This was my first brunch at this majestic restaurant. Â I have always wanted to eat at Shaw's just from the reviews that I have read about this restaurant.
Making reservations was very painless. We were able to obtain a noon reservation for the Sunday brunch. Â Upon entering this majestic restaurant, I was greeted by the hostess. Â I was offered to be seated, however, my brunch date - Jan, had not arrived yet so I had opted to wait for her. Â I was able to observe all of the activities in the lobby area. Â The decor' was very "old-school" with the large wooden and mirror bar. Â There is a second bar/lounge right off of the main lobby, which seemed to be much lighter. Â There is also a complimentary coat check. Â The gentleman was very pleasant taking and retrieving your coat. Â
As the hostess leading us to our table, we had passed a private area that would fit up to 12 people or so. Â The main dining room was very large with various wooden tables and chairs/booths throughout the room. Â Again, this room had the "old-school" feeling. Â We were seated in the smaller dining room which is right off of the main dining room. Â This room also full of the richness of the dark wood with dark red covering for the banquettes. Â Even though the tables were close together, you didn't your neighbor's conversation. Â
Our server was Nick K, who greeted and explained the bunch's layout. Â We started out with the seafood area, and then grazed to the breakfast items, then eventually to the entrees. All items were always stocked and with fresh items. Â After a bit, we finally, make it to the dessert area. Â Again, plenty of different items to choose from. Â Nick was very attentive to our table along with his other tables. Â Kudos to him and the dedicated busser to the dining room to make sure the room were always cleaned.
I truly enjoyed the brunch and would consider returning to a dining experience at Shaw's. Â Go and enjoy.
There's a battle for the best seafood in Chicago and it comes down to Shaw's vs. Joe's. Â Each has their strong points but across the board I have to give it to Shaw's. Â Joe's is a bit more high end, better steaks, the best Stone Crab in the city (little advice.... if you go off menu in season and ask for enormous stonies they will give them to you as long as you have the $$$) Â and better desert. Â Shaw's delivers with better oyster selection, better overall crab seletion, and their fish selection is usually a bit better. Â Both have long waits, Joe's is usually booked 3 weeks out, Shaws has the better bar and bartenders. Â So I give it to Shaws. Â Great across the board, both resturaunts are highly recommended. Â Bar scene in Shaw's is fun with great live music. Â Give Shaw's a whirl for Sushi as well.... pretty darn good!
Win for the parent company as they are both Lettuce. Must visits in Chicago for seafood.
Here's my update: Â I went back to Shaw's to experience their all you can eat brunch. Â It is AWESOME! Â Many people say it's not worth the price ($48/pp) -- however, I disagree. Â There was so much to choose from! Â If you can't eat much, don't put the $$ down for this type of brunch. All you can eat, all you can eat. Â The price includes coffee/tea/basic drinks. Â The food and service was wonderful. Â All of the tables were FULL of food. Â I say this is worth it for the occasional splurge.
Review Source:Even though this is the most expensive dinner we have ever paid for before, the experience was good.
We checked into Yelp and recieved a cup of their clam chowder soup complimentary which was unbelievably good.
Service was very good, our waiter was attentive, pleasant and gave good information. Â We made reservations and were seated on time. Â They do seat you pretty close to one another though, I really don't care for that. Â When you feel like your dining with others that are not in your party, you don't talk as much because other people can totally hear you!! Â We actually were joking around with the table next to us! Â When you pay those kinds of prices, I really want to have a private conversation with the person or people I am with!!
I so loved their crackers...
We ordered the oyster sampler. Â If you like oysters, order that because you can try many. Â 6 oysters was $15. Â My husband and I both ordered the Alaskan Red King Crab. Â A 1 1/4 lb portion for $63. Â I really love it when they cut it for you so you can eat it without incident or mess. We didn't order any of the ala cart sides because I wanted to get some pie.
The Raspberry pie, made from organic raspberries was oh so delicious!! Â Not to sweet, not to tart and tasted fresh! Â Very good!
I am very interested in trying their Sunday brunch, another time though.
I came here on short notice on a Friday night and was glad to be seated relatively quickly. This place is a little tucked away from the main traffic but that does not seem to stop it from bustling on a Friday night.
