Review of the RL restaurant in Chicago

I'd first heard of the RL restaurant in Chicago, the restaurant owned by and named after Ralph Lauren, by my art teacher in Dubai, Mrs Roy. I've been working on a series of angel paintings for the entrance of my still-uninhabited apartment in Dubai, and Mrs Roy had given me the idea of doing a series of them, all clustered together with different mismatched canvases of various shapes and sizes, much like the type she had seen at RL in Chicago. This is a style she has used to hang artworks in her own living room with gorgeous results, and I loved the idea of imitating the same for my own place. This in itself should be a telling sign of what the restaurant is like, given that it's inspired an artist, halfway around the world, to emulate it's style and sophistication.
While restaurants in Chicago generally paled in comparison to those found in New York, RL was the only restaurant my best friend and I wanted to visit a second time during our weekend away there.  The first time we went, I met up with a wonderful friend of mine from Dubai who is originally from Chicago and was spending the summer back home, and we dined outdoors, enjoying the perfect weather, great food and fabulous company all at once. The day my friend and I were leaving, we went back there, this time to sit indoors and enjoy the gorgeous artworks on the wall while grabbing a quick bite before running to the airport.

Both times we went, the place was packed, and since the first time we went for a late lunch, and the second for an early brunch, it would be safe to advice you to make a reservation before heading out there. I can imagine RL being very nice for dinner, but unfortunately we never made it up there in the evening.
Of course how can I talk about a restaurant without talking about it's food! The food will not be the best you've ever had, but is still pretty good. Besides, you'll be so happy with the great service and ambiance of the restaurant, you won't really have cause to complain at all. The second time I visited, my best friend and I decided to split the Lobster club sandwich as well as get an order of the Jumbo sea scallops. The food was brought out quickly with each of us getting a plate with the orders pre-divided. It was so well presented, I snapped up a picture of it for my blog-

And yes, it was as delicious as it looks.

If you're visiting Chicago, RL is a definite must do, after which you must go and check out the gorgeous furniture section in the Ralph Lauren store upstairs. If you're a fan and looking to buy their furniture for your home, they've shipped over tons of furniture, as well as flown down to fully furnish plenty of houses in Dubai as their pieces are a FRACTION of the price of the stuff being sold at Harvey Nichols. I wish I'd known before I'd splurged and bought my dream bed from them in Dubai. Aah well.. it's always good to know for next time.

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