The Florentine

We stopped by for lunch for a weekend. The restaurant was pretty empty so we got our food fairly quickly. The ambiance and customer service are both great here. The food was excellent and flavorful. Our order: Belgian waffles - must try!Margherita pizza - cheesy!Fettuccine Alfredo - super creamy!Tiramisu - yum!This is a great date night spot. Highly recommend checking them out! You won't leave disappointed.

While staying at the JW Marriott this restaurant is a prime spot on the 2nd floor. The food is decent. Had 3 meals, steak, omelette, and a burger. Steak was delicious, though a bit pricy. Omelette was a decent portion, but had no flavor. Burger was a joke @ $23. All of that could have been a pass, but where this place shines as one of the worst places ever, is the service. The staff is inattentive, and honestly very rude, and un-accommodating. This place refuses to split a check, as an example. Party of 2, 4, more.... Tough. One check for everyone, the table can figure it out later. Can we split the ticket 4 ways? No. Can I just pay for what I ordered, no! This is a hotel, with many conventions, and a lot of people come through. People from all over the world, and they can't be bothered to split a bill? Oh, and just because you have a group, they then add a 20% gratuity as standard, whether they deserve it or not. And in this case, it was 100% not deserved. So, if you enjoy mediocre food at a higher price than it's worth, and you like to be treated like a POS for asking for a simple request, this place is for you. The steak was the saving grace for this place. Oh, and don't ask to swap any side dish. I asked to swap a side salad for my potatoes, and that was a no too. At these prices, they should be more friendly and accommodating. There were about 15 of us there this afternoon for lunch, and the hassle they gave us was unprecedented. Nobody left happy, no matter how the food was or was not enjoyed. Since I can't leave ZERO stars, they get ONE star. Dear management, service is 80% of the "value" and overall experience. Figure that out, and you may be worth a better review. Over 3 meals, food gets an average of 3 stars based on taste and price. Do better. Time for some new management!

The restaurant is located on the second floor of the JW Marriott hotel. There's plenty of street parking available. The lobby is very beautiful. You can take the stairs, escalator or elevator to the second floor. The restaurant is also beautiful with cozy, warm ambiance. My friend and I came here for $25 restaurant week brunch, which gives the options: *Soup of the day or caesar salad*Amatraciana or fettucine carbonara or avo toast*Fior de latte panna cotta, cherry tiramisu, etcWe ordered coffee to start. I have to note that the coffee is pricey! A small cup of black coffee was $6 and a latte was $8. Was it worth it? No. For the starter, I had the soup of the day - tomato soup with a slice of grilled cheese. This was perfect for the cold day. The tomato soup was delightful and flavorful. Probably one of the better tomato soups that I've had! The grilled cheese was perfectly grilled and didn't taste too heavy. For entree, I chose the avocado toast. It was quite a pleasant surprise as it was served on a plate with two sunny side eggs, potatoes, and prosciutto. I appreciated that they had a good amount of avocado on the toast. This was very good and I'd recommend this option if you're not open to eating pasta for brunch. My friend ordered the carbonara and she noted that it was delicious and not too heavy. They had a few other dessert options than just the fior de latte panna cotta stated on their online menu, but I can't recall all of them. The panna cotta was caramel apple crumble! Unfortunately, we didn't enjoy this as the dessert was overall too sweet for both of us. My friend and I were stuffed at the end of the meal! The service and food were both really good. I'd definitely recommend trying their restaurant week menu!

This is on the second floor at the JW. Very nice decor, the manager was very classy and courteous. The menu choices, service, and food were just OK. I was expecting more based on the initial experience.

The only reason one star was knocked off from the full stars was for the drink selection for happy hour. Otherwise it was really lovely. There appears to be a company Christmas party there and it was quite busy in both the restaurant and the lobby! We got the truffle beef sliders, truffle fries ,chicken wings ( huge!) Peroni beer and a saviogese wine. All very good! Our server Alexis was more than gracious and kind. Which is what I expect from a 5 star hotel!

Outstanding Flavor, color, texture and presentation! Great service as well. Sophisticated atmosphere and great location! Be back soon!