Our waiter was older and a gentleman. I really liked his service. He was patient and knowledgeable about the food. However, he sometimes got very busy and I was unable to get his attention.
We were given complimentary clam chowder for "checking-in" on Yelp. I felt like I just drank a bucket of cream after ingesting a small cup of soup. Way too heavy and salty without a good balance of the clam flavor.
The oysters here were really awesome - and fresh. Â However, I thought the sequence of the oysters was a bit off. Some of the milder ones were put after the stronger ones. I am not sure I agreed with their flavor judgment of the oysters.
I had the crab cake entree which was quite good without tons of flour or filler. It was truly crabby. But it was TINY. I felt like I didn't quite get my bang for the buck.
I also had the creme brulee as a dessert. Didn't like the fact that it was cold. I generally received my creme brulee at least warm. Wanted to send it back so they could heat it up a bit for me but couldn't get the waiter. Â Oh well, I probably didn't need the extra calories anyway.
My wife and I decided to dine at Shaw's to celebrate a special occasion, Â and overall, we had a really good time. First of all, the food was great, but also very expensive. We started with the Maryland style crab cake and an appetizer, which was delicious. Next, my wife had the broiled Virginia founder with blue crab stuffing and lobster brandy sauce. It was amazing. I like seafood, but I really love steak, so I went with the 14 ounce New York Strip and really enjoyed it.
The only reason why I am not giving Shaw's five stars is because of a personal preference of mine when it comes to restaurants. Shaw's is part of the massive Lettuce Entertain You restaurant group, and it has that "corporate" feel to it. It is an absolutely  huge restaurant in a trendy/expensive part of town that is overrun with tourists, and I usually try to avoid places that this.
Went to Shaw's for the first time before the Auto Show Gala last Friday night. Â I arrived before my company and elected to have a glass of Johnny Walker Blue Label on the rocks. Â Was it worth the 42 dollars they charged me? Â Damn right. Â So good.
The service was exceptional. Â The food was fresh (especially the lobster bisque). Â The scene was posh. Â Fur coats and old money.
I had the Surf and Surf which is a lobster tail and crab legs. Â It was really fresh and cooked to perfection from a texture standpoint. Â I wish my party was into sashimi because Shaw's provided an expansive sushi list. Â I will definitely return to try that at some point.
Overall, I had a great experience and would recommend this for your finer dining experience if you are looking for seafood.
The Sunday brunch buffet was INCREDIBLE. It's $50 dollars a person and WELL WORTH IT. They have EVERYTHING you can think of .. the menu is on their website... a few of my favorites : the caramelized bacon, steamed king crab, make your own mini waffles, prime rib, and for dessert my favorite are the chocolate truffle pops. OMG amazing... the service has been great each time so far (twice.)
also, included with the $50 are non alcoholic drinks! so drink up!
and there is valet parking as well so you don't have to worry about finding parking, I think the valet was $12, plus a tip.
ENJOY!
Also, just want to point out how accommodating they were... I asked if there happened to be a closet or room available so I could privately breastfeed my little baby and there just so happened to be an unoccupied banquet room at that time of the day so they let me privately have a moment with my easily distracted baby. WOW. I am truly shocked and appreciative of how classy this place is. Thanks Shaw's.
Once me and my wife stepped in we were taken to a time that we both love. Everybody is dressed up as they were from the 50's, it was a real modern old time feel.
Our dinner consisted of  Alaskan King Salmon, Surf and Turf, Oysters, Makers mark, cosmos and wine and it was all amazing and worth the price. At the beginning when the waiter sat us down we told him very briefly that it was our mini honey moon and we thought nothing of it after that, we were hungry. As our dinner ended he gave us a to die for piece of chocolate cake with candles and the surrounding waiters applauded us for our honey moon. Just an Absolute amazing evening. And then after that we walked right next door and hung out at Andy's Jazz club.
All i have to say is that We will be back again. And we recommend this place to anybody that wants a great time.
Shaw's was good. I had a very good horseradish whitefish which was excellent. Â The lobster bisque came warm not hot. It was ok. The atmosphere for a tues night was ok. It was not to crowded. Â I was surprised they didn't have asparagus or broccoli like most restaurants of this caliber. The green beans were like home made. Nothing special. Other than that everything was ok considering.
