Terzo Piano

I came here upon the recommendation of an episode of Check, Please! which aired a few years ago. I finally got the chance to try it out last week.
I was seated outdoors in the balcony area., which has a great view of the skyline. The waiter was a consummate professional, you could tell that he knew his stuff.
I ordered Roman gnocchi in mushroom ragou, which did not come out like any gnocchi I’ve ever seen, as in small potato dumplings, but more like one big chunk of something. Don’t get me wrong, it tasted great, but I was surprised. I had either the strawberry or raspberry lemonade, I can’t remember which, but I do remember that it was a perfect balance of not too sour, but not too sweet. The meal was definitely on the pricey side, considering the portion size. Even the view, while great, can be enjoyed for free in Grant Park. Overall, I’m glad I visited, but don’t think it’s an experience worth repeating at this price.

given where the restaurant is located and all the hype about it, we were expecting everything to be top notch. needless to say our experience was somewhat ruined by the waitress we had. the food here is very tasty, I came with a party of 10 people for sunday brunch, all of us enjoyed what we got. as a group we got both flat breads, the fried egg with kale, and the burger and no one had any complaints.
our waitress on the other hand, messed up on our orders (and blamed it on one of us saying we never ordered it when literally everyone around the person she blamed it on heard her order it), was never around to ask if we needed anything or if we even liked the food, split our checks wrong and said «it’s not a big deal actually, there’s only $ 1 difference» um I’m sorry but are you paying for it? we ended up staying there for 30 – 45 mins longer because she was never around and took so long to take our plates and give us our checks.
the view is great, food is also a bit pricey but very good, but the poor service we got puts me in a position to not give the restaurant anything more than 3 stars.

Beautiful view! And bit to mention a huge assortment of foods in the buffet, ranging from 4 different salads, buttermilk fried chicken (not greasy), leg of lamb, omelets, cheeses and fruits and even moiré. .wil definitely be back in the summer.

I’m not sure what I was expecting. Maybe less of a cafeteria feel? It was OK– but the homemade sausage gave me a pause. It was really pink. Like, not fully cooked. We asked the server about it– he said that was how it was supposed to be. Hoping there will not be major repercussions (because, of course, I ate it.).

Part of the Chicago Institute of Art, and a good resting spot if you want to break up your visit to the Art Institute.
My wife and I took advantage of a special 3-​course meal being offered in conjunction with the Vincent van Gogh exhibit. The meal included a salmon tartar, french onion soup and small pastries (cookies). A little pricey, but very good. We both enjoyed it immensely.
You get small glimpses of the Lake. There’s a nice, clean, and modern ambiance.

Every time I’ve gone to the Art Institute, I’ve wondered what the «fancy café upstairs» was like, but I’ve never taken the plunge until today.
There is currently a Van Gogh exhibit at the museum, and the restaurant has a prix fixe tasting menu that I decided to try — it included salmon tartare, carmelized french onion soup, and a french pastry.
The service was very friendly and elegant. I was there from about 1pm-​2pm. The setting is open and bright and offers a great view of the city. The furniture is a little more austere/​plain than I had expected, but the city views and professional waitstaff helped it still feel special.
The salmon and the soup were absolutely extraordinary. The pastry did not make a big impression, but it was certainly well-​made. I also had a house-​made soda with a lemon-​mint flavor that was wonderful.
I rarely get opportunities for fine dining, so I’m glad I took this chance.

Don’t waste your time! A surprise snowstorm on Valentine’s Day change our plans to safe vs trying to drive on slippery streets to make it to our reservation. The staff was helpless and had no compassion for the weather out side I guess they would rather have someone get in an accident vs waiving a cancellation fee of $ 30.

My Restaurant Week lunch here was not a success. First of all, the 3-​course menu permitted no choices – all that was offered was one appetizer, one entrée, and one dessert, take it or leave it. To me that contradicts the whole purpose of RW, and TP must be the only restaurant in Chicago that does it like this. I went ahead and ordered the lunch anyway. Focaccia bread, served with olive oil, was delicious. So was the mushroom risotto, although the portion was small. Things went downhill from there. The single lamb chop served as an entrée was not a tender cut of meat. Then for dessert they served a tiny portion of panna cotta, and I mean tiny, it was really more of a joke than a dessert. Nor would I call the service warm or friendly, although it was professional. The people who greet you at the reception desk, by contrast, are very nice.
There is a disconnect between this off-​putting restaurant and the welcoming cultural institution downstairs. If there is one consolation, your AIC membership will discount your bill by 10%. Still, for my next visit to the Art Institute, I’ll return to the cafeteria, as usual.

