Brass Tack — Restaurant in Chicago

A no go place for me AKA a big oversell ~

You would imagine that The Brasserie of the Waldorf Astoria would be a gem in the city - sorry to disappoint, you would be wrong. Don't expect your taste buds to fly - it's good, but nothing more.

The omelet is good, the pancakes as well. Honestly, it could be a competitor to a nice Yolk. I was surprised by this overall average quality. I was expecting way more for this institution.

Everything tries to be based on the appearances (you could be bluffed only if you're looking at it quickly). A few example: we asked for a black tea but we got a earl grey tea, we asked for a fresh pressed orange juice but we got one from a bottle and it was fill to the top of the glass (who does this? We are not at the cafeteria please!), on the coffee service there is a big label 'coffee' on it (that is a detail for sure, but at this range of price, the extra dollars go to the details), no toast came with the English breakfast (yes, you can pay for more, but again at this range of price, there are some stuffs that are expected - at least the waiter could have suggested some toasts), the table services were cheap (again details - but they claim to present a French brasserie genre. I've spent my whole life in Paris, and you don't have Pyrex glasses at a nice brasserie).

On a side note for the next people going there - one of you would know the wall's color name (green color). Thanks

(Rating: 1/5 - horrible don't go // 2/5 - it's OK/fair, but won't go back/recommend // 3/5 - it's good, can do better, but give it a go // 4/5 - it's GOOD, you should try and I'd like to go back soon// 5/5 - I dream about it and praise this place to...

My husband took me here to celebrate my birthday in December. I can honestly say I was very impressed. Granted, we were there on a snowy Monday night, but even if it was slower than normal, everything was on point.

The oven fired oysters appetizer was fantastic, and they used larger oysters, so we really felt like we were able to taste everything in the dish. The duck wings appetizer with orange sauce was also amazing. It was all drumsticks, which appear to have been scraped down to make lollipops, and the skin was super crispy & flavorful. Caution! You may wish to wash your hands after this dish! Hot towel service would be a welcome addition.

For main courses, I enjoyed the dry aged duck breast, & my husband had the pork chop (which happened to be my second choice). Both dishes were incredibly delicious. We normally don't clean our plates, but we practically licked them both clean.

For desserts, we chose the gigantic chocolate raspberry macaron. It was incredibly flavorful, & the "cookie" part was much less sticky than other macarons I've had in the past.

Service was great. Michelle took great care of us. She let us taste our wines by the glass before she poured the full portion, she had incredible menu & wine list knowledge, & she made a point to acknowledge the special occasion.

While I can't say I'd make this a regular place for dinner (just a bit too pricey), I can definitely see myself swinging by for a glass of wine and an app. I can't wait to see what they come up with for the...

The building and the restaurant is beautiful. The food was amazing, I ate here for dinner. I highly recommend the duck fat fries, they are beyond delicious and addicting. Our waiter was great (I think his name was Jessie…he had a tattoo on his forearm I think?). He served a large party of 8, very charismatic. I’d give it a 4/5, because it took a while for our drinks, appetizers, and entrees. I will definitely return in the future.

Update: Looks like they slimmed down their menu since I was last there. They have four entrees now and no longer serve the crème brûlée for dessert. They also didn’t have the wood fire oven options. The burger that I had on the new menu was awful. My significant other and I both had an overwhelming taste of charcoal. He had a medium cooked burger too! First he thought it was the cheese that he got on the burger (first time trying it), but then he tasted my burger and he realized we both had the same issue and it wasn’t the cheese. BTW the duck fat fries aren’t always very duck fat tasting as well, which is a bummer. But on the days that they are it’s amazing, if it’s not a good day it has a hint of duck fat but it just tastes like an average fry. I’m not sure if they lost a chef or what but I miss the old menu. Also my significant other did have a burger here in the past, and it was much better than what we recently tasted…not sure...