The Siberian American: A Chicago Christmas: Lunch at The Walnut Room

Monday, December 21, 2015

A Chicago Christmas: Lunch at The Walnut Room

Several friends and bloggers have mentioned the Chicago tradition of having lunch at The Walnut Room, so we thought it would be fun to do while we are living here this year. The Walnut Room is located on the seventh floor of Macy’s on State Street and has one of the prettiest Christmas trees in Chicago.


Lunch starts at 11 a.m., but the line opens at 10 a.m. We ended up being a little delayed and got to The Walnut Room around 11 a.m. By the time we went through the line to get a pager, we were told our pager would go off between 2:30 and 3 p.m. We knew we would probably have to wait a long time since it was the last weekend before Christmas, but it was the only time we could go.


I’ve mentioned before there is no way that I would wait four hours for food, and I still stand by that. In this case, we didn’t care much about the food and wanted to do it for the experience. We killed time by exploring Macy’s—There are nine stories, and each floor is massive. I’m glad we were finished with our Christmas shopping because it was so tempting to buy everything, especially the Frango chocolates.


By the time 3 p.m. rolled around, our pager still hadn’t gone off, so we headed over to the pager drop off area, and they let us get into another line to wait for a table. We were finally seated around 3:30 p.m.


Even though we had to wait forever, we still had fun. Our seats were right by the tree, and we enjoyed our late lunch and holiday cocktails. Christopher loved trying the chicken pot pie, and I had a peach nest chicken salad.


Would I come back and make this a tradition if we lived here? Only if we could go during a weekday and have a much shorter wait. Even so, I don’t regret the time we spent waiting because we got to spend the whole day together laughing and enjoying each other's company.

Linking up with Biana for Weekending. 

25 comments:

  1. Waiting can be the worst, and I agree I won't do it for food, but I'll do it for the experience. They have it beautifully decorated for the holidays and at least you got to sit right by the tree!

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  2. That tree is really impressive! I am not a fan of waiting but for these one time experiences it is worth it!

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    1. Exactly! We don't plan on ever doing it again, but it was fun to do it once! :)

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  3. That sounds like such a fun experience, but I'm with you, I don't think I could have wait four hours for food every year! It looks like this time was well worth the wait since y'all got a seat right by the tree, which is gorgeous!

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  4. I'm glad that you stuck through it and waited for a table - holy cow 9 stories of shopping = my heaven!! xo, Biana -BlovedBoston

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  5. Wow what a long wait but it looks like so much fun! Buddy the Elf would love that big tree haha and wow, I've never been in a Macy's that huge before!

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  6. oh my gosh, what an insane wait. i'm with you, i won't wait for hours, though i don't mind if there is something to do, like shop. if we arrived hungry though, KC would have gone nuts. No way he'd wait that long for food.

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  7. Looks BEAUTIFUL! I'm glad you didn't have a case of the hangry... that could have been bad. Also- your nails look lovely! Merry X-Mas!

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  8. That sure is a long wait! I don't know how you managed to wait that long. Sounds like it was worth it though!

    Breakfast at Gracey's

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  9. I really need to go to Macy's in Chicago or New York or something... In Christmas movies (and clearly from your pictures!) Macy's is so pretty and big and epitomizes the holiday. Here Macy's is meh. Love that tree!

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  10. This is so cool! I wish we had somewhere like this in Idaho. That Macy's looks incredible. Ours is only 2 stories haha!

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  11. That tree is literally breath taking! How fun and wonderful for Christmas!

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    1. The tree was stunning! It was such a neat experience. :)

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  12. Wow that tree looks amazing!

    http://www.poppylowdon.co.uk/

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  13. Such a neat lunch spot, definitely looks like it was worth the wait <3

    Green Fashionista

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  14. Sucks you had to wait to so long but sounds like you enjoyed your meals and the view of that beautiful tree.

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  15. What a pretty setting and a fun local tradition! Glad it was worth the wait.

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  16. Fabulous! Going to Chicago is on our bucket list and I'd love to go at Christmas - definitely remembering this!

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  17. I also hate waiting for food...but exceptions can be made when you've got something to keep you busy and you have good company! Also looks like the best setting for a Christmas lunch :)

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  18. Such a fun experience! Definitely one for the bucket list!

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  19. Despite the wait this sounds fantastic. That Macy's sounds like a place you could get lost in for four hours for sure. Glad it was worth the wait.

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  20. So very fun! I love stuff like that, most especially around the holidays. Looks really spectacular.

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