Roof at The Wit or ...Waitress?

The Slow and Savory Review

There comes a time in every blogger's career when it is their sad duty to give a bad review.  So far, Bunny and Brandy have been rather generous with their findings across Chicago, for after all, how badly can you screw up brunch?  They used to think that the worst that could be said about brunch was that the dish consumed could have been made at home.  But how to review a place where you never even got to try the food?  We shall, dear readers...

Bunny had come across a few articles from here and there announcing that the famous Roof at the Wit Hotel (which normally serves as a trendy nighttime hot spot, known for cocktails and its spectacular views of downtown Chicago) was to be serving Sunday Brunch.  So she and Brandy headed down to State Street with high expectations.

Upon arrival, they were told to sit anywhere that didn't have a reserved sign.  They managed to find one table in the shade that wasn't reserved and made themselves comfortable.  A menu had already been placed at the table, so they began to peruse and see what was on offer.  Soon after, a hostess approached their table and informed them that she had meant to place a reserved sign on the table they were seated at and asked if they might move to some sun chairs (which had no shade and no tables).  Brandy asked if they might be able to move to a table under shade, as the day was blazing hot, and the hostess responded by rolling her eyes like a teenager, huffing, "Never mind.  We'll figure something out," and storming away.  Needless to say, Our Ladies were rather taken aback by this attitude, but decided to brush it aside and enjoy the gorgeous views.  Minutes later, a waitress approached their table and said cheerfully, "Hi ladies, so a bridal party is going to be using this table in an hour and we're going to move you.  Do you know what you want to order yet?"  Once again shocked by being told they would be moved from a table that to their knowledge was unreserved, Bunny and Brandy dived into menu to quickly choose their meals before they were forced to another spot. 

Other than a few sushi rolls, the menu wasn't very diverse or original and they ended up settling for a few dishes to share.  Unfortunately, the waitress never came back to the table.  Not even to deliver a glass of water.  They sat and watched as the hostess and waitress circled around the table, waiting on others at reserved tables (a reservation at Roof is $100 a person and supposedly includes all your food and drink, though even at a highly priced establishment like this one, you would be hard pressed to consume $100 worth of food and drink at Sunday Brunch).  Bunny was all for playing their little game of cat and mouse, but Brandy's patience soon wore thin and she began insisting on leaving.  After 45 minutes of this standoff, Our Ladies had finally had enough and got up to leave.

The hostess stood at the front, avoiding their eye contact, and a male host asked if they were leaving already.  When Brandy informed him that they had not been served, he seemed surprised and asked them to return to their seats, to which they responded they were told to move from their seats and could not return even if they wanted to. 

The mistakenly unreserved table aside, there is no excuse for service like what Bunny and Brandy received (45 minutes without so much as a glass of water is inexcusable in their book), and it is for that reason alone that they cannot encourage anyone to visit Roof at The Wit.  Better views are to be found at other spots with more friendly servers, such as Signature Room.  And as they never got the chance to judge the food, they will leave that up to others.

Hopefully Roof will have learned their lesson, the lesson every restaurant in Chicago should know by now; make Bunny and Brandy mad, and everybody's gonna hear about it!

The Short and Sweet Review