Great experience at Terzo Piano on a busy Saturday. We were pleasantly surprised by the restaurant week menu. Good and attentive service, rich flavor of food and awesome views of the city.
They also offer good bread to start with. We even had a refill. So good! I think they deserve better ranking than 3 stars.

TableBoss Review
While our party of four greatly anticipated our recent visit to Terzo Piano, our dining experience fell disappointingly flat. Our reservations were made on Open Table and the hostesses in which there were two had a hard time finding the reservation and were both unwelcoming (hostesses and receptionists are so underrated being the welcoming, first experience with any establishment/​organization!)
Ambiance brings a lot to the ‘table’ and while aiming for modern/​contemporary which minimalism is understood, the space was too large appearing overwhelmingly vacant like an empty elementary school cafeteria or worse an empty sad stage of some sort with extra tables strewn about in the back of the room open to stare at if you didn’t happen to have a view of the city.
We ordered to share the following:
Seasonal soup — carrot and ginger — subtle is an understatement. The seasoning was lacking to where most of the 2 oz pour was left behind.
Today’s quiche — A small piece with sausage and arugula for the $ 15 but acceptable, the chewy under thought arugula not so much along with the weird, undressed pieces of lettuce.
Cage-​free fried egg — the other end of the spectrum; over seasoned and too much sauced-​sausage.
Shrimp Cake — simply forgettable so probably fine, which is not acceptable for a restaurant desiring to be on the caliber in which it is professing touting James Beard Award winner Chef Tony Montuano and Chef Megan Neubeck.
Hand-​cut French fries with lobster-​hollandaise — lobster hollandaise great idea! Not, however, when it tastes like creamed, malt vinegar.
Local bacon — thin and limp, not crispy; bad combination.
On a positive note, the house-​made soda was fantastic so given the patio location, perhaps a visit in the summer for some refreshments is in order but will plan to picnic at Millennium Park to nosh.

Great place to eat after visiting the Art Institute, or before going to the Symphony. Good food, nice service, and amazing views, especially in the Summer when you can sit on the terrace.

Great venue, food was excellent. Some of the views were wonderful of the city at night. Great place before the Symphony.

Fabulous, airy, light, open, clean space with great company. Acoustics were good for cozy conversations and the food was lovely. Especially the craft sodas– one with pear and one vanilla cherry that was just delightful. The salad was fun – with arugula, dried fruit and cheese – just a lot of fun flavors together. The pasta dishes were filling– a pappardelle mushroom dish and a spaghetti dish that seemed very summery in nature – some Brussels sprout leaves, pancetta and dried cranberries and an au jus. A great place to hit for lunch.

This is the spot if you’re going for a sophisticated lunch before/​after viewing art at the Art Institute. Food was very good, worth all the talk about this place. View as decent, too, but the place was pretty dirty. The plastic chairs leave something to be desired. A few walls were dirty too. Surprising because of how much talk this place gets that it’s not cleaner. Definitely a let-​down compared to the pristine museum below. But that’s just the looks– who cares. Food was worth the wait and price. Will return.

We were really psyched to visit this one…
Not only for the arts museum but for the restaurant itself…
The restaurant is very stylish and classy, overlooking the high rise buildings of magnificent Chicago, menu looks very interesting and it is infact a great spot for people watching…
Our Server was very nice and courteous, go there for the starter breads, you will not be disappointed; but that’s it…
The food looks good in the menu and decent in appearance, taste is really not that great…
Speaking of not upto the mark with regards to taste, i instantly felt it wasn’t worth the money if it was only for food…
I have travelled all over the world and fell in love with Art museum in a hearbeat; i really hope:
1– I was just unlucky with the food and that’s really not the case in general with the kitchen
Or
2– These guys bring the culinary skills to a level where the ‘Value for money’ enters into a matrimony with the awesome environment they have created with beautiful people
three stars for everything else except the food

Once again, the food was mediocre and the service bad. The pea shoot salad at Terzo Piano did not disappoint. The crispy pancetta was limp, with hardly any shaved goat cheese, and some of the pea shoots were not fresh. For $ 17.00.
Service was so slow that I got up and left without paying my bill and getting my credit card and my Art Institute membership card.
It’s not the servers fault that I walked out. However, if he had not moved at the pace of a snail, this more than likely would not have happened. My daughter went back, retrieved my cards, and paid the bill.
I will never, ever go back there to eat again. It could be a really good restaurant but it’s not. Poorly managed, bad waitstaff and the food is well, let’s just say it’s not the Modern in New York.

