The 3 Arts Club Café welcomes you to the exclusive club of the two very best words that start with the letter “F” – furniture and food. At first this may seem like a strange combination, especially for a restaurant and a furniture store.
Photo courtesy of Galdones Photography
But very quickly you’ll find that it’s quite the opposite and before you know it, you’ll add RH to the list of restaurants you miss when you’re not in the Windy City. Restoration Hardware’s location in the recently renovated 3 Arts Club on Chicago’s Gold Coast combines extravagant room arrangements with delicious food, creating an experience of comfort and class like none other. The four-story historic building, home to RH Chicago’s showrooms and the Café, radiates the elegance and ease of old Chicago.
Photo courtesy of Galdones Photography
Walking into the entryway of RH, you instantly feel all warm and fuzzy inside as Flo Rida’s “My House” pops into your head. Greeted as a guest in what you wish was your own home, you’ll be encouraged to sink into one of the one fluffy sofas that line the outside of the Gallery where the Café is located. Because the 3 Arts Club Café doesn’t take any reservations, if you go during a meal time, you may have to wait a few.
However, this wait is almost as amazing as the restaurant itself due to the 3 Arts Club Wine Vault & Tasting Room (for readers 21 and over, of course – but a little education never hurts) and the 3 Arts Club Pantry & Espresso Bar that serves everyone’s favorite coffee drinks – plus a new selection every day of delightful Doughnut Vault doughnuts and treats.
Photo courtesy of Galdones Photography
Sipping on your fine wine (doe – even Fetty Wap could find this place homey), hot chocolate, coffee, or taking a bite into a handcrafted pastry, you’ll sit on one of the comfiest couches in the world and feel like you’ve just won the lottery. You can even get up and stretch your legs to tour the gallery and showrooms if you feel so inclined. But wait, it gets better.
Once you’ve been seated in the Courtyard (even the name sounds fancy), your mouth will drop. Above you hangs one of the biggest and shiniest crystal chandeliers you’ll ever see amidst the backdrop of a huge glass dome and towering Heritage olive trees planted in colossal steel planters. Topped off with geometric topiaries and window boxes overflowing with gorgeous flowers of white and green, it doesn’t get better than this. And we haven’t even gotten to the food yet.
Photo courtesy of Galdones Photography
The 3 Arts Club Café features a fresh and natural menu inspired by northern California and Mediterranean cuisine. From light and innovative salads to delectable smoked salmon and cheese boards and my personal favorites, the truffle butter grilled cheese and the classic RH Burger, renowned restaurateurs Gary Friedman and Brendan Sodikoff have got the whole combo of culinary art and cuisine down.
But get this: the setting may be luxurious but the prices are not. With the main plates ranging from $13 to $20, the 3 Arts Club Café is clearly a bang for your buck.
Photo courtesy of Galdones Photography
And onto the desserts (which I should have talked about first because they are BOMB). RH takes their sweets very, very seriously. With their warm, $6 housemade chocolate chip cookies, you can’t go wrong. But you’ll for sure have trouble not getting tempted by the RH Banana Split served with candied pecans, so I guess you’ll just have to order that too.
If you’re not yet convinced that the 3 Arts Club Café is the place to be for any occasion, have no fear. This magical place is perfect for celebrating anything – eating healthy but gorging at the same time (seems impossible, I know), just chilling, and so much more. Welcome to the club.