Review Source:Excellent food for a high price. A bit pretentious. We had a great meal, I had a well cooked filet and my business partner had a well grilled mahi. The food was great, but the dining room was incredibly noisy and crowded. We were seated on a bench that was combined with the table next to us that happened to have a loud drunk couple seated. It's not that the place isn't great, its just that the menu is tired and unoriginal (steak and lobster) and the atmosphere didn't warrant the high prices in my opinion. The white jacket bow tie waiters were more pretentious than helpful.
Review Source:I finally made it to Shaw's for their brunch buffet!!!
The breakdown: It's $50/person and includes juice/tea/coffee
The cold bar has sushi rolls, ceviche, cold crab claws, lox, shrimp cocktail and OYSTERS.
The hot bar has boring brunch foods like sausage, eggs benedict, waffles, omelet station, bacon, etc. Â But the hot station also had lobster bisque, crab cakes, hot king crab legs.
The dessert bar is magnificent. I don't even like dessert and I tried like 5 or 6 different ones. Shaw's does dessert right, they are all tiny bite size desserts! Little cups of dark, rich chocolate mousse and tiny squares of oreo cheesecake. Yummmy!
I'll fill you in on a secret....put 2 crab cakes into your soup bowl then get the lobster bisque on top. It's like a magical, fairy dust, leprechauns leaping type of moment. Â Warm, rich, lobster bisque and every bite is filled with nuggets of crab cake. Soooo good. Â The server doling out bisque nearly lost it when my boyfriend asked for that combo, it's GENIUS.
Here's another tip (I'm feeling extra generous today), take some candy and a bag of cracker jacks for the road. Â BF and I went to watch Django Unchained after our 3 hour brunch..and we snuck some candy in with us. Â Our $3 worth of stolen candy made me feel like our $140 brunch was all worth it. Â Maybe my math is a little off, or maybe the brine from those 3 dozen oysters is negatively effecting my ability to think, but stealing some candy for the road makes me feel like I'd totally shell out that much for brunch again!
I used to love Shaw's. However the last couple meals there have been horrible. Undercooked stuffed lobster is just unforgiveable. I am officially done going there. Service is efficient but I felt very rushed. It was my husband's birthday and we wanted to enjoy the ambience, our drinks and our food. entree came out way too soon. We were not done with our popcorn shrimp. I think Shaw's is slipping because people still come in droves even though the food is just okay and the service is rushed. I don't think people know better - but I do and will be going elsewhere - like Joe's or Catch 35 or Glenn's Diner. Chicago has WAY too many choices for restaurants too start snoozing on serving great quality food in a non-rushed environment.
Review Source:A San Diego-style seafood brunch right here in Chicago! It might be $50 and it doesn't include champagne or alcohol, but the spread is so fantastic that it makes it worth the price tag. Â
There's crab legs, shrimp, oysters, lobster, and all sorts of other fresh fish that if ordered a la carte make a pretty killer dent in your wallet. It's totally a deal considering you get an unlimited amount of everything including normal breakfast items.
The bloody mary's are awesome, but again aren't included so if you have a few with your meal you may be looking at about $100 total. Still definitely worth it if you feel like a Sunday splurge.
I went here for a date with my beautiful girlfriend in the Winter of 2012. Â This is a great old world upscale seafood place and a perfect spot to grab some great crab (among other things). Â Our booth was romantic and intimate and we really enjoyed the decor. Â
-We started off with some oysters....fresh and delicious.
-Then we got into the king crab legs....let me start off by saying I normally like to enjoy the delicacies of the world locally i.e. eat Maine lobster in Maine, Dungy crabs in Pacific Northwest, Blue crabs in Maryland etc etc. Â Mainly because it's difficult to find the freshness and when you do you pay for it $$$$$. Â But we were splurging and it was worth it. Â The crab legs were monsters...almost hand picked by God especially for me. Â I would recommend this place for a special occasion or just a great dinner after work. Â
Thank you Shaw's I will be back in 2013 (hopefully).
Ohhh how I wish this place wasn't so expensive so I could go here on the reg. It is so good.