Friend and I were looking for a late-​lunch spot with a nice view on a Sunday afternoon. Found Terzo Piano and went because of the Unilocal reviews.
I was pleased. I ordered the Margherita flatbread (huge!) and the Raspberry Gin-​Ade (also, huge!). Great portions for the prices and I walked away pleasantly full and with a slight buzz. The Gin-​Ade had a great, refreshing flavor and I wanted to order another one — but it was only 3 PM. The flatbread was really great. The buratta cheese gave the flatbread a creamier texture, as opposed to the traditional mozzarella, and it was really enjoyable. I only wish that there were more basil leaves on the flatbread as a whole. You can definitely share the flatbread if you aren’t too hungry. My friend had 2 or 3 slices and I had the rest and it was fine.
Friend ordered the regular french fries. Nice and crunchy with a really nice sauce that came with them. Tasted almost like a chipotle mayo but lighter.
Only reason Terzo Piano isn’t getting 5 stars is for the service. Granted, we got here at 2:30 on a Sunday (they close at 3), so there was a lot of hustle and bustle to get the place cleaned up. Would’ve liked more water more promptly, but it wasn’t a deal breaker to come back another time. Other than that, it was great. There was some mix up with a couples’ reservation (hostess said they didn’t have one) but they got seated immediately anyway.
The brunch menu is definitely limited, so I’d be interested to come back again and try the full menu.

Waited for about 5 minutes for waiter to arrive. We ordered entrees but did not order wine or drinks. At that point, we were persona non grata to our waiter.
I ordered the Fregola, housemade spicy pork sausage, pecorino cheese, tomato, basil for $ 18.00. When it arrived, I was shocked at the small amount of food. I wish I had taken a picture of it! My friend had the signature salad which seem to be entirely greens. She also said it was very hard to eat. Too many stringy bits.
We were never asked how our meal was or if we wanted anything else. I felt the restaurant was pretentious and extremely over-​priced. I will NEVER return.
Too bad because the original restaurant that was on the ground level overlooking the garden was so much better. Excellent food & very charming. Why change a good thing?

Great pasta, but still a lousy institutional décor. Plastic seats, boring white everything, like in a nursing home dining room.
Service was ok, but he didn’t bother mentioning we got a 10% discount as Art Institute members — thanks buddy. Nice wine, an Italian Kerner white that we’d not had before. Two fabulous pastas, my fregola and my wife’s cavatelli. Small lunch size portions were perfect. I’d not had fregola before and loved it.
Good bread and olive oil too.
City skyline views are remarkable.

This restaurant is located on the third floor of the Art Museum. It’s huge and airy, modern with white walls, minimal silver accents, and floor-​to-​ceiling windows that make up one of the walls. The bar is an island-​like stand-​alone entity near the entrance. The rest of the wide and very long rectangular restaurant can be see from end to end. Plainly, it’s a large white rectangular room. In it, there’s a bar and some room dividers that don’t fully partition the room. It’s a very fitting, visually appealing, noteworthy setup. It’s certainly worth being seen.
I had a super-​secret meetup with a super-​secret Chicago Unilocaler almost-​friend (smiles, waves, and winks at _​_​_​_​_​), here at Terzo Piano.
He had the Butternut Squash Agnolotti. I had a bite and it was tasty (I desperately need a thesaurus… Thanks a lot, Chicago.) I ordered fries. They were good. Fries can be bad. They can be mediocre, neither bad nor good. These were good. They gave me a sauce with which to dip. It wasn’t ketchup and it tasted good (there’s that word, again) and that made me happy. Ah, the little things. :)
To drink, I had the Terzo Mule. It consisted of vodka, jasmine liquor, and plum soda. Yum. Not too dry and not too sweet. Again, «good» and «tasty» are appropriate here. Service was attentive, quick, efficient. All that good stuff. I really enjoyed myself.
Please note, this museum restaurant is only open on Thursdays. They recommend making a reservation in advance. Also, bring your coat up to the restaurant. They have coat check there. I mention this because there’s a coat-​check on the first floor. Bypass that one, as it is for museum patrons and costs $ 1 & all coats must be retrieved by a certain time (before the restaurant closes, but I don’t remember exactly when).
This was an uncommon experience, at least for a tourist, that I would recommend.

Reading a few reviews, I was a little skeptical but Terzo Piano ended up being a perfect lunch. We started off with the artisan cheeses with the lemon jelly. The tartness of the lemon spread went perfectly with the cheeses. For entrees, I choose the sausage and fennel pizza and my partner choose a pasta dish. I loved the pizza. The sausage was quite tasty and the pizza had a crisp crust. I even loved the mushrooms and I’m not a big mushroom fan. My partner’s pasta looked like green meal worms which was weird but it actually was delicious. We also ordered a bottle of prosecco with worked great with our meal.
Service was perfect and paced well. The GM, Erika Armenta, stopped by our table and thanked us for dining. From the food, to the sleek setting to the service, everything was done exceptionally and made for a a great lunch.