CELEBRITY CHEF BRINGS THE FIREI love a good cooking show, after hosting and judging live culinary events myself for the past ten years. It's always fun to see chefs I know throw down on grocery games or cut throat kitchen. I was excited to see that The Florentine had hired Chef Jason Hedin, as their executive chef. I would have never gone to a hotel restaurant but I needed to have the opportunity to taste his flavors. Gordon Ramsay once remarked how beautiful his dishes were plated. Chef Ramsay was right. Chef Hedin's dishes are gorgeous, like a piece of culinary art. As a culinary judge, we eat with our eyes. The first score is always presentation. These are winning dishes visually. Now it's time to taste these dishes. My eyes can only tell so much. I love how creative the menu is. Chicago has many Italian places that serve up safe Italian dishes. I loved that Chef pushes the culinary envelope. My palette was made for these incredible flavors that truly make my tastebuds dance. One of my favorite dishes was his black pepper charred filet mignon carpaccio with horseradish, shaved parmesan, black garlic aioli, and a house made herbed lavash. Yes chef makes homemade crackers. I'm addicted to them. The real magic was the flavor of the beef. Definitely the best I've had in a while. Another favorite was the buratta with a spiced tomato jam, roasted on-the-vine cherry tomatoes, garlic sourdough, and basil. Our family was fighting over the dish. That's a good sign in a Sicilian family. I will say one thing I did not want to share my rosemary grissini with whipped iberico lardo parfait, and 18 month-aged san danielle prosciutto. This is one bite that is all mine. I will never look at a bread stick the same way ever again. It's hot! I'm never a fan of veggies first but was blown away by the heirloom carrot salad with herbed yogurt and lemon vinaigrette. These are the best carrots that I've ever had in my life. I was even impressed with the lamb meatballs made with moroccan spices, sauce bravas, medjool date, and pickled white fig. My Sicilian Nonna would love the creativity of the flavors. My Dad wouldn't eat lamb but not because they aren't t amazing. It's a tragic story about his pet lamb on the farm in Sicily but that's another story over some limoncello or grappa. The restaurant makes creative pizzas along with fresh pasta in-house. I always tell people eat at restaurants that are making fresh pasta. Anyone can boil dry pasta from a box. You can truly taste the difference. Chef has a lobster goat cheese cavatelli on the menu with a red 'nduja diablo sauce. It's very rich and deep. Its a great dish to share. They also create unique pizzas like the lobster and caviar with citrus crème fraîche, fromage blanc, and watercress. If you're looking for a show stopper then order the 32oz slow roasted bone-in short rib oxtail bordelaise for the whole table. Everyone will be jockeying for position to grab the tender meat, as it falls off the bone. Order some sides with this dish too. I really loved the calabrian spiced fingerling potatoes with a citrus vinaigrette along with the romano brussels sprouts with a lemon zest, buttered breadcrumbs, and caesar dressing. Keep the green dishes coming with the grilled asparagus and broccolini. At this point, you'll need a nap. Luckily you're in a hotel. A bed is probably necessary, after enjoy all this incredible food. I have one request. Find your second wind and order dessert. There's an Italian pistachio cherry gelato sundae that is prepared table side. I love this show stopping dessert. It is literally built right in front of your eyes. Honestly this is the perfect ending. It was really fun to get to taste dishes from Chef Hedin. He's a fierce competitor on the blue team on Hell's Kitchen and now bringing his talents to The Loop in Chicago.

What a great place to come get food! The moment you walk in the ambiance is so nice, we had a reservation and were quickly seated for it. The mimosas for brunch are so worth it and all the food was delicious, so good that I didn't even think to take pictures since the beginning. But definitely try the avocado toast and bruschetta with bread! Chef's kiss! The pizza also hits the spot and is very thin and the crust is crispy. Everything came out so quickly too! Definitely will be back

Getting simple things wrong and below expectations of a JW. Breakfast was good. Service was OK. Cappuccino was terrible (my guess is a combination of cheap espresso machine that needs to be cleaned and or cheap beans (weak for a restaurant by this name), nevermind that it cost $8. Pasta was generally ok. Very nice selection. For carbonara they correctly use guanciale and pecorino romana. The emulsified sauce was rather dry though.Giving the restaurant a 3 as the food mostly works and some plates have extras like banana on the French toast and good vegetable side options. The restaurant could earn a 4 with better execution and improvement to a few key items.

I recently dined here lured by its reputation and high prices, expecting a top-notch culinary experience. Unfortunately, the experience was marred by subpar service that starkly contrasted with the hefty bill. Despite the elegant ambiance and the beautifully presented dishes, the staff displayed a disconcerting level of disinterest in providing good customer service.Given the restaurant's upscale status and the price we paid, we anticipated a seamless and attentive dining experience. Instead, the lack of hospitality left a sour taste in what should have been a memorable meal. If you're looking for exceptional service to match the expense, this is not the place.