Shaw's is one of my go-to birthday places, and I have to get the crab legs. The king crab legs are hot, delicious, and not overly chewy. Seafood is either hit or miss, and shaw's is so good you'll forget you're in chicago.
Shaw's also has exceptional service, and very generous portions so you're sure to leave happy and full.
I've dined at Shaws for years and years now and it is one of my top 5 restaurants
for seafood in Chicago. Â I've dined with friends, family and also with clients nearly always for dinner during the week and the weekend. Â The food is definitely 5 stars and I've never once had the culinary experience be disappointing. Â I often times
ask them to prepare my personal fav salad which is crab, avocado, and tomatoes over a bed of romaine topped off with one of their lovely vinaigrettes. Â The chef is always accommodating for this off-menu dish. Â The oysters are just divine every single time. Â The lobster and crab dishes are also first rate each and every time ordered. Â In fact the crab cakes in my opinion are the best in the city because there is so much real crab in them. Â Sometimes I crave them so much, I order them for delivery thru CEO Deliveries. Â My only complaint and the reason I'm giving the restaurant a lower than the 5-star rating the food deserves, is because the wait staff can be disappointing and a couple time on the edge of being rude. Â I'm an easy patron and I tip well and it is frustrating to have someone just seem bothered to have to wait on you. Â And it is one of the louder restaurants in the city. Â I am not sure why the sound is so challenging in the main dining room but it can get to ear piercing levels. Â Â It doesn't slow me down from coming back though since I just love their menu and preparation.
Hum...what to say about the good-to "entertain your parents" restaurant?
First, that it's always the same. I've been here dozens of times throughout the years and always, always, have the same 'cared-for' experience. The servers are all slightly middle-aged with a warm, friendly attitude. They know the menu well. And secondly, that menu is always firmly good: The fish is always excellent, the seasonal stone crab, the ubiquitous crab legs and lobsters, the very fresh sushi = all good.
The cocktails are not inventive, but hey, nothing's wrong with the tried and true standbys. Who doesn't like a good Pimm's Cup now and again? Â Even in the dead of winter.
After going to the Shaw's in Schaumburg and having an AWESOME experience, I suggested this place to the boyfriend for his birthday dinner and we ended up going. Â BUT, ALAS! Â You did not live up to your expectations, Shaw's.
We ate at the Oyster bar because 1) I am poor and 2) after a long day of work/classes, we were both too lazy to dress to the nines. Â We were seated right away which was nice, and there was live music to boot! Â The food itself was great (as it was at the Schaumburg location), but the service was completely lacking. Â After having such a fantastic server at Schaumburg (shout out to Mr. Mario!!!!) I guess I was thinking it'd be somewhat similar, but it wasn't at all. Â Our server was nice enough, but only came around to bring out our food we had ordered.
Now onto the good stuff: the food! Â We ordered the clam chowder and good GOD it was delicious--it had nice big chunks of potatoes and clams and the whole thing was absolutely creamy. Â The fish and chips (yes, I ordered it again) were just as delicious and my boyfriend (who's been on a hunt for the best fish and chips) said they were #2 in his book (#1 being the fish and chips he had when he used to live in New Zealand), so kudos to you, Shaw's! Â We also ordered half a dozen chef's choice oysters and the Oysters Rockfeller which were quite good. Â Our last dish ordered was a sushi roll and while I thought it was good (sushi noob here), the bf thought it was "meh."
Overall, the food was great, but service was not so great, leaving it all with 3 stars. Â If you have the choice, I say go to the Schaumburg location for both great food AND great service!
Shaw's has always been my go to for special meals. We decided NYE was one of those occasions and ate at the Chicago location.
The service at Shaw's is always top notch! As you walk through the dining areas to the table, each of the wait staff greets you and really makes you feel welcome.
Shaw's mixes up great drinks. My favorite is their lemon drop martini. Their maki rolls are so good. The fish is always so fresh. Every time I go to Shaw's I get their king crab legs. They are large and meaty. They split the legs to make it easier to get to the sweet crab. My favorite sides are the potatoes au gratin and the creamed spinach.
Shawn's never disappoints. Next time, I need to save room for dessert. I heard their key lime pie is delicious.
