I probably would go for the high end restaurant but might like the la birreria or I think Baffo (no "La") might be more informal.

Still a busy, bustling place. I've not been tempted to sit down in any of their dining areas, being so noisy as it is. But the focaccia bakery on the 2nd floor--wonderful. I'm still a fan.

Still a great place to shop for Italian groceries, gift baskets and sweets.

As for Baffo, the restaurant seems fairly formal (or "stiff" may be a better term), and yet, it's bookened by the door to an ad agency and the entrance of the Homewood Suites. Just doesn't look all that inviting. Like they skimped on the decorating consultants. Chicago has so many great restaurants, this would not be high on my list simply because of the atmosphere.

Holy cow that place can get busy after work. Almost too busy/frantic. I didn't know what I expected but I didn't realize most of the food areas are mere stations. Notwithstanding being busy, there was plenty of attentive staff members. The stations arguably appealed to more of a post work drink/snack, rather than a full meal, or that's the vibe we got at least at that time of the day. The birrea (sp?) has it's own dedicated space and a nice view (as does Baffo, though we didn't visit it).

And I realize that I'm the only one still posting on this thread, but I wanted go on a tangent regarding Chicago's French Market. What a great place for lunch. If you aren't familiar with it, it is located in a train station in the West loop. It has a ton of counters and spaces selling food and items, whether to take home or eat right there. And it isn't all "French." Great soups, sandwiches, Belgian fries, Chicago beef sandwiches, a fish counter, a lobster counter!, Asian varieties, desserts and on and on.

Not as glamorous as Eataly, but tons of variety.