Chicago’s skyline is like that classic Marilyn Monroe dress - up and down all around. The second tallest building in the city, after the Sears tower, is the John Hancock. The 95th floor in the building houses a trade mark restaurant that is christened as the ‘Signature room’. I had some friends visiting me recently and we made reservations to the signature room on a perfect Friday night. My first visit to John Hancock was back in 2006, when I had visited the Signature Lounge, also located on the 95th floor, an ideal place to have a cocktail and marvel at the illustration of Chicago.

Signature room has an ambiance and service that you would normally associate with any fine dinning restaurant. On top of that, it is located on the top of the world and offers a breath taking view. The menu is reasonably expansive and I assure you that you will find your steak, or fish, or chicken or vegetarian entrée. I ordered myself a Scottish Salmon, and it was an absolute treat. Perfectly sauteéd and rich in flavor. I rarely get my wine right, because I am more of a beer guy, but this time I got a glass of Merlot which just blended perfectly with the fish, the bread and of course the great company I was with. In fact, my friend who is a hesitant guzzler at best, ordered himself the same wine after he did a little taste ride from me.

The signature room does not quite have the reputation in Chicago as far as the quality of food is concerned. Not sure if that is accurate because me and my friends were pretty darn happy with all our meals. Maybe they traded a chef recently, or maybe we were completely dazzled to distinguish between good food and bad food, or maybe we were so happy in each others company that everything else was just too petty. The amazing part is that the food is actually not that expensive. An entree is about $30 USD, and a glass of wine is about $10 USD. I have paid a lot more money for meals at worst places.

There were a couple of things that they could have done better. Firstly, when we entered the restaurant, it smelled like fish. And I know that it is one of the hardest smell to get rid off specially if too many people are eating it, but come-on, who wants to be greeted by that odor? But very quickly it just disappeared as our senses made the adjustment. Secondly, the butter that was served had a hard texture which made it a little bit of work to actually grease up the bread.  I really can’t think of any other issue with either the food or service or ambiance. The sum and substance is that I would highly recommend this restaurant. Try and grab a seat on the north or south side and just blend in. Thumbs up!