Finally decided to try the famous Sunday brunch after hearing good things from friends, family, and fellow Yelpers. Â First-rate experience all around and an exceptional brunch menu.
We made reservations for earlier in the morning and there was plenty of street parking at that time, although Shaw's does offer valet service. Â Entrance of the restaurant is cozy and the restaurant has dimmer lighting and darker interior/furnishings...feels classy but not overwhelmingly fancy. Â There's ample space in the foyer near reception if there happens to be a wait. Â There is also a bar right in the foyer and this is the area where they set up the chilled seafood/continental breakfast items, as well as the Desserts table. Â
We were seated in a booth/chairs combo table towards the back of the main dining room. Â Perfect for us and the kids. Â Our server greeted us as soon as we were comfortably seated, and oriented us to the brunch since it was our first time. Â There were others seated near us and a couple directly next to us, but it wasn't crowded, nor did our conversations mix. Â The din of conversation around the dining room helped create background noise, though my daughter did remark, "they don't play any music here!" Â She's obviously used to louder, more family-casual restaurants ; )
The traditional English breakfast items are located in the main dining room...the caramelized bacon was to die for and we all had a 2nd/3rd helpings of that. Â Other standouts were the crab cakes (meaty pieces of crab not shredded & formed), fried shrimp, lobster bisque (deliciously buttery/creamy with chunks of lobster), the tenderloin (had it medium rare and it's mouth-watering just thinking about it again) and the steamed king crab legs. Â There is also a made-to-order omelet and waffle station here. Â The chilled seafood table included shrimp cocktail (generously sized), raw oysters, smoked salmon, duck pastrami, crab legs, maki, bagels. Â The maki was good, but our 5-year old loves California Rolls and we didn't find any this day...the other rolls were a little too spicy for her.
The full Sunday brunch menu is on the Shaw's website...we tried everything and it was all delicious. Â I'm a seafood fanatic so this was a dream for me. Â I have to say, I enjoyed the steamed king crab over the chilled crab but generally feel steamed/cooked shellfish has a better taste to it than chilled/cold, so no fault of Shaw's here. Â If anything, it would have been nice to have a little more variety in the hot crab/shrimp selection (i.e., more steamed crab legs or shrimp other than fried and the cold cocktail). Â
The Sweets table was fun...not only did they have pastries/cakes/fruit/tarts/cookies to choose from, but they also had different kinds of candy, which was huge with my kids (spun cotton candy, packages of M&Ms, lollipops, tootsie rolls!). Â Very nice and different idea.
Plates were cleared quickly, water, coffee & tea replenished before we could blink an eye. Â The coffee is amazing, btw. Intelligentsia.
So happy we finally made it to the brunch at Shaw's. Â We love brunching, and this so far, tops our brunch list. Â The price can be prohibitive, $48pp, but kids 12 and under are free...so it was completely worth it for our family of 4. Â We'll be back and will likely save this brunch for special occasions, though I would happily eat here every Sunday!
Amazing seafood especially since it's in the middle of the country and not on the coast.
Our server was very friendly and extremely knowledgeable. Knew about the different types of waters and the minerals in them and how they effected the taste of the oysters we were eating (which were delicious).
We also shared some scallops, salad, crab cakes, and lobster pasta. All were delicious and very well done.
If you are a fan of any kind of seafood, this is definitely the place for you.
Shaw's is an excellent choice for seafood and it makes me feel like I'm stepping back into a classier time. I always get the lobster and ask for it to be out of the shell because I'm a spoiled brat and I don't like to deal with the mess. Extensive wine list and all the classic menu choices plus sushi. The servers know the menu inside and out and are great at making suggestions. I'm pretty sure they have all worked there most of their lives. It's comforting to return to a place after a few years and see the same faces. I like how they give the customers plenty of time to enjoy each course before bringing the next one. It's a first-class joint.
After dinner, stop at the oyster bar for coffee and enjoy the live music.
Oyster Bar. Â Order a dozen oysters, a dirty martini (well vodka is Grey Goose), and then some lobster bites. Â Maybe another dirty martini with blue cheese olives (if you're not driving) and sit through for an early dinner. Â Service is always top notch, oysters great, and the martinis are perfectly made. Â
If you sit long enough, try the Key Lime Pie with your coffee. Â Odd to type this, but a Chicago classic.
