Restaurant Review: Iconic Walnut Room at Macy’s adds Bunny Brunch in April

Happy April to all! The new month brings warmer temperatures, Easter and Passover celebrations, Tax Day and…for the first time ever, the Easter Bunny will be visiting Macy’s Walnut Room, 111 N. State Street, on April 12, 13, and 19 for their first-ever Bunny Brunch buffet! Reservations are available from 11am-3pm. 

And wonder of wonders, reservations are still available! 

History Started at Marshall Fields

The Walnut Room began its life as the brainchild of department store founder Marshall Field. 

The Walnut Room opened in 1907 as the South Tea Room, according to theTasting Table. At the time, it was one of the few places where women were allowed to dine without male partners and the founder saw it as a way for his upscale clientele to relax after a day of shopping. The South Tea Room became known among the ladies of Chicago as the Walnut Room with its beautiful Circassian walnut paneling and Austrian crystal chandeliers. By 1937 it was officially named The Walnut Room, and they dined on delicacies like creamed New England salt codfish casserole, fruit salad in a lettuce cup with peppermint candy-dusted whipped cream, and a chicken and apple salad-stuffed cranberry jelly ring. 

One longtime favorite that predates the restaurant itself, going back to 1890: Mrs. Hering’s chicken pot pie – it’s a classic chicken pot pie perfected by the woman who ran the Marshall Field’s tearoom until 1910. And since 1918… Frango chocolate mints and its multiple varieties, including cheesecake, cocoa, ice cream, etc. 

As Smithsonian Magazine tells it, department stores like Marshall Field’s employed ever more elaborate strategies to lure shoppers during the holiday season, especially as the smell of Mrs. Herring’s Chicken Pot Pie wafted from the Walnut Room, and a massive, decorated tree welcomed holiday visitors and massive “ice” reindeer soared over displays, oversized candy canes and evergreen garlands wound down the aisles, and giant stars and mega snowflakes floated in the skylight. In dizzying displays of holiday spirit, Field’s conveyed top-to-bottom Yuletide joy…all the way to their annual Holiday Tea, where reservations frequently sell out in minutes in October. 

For many Chicagoans, as the Smithsonian says, Marshall Field’s at Christmas was transformed from a wonderfully stocked department store into a near-sacred family ritual.

While many Chicagoans protested, Federated Department Stores, the parent company of Macy’s, acquired May Department Stores Company, which owned Marshall Field’s, in 2005. Macy’s promised to continue all Marshall Fields traditions. And they have.

Easter Bunny Brunch 2025

They’re also bringing new traditions with the advent of the Bunny Brunch. In true Fields/Macy’s fashion, it’s done to maximum effect with Easter décor galore. 

While chicken pot pie isn’t on the menu, families will enjoy a buffet spread featuring items like Hash Brown Casserole, Pineapple-Glazed Ham, French Toast Bake, Scrambled Eggs with Marscapone, Walnut Room Salad, a Yogurt Parfait Station and much more, for $29.95 per adult and $19.95 per child. 

The Easter Bunny, face painters and balloon artists will also be on hand to provide entertainment.  For reservations, click here. 

Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago