I tried here twice; once for lunch and another for brunch
Lunch sandwich is decent. Chicken breast sandwich was ok.
Brunch: I had spinach omelet. It was pretty good. The potato that came with was too dry. Â Brunch service was not good. Hostess was not friendly and the waiter brought the check before I finish eating...There were many many empty seats...I was sure why they rushing me to pay?
Food: 2.5~3
Service: 2
well, I've experienced better..
The food at this restaurant is okay, especially if you like interesting grilled cheese sandwiches. Â BUT, I will never set foot in this place again. Â The owner was rude to me and my party not just once, but twice and when I brought it to his attention that his tone and attitude were less than welcoming, he told me that it was the busiest day of the year and he didn't care if I didn't like it. Â We were already seated, but we got up and left. Â There is no excuse for rudeness. Â We went down the hall to Bloomingdale's Forty Carrots and had a lovely meal with truly welcoming staff.
Review Source:I'm in agreement with Luke about Oak Tree. Â I dined here about a month ago and for me the omelette was good, but nothing particularly outstanding. Â If you get here early on a weekday, it's kinda strange since the shopping mall is completely empty, and you have to travel up like 4 escalators. Â
The service was efficient and friendly. Â I would recommend it for a breakfast meeting but it's not a must stop for breakfast as I felt it was going to be from the other reviewers.
If you're looking to spend $11 on an omelet that's not as good as the ones you make at home, while watching a VERY unstable owner verbally assault his staff and guests (elderly guests included), friend, this place was made for you.
if not, take my advice and have your breakfast/lunch ANYWHERE else in Chicago.
it's not like there aren't enough choices...
I eat breakfast here on a semi-regular basis, mostly out of convenience. The food is fine but not spectacular. Oak Tree's pricing is comparatively high, speaking to the restaurant's location but not its quality.
My last visit left me feeling particularly nickel-and-dimed. I ordered an omelet. I asked them to sub tomatoes for the potatoes and hold the toast, and for salsa instead of other condiments. My dish came with a single (!!) centimeter-thin slice of tomato. I was charged $1 for 4 tablespoons of salsa. A dollar is not a lot of money, but given the microscopic portions of tomato and salsa, I thought it was inappropriate.
Overall, service is friendly and food is average. I hope I'm not charged for silverware next time.
Atmosphere good: a plush sprawling cafe on the 6th level of an upscale shopping mall. Â Service reasonably OK, although coffee refills could use a little work.
Food? Â Meh.
Stuff sounds very gourmet and original without actually tasting like anything. Â I had the "house-made smoked salmon", which was probably the blandest smoked salmon I've ever had.
There are lots of better options in Chicago for food. Â On the other hand, if you mainly want a quiet business breakfast, with computers and discussion and want quiet for it, this is probably a good place.
Oak Tree - A solid brunch/breakfast choice if you aren't willing to wait in line
There have been a lot of yelper complaints regarding the service here - and though I've only been to Oak Tree twice I have never had the slightest issue with service. They were always friendly without being overzealous.
The food here is decent - Never breathtaking but consistently tasty! It I've had the Reuben once and the Baltic Eggs Benedict. The lox wasn't my favorite but I still enjoyed it.
Best of all though - it's roomy and there is rarely a wait which is something very rare for brunch in the loop and Goldcoast.
Overall I think of this place very similar to Grand Lux - the food is consistently tasty while not being particularly special. It's a "safe choice" for when my friends and I can't figure out somewhere to go.
I've been here a good deal over the last few months. Â First of all, the waitstaff has gotten much, much better; they are gracious, without overdoing it.
One specific instance occurred a few weeks ago, when I ordered an egg white omelet (ham, cheddar, scallions = Really good!). Â The food runner brought it to my table, but unfortunately, the omelet wasn't made with egg whites. Â Before I had a chance to flag my waiter down, he arrived, immediately saw the mistake, and, without hesitation, offered to correct my order quickly; no guilt, no passive aggressive "I know you didn't really order egg whites." Â Considering the fact that I had a long day ahead of me, I declined, and moved forward. Â I felt that this was a great example of when a mistake happened, and the waiter was eager to correct it, instead of the occasion where someone makes a mistake, and the diner has to jump through hoops to get their own order right. Â It was well done.
Food wise, everything I've had at the Oak Tree has been good to excellent. Â Again, I'm a fan of their omelets (fluffy, and perfect size). Â You also MUST try the bacon. Â Some of the best bacon I've had in the city has come from here. Â
Finally, their breads are sinfully superb. Â Sometimes it's hard not to take home a loaf of sourdough (sidenote: if you do want to take a loaf home, order from your server, and you'll get a 33% discount on the bread). Â They do have quite a variety, and if I were an olympic swimmer (and didn't think about the calories), I'd attempt to try them all. Â Now that I think of it, I believe the Oak Tree's bread was the reason I bought a toaster. Â Total truth.
The atmosphere is nice, despite being in a mall. Â Good view, and the room is quite relaxed. Â It's an excellent place to read with some coffee or people watch 6 stories up. Â
Oak Tree is well worth a shot, despite the fact that it's pricing is a little high. Â Expect to pay at least $10 a person before beverages.
I was here on Sunday for lunch. Â The food was absolutely delicious. Â So many good choices on the menu, I had a tough time making a selection. Â Started with a cup of Turkey Chili. Â Love, love, LOVED it. Â And then split a Reuben and a Turkey Burger. Â The Reuben was the best I've ever had, without a doubt. Â The Turkey Burger was also solid, but didn't hold a candle to the Reuben. Â We had a lovely seat by the window overlooking Michigan Avenue. Â This will be added to the my neighborhood rotation, to be sure.
Review Source:After reading the other reviews I partially wanted to try this place out out of sheer intrigue at the criticisms on service. So we went to OT for Sunday Brunch.
I have NO CLUE what the other yelpers are talking about. Everyone here was super nice and very friendly and accomodating. Maybe they got wind of the reviews and changed their ways?
We received free cinnamon toast while waiting for our meals. Our food was made well and to order. Our hostess was super. The variety on the menu is HUGE! Anything you could ever want for brunch or lunch. The place is very clean and a great location.
Without a doubt, I would go back again. It was yummers!
Oak Tree, I want to love you. You are the only brunch place near me where I don't have to wait for an hour to be seated, and when I do have to wait I'm not cramped in a little room. You serve some pretty awesome cinnamon raisin toast and steer clear from the Chicago-style monstrous omelet. And so I do want to give you four stars and tell all of the Yelpers to go eat your yummy eggs and fresh bread. But too many times we've been zinged by your terrible customer service, and so I can only give two stars.
Exhibit A: One Saturday afternoon, my sister and I were going to run some errands in the 900 building. I had already eaten lunch, but she had not. I told her I'd sit with her at Oak Tree, so she wouldn't have to dine alone. Even though there were tons of tables around us with one person and an extra chair, Oak Tree charged me $5 just for sitting inside the restaurant. I thought this was absurd, especially because no patrons were waiting to be seated.
Exhibit B: One Sunday morning, my sister and her boyfriend both ordered omelets with tomatoes in them. But when their order arrive, neither omelet had tomatoes, as requested. When they said something to the waiter, he simply brought them a SIDE of tomatoes. This isn't like asking for a pickle on the side of your sandwich. The tomatoes should be INSIDE the omelet. You would think that maybe they would comp the bill or provide some kind of condolence. But instead, when the bill came, the waiter had the nerve to charge double for mushrooms. When we asked him about it he argued that he had brought tomatoes on the side. Again, no one wants something on the side of an omelet. Not rocket science...
So Oak Tree, you get two stars for just showing no concern for your customers.
Because you are only a few blocks away , not greasy and pretty tasty, I'll probably keep coming back, but if I were a little more patient and a little less lazy it would be a different story.
I finally got the chance to eat here! Â I've been wanting to eat here except sometimes when I'm downtown Chicago (with all the excitement) I forget! Â
My girlfriend and I had lunch around 1:pm but of course I had breakfast food. Â The Buttermilk & Sauteed Bananas Pancake with Mascarpone is delicious! Â I cannot wait to go back for this again. Â It truly is a nice place to eat with a beautiful view of the highrise and landscape of Downtown Chicago. Â What more can you ask for than good company!
Only been for lunch. Â Really tasty sandwiches, if you get the right one, but the staff does not excel in customer service.
They were so rude to me and my vendor once that I did not want to give them anymore business, but I haven't seen that particular employee anymore.
Their pricing and options keep me coming back over Potbelly, which is one floor down.
Located in the 900 Shops mall on the 6th floor.
I go often.
First dining experience here and it will probably be my last! The treatment we got from the hostess terrible and if i wasnt starving i would have walked out! Food was good and service was also good! For the prices you pay to eat here you would think that attitudes would be left at home.
Review Source:I work across the street and I've never sat down to eat I just always grab something to go so my review is based solely on that. Â
That said this place is great! Â I've only gotten a variety of the different soups and I've liked all of them except one. Â Their broth-based soups are all phenomenal (the harvest chicken and vegetable is by far my favorite). Â I had the cream of potato soup once and didn't enjoy it much. Â The flavors are on par but the consistency was a little off.
Their breads are all DELICIOUS!!! Get the sourdough its probably the best bread I've ever eaten hands down. Â Seriously...I plan on buying it a loaf at a time because its so worth it.
Their sandwiches don't look very appetizing but their baked treats are yummy to.
The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because of the creamy soup consistency was off. But other than that I love this place and go their at least once a week. Â For around $6 you get soup and yummy bread.
Let me preface this: I've never been a huge fan of Oak Tree. The location is nice but the food always underperforms and the service is usually terrible.
My last experience was no different. I met two friends for a late lunch over the Thanksgiving holiday. We were seated a few minutes after we arrived, and the waiter promptly informed us that there was a $5 minimum per person on the weekends. No hello, no 'nice to have you join us today,' just 'there's a $5 minimum on the weekends." Now I could understand not wanting a gaggle of gossiping women taking up a precious table during the lunch rush for two hours of coffee chats... but we were there to have lunch.
My two friends both ordered entrees that easily exceeded what we figured was a collective $15 minimum. Nope, the waiter told me, you have to order something, too. Umm, okay, can I have a coffee? Sorry, that won't  cover it. Okay, how about a coffee and a cookie? The worst cup of coffee and two hard, dry little cookies later, I met my $5 minimum, but I can guarantee that I won't ever be back for lunch.
Oh, and there are no substitutions. Period. You don't want blue cheese on your salad? Too bad, order something else. Yuck!
I fully enjoyed my experience at Oak Tree. It must depend on who waits on you.
I enjoyed the cucumber-lime chiller and the Hungry Jack. The Hungry Jack included pork sausage, peppers, and potatoes. You also get toast with your breakfast from their bakery. My fiance got their cranberry-walnut french toast. He said he liked it too.
The best part was that we got two loaves of honey wheat bread. They sliced it for us, and we got 1/3 off for purchasing it through our waitress.
The restaurant was pretty busy, but everyone who took care of us were friendly and speedy. I had a killer view of the city, and I enjoyed my meal completely.
I will be back there again.
Oh yeah, breakfast is served all day!
What takes a 5-star place down to a 1-star place? Clearly, the service.
If Hale (the owner) treats every customer like he did with my party during my best girl's bachelorette weekender, he will be out of business soon.
Everything was fine until the bill came -- there was a line that literally read:
"3  $1.00 charge       $3.00"
Uh, we didn't have 3 orders of a $1.00 charge. I mean, do you order that?
So we asked the waiter what it was for. After a long wait, he returned, flustered, clearly having gotten chewed out within eyesight of diners, that it was for the bread basket.
Hold up, I thought that was already charged? Anyway, I thought it was a mistake, and was really confused. He got Hale to come over to the table.
Hale came over, steaming, mad, before we even said anything. He went on a one-sided rant, ending with, "Don't you think $3.75 is too cheap for a bread basket for four people?"
EXCUSE ME.
But I have yet to be talked to like that by a business owner of some place I was paying good money to be at. So, Oak Tree, goodbye.
AND, for the record, $3.75 is NOT too cheap for 8 pieces of bread. Some might call it highway robbery, and especially at the - ahem corrected -price of $6.75.
After many, many years of eating at Oak Tree, I will never return after the way the management treated my 75 year old father.
I was meeting my family for brunch at Oak Tree, I was in the elevator coming up when the manager argued with my father regarding their policy on seating incomplete parties. I should add that the restaurant was empty at the time, and we were a table of 5, with 4 people present (and I was on the elevator up).
According to my fathers friends, the man at the front desk quickly became belligerent creating a scene when my father simply asked if they could be seated. I walked up just as they were walking out and was stunned by what they recounted.
My family was under the impression that the man at the front desk was the owner of Oak Tree - I sure hope not.
My father is a diabetic with a heart condition, he was so upset after the altercation with the man who works at Oak Tree that he was visibly shaking.
How dare you treat people this way? Forget that we are your customers, choosing to pay money to eat in your restaurant - but have some humanity.
P.S. we went to Lux Bar after this event -- perhaps the Oak Tree management can take some lessons from the management at Lux Bar where locals are always treated kindly and with respect.
Great service, good food, clean women's restroom...
Based on my server's recommendation, I ordered the bacon & gouda, cheddar, granny smith apple, arugula, and fig preserves sandwich. I liked it a lot. The apple in the sandwich was what made it especially amazing for me. Sweet and crunchy.
For about the same price I pay for the food across from this place (Baisi Thai), the food at Oak Tree is so much more worth it. I've found a new lunch location. :)
Located on the 6th floor of the Bloomingdales building it could be easy to miss this place. We stopped in for breakfast on a Saturday morning. Their was no wait and we got a seat with a view of Michigan Ave. Waitress was quick and attentive.
I ordered the eggs benedict and an orange juice. Awesome OJ. My fiance had a ginger lemonade which was also very good. The food was served quick and the eggs benedict is amazing! Def. one of the best I ever had and the hashbrowns were equally good. I forgot what Matt had but he did get some jalapeno bread and WOW, so good!!
Def. make this a stop for breakfast. Nice views and really good food!
Pretty sweet breakfast place in downtown CHI with an awesome view of Michigan ave. There were so many breakfast options, but since I am doing this whole part time vegan thing, I had to settle for a side of hashbrowns. :(
Only reason why it's 4 instead of 5 stars is that one of the greeters gave me the snobish attitude that I absolutely hate in "CUSTOMER SERVICE" haha
This place is located on the 6th floor of the Bloomingdales building & I've both dined in as well as ordered to go over lunch as it's conveniently located by work.
Dining in: This is really a lovely place to dine, with great décor and unique views of North Michigan Avenue.  We recently dined here over lunch and even though they were very busy, service was spot on unlike other reviews here. Maybe we just lucked out. Â
The menu is really diverse and has something for everyone. Â There are a ton of salad as well as cold and hot sandwich options. The best part however- is they serve breakfast anytime! Also, the menu has several healthy options which are always great to have.
I recently tried the grilled chicken breast hot sandwich and while it was a little on the dry side, it was pretty flavorful. Â Also, the sandwich came with a very generous side of delicious French fries. Also - be sure to try one of their "900 Coolers" - I personally love the raspberry-mint agua fresco - so refreshing and such a pretty presentation. The ginger lemonade is also fabulous.
To go: the carry out service here is really great. The staff is very friendly and I never have to wait for more than 5 minutes for my order. Â My favorite thing to get here is a hearty cup of chicken rice soup with a French baguette. Both the soups & bread servings are really generous and more than fill you up for lunch. They have a ton of soup & bread combinations for you to choose from.
So if you are shopping at the 900 N. building and want to grab a bite to eat in a really cute café with great views of Michigan Avenue, or if you are in a rush and want to grab something quick to go, be sure to check this place out.
After the saga that was Eggsperience, we decided to go somewhere more low key. Down the street from our hotel was Oak Tree. I just had a simple two eggs and toast with hash browns. It was exactly what I expected and not too large of a portion. The strawberry banana shake was delicious and I would highly recommend that. My one gripe about the place was that our server rushed us a bit. She brought the check while we were still in the middle of eating our food! It didn't seem like there was a long wait, so it was just a bit surprising.
Oak Tree is a good place to start a long day of shopping since it is located on the 6th floor of Bloomingdale's!
Remodeled, revamped, and slightly improved.
What's improved:
1. Decor--bright and cheery color scheme, modern new furniture.
2. Improved menu and quality of food: ginger lemonade (incredibly refreshing and delicious on a hot day), chicken chin chin salad, coconut cake dessert.
3. Speed--food comes out fast.
What still sucks:
Service--our server broke a dish right at our table and had a brain fart trying to figure out how to split a bill between two people.
I'm willing to give them another try though, maybe I'll come back for brunch one day.
This is one of my favorite places to grab a sandwich or salad downtown. When shopping with my ma, it's become a mainstay of our day!
They remodeled a few years ago, and now the place has a fun retro feel, but honestly, I liked it better before, when it was a little more diner-meets-Provence. With the new interior, the prices went up a wee bit and the hours of operation shortened, which is the main reason I rate 3 stars instead of 4.
The food is yummy--not spectacular, but much better than "meh." I love their grilled cheese; they have a lot of varieties of gourmet-ish sandwhiches, things like gouda with apples and arugala. It's a delicious twist!
They have a huge salad selection, including warm duck and warm steak salads, two of my favorites. Their curried chicken is also delicious.
The atmosphere is nice, and it's rarely super-busy, so it's very easy to have a conversation or go with a group and get seated. It's tucked away at the top of 900 N. Michigan Ave. The escalators are obnoxious; head to the left and take the elevator to the 6th floor, and enjoy your lunch!
NO WAIT weekend brunching zone: downtown!
*excellent view overlooking Michigan Avenue hullabaloo.
*ask for a comfy booth (pillow top) or window seat.
*6th floor of Bloomie's building.
*validated parking ($12 days/weekends, $6 nights)
*recently remodeled, very spiffy.
My glazed ham, onion and cheese omelette with home potatoes (bland) and whole wheat toast (served with orange marmalade) was nicely sized and prepared. Pretty standard.
Service was excellent, and coffee was refilled at an acceptable rate.
Downtown hotel dwellers, a nice option for weekend breakfast...gets a bit crowded at lunch during the week, but at other hours it's a great little stop while shopping that isn't entirely "chain-y."
White tablecloth service, food and ambience...fairly inexpensive prices...under $40 for breakfast, coffee, drinks for 2. Hurrah!
Just got a curry chicken salad sandwich to go for my lunch, and it's really good! A mix of Indian spice and a regular lunch sandwich is a neat combination for my tastebuds. It's on their freshly baked french baguettes, and was only $5! They've got a few other premade $5 sandwiches that I'll have to try, like the turkey cranberry and grilled veggies and goat cheese. I really really want to try one of their grilled cheeses with apples, brie, havarti, and figs, or other neat combos. However, they are $9 and that's a little too much for lunch. Maybe I'll splurge one day though.
I've also had their chicken noodle soup, and it's pretty tasty. The chicken is definitely fresh, and you get a choice of bread to go with it. I picked their potato cheese bread, and it was soft and yummy.
Any place that has an abundance of grilled cheese offerings is a win-win in my book. Never would have paired pears, walnuts and cheese, but I sure am glad Oak Tree did. Great little place to pop in for a more sophisticated childhood staple.
Service was outstanding and the space is very nice as you're surrounded with windows. If you're going to be indoors eating on a nice day, this is the place.
We were fortunate to have an Oak Tree regular ("The Doctor") sitting next to us (think old man from the Holiday who befriends Kate Winslet). That just made our time at Oak Tree even more special and seeing how the staff couldn't wait to stop by his table to talk to him.
A couple times a year I am charged with taking the Board of Trustees spouses around town, and this year, about 6 elderly ladies an I ended up shopping at the 900 stores. Â We came here for a little break. Â We arrived at about 1:30pm. Â The place was about 70% full, but our larger group was seated immediately.
It's very modern but cozy. Â Pretty shades of blonde wood and leafy-green. Â Some very large windows face out to the Hancock, and others to the historic watertower. Â Very lovely.
You can order food here such as sandwiches and soups, or- there is a bakery in the front of the restaurant- which you can also order from- or take-out. Â We ordered a few cakes and split them. Â The coffee was very good as well.
There are nice private very clean restrooms inside the restaurant as well- which was nice that we didn't have to leave to the main mall area to visit the powder room.
I'd come here again. Â Cheap eats- for the 90 Shops, good views, quiet place, you'll feel like a lady-who-lunches.
Full of tourists at lunch, but empty for breakfast.
Oak Tree Restaurant, on the 6th floor of 900 N. Michigan, was closed for many months, but reopened in late 2008. Â It's the same style, same sort of menu, just remodeled and cleaned up. Â The window tables are still the place to be, with awesome views of Michigan Avenue six floors below.
As an old-line place, it fills with shoppers and tourists. Â But in the morning, it's North Michigan Avenue's secret. Â The few occupied tables are likely to be suits - executive recruiters doing secret interviews with job candidates, or, if not in suits but with a touch of grey hair, private equity people discussing deals. Â It opens at 7:30am with an ordinary breakfast menu. Â But if you want a regular breakfast with service, clean surroundings, and a great view, consider Oak Tree instead of trendy but overflowing with horrible-cooking Tempo, three blocks away.
I've been here twice now. The first time I got breakfast and the second time for lunch. Breakfast was mediocre and lunch was okay. The service was not very friendly and the food nothing to rave about. It's overly priced since it's house in the Bloomingdale's building and service was somewhat slow.
The view from where you sit is great, but other than that -- there's nothing much here for me to come back to.
I don't like my cappuccino in glass tumbler. I want my steak and poached eggs to have real poached eggs. The reason I have poached eggs with my steak is so that I have sauce for my steak. If I wanted my yolks solid, I'd ask for it to be hard boiled. My potatoes tasted like dirt. I think breakfast is an easy meal to make. What's the problem here?
But, I will say that my steak was perfectly cooked to medium rare.
Apparently, they make awesome Belgium waffles. I don't know, my husband loved his breakfast. I thought it had more whipped cream than anything else.
Folks, I am a nice person. The service was really friendly... but slow
Decor was kinda confused. It was art deco/modern and country looking with fake oak trees. Like they spent the money for an interior designer for the first half of the restaurant and then went out to Ikea for the back half. Uh, oh well whatever works.
The Oak Tree was conveniently located by my hotel.
"Oak tree is like stepping into some weird secret garden in the middle of the shopping mall."
I couldn't agree more.
My friend picked me up on my birthday morning five years ago and took me here. Love, love, love it. It was a great start to an awesome birthday. I actually told him we MUST go here on my birthday this year.
The food can seem a little standard brunchy. But the scene outside the window is just amazing. When I went it seemed a little ladies-who-lucnh.
Whoever says it's expensive is a retard.
It's right about Gucci for god sakes. If it was any cheaper it would be called IHOP. Hoosier.
Oak Tree is a unique breakfast / lunch place. Â Getting a table is kind of a pain sometimes and the service is inconsistent, but the food is very good and they have many healthy options, including a juice bar. Â Also, I really like the design. Â They create the illusion that you're outside on a patio. Â
I use to fight with my then girl friend (now wife) because she would fight for the Original Pancake House and I would always fight for Oak Tree. Â In the end, we worked out.
It's difficult to say why I stopped grabbing breakfast or brunch here, but it was once nearly a ritual. It never seemed crowded when I stopped in - odd that. Or at least, sitting at the window and enjoying the wonderful view of Michigan Avenue gave me the feeling of being undisturbed.
The open air feel despite being inside the mall was a pleasant contradiction. The white egg scrambles, salads, omelettes or noodles were some of my typical choices. Prices are reasonable, service is neither lightning fast nor arteriosclerotic. Just an even pace for those who want a decent meal and bit of a respite whilst in the area.
Nonetheless, Oak Tree is neither a 4 or 5 star establishment. I'd give it 3 -1/2 if allowed...
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