I love the atmosphere of this place. You wake up on a Sunday morning, and you come here for breakfast. You are greeted by some of the nicest people, the lights are dim and the interior makes you feel like your sitting in your great-grandmother's kitchen. The music just makes you feel all cozy inside!
It is a bit pricy, about 55pp and almost 70pp after tips/tax. The food is delicious, the crab cakes, the oysters, the unlimited crab legs! Of course, I prob stuffed my face with 6-7 plates of those. :) They also have a omlete, waffle section where you can tell them exactly how you wan it. The sushi selection could have been a little bigger, they only had 2 kinds of sushi, both tuna. The only reason that this isn't getting 5 stars is because although they had great seafood selections for the brunch, I feel that they should have a little bit more variety on the other food selections. More breakfast items maybe? One more choice on soup?
The dessert selection was aplenty. They had a cotton candy tree!!!!!!!! That made my day :) Definitely something I have never seen before. A+ on the dessert guys!
The service was IMPECCABLE. Definitely a place to stop by if you are visiting Chicago. It was a great time.
My father and sister loved it. I mean raved about it afterwards. I was not as impressed, but I also was not feeling particularly well that day so I'm partially rating based on their opinion. Â
Food:
Oyster, Prince Edward Island: Fantastic! This is the one thing I will rave about. They were delicious.
Spicy Tuna Roll: Good, decent size and lots of tuna. Not really spicy.
Acapulco Roll: Was good, but way too much cilantro. It was over powering. Next time I'd probably ask for them to just not include it.
My sister had the crab and said it was the best crab she has ever had. She never finishes her meals but this she finished b/c she said it was just too good not to.
Service:
Our waitress was great until we were ready to leave/pay our check and then she disappeared.
Hostess:
Sadly I had to complain b/c people coming in after us were being seated. They made an excuse but about 30 seconds later our buzzer went off.
I would probably give it a 3 but my dad and sister give it a 5 so 4 it is.
I finally tried the Shaw's brunch today and it was great! Â The oysters were fresh as usual and I ate over 9 dozens. Â The only negative mark I would give on the oysters is that the schucking is not a perfectly clean job since there were shards of oyster shells on my oysters. Â I also had some Alaskan king crab legs, which were slightly over cooked for me and the crab cakes were a bit bland -- but that's probably because all the brine in the oysters I consumed numbed my tastebuds. Â The waffle bar and dessert bar were amazing! Â I had 2 tirimisus served in a mini flute glass and more than a dozen of chocolate covered strawberries. Â The berries were fresh and sweet. Â This is where I want to go for my birthday!
Our server was very kind and attentive. Â I love it here!
Sit at the oyster bar and hopefully you'll be lucky enough to have Arturo serve you. Live music, great vibe - easily one of the best places I've been (not on the water) to mow down great seafood.
Excellent oyster selection and shucking. Fantastic Spicy Shrimp, Salmon and Lemon Maki. Tuna, guac and chip - solid. King Crab - bonus
All in all this place is baffling since I've never seen this combo assembled - great live music, fantastic sushi and exceptional crab house (nowhere near the water).
I was here last month for their brunch. We made an appointment for 12:30, but we were going to be late. They stop seating people at 1:15PM, so I raced over there.
Upon arrival, it was pretty empty. When we were seated, the waiter breezed right by the layout of the place like he was racing to get us out of there.
There are some highlights to the food
-raw oysters: what not to like? I devoured at least 2 dozen
-steamed snow crab: more flavorful than the cold crab
-crab cakes: nice crab flavor and it was the perfect sizes
-sliced beef: perfectly medium rare! delicious
I would NOT recommend
-grilled/baked salmon. It was extremely dry and it had no taste whatsoever.
-cold crab: not much flavor
I was mostly at the seafood section of the buffet, so I can't really speak for any of the other dishes. The sushi was alright.
Service could have definitely been improved. Although there was a bucket in the middle for our shells, we were still juggling empty plates on our table. I had to start stacking mine on top of each other before someone noticed and took them away.
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